would give him zakat, because he resembles the captive. For, according to the scholars, the matter is not confined to slaves; rather, it apparently includes everything in which there is rescue.

Sixth: the debtor who incurs a liability in reconciling people ............

His statement: “Sixth: the debtor who incurs a liability in reconciling people.”

The debtor is one upon whom a financial liability has fallen, whether through assuming responsibility for payment, a binding monetary obligation, or the like.

There are two types of debtor:

The first is one who incurs a liability in reconciling people.

The second is one who incurs a debt for himself.

The first is given zakat to the extent of what he has assumed, even if he is wealthy.

As for the second, he is assisted with his debt if he is unable to repay it.

His statement: “in reconciling people.”

The word bayn may mean connection, and it is also said to mean severance; thus, it belongs to the class of contronyms. The Arabic language is rich at times and poor at times.

It is rich in synonymous nouns, in that a single meaning may have several expressions.

And it is poor in polysemous words, where a single word has several meanings. This indicates its poverty, in that multiple meanings converge upon one word.

Thus, bayn may derive from baynūnah, meaning separation, in which case the meaning is mending the rupture.