It is permissible for the one who has the right to dispose of his property to appoint someone as his representative in everything unless there is a (Shariah) prohibition.
Linguistic explanation: The word وكالة is a verbal noun from the form وَكُل يُوَكَّلُ (taf‘īl). Its meaning is “to appoint an agent.” The form وَكَلَ يَكِلُ (ḍarb) means to entrust, to appoint someone as a deputy with trust. The form تَوَكَّلَ يَتَوَكَّلُ (taf‘ul) means “to become an agent.”
[Al-Munjid: p. 984]
This word is also used in various places in the Qur’an, for example:
➊ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ [Al-Imran: 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 rely upon Him.”
➌ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ [Ibrahim: 12]
“And rely upon Allah; and sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.”
➍ إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُم [Hud: 56]
“Indeed, I have relied upon Allah, my Lord and your Lord.”
Shariah definition: To appoint a person as one’s absolute or restricted representative.
[Nil al-Awtar: 658/3, Mughni al-Muhtaj: 217/2]
Its evidences are as follows:
➊ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ [Al-Kahf: 19]
“Send one of them with your silver to the city.”
➋ فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا [An-Nisa: 35]
“Send an arbitrator from his family and an arbitrator from her family.”
➌ اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَٰذَا [Yusuf: 93]
“Take this shirt of mine.”
➍ اجْعَلْنِي عَلَىٰ خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ [Yusuf: 55]
“Appoint me over the storehouses of the land.”
➎ إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا [At-Tawbah: 60]
“Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and the needy and those employed to collect [zakah].”
➏ It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with charity from his father’s wealth, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى آلِ أَبِي أَوْفَى
[Ahmad: 353/4, Sharh al-Sunnah: 314/3, Bayhaqi: 157/4, Tabarani Kabir: 11, Mushkil al-Athar: 162/4, Ibn Majah: 1796]
➐ In a narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
واغد يا أنيس إلى امرأة هذا فإن اعترفت فارجمها
“O Anis! Go to his wife in the morning, and if she confesses (to adultery), then stone her.”
[Bukhari: 2696, Kitab al-Wakala: Bab al-Wakala fi al-Hudud, Muslim: 1697, Abu Dawood: 4445, Nasai: 240/8, Tirmidhi: 1433, Ibn Majah: 2549, Darimi: 177/2, Ahmad: 115/4, Humaydi: 354/2, Tayalisi: 953, Bayhaqi: 212/8, Sharh al-Sunnah: 274/10]
➑ The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) over his camels and ordered him to distribute the camel hides and skins.
[Bukhari: 1707, Kitab al-Hajj: Bab al-Jalal lil-Badan, Muslim: 1317, Abu Dawood: 1769, Ibn Majah: 3099, Nasai in Sunan al-Kubra: 456/2]
➒ Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
و كلني النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فى حفظ زكاة رمضان وأعطى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم عقبة ابن عامر غنما يقسمها بين أصحابه
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed me as an agent for the protection of Zakat al-Ramadan (i.e., Zakat al-Fitr), and Hazrat Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) was given some sheep and goats to distribute among his companions.”
[Bukhari: 2311, Kitab al-Wakala: Bab idha wakala rajulan fatara al-wakil, Muslim: 1965, Tirmidhi: 1500, Nasai: 218/7, Ibn Majah: 3138, Ahmad: 149/2, Darimi: 78/2, Ibn Hibban: 5898, Bayhaqi: 269/9, Abu Ya’la: 1758, Ibn Khuzaymah: 2916]
➓ The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed Hazrat Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) and an Ansari companion as his agents for marrying Hazrat Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her).
[Mu’ta: 348/1, Musnad Shafi’i: 317/1]
⓫ The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him):
إذا أتيت وكيلى فخذ منه خمسة عشر وسقا
“When my agent comes to you, give him fifteen wasq.”
[Weak: Weak Abu Dawood: 284, Kitab al-Qada: Bab fi al-Wakala, Abu Dawood: 3632, Darqatni: 154/4, Bukhari Ta’liqan: 271/6, Kitab Fard al-Khums: Bab wa min al-Dalil ‘ala anna al-Khums li Nawa’ib al-Muslimin]
⓬ Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) has established this issue by narrating twenty-six (26) hadiths in Sahih Bukhari: Kitab al-Wakala, of which six (6) are Mu’allaq (suspended) and the rest are connected. Those seeking details may refer to them.
[Bukhari: Kitab al-Wakala, Nil al-Awtar: 658/3]
⓭ There is consensus of the Ummah on the permissibility of agency because it is necessitated by benefit and necessity.
[Al-Mughni: 79/5, Takmila Fath al-Qadeer: 3/6, Mughni al-Muhtaj: 217/2, Al-Muhadhdhab: 348/1, Al-Mabsut: 2/19]
If the agent sells something at a price higher than the rate set by the principal, the excess (i.e., extra profit) will also belong to the principal.
➊ It is narrated from Hazrat Urwah (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أعطاه دينارا يشترى له به شاة فاشتري له به شاتين فباع إحداهما بدينار فجاءه بدينار وشاة فدعا له بالبركة فى بيعه وكان لو اشترى التراب الربح فيه
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him one dinar so that he might buy a goat for him. He bought two goats with that dinar, then sold one goat for one dinar and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with both the goat and the dinar. Seeing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed for barakah (blessing) in his trade. And it was such that even if he bought soil, it would be profitable.”
[Bukhari: 3642, Kitab al-Manaqib: Bab Su’al al-Mushrikīn an yarahum al-Nabi (peace be upon him) li Ayah, Ahmad: 375/4, Abu Dawood: 3384, Tirmidhi: 1258, Ibn Majah: 2402, Darqatni: 10/3]
➋ It is narrated from Hazrat Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him one dinar and sent him to buy a sacrificial animal for him. He bought an animal with that dinar, then sold it for two dinars. Then he went back and bought a sacrificial animal for one dinar for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and came to him with one dinar and the sacrificial animal. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave that dinar as charity:
ودعا له أن يبارك له فى تجارته
“And prayed for barakah in their trade.”
[Weak: Weak Abu Dawood: 733, Kitab al-Buyu’: Bab fi al-Mudarabah yukhālif, Abu Dawood: 3386, Tirmidhi: 1280]
If the agent acts contrary to the instructions of the principal, even if it is for a more profitable transaction or for someone else, and the principal consents, then the transaction is valid.
➊ Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) established a chapter stating:
إذا وكل رجلا فترك الوكيل شيئا فأجازه المؤكل فهو حائز وإن أقرضه إلى أجل مسمى جاز
“If someone appoints a person as an agent, then the agent leaves something (of the transaction) on his own accord, and later the principal permits it, then it is permissible. Similarly, if a loan is given for a specified period, it is also permissible.”
[Bukhari: Kitab al-Wakala]
➋ Hazrat Ma’n bin Yazid said that his father went out to give some dinars as charity and left them with a man in the mosque. When I caught hold of that man, he said, “By Allah, I did not intend to give you this (dinar)” (because they knew that charity on one’s children is not permissible). Then both of them took this dispute to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he said:
لك ما نويت يا يزيد ولك يا معن ما أخذت
“O Yazid! For you is what you intended, and O Ma’n! What you have taken is for you.”
[Bukhari: 1422, Kitab al-Zakah: Bab idha tasaddaqa ‘ala ibnih wa huwa la yash’ur, Ahmad: 470/3]
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said that this hadith does not prove the permissibility of giving charity on one’s children or parents (who are obligatory to spend on) because it is possible that Ma’n was independent (i.e., responsible for his own expenses and separate) and his father was not obliged to spend on him. It is also possible that this charity was voluntary because it is established by consensus that obligatory charity is not permissible for children.
[Fath al-Bari: 43/4]
➌ The evidence for this issue is also the hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) as the guardian of Zakat al-Fitr, and Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) gave some grain to a needy person without the Prophet’s permission. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “He lied but told the truth.”
[Bukhari: 2311, Kitab al-Wakala: Bab idha wakala rajulan fatara al-wakil]
➍ Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan narrates that this matter is also valid and correct because the contract is based solely on mutual consent.
[Al-Rawdah al-Nadiyyah: 501/2]
