Tithe collectors, overseers and tax collectors

Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "O people of the Arabs! Praise Allah Almighty that He has lifted the tithe ('ushr) from you."
Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator who is not named, and the rest of its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Malik bin Atahiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When you see a tithe collector (that is, an extortionist), kill him." The narrator says: By this is meant one who collects charity unjustly.
Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it, though he narrated these words: "the charity that a man collects unjustly." Its chain contains a narrator who is not named.

Hasan al-Basri narrates: Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abi al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by Kilab bin Umayyah, who was sitting in the tithe collector's seat in Basrah. He asked: "Why are you sitting here?" He replied: "He has appointed me as an official at this place"; he meant that Ziyad had done so. Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abi al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Shall I not narrate to you a hadith which I heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" Kilab bin Umayyah replied: "Yes, indeed!" Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abi al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The Prophet of Allah, Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him), used to wake his family at a particular part of the night and say: 'O family of Dawud! Get up and pray, for this is an hour in which Allah Almighty answers supplication, except the supplication of a sorcerer and a tithe collector.'" So Kilab bin Umayyah boarded a boat, came to Ziyad and resigned, and he accepted his resignation.
Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it.

He has also recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, but its wording is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "At midnight the gates of the sky are opened, and a caller calls out: 'Is there anyone supplicating, so that his supplication may be answered? Is there anyone asking, so that he may be given? Is there anyone in distress, so that his distress may be relieved?' Then every Muslim who supplicates at that time, Allah Almighty answers his supplication, except for an adulterous woman or a tithe collector."

Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its wording is: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Indeed, Allah Almighty draws near to His creation and forgives whoever seeks forgiveness, except for an adulterous woman and a tithe collector (that is, an extortionist)." The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih, except that among them is a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, about whom there has been criticism, though he has also been declared trustworthy. This hadith has various routes, which will come later in their appropriate places, if Allah wills.

Abu al-Khayr narrates: Maslamah bin Mukhallad, who was the governor of Egypt, offered Sayyiduna Ruwayfi' bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) to make him the overseer of collecting the tithes. Sayyiduna Ruwayfi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The one who collects unlawful taxes will go to Hell."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it, though he narrated these words: "The tax collector will go to Hell" (the narrator says:) meaning the tithe collector ('ashir). Its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, about whom there has been criticism.

It is reported about Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that whenever he saw the star called Suhayl, he would say: May Allah Almighty curse Suhayl! I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "He was one of the extortion collectors of Yemen, who used to oppress the people, so Allah Almighty transformed him and placed him where you see him."

In one narration the words are: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), mentioning Suhayl, said: "He was a man who collected extortion oppressively, so Allah Almighty transformed him into a shooting star and placed him where you see him." Al-Bazzar recorded both these narrations, and al-Tabarani recorded them in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat.

The words of his narration are: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "He was a man who collected extortion, who used to oppress the people and seize their wealth, so Allah Almighty transformed him into a shooting star and placed him where you see him." Al-Bazzar declared it da'if (weak), because the chain of this narration contains a narrator, Ibrahim bin Yazid al-Khuzi, who is matruk (abandoned); and in the other narration there is a narrator, Muyassir bin Ubayd, who is also matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed Suhayl three times, because he used to collect the tithe (that is, unlawful tax) from the people, so Allah Almighty transformed him into a shooting star.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Jabir al-Ju'fi, about whom there has been much criticism, though Shu'bah and Sufyan al-Thawri declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A funeral passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "Glad tidings for him, if he was not an 'arif (that is, a state official)."
Abu Ya'la recorded it from a narrator named Muhammad without stating his lineage, so I do not know him; the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In Hell there is a stone called 'Wayl'; the 'arifs (that is, state officials) will climb onto it and will also descend from it."
Al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains a group of narrators, and I have not found anyone who mentions them.

Mawdud bin al-Harith bin Yazid bin Kurayb bin Yazid bin Sayf bin Jariyah al-Yarbu'i reports from his father, from his grandfather, that he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! A man from Banu Tamim has taken away all my wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "I do not have anything that I could give you." Then he said: "Would you be interested in becoming the 'arif of your people?" (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the words are:) "Shall I not make you the 'arif of your people?" I said: "No!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for the 'arif, he will be thrust into Hell all at once."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. I have not found anyone who has written a biography of the narrator Mawdud or of his father.