Is it permissible for an agreement on a partnership in animal breeding to stipulate that the breeder receives half of the animal's offspring, while the mother remains the property of its owner?
This transaction is a matter of scholarly disagreement:
Those who permit it: They view it as permissible due to the absence of a prohibitive proof, and they liken it to musaqat (sharing irrigated crop) and muzara'ah (sharing farmed crop). This view was chosen by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, and it is also a narration from Imam Ahmad. Those who prohibit it (the majority): They consider it a form of ijarah (leasing/hiring), and the ujrah (wage/rent) in it is unknown. Those who prohibit it (the Hanbalis): They prohibited it because the offspring is not a result of the worker's effort. However, they permitted the payment to be a share of the livestock itself (e.g., he gets a quarter of the livestock). In this case, they become partners in the livestock and its offspring according to their ownership share, provided that the duration of the partnership is specified.
The most preponderant view: Permissibility. Thus, it is permissible to give a cow to someone to raise it, and he becomes a partner in its offspring, while the mother cow remains the property of its owner.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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