Wage for gleaning fallen ears

Question

Question: It is customary with us that when the crop is cut from the field, ears break off and fall to the ground; the labourers who do the reaping gather them and give the landlord a half or a third. Do the fallen ears belong to the landlord or to the one who gathers them, and is it permissible to take and give in this way or not?

Answer

This is the property of the landlord, and such a labour arrangement is impermissible: [ar]ولو دفع غزلاً لآخر لينسج له نصفه، واستأجر بغلاً ليحمل طعامه ببعضه، أو ثوراً ليطحن بره ببعض دقيقه، فسدت في الكل؛ لأنه استأجره بجزء من عمله[/ar] “If he gave yarn to another to weave for him for half of it, and hired a mule to carry his food for part of it, or an ox to grind his wheat for…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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