Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
2236. One of the many types of Muzari'ah means that the owner of a
land agrees to hand over his land to a farmer, so that he would cultivate it,
and give a share of the crop to the landowner.
2237. Muzari'ah has certain conditions:
That the owner of land confirms to the farmer that he has given him the
land for farming, and the farmer also asserts that he has accepted it.
Alternatively, without their uttering anything, the owner of the land keeps
the land at the farmer's disposal with the intention that he would do
farming in it, and the farmer accepts it.
Both the owner of the land and the farmer should be adult and sane, and
should conclude the agreement of Muzari'ah with their intention and free will.
They should also not be feeble minded persons, who squander their wealth on
useless things. Similarly, the owner of the land should not be a bankrupt
person.
But if the agreement in which he enters with the farmer does not
in any way involve any property over which the bankrupt person has no right
of discretion, then there will be no objection.
As a precaution, the owner and the farmer should each share the entire
produce of the land. But this condition does not appear to be necessary.
Hence, if they, for example, agree to the condition that the harvest in the
first half or at the end, will belong to one of them, the agreement of
Muzari'ah will be valid.
The share of each of them should be fixed, like, 1/2 or 1/3 etc. of the
crop. If no share is fixed, and the owner of the land simply says: "Cultivate
this land and give me whatever you like", it will not be in order. Similarly,
if instead of fixing a share, a fixed quantity of the crop is offered for
the farmer or the landowner, the Muzari'ah will not be valid.
The period for which the land is to remain in possession of the farmer
should be specified, and it is necessary that the period should be long enough
to make a harvest possible from the land. And if this period is made to
commence from a specified day, and to end with the harvest time, it will be
sufficient.
The land should be arable, and if it is barren but can be made fit for
farming by some improvements being done on it, the contract of muzari'ah is
in order.
If the farmer is supposed to sow seeds for a particular crop, then that
crop must be specified. For example, it must be specified whether it will be
rice or wheat, and if it is rice, for example, which type of rice will be
sown.
However, if they do not have any particular crop in view, or the
crop which both of them have in view is known, it is not necessary that they
should define it.
The owner should specify the land, if he has several tracts of land which
differ from one another in their requirements. But if they do not differ in
their requirements, it is not necessary to specify. For example, if he tells
the farmer to till and cultivate any of those lands, without specifying any
one, muzari'ah will be valid.
The expenses which each of them will incur should be specified. However,
if the expenditure which each of them should incur is known, it is not
necessary to declare it.
2238. If the owner settles with the farmer that a certain quantity of
the crop will belong to one of them, and the remaining quantity will be divided
between them, that muzari'ah is void, even if they know that something will
remain after deducting that quantity. Of course, if they agree between
themselves that some of the seeds sown, or the tax payable to the government,
will be deducted from the harvest, and the rest will be divided between them,
this muzari'ah is in order.
2239. If the agreed period of muzari'ah (tenancy) comes to end, and
the usual crop is not obtained, there will be no objection if the owner of the
land agrees that the crop may remain on his land on payment of rent, or without
it, and if the farmer is also agreeable to it, provided that, both of them had
agreed at the time of fixing that muzari'ah will end regardless of any crop
becoming available.
But if the owner does not agree to such an arrangement,
he can ask the farmer to remove the crop from there. And if the farmer sustains
a loss by removing the crop, it will not be necessary for the owner to
compensate the farmer for it. And the farmer who is willing to pay something to
the owner, to allow the crop to stand on his land, cannot compel him to agree.
2240. If farming becomes impossible on the land due to some
eventuality, for example, if water supply is cut off from the land - the
contract of muzari'ah is annulled. But if the farmer does not cultivate the land
without any justifiable excuse, while the land remains in his occupation, and
the owner has no discretion over it, he should pay the rent for that period to
the owner at the usual rate.
2241. The owner of land and the farmer cannot cancel the contract of
muzari'ah without the consent of each other, unless they had agreed in the
contract to grant that option to one or both of them. In that case, they will
cancel the contract according to the conditions laid in the agreement.
Similarly, if any one of them acts contrary to the agreed conditions of the
contracts, the other party in the contract will have the right to cancel the
transaction.
2242. If the landowner or the farmer dies after concluding the
contract of muzari'ah, the contract is not terminated, and their heirs take
their place. However, if the farmer dies, and if they had stipulated that the
farmer himself would do the farming, the contract of muzari'ah will become
cancelled.
But if the farmer had completed his task, and fulfilled his
assignment, then the muzari'ah will remain valid, and the heirs will be given
his share together with all his rights or accruals which were due to him.
However, the heirs cannot compel the landowner to allow the crop to stand on his
land.
2243. If it becomes known after cultivation, that the contract of
muzari'ah had been void, and if the seeds have been the property of the
landowner, the produce will belong to him and he will pay the farmer his wages
and the expenses incurred by him, and the rent for the cow and other animals
belonging to the farmer, which may have worked on the farm.
And if the seeds
were the property of the farmer, the crop will belong to him, and he should pay
the landowner the rent of the land and the expenses incurred by him, and rent
for the cow and other animals belonging to the landowner which may have worked
on the farm. And in both the cases, it will be obligatory to pay the agreed
amount only, even if the other party is aware that the usual entitlement is more
than that.
2244. If the seeds belong to the farmer, and if it becomes known after
cultivation that the contract of muzari'ah had been void, there will be no
objection if the landowner and the farmer agree that the crop may remain on the
land against payment or otherwise.
Some Fuqaha have said that if the
landowner is not agreeable, he can ask the farmer to remove the crop from the
land, even before it is ready, and that even if the farmer is willing to pay
something to the landowner, he cannot compel him to allow the crop to remain on
his land. But this is not free from Ishkal. And in any case, the landowner
cannot compel the farmer to pay rent and let the crop remain on his land, or
even without any rent.
2245. If roots of the crop remain in the land after harvesting the
crop, and if after the expiry of the contract of muzari'ah they grow again in
the next year, if the landowner had not made an agreement with the farmer
regarding his share in the remaining roots, the crop of the second year will
belong to the landowner.