I placed water for the bath of the Prophet and he poured water with his right hand on his left and washed them. Then he washed his private parts and rubbed his hands on the ground, washed them with water, rinsed his mouth and washed his nose by putting water in it and blowing it out, washed his face and poured water on his head. He withdrew from that place and washed his feet. A piece of cloth (towel) was given to him but he did not use it.

That a woman of Banu Asad: One day I was with Zaynab, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and we were dyeing her clothes with red ochre. In the meantime the Messenger of Allah (saws) peeped us. When he saw the red ochre, he returned. When Zaynab saw this, she realised that the Messenger of Allah (saws) disapproved of what she had done. She then took and washed her clothes and concealed all redness. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then returned and peeped, and when he did not see anything, he entered.

We set out with Allah's Apostle shortly before the appearance of the new moon of Dhi-l-Hijja and he said, "Whoever wants to assume Ihram for `Umra may do so, and whoever wants to assume Ihram for Hajj may do so. Had not I brought the Hadi with me, I would have assumed Ihram for `Umra." Some of the people assumed Ihram for `Umra while others for Hajj. I was amongst those who had assumed Ihram for `Umra. I got my menses before entering Mecca, and was menstruating till the day of `Arafat. I complained to Allah's Apostle about it, he said, "Abandon your `Umra, undo and comb your hair, and assume Ihram for Hajj." So, I did that accordingly. When it was the night of Hasba (day of departure from Mina), the Prophet sent `Abdur Rahman with me to at-Tan`im. The sub-narrator adds: He (`Abdur-Rahman) let her ride behind him. And she assumed Ihram for `Umra in lieu of the abandoned one. Aisha completed her Hajj and `Umra, and no Hadi, Sadaqa (charity), or fasting was obligatory for her.

The following Verse: If a woman fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part (i.e. the husband notices something unpleasant about his wife, such as old age or the like, and wants to divorce her, but she asks him to keep her and provide for her as he wishes). (4.128) "There is no blame on them if they reconcile on such basis."

That the Prophet said to her, "You have been shown to me twice in my dream. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and some-one said (to me). 'This is your wife.' When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, 'If this is from Allah, it will be done."

"One of the wives of Allah's Apostle joined him in I`tikaf and she noticed blood and yellowish discharge (from her private parts) and put a dish under her when she prayed."

Zainab said: I visited Umm Habibah when her father AbuSufyan, died. She asked for some yellow perfume containing saffron (khaluq) or something else. Then she applied it to a girl and touched her cheeks.

She said: I have no need of perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to observe mourning for one who has died, more than three nights, except for four months and ten days in the case of a husband.

Zaynab said: I also visited Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, when her brother died. She asked for some perfume and used it upon herself.

She then said: I have no need of perfume, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say when he was on the pulpit: It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to observe mourning for one who has died, more than three nights, except for four months and ten days in the case of a husband.

Zaynab said: I heard my mother, Umm Salamah, say: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said: Messenger of Allah, the husband of my daughter has died, and she is suffering from sore eyes; may we put antimony in her eyes?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: No. He said this twice or thrice. Each time he said: No. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The waiting period is now four months and ten days. In pre-Islamic days one of you used to throw away a piece of dung at the end of a year.

Humayd said: I asked Zaynab: What do you mean by throwing away a piece of dung at the end of a year.

Zaynab replied: When the husband of a woman died, she entered a small cell and put on shabby clothes, not touching perfume or any other thing until a year passed. Then an animal such as donkey or sheep or bird was provided for her. She rubbed herself with it. The animal with which she rubbed herself rarely survived. She then came out and was given a piece of dung which she threw away. She then used perfume or something else which she desired.

Abu Dawud said: The Arabic word "hafsh" means a small cell.

Mu'awiyah ibn AbuSufyan asked his sister Umm Habibah, the wife of the Prophet (saws): Would the apostle of Allah (saws) pray in the clothe in which he had an intercourse? She said: Yes, when he would not see any impurity in it.

`Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle used to take the permission of that wife with whom he was supposed to stay overnight if he wanted to go to one other than her, after this Verse was revealed:-- "You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives) and you may receive any (of them) whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily). (33.51) I asked Aisha, "What did you use to say (in this case)?" She said, "I used to say to him, "If I could deny you the permission (to go to your other wives) I would not allow your favor to be bestowed on any other person."

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone wants to put a ring of fire on one he loves, let him put a gold ring on him: if anyone wants to put a necklace of fire on one he loves, let him put a gold necklace on him, and if anyone wants to put a bracelet of fire on one he loves let him put a gold bracelet on him. Keep to silver and amuse yourselves with it.

Ibn `Umar said, "In the lifetime of the Prophet I dreamt that a piece of silk cloth was in my hand and it flew with me to whichever part of Paradise I wanted. I also saw as if two persons (i.e. angels) came to me and wanted to take me to Hell. Then an angel met us and told me not to be afraid. He then told them to leave me. Hafsa narrated one of my dreams to the Prophet and the Prophet said, "Abdullah is a good man. Would that he offer the night prayer (Tahajjud)!" So after that day `Abdullah (bin `Umar) started offering Tahajjud. The companions of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to tell him their dreams that (Laila-tul-Qadr) was on the 27th of the month of Ramadan. The Prophet said, "I see that your dreams agree on the last ten nights of Ramadan and so whoever is in search of it should seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan."

Aisha said that whenever the Prophet intended to go on a journey, he drew lots among his wives (so as to take one of them along with him). During one of his journeys the lot fell on `Aisha and Hafsa. When night fell the Prophet would ride beside `Aisha and talk with her. One night Hafsa said to `Aisha, "Won't you ride my camel tonight and I ride yours, so that you may see (me) and I see (you) (in new situation)?" `Aisha said, "Yes, (I agree.)" So `Aisha rode, and then the Prophet came towards `Aisha's camel on which Hafsa was riding. He greeted Hafsa and then proceeded (beside her) till they dismounted (on the way). `Aisha missed him, and so, when they dismounted, she put her legs in the Idhkhir and said, "O Lord (Allah)! Send a scorpion or a snake to bite me for I am not to blame him (the Prophet ).

When the emigrants reached Medina. Allah's Apostle established the bond of fraternity between `Abdur-Rahman and Sa`d bin Ar-Rabi. Sa`d said to `Abdur-Rahman, "I am the richest of all the Ansar, so I want to divide my property (between us), and I have two wives, so see which of the two you like and tell me, so that I may divorce her, and when she finishes her prescribed period (i.e. 'Idda) of divorce, then marry her." `Abdur-Rahman said, "May Allah bless your family and property for you; where is your market?" So they showed him the Qainuqa' market. (He went there and) returned with a profit in the form of dried yogurt and butter. He continued going (to the market) till one day he came, bearing the traces of yellow scent. The Prophet asked, "What is this (scent)?" He replied, "I got married." The Prophet asked, "How much Mahr did you give her?" He replied, "I gave her a datestone of gold or a gold piece equal to the weight of a date-stone." (The narrator, Ibrahim, is in doubt as to which is correct.)

that he had divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle . `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked Allah's Apostle about that. Allah's Apostle said, "Order him (your son) to take her back and keep her till she is clean and then to wait till she gets her next period and becomes clean again, whereupon, if he wishes to keep her, he can do so, and if he wishes to divorce her he can divorce her before having sexual intercourse with her; and that is the prescribed period which Allah has fixed for the women meant to be divorced."

A beggar passed by Aisha and she gave him a piece of bread. Another man who wore clothes and had a good appearance passed by her, and she made him sit down and he ate (with her). When she was asked about that, she replied: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Treat the people according to their ranks.

Abu Dawud said: The version of Yahya is short.

Abu Dawud said: Maimun did not meet 'A'ishah.

The Prophet (saws) said: May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and awakens his wife; if she refuses, he should sprinkle water on her face. May Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and awakens her husband; if he refuses, she would sprinkle water on his face.

We were ordered to bring out our menstruating women and veiled women in the religious gatherings and invocation of Muslims on the two `Id festivals. These menstruating women were to keep away from their Musalla. A woman asked, "O Allah's Apostle ' What about one who does not have a veil?" He said, "Let her share the veil of her companion."

Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he used to draw lots among his wives and would take with him the one on whom the lot fell. He also used to fix for everyone of his wives a day and a night, but Sauda bint Zam`a gave her day and night to `Aisha, the wife of the Prophet intending thereby to please Allah's Apostle.

After the slanderers had given a forged statement against her, Allah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usama bin Zaid when the Divine Inspiration was delayed. He wanted to ask them and consult them about the question of divorcing me. Usama gave his evidence that was based on what he knew about my innocence, but `Ali said, "Allah has not put restrictions on you and there are many women other than her. Furthermore you may ask the slave girl who will tell you the truth." So the Prophet asked Barira (my salve girl), "Have you seen anything that may arouse your suspicion?" She replied, "I have not seen anything more than that she is a little girl who sleeps, leaving the dough of her family (unguarded) that the domestic goats come and eat it." Then the Prophet stood on the pulpit and said, "O Muslims! Who will help me against the man who has harmed me by slandering my wife? By Allah, I know nothing about my family except good." The narrator added: Then the Prophet mentioned the innocence of `Aisha. (See Hadith No. 274, Vol. 6)

Ibn `Abbas; said, "Once Lian was mentioned before the Prophet whereupon `Asim bin Adi said something and went away. Then a man from his tribe came to him, complaining that he had found a man with his wife. `Asim said, 'I have not been put to task except for my statement (about Lian).' `Asim took the man to the Prophet and the man told him of the state in which he had found his wife. The man was pale, thin, and of lank hair, while the other man whom he claimed he had seen with his wife, was brown, fat and had much flesh on his calves. The Prophet invoked, saying, 'O Allah! Reveal the truth.' So that lady delivered a child resembling the man whom her husband had mentioned he had found her with. The Prophet then made them carry out Lian." Then a man from that gathering asked Ibn `Abbas, "Was she the same lady regarding which the Prophet had said, 'If I were to stone to death someone without witness, I would have stoned this lady'?" Ibn `Abbas said, "No, that was another lady who, though being a Muslim, used to arouse suspicion by her outright misbehavior. "

The Prophet came out towards us, while carrying Umamah, the daughter of Abi Al-As (his granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up, he lifted her up.

Bahiyyah said: I heard a woman asking Aisha about the woman whose menses became abnormal and she had an issue of blood. The Messenger of Allah (saws) asked me to advise her that she should consider the period during which she used to menstruate every month, when her menstruation was normal. Then she should count the days equal to the length of time (of her normal menses); then she should abandon prayer during those days or equal to that period. She should then take a bath, tie a cloth on her private parts a pray.

Lian was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, `Asim bin Adi said a statement about it, and when he left, a man from his tribe came to him complaining that he had seen a man with his wife. `Asim said, "I have been put to trial only because of my statement." So he took the man to the Prophet and the man told him about the incident. The man (husband) was of yellow complexion, thin, and of lank hair, while the man whom he had accused of having been with his wife, was reddish brown with fat thick legs and fat body. The Prophet said, "O Allah! Reveal the truth." Later on the lady delivered a child resembling the man whom the husband had accused of having been with her. So the Prophet made them take the oath of Lian. A man said to Ibn `Abbas in the gathering, "Was that the same lady about whom the Prophet said, "If I were to stone any lady (for committing illegal sexual intercourse) to death without witnesses, I would have stoned that lade to death?" Ibn `Abbas said, "No, that was another lady who used to behave in such a suspicious way among the Muslims that one might accuse her of committing illegal sexual intercourse."

Yahya related to me from Malik from AIqama ibn Abi AIqama that his mother, the mawla of A'isha, umm al-muminin, said, "Women used to send little boxes to A'isha, umm al-muminin, with a piece of cotton cloth in each one on which was yellowness from menstrual blood, asking her about the prayer. She said to them, 'Do not be hasty until you see a white discharge." By that she meant purity from menses.

Those involved in a case of Lian were mentioned before Allah's Apostle `Asim bin Adi said something about that and then left. Later on a man from his tribe came to him and told him that he had found another man with his wife. On that `Asim said, "I have not been put to task except for what I have said (about Lian)." `Asim took the man to Allah's Apostle and he told him of the state in which he found his wife. The man was pale, thin and lank-haired, while the other man whom he had found with his wife was brown, fat with thick calves and curly hair. Allah's Apostle said, "O Allah! Reveal the truth." Then the lady delivered a child resembling the man whom her husband had mentioned he had found with her. So Allah's Apostle ordered them to carry out Lien. A man from that gathering said to Ibn `Abbas, "Was she the same lady regarding whom Allah's Apostle said, 'If I were to stone to death someone without witnesses, I would have stoned this lady'?" Ibn `Abbas said, "No, that was another lady who, though being a Muslim, used to arouse suspicion because of her outright misbehavior."

Allah's Apostle forbade two ways of wearing clothes and two kinds of dealings. (A) He forbade the dealings of the Mulamasa and the Munabadha. In the Mulamasa transaction the buyer just touches the garment he wants to buy at night or by daytime, and that touch would oblige him to buy it. In the Munabadha, one man throws his garment at another and the latter throws his at the former and the barter is complete and valid without examining the two objects or being satisfied with them (B) The two ways of wearing clothes were Ishtimal-as-Samma, i e., to cover one's shoulder with one's garment and leave the other bare: and the other way was to wrap oneself with a garment while one was sitting in such a way that nothing of that garment would cover one's private part.

I took `Abdullah bin Abu Talha to Allah's Apostle to perform Tahnik for him. (Tahnik was a custom among the Muslims that whenever a child was born they used to take it to the Prophet who would chew a piece of date and put a part of its juice in the child's mouth). I saw the Prophet and he had an instrument for branding in his hands and was branding the camels of Zakat.

In the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) there was a woman who had an issue of blood. So Umm Salamah asked the Messenger of Allah (saws) to give a decision about her. He said: She should consider the number of nights and days during which she used to menstruate each month before she was afflicted with this trouble and abandon prayer during that period each month. When those days and nights are over, she should take a bath, tie a cloth over her private parts and pray.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from Zaynab bint Abu Salama that she saw Zaynab bint Jahsh, the wife of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf, and she used to bleed as if menstruating. She would do ghusl and pray.

I was with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when the Messenger of Allah (saws) appointed him to be the governor of the Yemen. I collected some ounces of gold during my stay with him.

When Ali returned from the Yemen to the Messenger of Allah (saws) he said: I found that Fatimah had put on coloured clothes and the smell of the perfume she had used was pervading the house. (He expressed his amazement at the use of coloured clothes and perfume.)

She said: What is wrong with you? The Messenger of Allah (saws) has ordered his companions to put off their ihram and they did so.

Ali said: I said to her: I raised my voice in talbiyah for which the Prophet (saws) raised his voice (i.e. I wore ihram for qiran). Then I came to the Prophet (saws).

He asked (me): How did you do? I replied: I raised my voice in talbiyah, for which the Prophet (saws) raised his voice. He said: I have brought the sacrificial animals with me and combined umrah and hajj. He said to me: Sacrifice sixty-seven or sixty-six camels (for me) and withhold for yourself thirty-three or thirty-four, and withhold a piece (of flesh) for me from every camel.

The Prophet stayed for three days between Khaibar and Medina, and there he consummated his marriage to Safiyya bint Huyai. I invited the Muslims to the wedding banquet in which neither meat nor bread was offered. He ordered for leather dining-sheets to be spread, and dates, dried yoghurt and butter were laid on it, and that was the Prophet's wedding banquet. The Muslims wondered, "Is she (Saffiyya) considered as his wife or his slave girl?" Then they said, "If he orders her to veil herself, she will be one of the mothers of the Believers; but if he does not order her to veil herself, she will be a slave girl. So when the Prophet proceeded from there, he spared her a space behind him (on his shecamel) and put a screening veil between her and the people.

We used to pray with the Prophet in scorching heat, and if someone of us could not put his face on the earth (because of the heat) then he would spread his clothes and prostrate over them.

Water was placed for the ablution of Allah's Apostle after Janaba. He poured water with his right hand over his left twice or thrice and then washed his private parts and rubbed his hand on the earth or on a wall twice or thrice and then rinsed his mouth, washed his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out and then washed his face and forearms and poured water over his head and washed his body. Then he shifted from that place and washed his feet. I brought a piece of cloth, but he did not take it and removed the traces of water from his body with his hand."

I bought Barirah but her masters put the condition that her Wala' would be for them. I told the Prophet about it. He said (to me), "Manumit (free) her as her Wala' will be for the one who pays the price." So, I manumitted (freed) her. The Prophet called Barirah and gave her the option of either staying with her husband or leaving him. She said, "Even if he gave me so much money, I would not stay with him," and so she preferred her freedom to her husband.

While the Prophet was in the house of one of his wives, one of the mothers of the believers sent a meal in a dish. The wife at whose house the Prophet was, struck the hand of the servant, causing the dish to fall and break. The Prophet gathered the broken pieces of the dish and then started collecting on them the food which had been in the dish and said, "Your mother (my wife) felt jealous." Then he detained the servant till a (sound) dish was brought from the wife at whose house he was. He gave the sound dish to the wife whose dish had been broken and kept the broken one at the house where it had been broken.

(the wife of the Prophet) The wife of Rifa`a Al-Qurazi came to Allah's Apostle while I was sitting, and Abu Bakr was also there. She said, 'O Allah s Apostle! I was the wife of Rifa`a and he divorced me irrevocably. Then I married `AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair who, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle, has only something like a fringe of a garment, Showing the fringe of her veil. Khalid bin Sa`id, who was standing at the door, for he had not been admitted, heard her statement and said, "O Abu Bakr! Why do you not stop this lady from saying such things openly before Allah's Apostle?" No, by Allah, Allah's Apostle did nothing but smiled. Then he said to the lady, "Perhaps you want to return to Rifa`a? That is impossible unless `Abdur-Rahman consummates his marriage with you." That became the tradition after him.

A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Suppose a man saw another man with his wife, should he kill him whereupon you might kill him (i.e. the killer) (in Qisas) or what should he do?" So Allah revealed concerning their case what is mentioned of the order of Mula'ana. Allah's Apostle said to the man, "The matter between you and your wife has been decided." So they did Mula'ana in the presence of Allah's Apostle and I was present there, and then the man divorced his wife. So it became a tradition to dissolve the marriage of those spouses who were involved in a case of Mula'ana. The woman was pregnant and the husband denied that he was the cause of her pregnancy, so the son was (later) ascribed to her. Then it became a tradition that such a son would be the heir of his mother, and she would inherit of him what Allah prescribed for her.

Malik said, "There is no harm in someone who is in itikaf entering into a marriage contract as long as there is no physical relationship. A woman in itikaf may also be betrothed as long as there is no physical relationship. What is haram for someone in itikaf in relation to his womenfolk during the day is haram for him during the night."

Yahya said that Ziyad said that Malik said, "It is not halal for a man to have intercourse with his wife while he is in itikaf, nor for him to take pleasure in her by kissing her, or whatever. However, I have not heard anyone disapproving of a man, or woman, in itikaf getting married as long as there is no physical relationship. Marriage is not disapproved of for someone fasting."

"There is, however, a distinction between the marriage of someone in itikaf and that of someone who is muhrim, in that some one who is muhrim can eat, drink, visit the sick and attend funerals, but cannot put on perfume, whilst a man or woman in itikaf can put on oil and perfume and groom their hair, but cannot attend funerals or pray over the dead or visit the sick. Thus their situations with regard to marriage are different."

"This is the sunna as it has come down to us regarding marriage for those who are muhrim, doing itikaf, or fasting.