—who has absconded to a particular man, stating, “If you bring him back you will receive such-and-such,” may withdraw the offer, for juʿāla is not a binding contract until the worker actually begins the task. But once that man has set out in search of the slave, the owner is no longer entitled to revoke what he had pledged.

A juʿāla is valid for recovering a runaway slave, a stray camel, lost property, and analogous cases. If a person promises two different rewards for the return of his runaway slave—one to each of two men—and they both succeed in bringing him back together, Mālik relates two opinions: (1) the larger of the two rewards becomes due and is divided between them in proportion to the amounts initially promised; (2) each of them receives one-half of the reward he was individually promised.

Mālik also allows a contingent reward for drawing water from wells or springs, provided the conditions are clearly specified and the remuneration is fixed, once the worker is informed of how deep the water is expected to be and of whether the ground is hard or soft.