Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 3861
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا حِبَّانُ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، قِرَاءَةً قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعَطَاءٍ عَبْدٌ أُؤَاجِرُهُ سَنَةً بِطَعَامِهِ وَسَنَةً أُخْرَى بِكَذَا وَكَذَا. قَالَ لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ وَيُجْزِئُهُ اشْتِرَاطُكَ حِينَ تُؤَاجِرُهُ أَيَّامًا أَوْ آجَرْتَهُ وَقَدْ مَضَى بَعْضُ السَّنَةِ قَالَ إِنَّكَ لاَ تُحَاسِبُنِي لِمَا مَضَى.
Muhammad ibn Hatim reported to us: Hibban informed us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Ibn Jurayj, read aloud to him. He said: I asked ʿAtaʾ: “I hire a servant for one year in return for his food, and for another year for such-and-such.” He said: “There is no harm in that. Your stipulation is sufficient when you hire him, whether for a number of days or after part of the year has already passed, provided you say: ‘You will not charge me for the time that has passed.’”
Translation notes
The source wording about the contractual term and elapsed portion is compressed; the translation preserves its examples without supplying missing amounts.