Allah's Apostle sent me, Az-Zubair and Al-Miqdad saying, "Proceed till you reach Rawdat Khakh where there is a lady carrying a letter, and take that (letter) from her." So we proceeded on our way with our horses galloping till we reached the Rawda, and there we found the lady and said to her, "Take out the letter." She said, "I have no letter." We said, "Take out the letter, or else we will take off your clothes." So she took it out of her braid, and we brought the letter to Allah's Apostle . The letter was addressed from Hatib, bin Abi Balta'a to some pagans of Mecca, telling them about what Allah's Apostle intended to do. Allah's Apostle said, "O Hatib! What is this?" Hatib replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Do not make a hasty decision about me. I was a person not belonging to Quraish but I was an ally to them from outside and had no blood relation with them, and all the Emigrants who were with you, have got their kinsmen (in Mecca) who can protect their families and properties. So I liked to do them a favor so that they might protect my relatives as I have no blood relation with them. I did not do this to renegade from my religion (i.e. Islam) nor did I do it to choose Heathenism after Islam." Allah's Apostle said to his companions." As regards him, he (i.e. Hatib) has told you the truth." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop off the head of this hypocrite!" The Prophet said, "He (i.e. Hatib) has witnessed the Badr battle (i.e. fought in it) and what could tell you, perhaps Allah looked at those who witnessed Badr and said, "O the people of Badr (i.e. Badr Muslim warriors), do what you like, for I have forgiven you. "Then Allah revealed the Sura:-- "O you who believe! Take not my enemies And your enemies as friends offering them (Your) love even though they have disbelieved in that Truth (i.e. Allah, Prophet Muhammad and this Qur'an) which has come to you ....(to the end of Verse)....(And whosoever of you (Muslims) does that, then indeed he has gone (far) astray (away) from the Straight Path." (60.1

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir ibn Atik said that Abdullah ibn Umar had come to them in Bani Muawiya, one of the villages of the Ansar, and said, "Do you know where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in this mosque of yours? "I told him, "Yes," and I pointed out a place near where he was. He said, "Do you know the three things for which he made dua here?" I said "Yes." He said, "Tell me them then." I said, "He asked that He would not make an enemy from among the non- believers triumph over the believers and that He would not destroy the believers by bad harvests, and he was given both these things. And he asked that He would not make the believers fight among themselves, and that was refused." Ibn Umar said, "You have told the truth," and he added, "Turmoil will not cease until the day of rising."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman from one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered everyone to break the fast on the journey he made in the year of the conquest saying, "Be strong for your enemy," while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kept on fasting. Abu Bakr said that the one who related this to him said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, pouring water over his head at al-Arj, either from thirst or from the heat. Then some one said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Messenger of Allah, a group of people kept on fasting when you did.' Then when the Messenger of Allah was at al-Kadid, he asked for a drinking-bowl and drank, and everyone broke the fast."

Yahya related to me from Malik from a reliable source of his who had heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab refused to let anyone inherit from the non-arabs except for one who was born among the arabs."

Malik said, "If a pregnant woman comes from the land of the enemy and gives birth in arab land so that he is her (an arab) child, he inherits from her if she dies, and she inherits from him if he dies, by the Book of Allah."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us and the sunna in which there is no dispute, and what I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, is that a Muslim does not inherit from a kafir by kinship, clientage (wala'), or maternal relationship, nor does he (the Muslim) overshadow any (of the kafirs) from his inheritance.

Malik said, "Similarly, someone who forgoes his inheritance when he is the chief heir does not overshadow anyone from his inheritance."

The news of my daily fasting and praying every night throughout the night reached the Prophet. So he sent for me or I met him, and he said, "I have been informed that you fast everyday and pray every night (all the night). Fast (for some days) and give up fasting (for some days); pray and sleep, for your eyes have a right on you, and your body and your family (i.e. wife) have a right on you." I replied, "I have more power than that (fasting)." The Prophet said, "Then fast like the fasts of (the Prophet) David". I said, "How?" He replied, "He used to fast on alternate days, and he used not to flee on meeting the enemy." I said, "From where can I get that chance?" (`Ata' said, "I do not know how the expression of fasting daily throughout the life occurred.") So, the Prophet said, twice, "Whoever fasts daily throughout his life is just as the one who does not fast at all."

Mus’ab bin Sa’d reported on the authority of his father (Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas) “I brought a sword to the Prophet(saws) on the day of the Badr and I said (to him) Apostle of Allaah(saws) , Allaah has healed up my breast from the enemy today, so give me this sword. He said “This sword is neither mine nor yours. I then went away saying “today this will be given to a man who has not been put to trial like me. Meanwhile a messenger and came to me and said “Respond, I thought something was revealed about me owing to my speech. I came and the Prophet (saws) said to me “You asked me for this sword, but this was neither mine nor yours. Now Allaah has given it to me, hence it is yours. He then recited “they ask thee concerning (things taken as) spoils of war. Say “(Such) spoils are at the disposal of Allaah and the Apostle.

Abu Dawud said “According to the reading of the Qur’an of Ibn Mas’ud the verse goes. They ask thee concerning (things taken as ) spoils of war.

`Ali bin Abi Talib sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle distributed that amongst four Persons: 'Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin H`Abis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin at-Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, "We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons)." When that news reached the Prophet , he said, "Don't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?" There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, "O Allah's Apostle! Be afraid of Allah." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?" Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?" The Prophet said, "No, for he may offer prayers." Khalid said, "Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts." Allah's Apostle said, "I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies." Then the Prophet looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, "From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur'an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game's body." I think he also said, "If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations a Thamud were killed."

A lady came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to you to offer myself to you." He raised his eyes and looked at her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not make any decision, she sat down. On that, a man from his companions got up and said. "O Allah's Apostle! If you are not in need of this woman, then marry her to me." Allah's Apostle said, "Do you have anything to offer her?" He replied. "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said to him, "Go to your family and see if you can find something.' The man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I have not found anything." The Prophet said, "Try to find something, even if it is an iron ring.'' He went again and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle, not even an iron ring, but I have this waist sheet of mine." The man had no upper garment, so he intended to give her, half his waist sheet. So Allah's Apostle said, ''What would she do with your waist sheet? If you wear it, she will have nothing of it over her body, and if she wears it, you will have nothing over your body." So that man sat for a long period and then got up, and Allah's Apostle saw him going away, so he ordered somebody to call him. When he came, the Prophet asked him, " How much of the Qur'an do you know?" He replied, "I know such Surat and such Surat and such Surat," and went on counting it, The Prophet asked him, "Can you recite it by heart?" he replied, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Go, I have married this lady to you for the amount of the Qur'an you know by heart."

A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to you to present myself to you (for marriage)." Allah's Apostle glanced at her. He looked at her carefully and fixed his glance on her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not say anything, she sat down. A man from his companions got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! If you are not in need of her, then marry her to me." The Prophet said, "Have you got anything to offer." The man said, 'No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said (to him), "Go to your family and try to find something." So the man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I have not found anything." The Prophet said, "Go again and look for something, even if it were an iron ring." He went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I could not find even an iron ring, but this is my Izar (waist sheet).' He had no Rida (upper garment). He added, "I give half of it to her." Allah's Apostle said "What will she do with your Izar? If you wear it, she will have nothing over herself thereof (will be naked); and if she wears it, then you will have nothing over yourself thereof ' So the man sat for a long period and then got up (to leave). When Allah's Apostle saw him leaving, he ordered that he e called back. When he came, the Prophet asked (him), "How much of the Qur'an do you know (by heart)?" The man replied, I know such Sura and such Sura and such Sura," naming the suras. The Prophet said, "Can you recite it by heart?" He said, 'Yes." The Prophet said, "Go I let you marry her for what you know of the Qur'an (as her Mahr).

While we were sitting in the company of the Prophet a woman came to him and presented herself (for marriage) to him. The Prophet looked at her, lowering his eyes and raising them, but did not give a reply. One of his companions said, "Marry her to me O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet asked (him), "Have you got anything?" He said, "I have got nothing." The Prophet said, "Not even an iron ring?" He Sa`d, "Not even an iron ring, but I will tear my garment into two halves and give her one half and keep the other half." The Prophet; said, "No. Do you know some of the Qur'an (by heart)?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Go, I have agreed to marry her to you with what you know of the Qur'an (as her Mahr)."

26 Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd alMalik, from Ubada ibn Nusayy from Qays ibn al Harith that Abu Abdullah as-Sunabihi said, "I arrived in Madina in the khalifate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and I prayed maghrib behind him. He recited the umm al Qur'an and two suras from the shorter ones of the mufassal in the first two rakas. Then he stood up in the third and I drew so near to him that my clothes were almost touching his clothes. I heard him reciting the umm al-Qur'an and this ayat, 'Our Lord, do not make our hearts go astray after You have guided us, and give us mercy from Your presence. Surely You are the Giver. ' " (Sura 3 ayat 8)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "Whoever swears by Allah and then says, 'Allah willing' and then does not do what he has sworn to, has not broken his oath."

Malik said, "The best I have heard on this reservation is that it belongs to the statement made if the speaker does not break the normal flow of speech before he is silent. If he is silent and breaks the flow of speech, he has no exception."

Yahya said, "Malik said that a man who said that he had disbelieved or associated something with Allah and then he broke his oath, had no kaffara, and he was not a disbeliever or one who associated something with Allah unless his heart concealed something of either of those. He should ask forgiveness of Allah and not return to it - for what he did was evil."

I asked Anas bin Malik about the Qunut. Anas replied, "Definitely it was (recited)". I asked, "Before bowing or after it?" Anas replied, "Before bowing." I added, "So and so has told me that you had informed him that it had been after bowing." Anas said, "He told an untruth (i.e. "was mistaken," according to the Hijazi dialect). Allah's Apostle recited Qunut after bowing for a period of one month." Anas added, "The Prophet sent about seventy men (who knew the Qur'an by heart) towards the pagans (of Najd) who were less than they in number and there was a peace treaty between them and Allah's Apostle (but the Pagans broke the treaty and killed the seventy men). So Allah's Apostle recited Qunut for a period of one month asking Allah to punish them."

The Prophet (saws) used to supplicate Allah: "My Lord, help me and do not give help against me; grant me victory, and do not grant victory over me; plan on my behalf and do not plan against me; guide me, and made my right guidance easy for me; grant me victory over those who act wrongfully towards me; O Allah, make me grateful to Thee, mindful of Thee, full of fear towards Thee, devoted to Thy obedience, humble before Thee, or penitent. My Lord, accept my repentance, wash away my sin, answer my supplication, clearly establish my evidence, guide my heart, make true my tongue and draw out malice in my breast."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The first defect that permeated Banu Isra'il was that a man (of them) met another man and said: O so-and-so, fear Allah, and abandon what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him the next day and that did not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting with him. When they did so. Allah mingled their hearts with each other.

He then recited the verse: "curses were pronounced on those among the children of Isra'il who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary"...up to "wrongdoers".

He then said: By no means, I swear by Allah, you must enjoin what is good and prohibit what is evil, prevent the wrongdoer, bend him into conformity with what is right, and restrict him to what is right.

Yahya related to me from Malik that it reached him that a slave of Abdullah ibn Umar escaped and one of his horses wandered off, and the idol worshippers seized them. Then the Muslims recaptured them, and they were returned to Abdullah ibn Umar, before the division of the spoils took place.

I heard Malik say about muslim property that had been seized by the enemy, "If it is noticed before the distribution, then it is returned to itsowner. Whatever has already been distributed is not returned to anyone."

Malik, when asked about a man whose young male slave was taken by the idol worshippers and then the Muslims re-captured him, said, "The owner is more entitled to him without having to pay his price or value or having to incur any loss before the distribution takes place. If the distribution has already taken place then I think that the slave belongs to his master for his price if the master wants him back."

Regarding an umm walad of a Muslim man who has been taken by the idol worshippers and then recaptured by the Muslims and allotted in the distribution of spoils and then recognised by her master after the distribution, Malik said, "She is not to be enslaved. I think that the Imam should pay a ransom for her for her master. If he does not do it, then her master must pay a ransom for her and not leave her. I do not think that she should be made a slave by whoever takes her and intercourse with her is not halal. She is in the position of a free woman because her master would be required to pay compensation if she injured somebody and so she is in the same position (as a wife). He must not leave the mother of his son to be enslaved nor may intercourse with her be made halal."

Malik was asked about a man who went to enemy territory to pay ransom or to trade, and he bought a free man or a slave, or they were given to him. He said, "As for the free man, the price he buys him for is a debt against the man and he is not made a slave. If the captive is given to him freely, he is free and owes nothing unless the man gave something in recompense for him. That is a debt against the free man, the same as if a ransom had been paid for him. As for a slave, his former master can choose to take him back and pay his price to the man who bought him or he can choose to leave him, as he wishes. If he was given to the man, the former master is more entitled to him, and he owes nothing for him unless the man gave something for him in recompense. Whatever he gave for him is a loss against the master if he wants him back."

Yahya related to me from Malik from a man of Kufa that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to a lieutenant of an army which he had sent out, "I have heard that it is the habit of some of your men to chase an unbeliever till he takes refuge in a high place. Then one man tells him in Persian not to be afraid, and when he comes up to him, he kills him. By He in whose hand my self is, if I knew someone who had done that, I would strike off his head."

Yahya said, I heard Malik say, "This tradition is not unanimously agreed upon, so one does not act on it."

Malik when asked whether safe conduct promised by gesture had the same status as that promised by speech, said, "Yes. I think that one can request an army not to kill someone by gesturing for safe conduct, because as far as I am concerned, gesture has the same status as speech. I have heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas said, 'There is no people who betray a pledge, but that Allah gives their enemies power over them.' "

We were with the Prophet in Dhul-Hulaifa and there the people were struck with severe hunger. Then we got camels and sheep as war booty (and slaughtered them). The Prophet was behind all the people. The people hurried and fixed the cooking pots (for cooking) but the Prophet came there and ordered that the cooking pots be turned upside down. Then he distributed the animals, regarding ten sheep as equal to one camel. One of the camels ran away and there were a few horses with the people. They chased the camel but they got tired, whereupon a man shot it with an arrow whereby Allah stopped it. The Prophet said, "Among these animals some are as wild as wild beasts, so if one of them runs away from you, treat it in this way." I said. "We hope, or we are afraid that tomorrow we will meet the enemy and we have no knives, shall we slaughter (our animals) with canes?" The Prophet said, "If the killing tool causes blood to gush out and if Allah's Name is mentioned, eat (of the slaughterer animal). But do not slaughter with a tooth or a nail. I am telling you why: A tooth is a bone, and the nail is the knife of Ethiopians."

Once `Umar asked the leave to see Allah's Apostle in whose company there were some Quraishi women who were talking to him and asking him for more financial support raising their voices. When `Umar asked permission to enter the women got up (quickly) hurrying to screen themselves. When Allah's Apostle admitted `Umar, Allah's Apostle was smiling, `Umar asked, "O Allah's Apostle! May Allah keep you in happiness always." Allah's Apostle said, "I am astonished at these women who were with me. As soon as they heard your voice, they hastened to screen themselves." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! You have more right to be feared by them." Then he addressed (those women) saying, "O enemies of your own souls! Do you fear me and not Allah's Apostle ?" They replied. "Yes, for you are a fearful and fierce man as compared with Allah's Apostle." On that Allah's Apostle said (to `Umar), "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, whenever Satan sees you taking a path, he follows a path other than yours."

A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I present myself (to you) (for marriage). She stayed for a long while, then a man said, "If you are not in need of her then marry her to me." The Prophet said, "Have you got anything m order to pay her Mahr?" He said, "I have nothing with me except my Izar (waist sheet)." The Prophet said, "If you give her your Izar, you will have no Izar to wear, (so go) and search for something. He said, "I could not find anything." The Prophet said, "Try (to find something), even if it were an iron ring But he was not able to find (even that) The Prophet said (to him). "Do you memorize something of the Qur'an?" "Yes. ' he said, "such Sura and such Sura," naming those Suras The Prophet said, "We have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an (by heart).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that he asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was like during Ramadan. She said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not go above eleven rakas in Ramadan or at any other time. He prayed four - do not ask me about their beauty or length. Then he prayed another four - do not ask me about their beauty and length. Then he prayed three."

A'isha continued, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, are you sleeping before you do the witr?' He said, A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.' "

The wife of the Prophet that she went to Allah's Apostle while he was in I`tikaf (staying in the mosque) during the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. She spoke to him for an hour (a while) at night and then she got up to return home. The Prophet got up to accompany her, and when they reached the gate of the mosque opposite the dwelling place of Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet, two Ansari men passed by, and greeting Allah's Apostle , they quickly went ahead. Allah's Apostle said to them, "Do not be in a hurry She is Safiya, the daughter of Huyai." They said, "Subhan Allah! O Allah's Apostle (how dare we suspect you)." That was a great thing for both of them. The Prophet then said, "Satan runs in the body of Adam's son (i.e. man) as his blood circulates in it, and I was afraid that he (Satan) might insert an evil thought in your hearts."

The Prophet said, "Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears."

Sa`d bin 'Ubada became sick and the Prophet along with `Abdur Rahman bin `Auf, Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas and `Abdullah bin Mas`ud visited him to inquire about his health. When he came to him, he found him surrounded by his household and he asked, "Has he died?" They said, "No, O Allah's Apostle." The Prophet wept and when the people saw the weeping of Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) they all wept. He said, "Will you listen? Allah does not punish for shedding tears, nor for the grief of the heart but he punishes or bestows His Mercy because of this." He pointed to his tongue and added, "The deceased is punished for the wailing of his relatives over him." `Umar used to beat with a stick and throw stones and put dust over the faces (of those who used to wail over the dead).

"A letter came from the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: 'Do not use the skins of dead animals, nor tendons.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan. This Hadith has been related to 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim from some Shuyukh of his, and this is not acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge. And this Hadith has been related from 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim, that he said: "A letter came to us from the Messenger of Allah (saws) two months before he died."

He said: I heart Ahmad bin Al-Hasan saying: "Ahmad bin Hanbal followed this Hadith due to it mentioning that it was two months before he (saws) died. Then Ahmad left this Hadith because of their Idtirab in its chain, since some of them reported it, saying: 'From 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim from some Shuyukh of his from Juhainah.'"

AbdulAziz ibn Rufay' narrated on the authority of some people from the descendants of Abdullah ibn Safwan who reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: Have you weapons, Safwan? He asked: On loan or by force? He replied: No, but on loan. So he lent him coats of mail numbering between thirty and forty! The Messenger of Allah (saws) fought the battle of Hunayn. When the polytheists were defeated, the coats of mail of Safwan were collected. Some of them were lost. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Safwan: We have lost some coats of mail from your coats of mail. Should we pay compensation to you? He replied: No. Messenger of Allah, for I have in my heart today what I did not have that day.

Abu Dawud said: He lent him before embracing Islam. Then he embraced Islam.

On the day of the conquest of Mecca, Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn AbuSarh hid himself with Uthman ibn Affan.

He brought him and made him stand before the Prophet (saws), and said: Accept the allegiance of Abdullah, Messenger of Allah! He raised his head and looked at him three times, refusing him each time, but accepted his allegiance after the third time.

Then turning to his companions, he said: Was not there a wise man among you who would stand up to him when he saw that I had withheld my hand from accepting his allegiance, and kill him?

They said: We did not know what you had in your heart, Messenger of Allah! Why did you not give us a signal with your eye?

He said: It is not advisable for a Prophet to play deceptive tricks with the eyes.

The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good righteous (true) dreams in his sleep. He never had a dream but that it came true like bright day light. He used to go in seclusion (the cave of) Hira where he used to worship(Allah Alone) continuously for many (days) nights. He used to take with him the journey food for that (stay) and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again for another period to stay, till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him in it and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read." (The Prophet added), "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again asked me to read, and I replied, "I do not know how to read," whereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me again to read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read (or, what shall I read?)." Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me and then released me and said, "Read: In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists). Has created man from a clot. Read and Your Lord is Most Generous...up to..... ..that which he knew not." (96.15) Then Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration, his neck muscles twitching with terror till he entered upon Khadija and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and then he said, "O Khadija, what is wrong with me?" Then he told her everything that had happened and said, 'I fear that something may happen to me." Khadija said, 'Never! But have the glad tidings, for by Allah, Allah will never disgrace you as you keep good reactions with your Kith and kin, speak the truth, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guest generously and assist the deserving, calamityafflicted ones." Khadija then accompanied him to (her cousin) Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin `Abdul `Uzza bin Qusai. Waraqa was the son of her paternal uncle, i.e., her father's brother, who during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the Arabic writing and used to write of the Gospels in Arabic as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to him, "O my cousin! Listen to the story of your nephew." Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" The Prophet described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, "This is the same Namus (i.e., Gabriel, the Angel who keeps the secrets) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they turn me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said: "Never did a man come with something similar to what you have brought but was treated with hostility. If I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while and the Prophet became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear before him and say, "O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah's Apostle in truth" whereupon his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and would return home. And whenever the period of the coming of the inspiration used to become long, he would do as before, but when he used to reach the top of a mountain, Gabriel would appear before him and say to him what he had said before. (Ibn `Abbas said regarding the meaning of: 'He it is that Cleaves the daybreak (from the darkness)' (6.96) that Al-Asbah. means the light of the sun during the day and the light of the moon at night).

(The tribes of) Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Lihyan asked Allah's Apostle to provide them with some men to support them against their enemy. He therefore provided them with seventy men from the Ansar whom we used to call Al-Qurra' in their lifetime. They used to collect wood by daytime and pray at night. When they were at the well of Ma'una, the infidels killed them by betraying them. When this news reached the Prophet , he said Al-Qunut for one month In the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes, upon Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Libyan. We used to read a verse of the Qur'an revealed in their connection, but later the verse was cancelled. It was: "convey to our people on our behalf the information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us pleased." (Anas bin Malik added:) Allah's Prophet said Qunut for one month in the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes (namely), Ril, Dhakwan, Usaiya, and Bani Libyan. (Anas added:) Those seventy Ansari men were killed at the well of Mauna.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said that he had heard a man asking ibn Abbas about booty. Ibn Abbas said, "Horses are part of the booty and personal effects are as well."

Then the man repeated his question, and Ibn Abbas repeated his answer. Then the man said, "What are the spoils which He, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned in His Book?" He kept on asking until Ibn Abbas was on the verge of being annoyed, then Ibn Abbas said, "Do you know who this man is like? Ibn Sabigh, who was beaten by Umar ibn al-Khattab because he was notorious for asking foolish questions."

Yahya said that Malik was asked whether someone who killed one of the enemy could keep the man's effects without the permission of the Imam. He said, "No one can do that without the permission of the Imam. Only the Imam can make ijtihad. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever said, 'Whoever kills someone can have his effects,' on any other day than the day of Hunayn."

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Allah's Apostle said, "Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man with whose leadership Allah will grant (the Muslim) victory." So the people kept on thinking the whole night as to who would be given the flag. The next morning the people went to Allah's Apostle and every one of them hoped that he would be given the flag. The Prophet said, "Where is `Ali bin Abi Talib?" The people replied, "He is suffering from eye trouble, O Allah's Apostle." He said, "Send for him and bring him to me." So when `Ali came, the Prophet spat in his eyes and invoked good on him, and be became alright as if he had no ailment. The Prophet then gave him the flag. `Ali said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I fight them (i.e. enemy) till they become like us?" The Prophet said, "Proceed to them steadily till you approach near to them and then invite them to Islam and inform them of their duties towards Allah which Islam prescribes for them, for by Allah, if one man is guided on the right path (i.e. converted to Islam) through you, it would be better for you than (a great number of) red camels."

`Ali demanded the hand of the daughter of Abu Jahl. Fatima heard of this and went to Allah's Apostle saying, "Your people think that you do not become angry for the sake of your daughters as `Ali is now going to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl. "On that Allah's Apostle got up and after his recitation of Tashah-hud. I heard him saying, "Then after! I married one of my daughters to Abu Al-`As bin Al- Rabi` (the husband of Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet ) before Islam and he proved truthful in whatever he said to me. No doubt, Fatima is a part of me, I hate to see her being troubled. By Allah, the daughter of Allah's Apostle and the daughter of Allah's Enemy cannot be the wives of one man." So `Ali gave up that engagement. 'Al-Miswar further said: I heard the Prophet talking and he mentioned a son-in-law of his belonging to the tribe of Bani `Abd-Shams. He highly praised him concerning that relationship and said (whenever) he spoke to me, he spoke the truth, and whenever he promised me, he fulfilled his promise."