Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 4384

Sayyiduna Amr bin Hazm (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote a letter to the people of Yemen containing rulings on obligatory duties, sunnahs and blood money, and he sent that letter with Sayyiduna Amr bin Hazm (may Allah be pleased with him). The letter was read out to the people of Yemen, and its wording is this: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is from Sayyiduna Muhammad, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), to Shurahbil bin Abd Kulal, al-Harith bin Abd Kulal and Nu'aym bin Abd Kulal, the chiefs of Dhu Ru'ayn, Ma'afir and Hamdan. To proceed: Your messenger has returned. Of the spoils of war you have been given, one fifth belongs to Allah Almighty; and there is what Allah Almighty has made obligatory upon the believers of the tithe ('ushr) on the produce of land: land that is watered by rain, or that has springs, or that is rain-fed (that is, any land watered naturally), the tithe is due on it when its produce reaches five wasq. On every five grazing (sa'imah) camels one goat is due, until they reach twenty-four. If they exceed twenty-four by even one, a bint makhad is due; if a bint makhad is not found, then a male ibn labun is due; this ruling holds up to thirty-five. If they exceed thirty-five by even one, a bint labun is due; this ruling holds up to forty-five. If they exceed forty-five by even one, a hiqqah is due, one fit to be mated; this ruling holds up to sixty. If they exceed sixty by even one, a jadha'ah is due, until they reach seventy-five. If they exceed seventy-five by even one, two bint labun are due, until they reach ninety. If they exceed that by even one, two hiqqahs are due, fit to be mated; this ruling holds up to one hundred and twenty. If they exceed one hundred and twenty, then in every forty one bint labun is due, and in every fifty one hiqqah fit to be mated. In every thirty cows one cow is due, a jadha' or a jadha'ah; and in every forty cows one cow is due. In every forty goats one goat is due, until they reach one hundred and twenty; if they exceed one hundred and twenty by even one, two goats are due, until they reach two hundred; if they exceed that by even one, three goats are due, until they reach three hundred; if they exceed that, then one goat is due in every hundred goats. No animal shall be taken in zakah that is a muhaffalah (a female animal left unmilked for some days so that it appears to give much milk), or that is old, lame, one-eyed, or a male goat. (For the collection of zakah,) scattered wealth shall not be combined, and combined wealth shall not be separated; zakah shall be collected in a good manner. Whatever is taken from two partners shall be settled between them equally. On five uqiyah of silver, five dirhams are due; on whatever exceeds that, one dirham in every forty dirhams; and on silver less than five uqiyah, nothing is due. On every forty dinars one dinar is due. Sadaqah (that is, zakah) is not lawful for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or for his household; it is zakah by which those people's selves are purified, and it is for the poor believers and in the way of Allah. Nothing is due on slaves, nor on a farm, nor on its workers, when its zakah has been paid from the tithe ('ushr). And nothing is due on a Muslim's slave or on his horse." The letter also contained: "On the Day of Resurrection, the greatest of the major sins in the sight of Allah Almighty are: associating partners with Allah, killing a believing soul unjustly, fleeing from the battlefield in the way of Allah, disobedience to parents, slandering a chaste woman, learning magic, consuming usury (riba), and consuming the wealth of an orphan. Umrah is the lesser Hajj. Only a person in a state of ablution shall touch the Qur'an. There is no divorce before ownership is acquired, and a slave cannot be freed until you have bought him. None of you should pray in a single garment in such a state that one of his sides is exposed, and none of you should pray with his hair tied in a bun."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: After this he mentioned the complete hadith, and part of this narration was also recorded by al-Nasa'i (may Allah have mercy on him).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Sulayman bin Dawud al-Harasi, whom Ahmad declared thiqah (trustworthy), while Yahya bin Ma'in criticised him. Ahmad says: This hadith is sahih (authentic). I say: The rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).