Khammasat

a form of sharecropping in the Arab countries in the Middle Ages and in modern times. Under the khammasat system, the harvest was nominally divided into five parts, with one-fifth (khums) going to the khammas, or sharecropper, and four-fifths to the landowner, who provided the khammas with land, livestock, farming equipment, seed, and frequently shelter, clothing, and advance money for food as well.