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Hadith

When the Prophet (ﷺ) sent him to Yemen, he instructed him to take as Zakah on cattle; one Tabī‘ (a one-year-old male calf) or Tabī‘ah (a one-year-old female calf) for every thirty

عَنْ مُعَاذٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا وَجَّهَهُ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ أَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ مِنَ الْبَقَرِ مِنْ كُلِّ ثَلَاثِينَ تَبِيعًا أَوْ تَبِيعَةً، وَمِنْ كُلِّ أَرْبَعِينَ مُسِنَّةً، وَمِنْ كُلِّ حَالِمٍ -يَعْنِي مُحْتَلِمًا- دِينَارًا أَوْ عَدْلَهُ مِنَ المَعَافِرِ، ثِيَابٌ تَكُونُ بِالْيَمَنِ.

Mu‘ādh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet (ﷺ) sent him to Yemen, he instructed him to take as Zakah on cattle; one Tabī‘ (a one-year-old male calf) or Tabī‘ah (a one-year-old female calf) for every thirty, and one Musinnah (a two-year-old cow) for every forty. He also commanded that from every adult—meaning one who has reached puberty—a dinar or its equivalent in garments from Ma‘āfir, a type of clothes produced in Yemen, be taken.

Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasā’i, Ibn Mājah, and Ahmad · hadeethenc:64632

Grading: Sahih/Authentic by virtue of other supportive narrations (as published by the source; the grader is not named)

Explanation from the source
The Prophet (ﷺ) sent Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen to teach the people and call them to Islam. Among the instructions he gave him was to collect Zakah from the Muslims' cattle: from every thirty cows, one Tabī‘ or Tabī‘ah (a one-year-old bull or cow) and from every forty cows, one Musinnah (a two-year-old cow). And that he should take Jizyah (protection tax) from the People of the Book—the Jews and Christians—of one dinar from every adult male, or its equivalent in Yemeni garments known as Ma‘āfiri.
  • Jizyah is taken only from those who have reached puberty, because the criterion for exemption is that it is not taken from anyone whose killing is unlawful if captured, such as children, women, and others like them.
  • The amount of Jizyah is determined according to the Ijtihād (independent reasoning) of the ruler, as it varies based on factors such as place, time, wealth, and poverty. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (ﷺ) personally set its amount for the people of Yemen, saying to Mu‘ādh: "Take from every adult male one dinar," whereas ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) later increased its amount when he assessed it for the people of the Levant.
  • Paying attention to the collection of Zakah and appointing officials to collect it is among the responsibilities of the ruler.
  • Tabī‘: It is the calf that has completed one year and entered its second; it is called Tabī‘ because it still follows its mother.
  • The dinar: A gold coin; the Islamic dinar weighs four and a quarter grams (4.25 g) of gold.

Topics: Zakah

Source: HadeethEnc.com, published by HadeethEnc.com. Version API snapshot retrieved 2026-10-11 (the source publishes no version number) (retrieved 2026-10-11). Published by HadeethEnc.com. Shown unmodified; not reviewed by a scholar.