497 – Bahz ibn Ḥakīm narrates from his father, from his grandfather (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“In every forty head of pasturing camels, one bint labūn—a two-year-old she-camel—is due. A herd of camels must not be divided in order to avoid the assessment. Whoever pays it seeking the reward will receive its reward, but whoever withholds it, we shall seize it together with half of his property. This is a firm decree among the firm decrees of our Lord, and nothing of it is lawful for the family of Muḥammad.”

Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī. Al-Ḥākim declared it authentic, while al-Shāfiʿī accepted it on condition that its authenticity be verified.⦗1⦘

Hadith status:
The ḥadith is ḥasan (sound).

Ibn Ḥajar states in al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr that Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī (7182) all transmitted it through the chain of Bahz ibn Ḥakīm. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said, “Its isnād is ṣaḥīḥ, provided those below Bahz are trustworthy.” Ibn Ḥajar details the criticisms leveled against Bahz and notes that he is not a conclusive authority, yet he adds, “A number of eminent scholars declared him reliable, and I have set this out fully in Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb.” In al-Taqrīb, he rules Bahz to be ṣadūq (truthful). On that basis the ḥadith is ḥasan, and Allah knows best.

Al-Dhahabī concurred with al-Ḥākim that its chain is ṣaḥīḥ; the author of al-Muḥarrar and Ibn al-Qayyim also authenticated it. Aḥmad, when asked about it, said, “I do not know its meaning,” but when questioned about its chain he replied, “Its isnād is sound.” Al-Bayhaqī held the ḥadith to be abrogated, a view that al-Nawawī rejected. Ibrāhīm al-Harbī answered the issue by saying, “There is an inaccuracy in its wording…"