a hiqqa is substituted in place of a bint labun. Thus, at one hundred and seventy, there is one hiqqa and three bint labun; at one hundred and eighty, there are two hiqqas and two bint labun; at one hundred and ninety, there are three hiqqas and one bint labun. When it reaches two hundred, the two obligations meet; because there are fifty in it four times, and [forty five times], so four hiqqas or five bint labun are obligatory upon him, whichever of the two obligations he wishes he may extract, even if the other is superior to it. It has been narrated from Ahmad that four hiqqas are due from him. This is interpreted as meaning that he has four hiqqas by way of choice, unless the one extracting it is a guardian for an orphan or a mentally incapacitated person, for he has no right to extract from his property anything but the lesser of the two obligations. Al-Shafi'i said: The choice lies with the collector. The implication of his statement is that when the owner of the wealth extracts [the zakat], he is bound to extract the greater of the two obligations. He argued using the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And do not aim for the evil thereof to spend [from it]." And because the cause for the two obligations has been found, the choice rests with the party entitled to receive it or their representative, just like intentional homicide which necessitates either retribution (qisas) or blood money (diya). Our evidence is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the book of Sadaqat that he wrote, which was in the possession of the family of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "When it reaches two hundred, there are four hiqqas or five bint labun in it; whichever of the two ages is found, it is taken." This is an explicit text (nass) against which nothing that contradicts it can be weighed. Also, his statement (peace be upon him) to Mu'adh: "Beware of the choicest of their wealth." Moreover, it is a zakat for which the choice has been established, so it belongs to the owner of the wealth, like the choice in making amends (jubran) between two sheep or twenty dirhams, and between descending and ascending, and changing the item extracted. The verse does not apply to our situation, because he only takes