Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Some Bedouins came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Your collectors come to us and treat us unjustly. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep them pleased." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times. Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: After that, whenever a collector came to me, he left only pleased.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7378
Sayyiduna Jabir bin Atik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon riders will come to you who will be disliked. When they come to you, welcome them; if they make a demand, fulfil it. If they act justly, it is for their own good, and if they do wrong, its burden is upon them. Keep them pleased, for the completeness of your zakah lies in their being pleased, and let them pray for you."
The chain of this hadith from Abu al-Ghusn is reported inconsistently.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7379
The freed slave of Sayyiduna al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the overseer of his properties in Ta'if, said: Sayyiduna al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: What do you do with the zakah of my wealth? He said: I give some of it to the ruler (sultan) and some of it I give in charity. He said: What do they do with it? He said: They buy cloth with it, with which they marry women, and they also acquire land with it. He said: Give it back to them, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us "to give it back to them, and their reckoning is upon them."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7380
Nafi' narrates from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: Pay the zakah of your wealth to those who have been placed in authority over your affairs; whoever does good, it is for himself, and whoever sins, its burden is upon him.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7381
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the collector comes to you, give him your zakah. If they wrong you, turn away from them and do not curse them, and say: O Allah! I seek reward from You for what they have taken from me."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7382
Qaza'ah, the freed slave of Ziyad, narrates that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Hand this wealth over to them, even if the rulers drink wine with it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7383
Hasan bin Sa'd al-Juhani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Zayd bin Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) about zakah. He said: Have you heard about Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)? I said: Yes. He said: He used to give it to them — meaning the ruler — during the time of turmoil (fitnah), and they would feed their animals with it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7384
Suhayl bin Abi Salih narrates from his father that he came to Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: I have wealth on which I wish to pay the zakah, and I know where it should go, while these people do with it what you have seen. He said: Then pay it to them. He said: I asked Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) the same question, and he said: Pay it to them. He said: I also asked Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about this, and he said: Pay it to them.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7385