With regard to distribution, the rules for fay’ and for the one-fifth share of war booty (khums) are identical. According to Mālik, the matter in both cases is left to the discretion of the imam. If he considers it wiser to withhold them for unforeseen emergencies that may befall the Muslims, he may do so. If, on the other hand, he judges that both—or either one—should be distributed, he is to disburse the entire amount among the people, treating their Arabs and their mawlā (clients/freedmen) equally. He begins with the poor, men and women alike, until they are brought to self-sufficiency.

The relatives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are then given their share of the fay’ in whatever proportion the imam deems appropriate; they have no fixed allotment. Scholars have differed on this point: the majority hold that these relatives are indeed to be given something, for it is their right, whereas Mālik held that only their poor should receive a share, because the fay’ was granted to them in lieu of the public alms (ṣadaqa) from which they are barred.

Those relatives are the Banū Hāshim: the descendants of al-ʿAbbās, of ʿAlī, of ʿAqīl, and all the rest of Banū Hāshim; no one outside that clan shares with them in this.

Every amount is to be distributed in the town where it was collected, and nothing is transferred elsewhere until the inhabitants of that town have all been satisfied. Thereafter it may be moved to the next-nearest community. An exception is made when severe poverty strikes a people outside the town where the revenue was collected; in such a case, the funds are taken to those in dire need wherever they are, as ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — did during the “Years of Ashes,” said to have been five or six years long; some say two, and others say it was a single year in which plague and famine coincided.

If none of the foregoing circumstances applies and the imam chooses to suspend distribution, he may reserve the fay’ for the Muslims’ contingencies. From it he grants stipends to newborns (al-manfūs), giving priority to those whose fathers are poor. The fay’ is lawful for the wealthy as well, and the imam must deal with everyone equally, though he gives precedence to those in hardship and poverty; any preference is strictly according to the degree of need.

From these funds he may also allot to the relatives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in whatever amount his discretion dictates. It is likewise permissible for him to pay the debts of insolvent debtors, to bestow rewards and gifts upon those entitled to them, and to provide stipends for judges, governors, and anyone whose services benefit the Muslims, giving priority to those whose benefit is greatest.