and maintaining a state of ribāṭ (vigilant readiness), for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not censure the man of the Makhzūm clan who suggested to Abū Rāfiʿ that they work together so that he too might receive a wage for the task.

7 – The nobility of Islam and the excellence of its social conduct: servitude, under Islamic law, actually raised the slave’s standing, placing him in honor and rank alongside his masters. Through his bond of walāʾ he shared in their pedigree and lineage; slavery was never intended as a humiliation or a diminution of worth.

8 – Abū Rāfiʿ had been a household servant of al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Al-ʿAbbās gifted him to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Later, when Abū Rāfiʿ brought the Prophet the joyful news of his uncle’s embrace of Islam, the Prophet ﷺ set him free in gratitude for that glad tiding.

Ibn al-Athīr said: The sound view is that Abū Rāfiʿ died during the caliphate of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him).

Scholarly disagreement
Some scholars hold that zakāt is permissible for the clients of Banū Hāshim, reasoning that the prohibition placed upon Banū Hāshim themselves is due to their blood-relationship to the Prophet ﷺ, a relationship the clients do not share; therefore, in this respect they are like all other Muslims.

Many others, however—including the two Imams al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad and their followers—rule that it is unlawful for those clients just as it is unlawful for Banū Hāshim. They cite the present ḥadīth, in which the Prophet ﷺ declared, “The client of a people is counted as one of them.” Another narrated statement says, “Walāʾ is a tie like the tie of kinship,” a bond that confers inheritance, mutual support, and liability for blood-money.