1089 - Issue; He said: (And [for] the captives [ar-riqab], and they are the mukatabun [slaves under a contract of manumission]).

We do not know of any disagreement among the scholars regarding the establishment of the share of the captives, nor does the school of thought differ that the mukatabun are among the captives [for whom] it is permissible to distribute Zakat. This is the position of the majority. Malik disagreed with them, saying: The share of the captives is only spent on freeing slaves, and I do not like for a mukatab to be assisted from it. He also disagreed with the apparent meaning of the verse; for the mukatab is among the captives, as he is a slave, and the wording is general, thus he enters into its generality. Once this is established, the mukatab shall be given all that he needs to fulfill his contract of manumission. If he has nothing with him, it is permissible to give him the full amount. If he has something, it is supplemented for him to the extent by which he can be freed; because his need is not fulfilled except by that. Nothing is given to one who already possesses the full amount of his contract, as he is self-sufficient regarding the fulfillment of the contract. It was said (1): Nothing is given to him by virtue of [poverty] (2); because he is a slave. It is permissible for it to be given to him for his contract before the due date of the installment, lest the installment become due while he has nothing, causing the contract to be annulled. Nothing is given to a disbelieving mukatab, because he is not among the recipients of Zakat. The claim of the mukatab (3) that he is a mukatab is not accepted except with evidence, because the base principle is the absence thereof. If the master confirms it, there are two views: one of them is that it is accepted, because the right over the slave belongs to his master, so if he acknowledges the transfer of his right from himself, it is accepted. The second is that it is not accepted, because he is accused of colluding with him so that he may take money by means of it.

Section: It is permissible for a master to give his Zakat to [his mukatab; because he has become with him, in the matter of business, like a stranger, to the point that usury (riba) can occur between them; thus he is like a debtor, [and one may give his Zakat to] (4) his debtor. It is permissible for the mukatab to return it to his master by way of fulfillment; because it returned to him by way of payment, similar to a debtor paying his debt with it. Ibn ‘Aqil said: It is permissible to give Zakat to the master of the mukatab in fulfillment of the contract of manumission.