سنن نسائی · Hadith 2468

It was narrated that Muslim bin Thafinah said: “lbn ‘Alqamah appointed my father to be in charge of his people, and he commanded him to collect their Sadaqah. My father sent me to a group of them to bring their Sadaqah to him. I set out and came to an old man who was called Sa’r. I said: ‘My father has sent me to collect the Sadaqah of your sheep.’ He said: ‘son of my brother, how will you decode what you want to take?’ I said: ‘We choose, and we even measure the sheep’s udders.’ He said: ‘son of my brother, I tell you that I was in one of these mountain passes at the time of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم with some sheep of mine. Two men came on a camel and said: We are the messengers of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم we come to take the Sadaqah of your sheep. I said: What do I have to give? They said: A sheep. So I went to a sheep that I knew was filled with milk and was fat, and brought it out to them. He said: This is a Shafi’ — a sheep that has a child or is pregnant — and the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم forbade us to take a Shafi’. So I went to a Mu’tashe-goat a Mu’taf is one that has not given birth before, but has reached the age where it could produce young — and brought it out to them. They said: We will take it. So I lifted it up to them, and they took it with them on their camel and left.” (Da’if)

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020