It is permissible to assign stipends, from the allocations granted to the beneficiaries of fayʾ, to their naqībs (representatives), but not to their workers, because the naqībs are themselves among the beneficiaries, whereas the workers receive wages for their work. Al-Marwazī transmitted from Aḥmad concerning the administrators of zakat: “Are the scribes included with them?” He replied, “I have not heard [that this applies to] scribes.”
A fayʾ administrator may be one of the Prophet’s relatives, from Banū Hāshim or Banū al-Muṭṭalib. Likewise, a zakat administrator may be one of them if he seeks his share from it, as we have discussed previously.
A fayʾ administrator may not distribute what he has collected without authorization. A zakat administrator, however, may distribute what he has collected without authorization, provided that he has not been prohibited from doing so. This is because the allocation of fayʾ is determined by the imam’s independent legal reasoning, whereas the allocation of zakat is established by an explicit scriptural text.
The authority of the administrator falls into three categories. The first is to oversee the assessment of fayʾ revenues and determine their allocation among the categories entitled to them, such as by imposing kharāj and jizyah. Four qualifications are required for this office: he must be a Muslim, free, capable of independent legal reasoning in the rulings of the Sharīʿah, and highly proficient in accounting and land surveying.
The second is to hold general authority over collecting the established dues from fayʾ revenues. This requires three qualifications: Islam, freedom, and proficiency in accounting and land surveying. It is not necessary for him to be a jurist capable of independent legal reasoning, because he merely collects what someone else has assessed.
The third is to hold specific authority over a particular type of fayʾ revenue. In that case, the qualifications depend on the function entrusted to him. If carrying out that function requires delegated authority, then Islam and freedom are required, along with proficiency in the accounting or surveying relevant to his assignment; it is not permissible for him to be a dhimmī. By analogy with the administrator of zakat, it is permissible for him to be a slave. It has also been said that this is not permissible, because the position entails authority. If the function does not require delegated authority, then it is permissible for him to be a slave, because he is like a commissioned messenger.
As for his being a dhimmī, this depends on the type of fayʾ revenue he administers. If his dealings concern the dhimmīs, such as collecting the jizyah and taking the ʿushr (tenth levy) from their property, it is permissible for him to be a dhimmī. If his dealings concern Muslims, such as the kharāj imposed upon lands once they have come into Muslim possession, then two views are possible.
If the administrator’s authority becomes invalid and he collects fayʾ despite the invalidity of his authority, the payer is discharged of his liability so long as the administrator has not been prohibited from collecting it, because the collector remains authorized to receive it despite the invalidity of his authority and, in receiving it, functions as a messenger. The distinction between valid and invalid authority is that he may compel payment when his authority is valid, but may not do so when it is invalid.