it belongs to his master. Ahmad also explicitly stated this in a report by al-Marwadhi and al-Kawthaj. Hanbal related from him: if he becomes incapacitated, he returns what is in his hands among the mukattabun (contracted slaves). Abu Bakr Abd al-Aziz said: If it remains intact as it is, it is to be reclaimed from him, because it was only given to him so he could be emancipated by it, and that did not occur. Al-Qadi said: The statement of al-Khiraqi is to be interpreted as meaning that what remained in his hands was not the very substance of the Zakah, but rather that he had transacted with it, and its equivalent or profit had been realized. If the wealth in the hands of these people perished without negligence, nothing is to be reclaimed from them.

434 - Issue: He said: (And it is not permissible to transfer [Zakah] charity from its land to a land in which prayer is shortened like it.)

The school of thought holds that it is not permissible to transfer charity from its land to a distance where prayer is shortened. Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad being asked about Zakah that is sent from one land to another? He said: "No." It was said: "Even if his relatives are there?" He said: "No." Most scholars held it desirable that it should not be transferred from its land. Sa'id said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ma'mar, from Ibn Tawus, from his father, who said regarding the book of Mu'adh ibn Jabal: "Whoever removes it from one mikhlaf (district) to another, his charity and tithe shall be returned to his mikhlaf." It was reported from Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz that he returned Zakah that was brought from Khurasan to al-Sham, back to Khurasan. It was reported from al-Hasan and al-Nakha'i that they disliked the transfer of Zakah from one land to another, except for a relative. Abu al-Aliyah used to send his Zakah to Medina. To us, the argument is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to Mu'adh: "Inform them that they have a charity to be taken from their wealthy and returned to their poor." This refers specifically to the poor of their own land. When Mu'adh sent the charity from Yemen to Umar, Umar disapproved of it and said: "I did not send you as a tax collector, nor as a taker of poll tax, but I sent you to take from the wealthy of the people and return it to their poor." Mu'adh said: "I have not sent you anything while I find someone who would take it from me." Narrated by Abu Ubayd in "Al-Amwal". It was also reported from Ibrahim ibn Ata, the freedman of Imran ibn Husayn, that Ziyad, or one of the governors, sent Imran to collect the charity. When he returned, he said: "Where is the wealth?" He said: "Is it for the wealth that you sent me? We have taken it from where we used to take it during the era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and we have placed it where we used to place it during the era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." This is because the objective is to enrich the poor through it; if we permitted its transfer, it would lead to the poor of that land remaining in need.