Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 11047

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Tha'labah bin Hatib came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah Almighty that He grant me wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to you, O Tha'labah! A little wealth for which you give thanks is better than much wealth that you cannot bear. Do you not wish to be like the Messenger of Allah? If I were to ask Allah Almighty that the mountains flow for me as gold and silver, they would do so." Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah Almighty that He grant me wealth. By Allah! If Allah grants me wealth, I will give every rightful claimant his right." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: "O Allah! Grant Tha'labah wealth. O Allah! Grant Tha'labah wealth. O Allah! Grant Tha'labah wealth." The narrator says: He acquired some sheep, and his sheep began to multiply like moths, until the streets of Madinah became too narrow for him, so he moved away outside Madinah. He used to attend the prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then go out to his sheep. Then the sheep kept increasing until the pastures around Madinah became difficult for him, so he moved away from there. Then he used to attend only the Friday prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then go out to his sheep. Then the sheep increased further, until he moved even farther away and abandoned both the Friday prayer and the congregational prayers. He would meet riders and say: "What news do you have, and how are the people?" At that time Allah Almighty had revealed this command to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Take zakah from their wealth, by which you purify them and cleanse them." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed two men from the Ansar and one man from the Banu Sulaym as officials to collect zakah. He had the rules of zakah written for them, concerning the zakah animals and their ages, and instructed them to collect zakah from the people, and also ordered them to go to Tha'labah and collect the zakah of his wealth from him. The two of them did so. They came to Tha'labah and read out the letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to him. Tha'labah said: "First collect zakah from the other people; when you have finished, pass by me." They did so. (When they came back to him,) Tha'labah said: "By Allah! This is nothing but a kind of jizyah." The two men left and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah Almighty revealed this verse to His Messenger: "And among them is he who made a covenant with Allah: If He gives us of His bounty, we will surely give charity and surely be among the righteous. But when He gave them of His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they were averse," up to: "they used to lie." The narrator says: A man from the Ansar who lived near Tha'labah mounted his riding animal and came to Tha'labah and said: "Woe to you, O Tha'labah! You are ruined! Allah Almighty has revealed such-and-such in the Qur'an concerning you." Tha'labah came, putting dust on his head and weeping, and said: "O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept his zakah, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away. After the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Abu Bakr, you know my standing among my people and the position I had with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); accept (the zakah) from me." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) refused to accept the zakah from him. Then he came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he too refused to accept the zakah. Then he came to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and he too did not accept the zakah from him. Then he died during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Yazid al-Alhani, who is matruk (abandoned).