Musnad Imam Shafi'i

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “This is the charity (the prescribed amount for zakat), then goats and some other things were exempted, and people disliked this.” This is the obligation of zakat which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made obligatory upon the Muslims, and Allah Almighty commanded him regarding it. Therefore, whoever asks the believers for zakat according to this, they should give it, and if anyone asks for more than this, they must not give it. For twenty-four or fewer camels, for every five, one goat must be given. If the number of camels reaches twenty-five, then from twenty-five to thirty-five, a one-year-old female camel (bint makhad) is obligatory; if there is no one-year-old female camel, then a two-year-old male camel (ibn labun), which has entered its third year, is obligatory. When the number of camels reaches thirty-six, then from thirty-six to forty-five, a two-year-old female camel (bint labun) is obligatory. When the number reaches forty-six, then from forty-six to sixty, a three-year-old she-camel capable of mating (hiqqah) is obligatory. And when the number reaches sixty-one, then from sixty-one to seventy-five, a four-year-old female camel (jadh’ah) is obligatory. When the number reaches seventy-six, then from seventy-six to ninety, two-year-old female camels (two bint labun) are obligatory. When the number reaches ninety-one, then from ninety-one to one hundred and twenty, two she-camels capable of mating (two hiqqah) are obligatory, and when the number exceeds one hundred and twenty, then for every forty, a two-year-old female camel, and for every fifty, a three-year-old female camel is obligatory. If the ages of the camels for the obligatory charity are different, then if someone’s camels reach the number for which a jadh’ah is obligatory, but he does not have a jadh’ah, rather he has a hiqqah, then along with the hiqqah, two goats should also be taken from him as zakat, if it is easy for him to give them, otherwise twenty dirhams should be taken. And if someone is obliged to give a hiqqah in zakat, but he does not have a hiqqah, rather he has a jadh’ah, then the jadh’ah should be taken from him, and the zakat collector should give twenty dirhams or two goats to the one giving zakat.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates a hadith with the same meaning (as the previous hadith), but I remember from it that: "The one who gives zakat will not give two goats or 20 dirhams. I do not remember whether this applies if it is easy for him to give them." And I think that in the hadith narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) through the chain of Hammad, he said that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) gave me the book of charity transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then he mentioned the same meaning as I have stated.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that this is the book of alms (its details), and in it is that for every twenty-four or fewer camels, one goat is due, and for every five, one goat, and above that up to thirty-five, a one-year-old she-camel is obligatory. If there is no one-year-old she-camel, then a two-year-old male camel that has entered its third year is to be given, and above that up to forty-five, a two-year-old she-camel that has entered its third year is due. And above that up to sixty, a three-year-old she-camel that is capable of mating is due. And above that up to seventy-five, a four-year-old she-camel is due. And above that up to ninety, two-year-old she-camels are due. And above that up to one hundred and twenty, two three-year-old she-camels that are capable of mating are due. And when the number exceeds this, then for every forty, a two-year-old she-camel, and for every fifty, a three-year-old she-camel is obligatory. And the zakat of goats that graze (in the wild or open fields, etc.) is as follows: when their number is from forty to one hundred and twenty, one goat is obligatory. Above that up to two hundred, two goats, and above that up to three hundred, three goats are obligatory, and when the number exceeds this, then for every hundred, one goat is obligatory. And in zakat, an old, defective, or male (goat) should not be given unless the collector of alms deems it appropriate and accepts it. And due to fear of (increased) zakat, wealth should not be combined when separate, nor separated when combined. And when there are two partners, they should calculate their shares equally, and when silver reaches five awqiyah, then one-fortieth (two and a half percent) zakat is obligatory. This is the wording of the copy of Umar bin Khattab’s (may Allah be pleased with him) book according to which he used to collect zakat from people. Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “We will take all of this (i.e., this is our school of thought).”

Salim bin Abdullah narrates from his father, and he from the Prophet ﷺ. I do not know whether in the narration through Sufyan bin Husain, Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated from the Prophet ﷺ through Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) or not. Regarding the zakat of camels, it is narrated in the same meanings which are not contrary to this, and I do not know, rather if Allah wills, I have no doubt except that he narrated to me the entire hadith regarding goats, partners among themselves, and silver in the same way, except that I was only able to remember the part about camels from his narration.

Bashar bin Asim narrates from his father that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Abu Sufyan bin Abdullah as the collector (of zakat) in Ta’if and its surrounding areas. When he went out to collect charity (zakat), he counted the young animals (offspring) along with the adults. While they did not take zakat from those young ones, the people said: “If you are counting these young ones, then you should also take them from us as zakat.” He refrained (from collecting zakat) until he came to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: “Be aware that these people think that you are counting their young animals but by not taking zakat from them, you are being unjust to them.” So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: “Count their young animals as well, even the one (so small) that the shepherd carries in his hand, and say to them: I will not take from you a suckling animal, nor one close to giving birth, nor a milking animal, nor a fattened animal for slaughter, nor a billy goat used for mating with the goats. And take from them an ‘anaq, a jadh’ah, and a two-year-old animal, and this is of average quality between the bad and the good.”

It is narrated from Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), he states that two men came to me and said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has sent us so that we may collect zakat from the people." Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I brought out for them a pregnant goat, which was the best among my goats, but they refused to take it and said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has forbidden us from taking a pregnant goat (as zakat)." Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I then gave them a goat of average quality, and they accepted it."

The noble wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates that when the zakat goats were passing by Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he saw among them a goat whose udder was full of milk. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, "What about this goat?" The people said, "It is one of the goats given in charity." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Its owners must not have given it willingly. Do not put people to trial, do not take the best of the Muslims’ wealth, and refrain from taking their food (milk-giving animals)."