not for his employment. It is not stipulated that he be free (hurr), because the intended purpose is achieved through the slave as it is through the free person; thus, it is permissible for him to be a collector just as it is for the free person. Nor is it stipulated that he be a jurist (faqih), provided that what he is to take and leave is written for him and defined for him, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wrote the obligatory amounts of charity for his collectors, and just as Abu Bakr wrote for his collectors, or sent someone with him to instruct him in that. Nor is it stipulated that he be poor, because Allah the Almighty has designated the collector as a category distinct from the poor (fuqara) and the needy (masakin), so the existence of their meaning is not stipulated in him, just as their meaning is not stipulated in them. It has been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "Charity is not lawful for a wealthy person, except for five: for a fighter in the cause of Allah, for a collector of it, for a man who bought it with his wealth, or for a man who had a poor neighbor, so he gave charity to the poor person, and the poor person gifted it to the wealthy person." Narrated by Abu Dawood (10). The companions of al-Shafi'i mentioned that freedom (hurriyah) is stipulated, because employment is a form of authority, so enslavement contradicts it, like judgeship. Jurisprudence (fiqh) is also stipulated so that he may know the amount of what is obligatory and its nature. Our argument is what we have mentioned, and we do not concede that enslavement contradicts religious authorities, for it is permissible for him to be an Imam in prayer, a mufti, a narrator of hadith, and a witness, and these are among the religious authorities. As for jurisprudence, he only needs it to know what he should take and leave, and this is achieved by writing it for him (11), as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his two companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did.

Section: The Imam has the choice between hiring the collector through a valid contract of employment for a known wage—either for a known period or for a known task—and designating for him a known payment for his work, such that once he performs it, he is entitled to what was stipulated. Alternatively, he may send him without naming a wage and then give him [what he deems appropriate]. For Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to collect charity, and when I returned, he employed me. I said: "Give it (12) to someone more in need of it (13) than I." And he mentioned the hadith (14). If the charity is destroyed while in his possession before it reaches its rightful recipients without any negligence on his part, he is not liable, and he is entitled to his wage from the Bayt al-Mal (Treasury). If it is not destroyed, he is given his wage for his work from it, even if it is more than its value or less, and then the remainder is distributed to its rightful recipients, because that is part of its costs, so it follows the same ruling as its fodder and treatment. If the Imam sees fit, he may grant him a wage from the Bayt al-Mal, or provide him with a salary from the Bayt al-Mal and give him nothing from the charity, and he may do so. If the Imam or the governor appointed by him takes charge of collecting the charity and distributing it, he is not entitled to anything from it, because he receives his salary from the Bayt al-Mal.

Section: It is permissible for the Imam to appoint a collector to collect it without distributing it (17). It is also permissible to appoint him to both collect and distribute it, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appointed Ibn al-Lutbiyyah, and he came with his charity to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "This is for you, and this was gifted to me" (18). He also said to Qabisah: "Remain, O Qabisah, until the charity comes to us, and we will order it for you" (19). He also commanded Mu'adh to take the charity from their wealthy and return it to their poor (20). It is reported (21) that Ziyad appointed Imran ibn Husayn to the charity. When he arrived, it was said to him: "Where is the wealth?" He said: "Did you send me for the wealth? We took it as we used to take it during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and we placed it where we used to place it during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." Narrated by Abu Dawood (22). From Abu Juhayfah, who said: The tax collector of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to us, and he took the charity from our wealthy and placed it with our poor, and I was an orphan boy, so he gave me a young she-camel from it. Reported by al-Tirmidhi (23).