It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) as governor to Yemen, he said:“Indeed, you are going to a people from among the People of the Book, so first invite them to testify that ‘There is no god but Allah’ and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they obey you in this, then inform them that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them in the day and night. If they accept this from you, then inform them that Allah has made zakat obligatory upon their wealth, to be taken from their rich and distributed among their poor. If they obey you in this as well, then beware of taking the best of their wealth, and beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between the supplication of the oppressed and Allah.”

This hadith is narrated by Ja’far, and Makhrami states that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen, he said:“Invite them to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they accept this invitation from you, then inform them that Allah has made it obligatory upon them.”In the entire narration, it is stated in this manner:“Then if they accept your invitation, inform them (of the next matter).”

Abu al-Hawra narrates that I asked Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), "What do you remember from the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?" He said, "I remember that I once took a date from the dates of zakat and put it in my mouth, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) took it out from my mouth and said: 'Indeed, for us, the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the wealth of zakat is not lawful.'"

Abu al-Hawra narrates that I said to Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), "Which saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) do you remember?" He replied, "I remember this saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): I took a date from the zakat dates and put it in my mouth, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pulled that date out along with the saliva and threw it back into the zakat dates. Upon this, it was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), 'There is no harm upon you regarding what this child has taken.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Indeed, zakat wealth is not lawful for us, the family of Muhammad.' And he used to say: 'Leave that which puts you in doubt for that which does not put you in doubt, for goodness and blessing are in peace of heart, and falsehood is accompanied by doubt.' Then he narrated the complete hadith."

Janab Ibn Shaiban narrates that I asked Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), "Which saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do you remember?" He replied, "I remember that he took me into the room where the wealth of zakat was kept, so I took a date and put it in my mouth. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Take it out, because this wealth of zakat is not lawful for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or for any member of his household.'"

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that in the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man from Banu Makhzum to collect zakat, so he said to me,“Come with me (so that you may also receive some wealth).”But the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“I have sent the Makhzumi man to collect the obligatory zakat.”Therefore, the statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to Sayyiduna Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him):“Indeed, zakat wealth is not lawful for us,”was his answer regarding that charity about which Sayyiduna Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) had asked about assisting the collector.

In the narration of Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), it is mentioned that I picked up a date from the zakat dates, and this date was from the tenth or twentieth part of the obligatory zakat of dates.

And in the narration of Hazrat Abdul Muttalib bin Rabee’ah as well (there is clarification of the obligatory zakat) when he, along with Sayyiduna Fadl bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), presented himself before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and requested to be appointed as collectors over the zakat, and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed both of them that this zakat is the impurity of the people and this wealth is not lawful for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family, and indeed they had requested to be appointed as collectors over the obligatory zakat. Therefore, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) giving them this answer, that this charity for which you have asked me to appoint you as collectors, it is the impurity of the people and this wealth is not lawful for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family.

Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that in the narration of Hazrat Urwah from Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Our inheritance will not be distributed; whatever wealth we leave behind will be charity. Indeed, the family of Muhammad will eat from this wealth." In this way, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, informed that his family will eat from his charity because his charity is not obligatory charity (zakat).