Chapter on Additions Regarding Zakat

And from him, from a number of our companions, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from al-Washsha, from Abdullah ibn Muskan, from Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, who said: Imam عليه السلام said: "Do not cut dates by night, do not harvest by night, do not offer sacrifice by night, and do not sow by night, for if you do that, the content one (qani) and the passer-by who asks (mu'tarr) will not come to you." I (narrator) asked: “And what are the ‘content one’ and the ‘passer-by who asks’?” Imam عليه السلام said: "The ‘content one’ is the one who is content with what you give him, and the ‘passer-by who asks’ is the one who passes by you and asks you. And if you harvest by night, the beggars will not come to you. And this is the saying of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, Mighty and Majestic: 'And give its due on the day of its harvest,' (Surah al-An’am 6:141) at the time of harvest, meaning a handful after a handful when you harvest it; and when it comes out, then a handful after a handful; And likewise at the time of cutting the dates; and likewise sowing: do not sow by night, because you give at the time of sowing just as you give at the time of harvest."