Allah, Exalted be He, has honored His Prophet Muhmmad ﷺ, purified him, elevated his rank above all His creation, and endowed him with exclusive qualities that befit the state of his prophethood that makes him different to the people in certain issues that entail desire for worldly pleasures. In this hadeeth, Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the people during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ would harvest the palm trees after the date fruits ripen and fully dry, and then bring the zakat of their dates to the Prophet ﷺ making a big heap. One day, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the two sons of Alee ibn Abee Taalib and Faatimah, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ (may Allah be pleased with all of them), played with the dates, and al-Hasan picked one date from the dates of zakat and put it into his mouth. Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ looked at him in a way that showed his disapproval so he ﷺ took it out from his mouth and said to him: “Don't you know that the family of Muhammad do not eat what is given in charity?” i.e., the family of Muhammad ﷺ are not allowed to accept and receive charity or zakat from people as Allah honored them because charity and zakat are the dirt of the people, as reported in the authentic hadeeths. The family of the Prophet ﷺ who are not allowed to take or receive zakat and charity are his offspring, wives, and the descendants of ‘Abdul-Muttalib: the descendants of ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib, the descendants of al-‘Abbaas, the descendants of Ja’far, the descendants of ‘Aqeel, and the descendants of al-Haarith. This hadeeth shows that zakat on dates should be given upon its plucking when the dates ripen and dry. It teaches us that we should raise and teach our children to obey the rules of religion and avoid that which is made forbidden. It shows that we should explain to children the reason they are not allowed to do a particular act, as much as possible. .