Allah, good; and whatever they deem bad is, in the sight of Allah, bad.”

The underlying principle here is that purposes and intentions must be taken into account in people’s dealings. This principle has been established and explained at length in the book Bayān al-Dalīl ‘alā Butlān al-Tahlīl.

Consider what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said concerning Ibn al-Lutbiyya, the official who accepted gifts. When the Prophet appointed him to collect zakat, gifts were given to him. Upon his return, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him to account for what he had received and disbursed—a procedure that officials of the financial administration call auditing. This is like a person calling his agent or business partner to account for his receipts and expenditure, which officials of the financial administration call collections and disbursements. Ibn al-Lutbiyya said, “This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“What is the matter with a man whom we appoint to perform some duty entrusted to us by Allah, who then says, ‘This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift’? Why did he not sit in his father’s and mother’s house and see whether he would be given gifts or not? By Him in whose hand is my soul, any man whom we appoint to a duty who misappropriates anything from it will come on the Day of Resurrection carrying it on his neck—whether a camel grunting, a cow lowing, or a sheep bleating.”

He then raised his hands towards heaven and said, “Take heed! Have I conveyed the message?”—or words to that effect, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The hadith’s authenticity is agreed upon.

Since those who gave him money and gifts did so only because of his office, those gifts were counted among the funds rightfully belonging to the recipients of zakat, because it was on account of