Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Bishr bin Asim narrates from his father that Hazrat Umar assigned his father the duty of collecting zakat in the regions of Ta’if. (His father) counted their goats by including the small kids. The people said to his father: If you are counting this small kid while collecting zakat, then take this small one as zakat as well. He stopped from doing so until he met Hazrat Umar and explained the whole matter to him. He (Hazrat Umar) said: Count the small kids along with their goats when counting, even if (the kid is so small that) the shepherd brings it in his hands, and inform them that indeed for you, the small suckling kid, the pregnant goat, the goat that has been fattened for the purpose of slaughter, and the bull (male animal) that has been set aside (i.e., these will not be taken into account when taking zakat). However, the kid that has not yet completed a year, the eight-month-old kid, and the goat whose two of the front four teeth have appeared, these will be taken. By doing so, there will be justice and equality between the best and the lesser animals.