Abu Burda and ʿAbdullah bin Shaddad sent me to ʿAbdur Rahman bin Abza and ʿAbdullah bin Abi ʿAufa to ask them about the Salaf (Salam). They said, "We used to get war booty while we were with Messenger of Allah ﷺ and when the peasants of Sham came to us we used to pay them in advance for wheat, barley, and oil to be delivered within a fixed period." I asked them, "Did the peasants own standing crops or not?" They replied, "We never asked them about it."
عَنِ السَّلَفِ فَقَالاَ كُنَّا نُصِيبُ الْمَغَانِمَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَكَانَ يَأْتِينَا أَنْبَاطٌ مِنْ أَنْبَاطِ الشَّأْمِ فَنُسْلِفُهُمْ فِي الْحِنْطَةِ وَالشَّعِيرِ وَالزَّبِيبِ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى قَالَ قُلْتُ أَكَانَ لَهُمْ زَرْعٌ أَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ زَرْعٌ قَالاَ مَا كُنَّا نَسْأَلُهُمْ عَنْ ذَلِكَ