They differed, however, concerning animals of the same kind that vary in quality. One view is that the collector may take whichever he wishes; another is that he should take an animal of average quality.

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As for “zakat on cattle,” it is established that Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal—may Allah be pleased with him—reported:

“When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent him to Yemen, he instructed him to collect as zakat on cattle one yearling, male or female, from every thirty, and one two-year-old cow from every forty, and to collect one dinar in jizya (poll tax) from every male who had reached puberty.”

Ahmad, al-Nasā’ī and al-Tirmidhī narrated this through Masrūq, from Mu‘ādh. The same ruling appears in the document that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wrote for ‘Amr ibn Hazm. Mālik also narrated it in his Muwatta’ through Tāwūs, from Mu‘ādh. Abū ‘Ubayd reported a consensus on this. The overwhelming majority of scholars hold that nothing is due on fewer than thirty cattle. It is reported from Sa‘īd and al-Zuhrī, however, that one sheep or goat is due on every five, as with camels.

One condition for zakat to be obligatory on cattle is that they graze, as indicated by the hadith narrated by ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“No zakat is due on working animals.”

Abū Dāwūd narrated it. It is also reported that ‘Alī, Mu‘ādh and Jābir said: “No zakat is due on cattle used for work.” Mālik and al-Layth, however, hold that zakat is due on them.