Who inherits the loyalty (*wala'*) of a slave emancipated using Zakat funds?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Walā' (Patronage)
Primary text
The loyalty of a slave freed using Zakat funds belongs to the emancipator because the freeing is an expenditure from his property resulting from his action, similar to if he had directly performed the freeing. This applies whether ownership was acquired through purchase, gift, spoils of war, or inheritance. There is no known dispute among scholars regarding this point when the slave is freed from the emancipator's own wealth.
Supporting text
A view differing from the main stance on Zakat-funded manumission suggests that a slave should not be freed with Zakat funds at all. Some scholars justify this prohibition by stating it leads to the emancipator unjustly claiming the loyalty for himself, thereby benefiting from his own Zakat. This view is attributed to Imam Ahmad by a group of his narrators, and it is also the opinion of Al-Nakha'i and Al-Shafi'i.