then he may not appoint another agent, because I may trust him but not trust someone else—especially in matters where intentions may differ greatly. For example, if I appoint someone to distribute zakah and he wishes to appoint someone else, this cannot be allowed, because zakah is a matter of great importance; I may trust a particular person but not trust someone else.

Therefore, he may not appoint another agent in the matter for which he was appointed except in one of three cases:

The first case:

His statement, “unless authority is granted to him.” The verb “is granted” is in the passive voice, and the doer is the principal. That is, unless the principal grants this authority to the agent, saying, “I appoint you to do such-and-such, and you may appoint whomever you wish,” or, “whomever you trust,” or, “you may appoint your relative so-and-so,” or something similar.

If he grants him this authority and the agent appoints another in accordance with what he has been authorized to do, then he has acted in accordance with the agency.

The second case: when it is not customary for someone of his standing to undertake it personally.

For example, if I say to my neighbor, who is an eminent man—a minister, judge, or governor—“So-and-so, I am going to travel; buy fodder for the cow every day.” This man would now have to buy fodder for the cow every day. May he appoint someone else to buy the fodder, or should we say, “Go yourself”? We say: he may appoint someone to buy the fodder, because this is something that it is not customary for him to undertake personally. Thus, he may appoint someone to make the purchase even if he was not given express permission to do so. However, he must be more careful in selecting a trustworthy person than he would be in selecting someone for his own wealth.

The third case: when he is customarily unable to undertake such a task himself.