Chapter: Rulings on Agency

Agency (wakāla)—pronounced with either an open or a broken wāw—means delegation. One says, “Wakaltu amrī ilā Allah,” meaning, “I have entrusted my affair to Allah.” In juristic usage it is the authorization of a legally competent person to have another act on his behalf in matters that admit deputation.

Agency is sanctioned by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslim community.

Allah the Exalted says, “So send one of you with these silver coins of yours to the city” (Quran 18:19); and He says, “He said, ‘Put me in charge of the storehouses of the land’” (Quran 12:55); and He says concerning the recipients of zakah, “and those who are appointed to collect it” (Quran 9:60).

The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—appointed ʿUrwah ibn al-Jaʿd to purchase a sheep, delegated Abū Rāfiʿ to conclude his marriage to Maymūnah, and regularly dispatched his agents to collect zakah.