“…‘Do not take zakat except from these four kinds: barley, wheat, raisins, and dates.’
Al-Bayhaqī and al-Ḥākim recorded the report, declared it sound, and al-Dhahabī concurred. It is indeed as they have judged, as I clarified in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, no. 801. The same position was adopted by Abū ʿUbayd in his Kitāb al-Amwāl—see his discussion under nos. 1381 and 1409. By adhering to it the Muslim is spared the tangle of conflicting opinions the author will shortly cite, opinions resting on nothing but personal reasoning.
There are, however, some fine points that must be noted:
First: In the hadith of Muʿādh the wording is, “Do not take zakat except from these four…,” and maize (dhurrah) is not among them. Including it would turn four into five, and in my estimation the addition is spurious. Besides contradicting this authentic hadith, it lacks any chain that can serve as proof. The alleged chains are:
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The report of Ibn Mājah mentioned earlier by the author, which contains al-ʿArzamī, who is abandoned. It appears in Ibn Mājah, no. 1815, through his narration from ʿAmr b. Shuʿayb from his forefathers.
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The report of al-Bayhaqī, 4/129, through ʿItāb al-Jazarī from Khuṣayf from Mujāhid, who said, “In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) zakat was taken only on five items…,” where he listed the four and added “and maize.” Apart from being mursal, it is weak, for both ʿItāb and Khuṣayf are weak.
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Another report of al-Bayhaqī, from Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah, from ʿAmr b. ʿUbayd, from al-Ḥasan, which relates something similar to Mujāhid’s report, but Ibn ʿUyaynah said: