Sayyiduna Iyad bin Himar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I gave the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a she-camel as a gift, or some other gift. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Have you become Muslim?" I said: No. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been forbidden (to accept) the gifts of the polytheists." (b) Sayyiduna Iyad bin Himar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I gave the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) some gift or a she-camel. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Are you Muslim?" I said: No. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) refused to accept the gift and said: "We do not accept the gifts of the polytheists." I asked al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him): What are the gifts of the polytheists? He said: Their presents.
The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: His (peace and blessings be upon him) rejection of his gift may indicate prohibition, or it may indicate mere dislike (tanzih); and it may be that by rejecting his gift he wished to vex him so that this would lead him to Islam. The reports on accepting the gifts of the polytheists are more authentic and more numerous.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجزية / 18793