Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 1455
sahih

Narrated Anas:

Abu Bakr wrote to me what Allah had ordered His Messenger (about Zakat) which goes: Neither an old nor a defected animal, nor a male-goat may be taken as Zakat except if the Zakat collector wishes (to take it).

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي قَالَ، حَدَّثَنِي ثُمَامَةُ، أَنَّ أَنَسًا ـ رضى الله عنه ـ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ كَتَبَ لَهُ ‏{‏الصَّدَقَةَ‏}‏ الَّتِي أَمَرَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏

‏ وَلاَ يُخْرَجُ فِي الصَّدَقَةِ هَرِمَةٌ، وَلاَ ذَاتُ عَوَارٍ، وَلاَ تَيْسٌ، إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ الْمُصَدِّقُ ‏

‏‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 24, Hadith 58
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 24, Hadith 535 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Zakat is one of the obligations that Allah has imposed upon those whose savings exceed the specified threshold. It is taken from the wealthy and given to the poor (i.e., all those who are eligible to receive it according to the Quran). Allah and His Messenger ﷺexplained all the rulings and details pertaining to this obligatory act of worship to protect the wealthy ones from injustice and protect the rights of those who are in need. In this hadeeth, Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote him a letter in which he explained the due zakat on livestock that Allah’s Messenger made compulsory upon Muslims. This letter was penned after Abu Bakr delegated Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with them) to collect the zakat from the people in al-Bahrayn, which is a region that includes, today, the kingdom of Bahrain as well as Al-Ihsaa and al-Qateef in the eastern parts of Saudi Arabia. According to this letter - as it is mentioned in this hadeeth – the following type of sheep cannot be accepted as zakat: (i) old sheep whose teeth has fallen, (ii) sheep whose one of its eyes is blind, (iii) sheep that have health problems and defects that would disqualify it as a sacrificial animal (i.e., Udhiyyah) such as limping, fatigue or sick sheep, (iv) rams (i.e., male-sheep and male-goats) except of the zakat collector agrees to take it because of it has much meat or fat. This hadeeth states that it is impermissible to take out defected or undesired property as zakat, and that the zakat collector has the authority to accept or decline zakat that does not meet the criteria that religion has specified. .
Related hadiths1
Compare isnād across 1 related chains →