It is permissible for one who has the right to dispose of his wealth to appoint someone as his representative in all matters, as long as there is no Shar‘i prohibition.
◈ Lexical Explanation
The word Wakālah is a verbal noun from وَكَّلَ يُوَكِّلُ (tafhīl), meaning “to appoint as an agent.” From وَكَلَ يَكِلُ (ḍarb), it means “to entrust, to hand over, or to make someone a deputy with reliance.” From تَوَكَّلَ يَتَوَكَّلُ (tafa‘‘ul), it means “to become an agent or trustee.”
[al-Munjid: p. 984]
This word also appears in the Qur’an at various places:
➊ ﴿حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ﴾ [Āl ‘Imrān: 173]
“Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.”
➋ ﴿لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا﴾ [al-Muzzammil: 9]
“There is no deity except Him, so take Him as disposer of your affairs.”
➌ ﴿وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ﴾ [Ibrāhīm: 12]
“Upon Allah should the believers rely.”
➍ ﴿إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُم﴾ [Hūd: 56]
“Indeed, I have relied upon Allah, my Lord and your Lord.”
◈ Shar‘i Definition
To appoint a person as one’s deputy, either absolutely or in a restricted capacity.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/658, Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 2/217]
◈ Evidences of Wakālah
➊ ﴿فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ﴾ [al-Kahf: 19]
“Send one of you with this silver to the city.”
➋ ﴿فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا﴾ [al-Nisā’: 35]
“Appoint an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from her family.”
➌ ﴿اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَٰذَا﴾ [Yūsuf: 93]
“Take this shirt of mine.”
➍ ﴿اجْعَلْنِي عَلَىٰ خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ﴾ [Yūsuf: 55]
“Appoint me over the storehouses of the land.”
➎ ﴿إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا﴾ [al-Tawbah: 60]
“Charity is only for the poor, the needy, and those appointed over it.”
◈ Prophetic Hadiths on Wakālah
➊ Ibn Abī Awfā (رضي الله عنه) reported: I brought the charity of my father’s wealth to the Prophet (ﷺ), and he said:
«اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى آلِ أَبِي أَوْفَى»
[Aḥmad: 4/353, Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 3/314, Bayhaqī: 4/157, Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr: 11, Mushkil al-Āthār: 4/162, Ibn Mājah: 1796]
➋ The Prophet (ﷺ) said to Anīs (رضي الله عنه):
«واغد يا أنيس إلى امرأة هذا فإن اعترفت فارجمها»
“O Anīs! Go to this man’s wife; if she confesses (to adultery), then stone her.”
[Bukhārī: 2696, Muslim: 1697, Abū Dāwūd: 4445, Nasā’ī: 8/240, Tirmidhī: 1433, Ibn Mājah: 2549, Dārimī: 2/177, Aḥmad: 4/115]
➌ The Prophet (ﷺ) appointed ‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) over his camels and instructed him to distribute their skins and coverings.
[Bukhārī: 1707, Muslim: 1317, Abū Dāwūd: 1769, Ibn Mājah: 3099, Nasā’ī al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 2/456]
➍ Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said:
«وكّلني النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فى حفظ زكاة رمضان…»
“The Prophet (ﷺ) appointed me over the protection of Zakat al-Fitr.”
[Bukhārī: 2311, Muslim: 1965, Tirmidhī: 1500, Nasā’ī: 7/218, Ibn Mājah: 3138, Aḥmad: 2/149]
➎ The Prophet (ﷺ) appointed Abū Rāfi‘ (رضي الله عنه) and another Anṣārī Companion as his agents in contracting marriage with Maymūnah (رضي الله عنها).
[Muwaṭṭa’: 1/348, Musnad al-Shāfi‘ī: 1/317]
➏ Imām al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله) mentioned 26 Hadiths in Kitāb al-Wakālah, six of which are suspended (mu‘allaq) and the rest connected (mawṣūl).
[Bukhārī: Kitāb al-Wakālah, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/658]
➐ There is ijmā‘ (consensus) of the Ummah on the permissibility of Wakālah due to necessity and benefit.
[al-Mughnī: 5/79, Takmilah Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 6/3, Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 2/217, al-Mabsūṭ: 2/19]
◈ Rulings of Wakālah
✔ If the agent sells at a higher rate: The excess profit belongs to the principal (muwakkil).
- Example: The Prophet (ﷺ) gave a dīnār to a Companion to buy a sheep. He bought two, sold one for a dīnār, and brought both a sheep and a dīnār to the Prophet (ﷺ), who prayed for blessing in his trade.
[Bukhārī: 3642, Aḥmad: 4/375, Abū Dāwūd: 3384, Tirmidhī: 1258, Ibn Mājah: 2402]
✔ If the agent acts contrary to instructions but the principal approves: The transaction is valid.
- Example: Yazīd gave ṣadaqah, but his son Ma‘n took it. The Prophet (ﷺ) ruled:
«لك ما نويت يا يزيد ولك يا معن ما أخذت»
“O Yazīd! You get what you intended, and O Ma‘n! You get what you took.”
[Bukhārī: 1422, Aḥmad: 3/470]
✔ Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) once gave away food (Zakat al-Fitr) without permission, and the Prophet (ﷺ) confirmed its validity despite describing the visitor as a liar.
[Bukhārī: 2311, Kitāb al-Wakālah]
◈ Scholarly Note
Nawwāb Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (رحمه الله) wrote:
“This matter is valid because, in contracts, what truly matters is mutual consent.”
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/501]
