The lean animal should not be accepted as Zakah

Q: If the in-kind Zakah (obligatory charity) presented by a Mukallaf (person meeting the conditions to be held legally accountable for their actions), such as camels, cows or sheep, are lean and of poor use when slaughtered and the Mukallaf affirms that all of his cattle are the same, will it be permissible to take it as Zakah or should it be declined along with demanding better payment of Zakah?

A: The lean animal should not be accepted as Zakah unless all the cattle on which the Zakah is due are the same, because Zakah is a form of sympathy and empathy, so a Mukallaf is not obliged to give but what he owns, for the Hadith reported by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and cited in the Sahih Book of Hadith: Neither an old, a one-eyed animal, nor a male-goat may be taken as Zakah (obligatory charity) except if the Zakah collector wishes (to take it.)