An imam may not give anyone what he does not deserve merely to gratify his own desires because of kinship, affection, or the like. Still less may he give him wealth in return for some unlawful gratification obtained from him, such as payments to effeminate, beardless boys—whether free or enslaved—and others like them; to prostitutes, singers, buffoons, and the like; or to diviners, including soothsayers, astrologers, and their ilk.

It is permissible—and indeed obligatory—to give wealth in order to win over anyone whose heart needs to be won over, even if it is not lawful for that person to accept it. Allah—glorified and exalted is He—permitted charitable alms in the Quran to be given to those whose hearts are to be won over. Likewise, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would give those whose hearts were to be won over (1) from property acquired without battle and similar revenues. These were leaders obeyed by their tribes. Thus, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would give al-Aqra ibn Hābis, the chief of Banū Tamīm; Uyayna ibn Hisn, the chief of Banū Fazāra; Zayd al-Khayr (2) al-Tā’ī, the chief of Banū Nabhān; and Alqama ibn Ulātha al-Āmirī, the chief of Banū Kilāb. The same applied to the leaders of Quraysh who had been granted amnesty (3), such as Safwān ibn Umayya, Ikrima ibn Abī Jahl, Abū Sufyān ibn Harb, Suhayl ibn Amr, al-Hārith ibn Hishām, and a great many others.