Giving a goat out to graze in return for a share of its kids

Question

Question: Is it permissible or not to give the young in the goat's belly as the wage for grazing? The case is this: a man has a goat; he gives it to another man to graze on this condition: “You feed this goat on grass for one year; then if two kids are born from this goat, one will be yours and the other mine, and if there is one, we will sell it and both divide.” Is this permissible or not?

Answer

This lease (ijara) is impermissible. It should be annulled (faskh) and the transaction concluded in a correct manner. In the case of this impermissible lease, the young will belong to the original owner, and the standard wage (ajr al-mithl) will be due (wajib) to the hired man.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.