Ruling 2267 — Tree Tending Contract (Musāqāh) and Tree Planting Contract (Mughārasah)

If the person who has been tasked with tending to the trees dies, his heirs take his place as long as there is no restriction or condition in the contract to the effect that the person [who died] had to tend to the trees himself. If the heirs do not perform the task themselves nor hire someone to do it, a fully qualified jurist (al‑ḥākim al‑sharʿī) will hire someone using the deceased’s estate and will divide the produce between the heirs and the owner. If there is a restriction in the contract that the person had to tend to the trees himself, the contract is nullified upon his death.