The Book on Zakat

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal as he was sending him to Yemen: "You will come to a people of the Scripture. When you reach them, invite them to testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they obey you in that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers every day and night. If they obey you in that, tell them that Allah has enjoined Zakah on them, to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them. If they obey you in that, beware of taking their best properties; and fear the invocation of an oppressed person, for there is no barrier between his invocation and Allah.”

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Zakah is not due on what is less than five ounces, nor on what is less than five camels, nor on what is less than five Wasqs."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No owner of gold or silver who does not pay what is due on it except that on the Day of Judgment they will be made for him sheets of fire and will be heated in the fire of Hell. His side, forehead, and back will be seared therewith. Whenever they cool down, they will be heated for him again on a day, the length of which is fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among the slaves and he sees his path, either to Paradise or Hellfire." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what about camels? He said: "And no owner of camels who does not pay what is due on them, and this includes milking them on their watering day, except that on the Day of Judgment he will be thrown down in a vast, smooth plain, and they will come, more numerous than they have ever been without even a single young one missing thereof. They will trample him with their hooves and bite him with their mouths. Whenever the first of them passes over him, the last of them will be made to return and pass over him on a day, the length of which is fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among the slaves and he sees his path, either to Paradise or Hellfire." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what about cows and sheep? He said: "And no owner of cows and sheep who does not pay what is due on them except that on the Day of Judgment he will be thrown down in a vast, smooth plain and they will come without any of them missing. There will be none among them with twisted horns, without horns, or with a broken horn. They will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves. Whenever the first of them passes over him, the last of them will be made to return and pass over him on a day, the length of which is fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among the slaves and he sees his path, either to Paradise or Hellfire." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what about horses? He said: "Horses are three: they are a burden for a man, a shield for another man, and a reward for a third man. As for the one for whom they are a burden, he is a man who kept them by way of showing off, boasting, and expressing hostility towards Muslims; so they are a burden for him. As for the one for whom they are a shield, he is a man who kept them for the sake of Allah and did not forget the right of Allah concerning their backs and their necks, and so they are a shield for him. As for the one for whom they are a reward, he is a man who kept them in a meadow or pasture for the sake of Allah to be used for the interest of Muslims. Whatever they eat from that meadow and pasture will be recorded for him as good deeds, and even their dung and urine will be recorded for him as good deeds. They will not break their halter and prance a course or two without their hoof marks and their dung written for him as good deeds. And their owner does not take them past a river from which they drink, though he did not intend thereby to quench their thirst, except that Allah will record for him the amount they drink as good deeds."

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: 'I donated a horse for Jihad. The man who had the horse neglected it, so I wanted to buy it back, thinking that he would sell it for a cheap price. I asked the Prophet about this, and he said: "Do not buy it back and do not take back your charity, even if he gives it to you for one dirham, for the one who takes back his gift is like the one who takes back his vomit."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was among us, we used to give out Zakat al-Fitr on behalf of every young and old person, free or slave, as one Sā‘ of food, or one Sā‘ of Aqit (dried yogurt), or one Sā‘ of barley, or one Sā‘ of dates, or one Sā‘ of raisins. We continued giving it out until Mu‘āwiyah ibn Abi Sufyān (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us for Hajj or ‘Umrah. He addressed the people from the pulpit, and among the things he said to the people was: Verily, I see that two Mudds of the Syrian wheat are equivalent to one Sā‘ of dates. So, people started applying this. Abu Sa‘īd said: As for me, I will continue to give it as I used to give it for as long as I live.