And it is preferred; because it is more prompt for his emancipation and more direct in achieving the purpose for which the payment was made, for if the mukatab takes it, he may pay it [to the master] and he may not. Hanbal reported that he said: Sufyan said: Do not give to a mukatab of yours from the Zakat. He said: And I heard Abu Abd Allah say: And I hold a similar view. Al-Athram said: I heard Abu Abd Allah being asked: Is a mukatab given from the Zakat? He said: The mukatab is in the position of a slave, so how can he be given [from it]? Its meaning—and Allah knows best—is that he should not give his [own] mukatab from the Zakat, because he is his slave and his property; it returns to him if he becomes incapacitated (5), and if he is emancipated, he possesses his wala' (the right of inheritance/patronage). His testimony on behalf of his mukatab is not accepted, nor is the testimony of his mukatab on his behalf.

1090 - Issue; He said: (And there has been narrated from Abu (1) Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, another narration that he may emancipate from it).

There is a difference in the narration from Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding the permissibility of emancipation from Zakat. A narration is reported from him permitting that, which is the position of Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, al-Zuhri, Malik, Ishaq, Abu Ubayd, al-Anbari, and Abu Thawr, due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: {And for the captives} (2). It is inclusive of the qinn (full slave); in fact, it is apparent regarding him, for when the term "ragabah" (neck/captive) is used absolutely, it refers to him, such as His saying, the Exalted: {Then the freeing of a captive} (3). The implied meaning of the verse is: and in the emancipating of captives. And because it is the emancipation of a captive, it is permissible to spend Zakat upon it (4), just like paying it for a contract of manumission. The other narration is that it is not permissible. This is the position of Ibrahim and al-Shafi'i; because the verse dictates the spending of Zakat upon the captives, similar to His saying: {In the cause of Allah} (2), meaning payment to the mujahidin; likewise here, and the qinn slave is not paid anything.