What the zakah collector does with the sheep

Ibrahim bin Maysarah said that a man of Banu Thaqif asked Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): From which part of the property is zakah (taken)? He said: From the middle third. When the zakah collector comes to you, bring out for him a jadh'ah and a thaniyyah animal.

Sa'd al-A'raj said: I went out for jihad, and I met Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in Makkah. Sayyiduna Umar asked: Have you come out with the permission of Sayyiduna Ya'la bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him)? I said: No. He said: Go back to your companion. And when a man presents his goats before you (for zakah), divide them into two parts, then make your choice from the other half.

Ibn Jurayj said: I heard my father and others mention that Umar bin Abd al-Aziz wrote: Divide the goats into three parts. Then the owner should choose one third, and the zakah collector should collect from the middle third.

Al-Qasim said: Divide the goats into three parts.

Imam al-Zuhri said: When the zakah collector comes, the goats will be divided into three parts: a third of the best, a third of the worst, and a third of the middling ones; and the zakah collector will collect from the middle third.

Al-Hakam said: The zakah collector will divide the goats into two parts, and the owner of the goats will choose the better part. (The zakah collector will take the other part.)

Imam al-Sha'bi said: The goats will be divided into two parts; the owner of the goats will take the better part, and the zakah collector will take the other part.

Ibrahim said: The goats will be gathered together, and the owner of the goats will keep the third containing the better goats, and the zakah collector will collect his share (his due) from the remaining two thirds.

Ata said: (The goats) will be divided into two parts.

Another statement like this is reported from Ata.