It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me (as a governor) to Yemen and said: You will meet some people from among the People of the Book, so call them to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that I (i.e., Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) am the Messenger of Allah. If they accept this, then inform them that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them in every day and night. If they accept this, then inform them that Allah has made zakat obligatory upon them, which is to be taken from their wealthy and given to their poor and needy. If they accept this, then beware not to take their best property (i.e., in zakat, take animals of average quality, do not select the best milk-giving or the fattest ones), and beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between the supplication of the oppressed and Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is no zakat on grain and dates until it reaches five wasq (twenty man), and there is no zakat on less than five camels, and there is no zakat on less than five uqiyyah (52.50 tola) of silver.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: In the (field) which is irrigated by canals and rain, ‘ushr (i.e., one-tenth) is obligatory as zakat, and in that which is irrigated by camels (i.e., by manual labor), nisf al-ushr (i.e., one-twentieth) is obligatory as zakat.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is no (obligatory) zakat on a Muslim's slave and horse.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to collect zakat. Then it was reported to him that Ibn Jameel, Khalid bin Walid, and (the uncle of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), these people had not given zakat. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: As for Ibn Jameel, he is only withholding it because he was poor and Allah made him wealthy. And as for Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him), you are being unjust to him, for he has dedicated his armors and weapons in the way of Allah (meaning, why would he not give zakat?). And as for Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), his zakat and an equal amount more is upon me (i.e., I am responsible for it). Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)! Do you not know that an uncle is like a father?

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting in the shade of the Ka'bah when I came to him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me, he said: "By the Lord of the Ka'bah, they are truly the losers." Then I came and sat near the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), but I could not remain seated and stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! May my parents be sacrificed for you, who are they?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "They are those who possess much wealth. But the one who spends here and there, wherever appropriate, and gives ahead and behind, to the right and to the left, such people are few." (That is, wherever the support of religion and the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is seen, they spend without hesitation.) "And whoever owns camels, cows, or goats and does not give their zakat, then on the Day of Resurrection those animals, fatter and healthier than they were in the world, will come and gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves. When the last of them passes over him, the first will return to him again. And this punishment will continue until the people's judgment is settled."

`Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no owner of silver or gold who does not pay its zakat, except that on the Day of Resurrection, plates of fire will be prepared for him, and they will be heated in the fire of Hell, and his forehead, sides, and back will be branded with them. When they cool down, they will be reheated. This will continue during a day whose length is fifty thousand years, until the judgment among the servants is finished, and then his path will be shown either to Paradise or to Hell. It was asked to you (peace and blessings be upon him): O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What about the owners of camels? You (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The owner of camels who does not give their due right—and among their rights is that their milk should be milked and given to the poor—on the Day of Resurrection, he will be made to lie down on a flat plain, and the camels will come to him in a fattened state, not a single young one will be left behind, and they will trample him with their hooves and bite him with their mouths. When the first of them passes over him, the last will come, and this punishment will continue for the whole day, which is fifty thousand years, until the judgment among the servants is finished, and then his path will be shown either to Paradise or to Hell. Then it was asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What about cows and goats? You (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no owner of cows or goats who does not pay their zakat, except that on the Day of Resurrection, he will be made to lie down on a flat plain, and all his cows and goats will come to him, none will be left behind, and none will have twisted horns, nor will any be without horns, nor will any have broken horns. They will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves. When the first of them passes over him, the last will come, and this punishment will continue for the whole day, which is fifty thousand years, until the judgment among the servants is finished, and then his path will be shown either to Paradise or to Hell. Then it was asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! And what about horses? You (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Horses are of three types: one is a burden (i.e., a cause of sin) for its owner, the second is a covering for his faults, and the third is a source of reward for its owner. Now listen to the case of the horse which is a burden: it is the one that is kept for showing off to people, boasting among them, and enmity against Muslims—so it is a burden for its owner. And the one that covers faults is the horse that is kept in the way of Allah (i.e., for jihad), and its rights are not neglected in riding or feeding—so it is a covering for his faults. And as for the one that is a source of reward, it is the horse that is kept in the way of Allah and for the help and support of the people of Islam, tied in a pasture or garden. Whatever it eats from that pasture or garden, the number of good deeds equal to what it has eaten will be written for its owner, and even its dung and urine will be counted among the good deeds. And when it breaks its long rope and climbs one or two hills, the number of good deeds equal to its footsteps and dung will be written. And when its owner passes by a river and the horse drinks from it, even if the owner did not intend to give it water, still, the number of drops it drank will be written as good deeds for him. (This reward is for drinking water unintentionally, so how much more will he get if he gives water intentionally!) Then it was asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Tell us about donkeys. You (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No command has been revealed to me regarding donkeys except this comprehensive and unparalleled verse: "Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it (on the Day of Resurrection), and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it."

'Ahnf bin Qais says that I was sitting with a few people of the Quraish when Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said: "Give glad tidings to those who hoard treasures of such branding marks that will be applied to their backs and will come out from their sides, and will be applied to their napes and will come out from their foreheads." Then Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) sat aside. I asked the people, "Who is he?" The people said, "He is Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)." I stood up towards him and said, "What was it that I just heard you saying?" He said, "I was saying exactly what I heard from their Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then I asked, "What do you say about this grant (i.e., the wealth that the rulers give to the Muslims from the spoils of war)?" He said, "You may keep taking it, for it fulfills needs. But when it becomes the price of your religion, then leave it (i.e., if the giver wants you to compromise in religion, then do not take it)."

‘Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that some people from the villages came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:“Some collectors (those who collect zakat) come to us and they are harsh with us (i.e., they take the best animals, whereas they should take from the average).”Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“You should please your collectors (i.e., even if they are harsh with you).”Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“Since I heard this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), no collector has ever left me except that he was pleased.”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) says that it was the blessed habit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when any people brought charity, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would supplicate for them, saying: O Allah! Have mercy on them. Then my father Abu Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) brought charity, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah! Have mercy on the family of Abu Awfa.