The Prophet ﷺ said, "Three things, whoever does them has tasted the taste of faith. Whoever worships Allah alone, knowing that there is no god but Allah. And whoever pays the zakat on his wealth willingly and contentedly, giving it every year. He should not give the aged animal, nor the mangy one, nor the sick one, nor the worthless inferior one, but rather from the middle of your wealth, for Allah has not asked you for the best of it, nor has He commanded you to give the worst of it."
قال النبي ﷺ: ثلاث من فعلهن فقد طعم طعم الإيمان: من عبد الله وحده وأنه لا إله إلا الله. وأعطى زكاة ماله طيبة بها نفسه رافدة عليه كل عام، ولا يعطي الهرمة، ولا الدرنة، ولا المريضة، ولا الشرط اللئيمة، ولكن من وسط أموالكم، فإن الله لم يسألكم خيره ولم يأمركم بشره.
Abu Dawud narrated it (1582). He said, "I read in the book of Abdullah bin Salim in Hims, in the possession of the family of Amr bin Harith Himsi, from Zubaydi, who said, 'Yahya bin Jabir informed me, from Jubayr bin Nufayr, from Abdullah bin Muawiya Ghadiri,'" and he mentioned it.Zubaydi is Muhammad bin Walid bin Amir Himsi, a trustworthy narrator among the men of Sahih. Abdullah bin Muawiya Ghadiri was a companion, as Abu Hatim, Ibn Hibban and others stated. Abu Dawud's statement, "I read in a book," indicates that he did not hear this hadith directly but rather transmitted it by way of wijadah, which is one of the methods of transmission. It also contains a disconnection between Yahya bin Jabir and Jubayr bin Nufayr.It has come with a connected chain, narrated by Tabarani in Al-Saghir (555) from Ali bin Hasan bin Maruf Himsi, who said, "Abu Taqi Abdul-Hameed bin Ibrahim narrated to us, Abdullah bin Salim narrated to us, from Muhammad bin Walid Zubaydi, who said, 'Yahya bin Jabir Tai narrated to us, that Abdul-Rahman bin Jubayr told him that his father told him that Abdullah bin Muawiya Ghadiri told them, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,'" and he mentioned the hadith.This chain is hasan because of Abu Taqi Abdul-Hameed bin Ibrahim, for there is disagreement about him, though he is hasan al-hadith. Hafiz said in Talkhis, after attributing it to Abu Dawud, "Tabarani narrated it and judged its chain sound."Bayhaqi also narrated it (5/95-96) by way of Yaqub bin Sufyan (and it is in his book Al-Marifah 1/269), "Ishaq bin Ibrahim narrated to us, Amr bin Harith narrated to me, Abdullah bin Salim narrated to me," with his chain, in similar fashion. Ishaq bin Ibrahim is Ibn Ala Himsi, who is daif, but he was corroborated in the first chain.Tabarani and Bayhaqi added at the end of the hadith, "And a servant should commend himself." A man said, "What is a man's commendation of himself, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "That he knows that Allah is with him wherever he is."His statement, "That he knows that Allah is with him," is like His saying, Most High, "And He is with you wherever you are" [Hadid 57:4]. What is meant by companionship in this verse and others is His knowledge, glory be to Him, of His servants, His encompassing them, His awareness of them, and that nothing of their deeds is hidden from Him, not that He, glory be to Him, is mixed with them, nor that He is with them on the earth.Muhammad bin Yahya was asked about the hadith of Abdullah bin Muawiya, regarding his statement, "That the servant may know that Allah is with him wherever he is." He said, "He means that Allah's knowledge encompasses every place, while Allah is upon the Throne." Dhahabi mentioned this in Al-Uluw (462).On this subject there is also what has been reported from Ayesha, who said, "Some sheep from the charity were brought past Umar bin Khattab, and he saw among them a ewe that was well fed with a large udder. Umar said, 'What is this ewe?' They said, 'A ewe from the charity.' Umar said, 'Its owners would not have given this one willingly! Do not put people to trial, do not take the choice possessions of the Muslims, keep away from their [best] food.'" Malik narrated it in the Book of Zakat (28).