Sayyiduna Abu Juhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a zakat collector of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to us, so he collected zakat from our wealthy people and distributed it among our poor, and I was an orphan boy, so he also gave me a young she-camel from that wealth.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The (real) needy person is not the one who goes around asking, nor is he the one whom one or two morsels, or one or two dates, send from door to door. But the true needy person is the one who refrains from asking people, and people are not aware of his condition so that they may give him charity.”

Allah—Mighty and Majestic—said: [‏إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا‏] the verse [‏التَّوْبَةِ‏:‏ 60‏]

Sayyiduna Ibn al-Sa’idi al-Maliki (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed me as a collector of Zakat. When I finished collecting Zakat and handed over the wealth to him, he ordered that I be given wages. I submitted,“Indeed, I did this work for the pleasure of Allah, and my reward is with Allah Almighty alone.”So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Take what I am giving you, because I performed this same task during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he gave me wages. I also expressed myself as you did. Upon this, Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: ‘When something comes to you without you asking for it, then eat it and give charity from it.’”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that in my opinion, the Ibn al-Sa’idi al-Maliki referred to here is Abdullah bin Sa’d Abi Sarh.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Sa’d bin Abi Sarh narrates that he presented himself before Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him,“Has it not been told to me that you perform public service, and then when you are given wages, you do not like to take them?”I replied,“Yes, I do so.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked,“Why do you not take the wages?”I submitted,“I have horses and slaves, and I am blessed with abundance, so I wish that my action becomes charity for the Muslims.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Do not do so, because I also wished to do as you wish, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would give me wealth. I would say, ‘Give it to someone who is more in need than me.’ So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Take it, gain strength from it, or give it in charity. And whatever wealth comes to you without greed and without asking, take it, and do not let your heart be attached to what you do not get (do not covet it).’”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would give wealth to Sayyiduna Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would say: "Please give this wealth to someone who is more in need than me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take it and make it a means of wealth for yourself, or give it in charity." Then the rest of the hadith was mentioned.

Hazrat Zaid bin Aslam narrates from his esteemed father Hazrat Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) that when the land of the Arabian Peninsula became dry due to famine, Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to his (Egyptian) governor Sayyiduna Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) (the contents of which were as follows): From the servant of Allah, Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, to Aas bin Aas. By my life, what concern do you have when you and the people of your region are well-fed and healthy, while I and the people of my region have become thin and weak due to the drought? "O Allah, help us." Sayyiduna Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) replied to this letter, writing: Peace be upon you. After that, I submit that I am present to serve you, ready to comply with your command. A caravan is coming to you, the first camel of which will be with you and the last with me. Along with this, I also hope to send goods by sea route. Then, when the first caravan reached (Madina Munawwara), Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called Sayyiduna Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Take responsibility for this first caravan and take it to Najd, and send as much goods to each house as you can, and for those who cannot carry the goods, give each household a camel with supplies, and instruct them to make clothes from the sacks of wheat, melt the fat by slaughtering the camels, dry the meat in the sun to preserve it, and use the hides as well. Then, mix some quantity of dried meat, ghee, and flour, cook it, and let everyone eat until Allah provides them sustenance (until it starts raining and crops begin to grow). Sayyiduna Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) excused himself from taking this responsibility. Upon this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah, you will never receive such a blessing in your entire life. Then he called another man—I think it was Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him)—but he also excused himself. Then Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was called, and he set out to fulfill this responsibility. When he returned after fulfilling this duty, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave him one thousand dinars. Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Ibn Khattab, I did not do this work for your pleasure, but rather for the pleasure of Allah, and I will not take any wage for this work. Upon this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send us for such responsibilities and would give us wages, but we did not like to take the wages, yet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not accept our dislike (rather, he would insist on giving the wages). Therefore, O Abu Ubaidah, you should also accept this wage and use it for your religious and worldly needs. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted the wealth. Then the rest of the hadith was narrated. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I have some reservation in my heart about Atiyyah bin Sa’d. But this narration has also been reported by Zaid bin Aslam from Ata bin Yasar from Sayyiduna Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him), which I have mentioned elsewhere. (The comment of the Imam relates to the next hadith.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not lawful for a wealthy person to take zakat money except for five types of wealthy people: he who is a collector of zakat (then he may take wages), or he is in debt, or he buys zakat goods, or he is a fighter in the way of Allah, or his neighbor is poor to whom zakat has been given and that poor person gives (from that zakat wealth) a gift to the wealthy neighbor (then it is permissible for him to take it)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If we appoint someone to a task and also give him his salary, then whatever wealth he takes after that will be considered as embezzlement."