Chapter on Time of Zakat

Sa’ad ibn Abdullah, from Abu Jafar, from al-Husayn ibn Said, from Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, from Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj, from Sulayman ibn Khalid, who said: I heard Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, recalling: “The companions of my father (Imam al-Baqir عليه السلام) came to him and asked him about ‘what the ruler takes’, so he felt compassion for them, while he certainly knew that zakat is not lawful except for its people. So he (Imam al-Baqir عليه السلام) commanded them to count it as such, and by Allah سبحانه وتعالى, that was valid for them.” So I (Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام) asked: “O my father, if they hear that, no one will pay zakat.” So Imam al-Baqir عليه السلام said: “O son, it’s a truth that Allah سبحانه وتعالى loved to make manifest.”