to be paid without delay. As for the issue of liability, if the guardian is called upon to account, his word is accepted, because he is a trustee.

Their guardian is the one who manages their financial affairs specifically: the father; his appointed executor, if he has died; or his agent, if he is alive. As for the brother and mother, they have no legal guardianship over the property of the child or the insane person, according to the well-known position of the madhhab. They did, however, say that if he has not appointed anyone as executor, the matter belongs to the judge, who may appoint whomever he wishes.

The correct view is that their guardian is whichever close relative manages their affairs, whether a father, mother, brother, sister, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, or someone else, because this is entailed by guardianship. A person’s father may have died without appointing anyone.

His statement, “It may not be paid except with an intention,” means that paying zakat is not valid unless there is an intention on the part of the one upon whom it is due.

The evidence for this is textual and rational. As for the textual evidence, Allah, Most High, says:

“And whatever zakat you give, seeking the Countenance of Allah...” [al-Rum: 39]

And the Prophet ﷺ said: “Actions are judged only by intentions, and every person shall have only what he intended.” (1)

As for the rational evidence: wealth may be given as obligatory zakat, voluntary charity, a gift, or compensation for something destroyed. Nothing determines the type of payment except intention. Thus, intention is essential when paying zakat: one should intend to pay it from the particular wealth in question. If it consists of trade goods, he intends it as zakat on trade goods; if it is cash, he intends it as zakat on cash; and so on.