Camels that it is disliked for the zakah collector to take

Sayyiduna al-Sunabih bin al-A'sar al-Ahmasi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) noticed a fine, beautiful camel among the zakah camels. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is this?" The zakah collector said: I took this camel by giving back two small camels in exchange. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then it is fine."

Suwayd bin Ghafalah said: The man appointed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to collect zakah came to us. I sat with him, and he was saying: "Indeed, it is in my instructions that I should not take a suckling animal, and what is separate will not be combined and what is combined will not be separated." He said: A man brought a camel with a large hump, but he refused to take it.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a zakah collector and said to him: "Do not take people's best property; rather, take their old and defective animals."

Qays said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) noticed a beautiful camel among the zakah camels, and he said: "What is the matter with this she-camel?" The zakah collector said: O Messenger of Allah! I learned that you needed a riding animal, so I took it in exchange for two camels.

It is narrated from al-Qasim that once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by sheep collected in zakah and saw among them a milk-giving ewe with a full udder. He said: "What is this?" The people said: These are zakah sheep. He said: "Its owners did not give this while being pleased. Do not put people to trial, and when collecting zakah do not take the best property. Keep away from (taking the animals that give people) their food."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Yemen, he said: "(When collecting zakah) beware of people's best property."