Muzara’ah (مزارعة) is a cultivation (plantation) partnership between a land owner and a farmer in which the former provides a piece of land and the latter contributes efforts and expertise to grow a crop therein. The total yield (ghallah) of the land is divided between the two partners according to specific percentages.
On the other hand, mukhabarah (مخابرة) is a type of sharecropping whereby a plot of land is rented for part of its yield (ghallah). It is a type of agreement in which the worker (farmer) supplies seeds, in addition to his labor and expertise, and the landlord provides, through lease (ijarah), the plot of land to be ploughed in preparation for sowing seed and growing crops. Mukhabarah may also involve cultivation of a sowed land in return for a specific portion of its produce. The rent is paid in kind from the land’s produce.
In short, muzara’ah is a form of partnership (musharakah) between capital (land) and labor in which total yield is divided between the two partners, while mukhabarah is a type of ijarah in which rental (ujrah) is paid out of the lease land’s yield.
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