I, along with some people, heard Jabir b. 'Abdullah saying: We the Companions of Muhammad (may peace be upon him) put on Ihram for Hajj only. Ata' further said that Jabir stated: Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) came on the 4th of Dhu'l-Hijja and he commanded us to put off Ihram. 'Ata'said that he (Allah's Apostle) commanded them to put off Ihram and to go to their wives (for intercourse). 'Ata' said: It was not obligatory for them, but (intercourse) with them had become permissible. We said: When only five days had been left to reach 'Arafa, he (the Holy Prophet) commanded us to have intercourse with our wives. And we reached 'Arafa in a state as if we had just had intercourse (with them). He ('Ata') said: Jabir pointed with his hand and I (perceive) as if I am seeing his hand as it moved. In the (meantime) the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood amongst us and said: You are well aware that I am the most God-fearing, most truthful and most pious amongst you. And if there were not sacrificial animals with me, I would also have put off Ihram as you have put off. And if I were to know this matter of mine what I have come to know later on, I would not have brought sacrificial animals with me. So they (the Companions) put off Ihram and we also put it off and listened to (the Holy Prophet) and obeyed (his command). Jabir said: 'Ali came with the revenue of the taxes (from Yemen). He (the Holy Prophet) said: For what (purpose) have you entered into the state of Ihram (whether you entered into the state purely for Hajj and, Umra jointly or Hajj and Umra separately)? He said: For the purpose for which the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had entered. (The Holy Prophet had entered as a Qiran, i.e. Ihram covering both Umra and Hajj simultaneously.) Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Offer a sacrifice of animal, and retain Ihram. And 'Ali brought a sacrificial animal for him (for the Holy Prophet). Suraqa b. Malik b. Ju'shum said: Messenger of Allah, is it (this concession putting off Ihram of Hajj or Umra) meant for this year or is it forever? He said: It is forever.

When the 'Iddah of Zainab was over, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to Zaid to make a mention to her about him. Zaid went on until he came to her and she was fermenting her flour. He (Zaid) said: As I saw her I felt in my heart an idea of her greatness so much so that I could not see towards her (simply for the fact) that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had made a mention of her. So I turned my back towards her. and I turned upon my heels, and said: Zainab, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has sent (me) with a message to you. She said: I do not do anything until I solicit the will of my Lord. So she stood at her place of worship and the (verse of) the Qur'an (pertaining to her marriage) were revealed, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to her without permission. He (the narrator) said: I saw that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) served us bread and meat until it was broad day light and the people went away, but some persons who were busy in con- versation stayed on in the house after the meal. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) also went out and I also followed him, and he began to visit the apartments of his wives greeting them (with the words): As-Salamu 'alaikum, and they would say: Allah's Messenger, how did you find your family (hadrat Zainab)? He (the narrator) stated: I do not know whether I had informed him that the people had gone out or he (the Holy Prophet) informed me (about that). He moved on until he entered the apartment, and I also went and wanted to enter (the apartment) along with him, but he threw a curtain between me and him, as (the verfes pertaining to seclusion) had been revealed, and people were instructed in what they had been instructed. Ibn Rafii had made this addition in his narration:" O you who believe, enter not the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished..." to the words"... Allah forbears not from the truth."

I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the Day of Hunain. I and Abd Sufyan b. Harith b. 'Abd al-Muttalib stuck to the Messenaer of Allah (may peace be upon him) and we did not separate from him. And the Messenger of Allah (may place be upon him) was riding on his white mule which had been presented to him by Farwa b. Nufitha al-Judhami. When the Muslims had an encounter with the disbelievers, the Muslims fled, falling back, but the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) began to spur his mule towards the disbelievers. I was holding the bridle of the mule of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) checking it from going very fast, and Abu Sufyan was holding the stirrup of the (mule of the) Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), who said: Abbas, call out to the people of al-Samura. Abbas (who was a man with a loud voice) called out at the top of the voice: Where are the people of Samura? (Abbas said: ) And by God, when they heard my voice, they came back (to us) as cows come back to their calves, and said: We are present, we are present! 'Abbas said: They began to fight the infidels. Then there was a call to The Ansar. Those (who called out to them) shouted: O ye party of the Ansar! O party of the Ansar! Banu al-Harith b. al-Khazraj were the last to be called. Those (who called out to them) shouted: O Banu Al-Harith b. al-Khazraj! O BanU Harith b. al-Khazraj! And the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) who was riding on his mule looked at their fight with his neck stretched forward and he said: This is the time when the fight is raging hot. Then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) took (some) pebbles and threw them in the face of the infidels. Then he said: By the Lord of Muhammad, the infidels are defeated. 'Abbas said: I went round and saw that the battle was in the same condition in which I had seen it. By Allah, it remained in the same condition until he threw the pebbles. I continued to watch until I found that their force had been spent out and they began to retreat.

On the day of the Battle of Khaibar my brother fought a fierce fight by the side of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). His sword rebounded and killed him. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon hill) talked about his death and doubted (whether it was martyrdom). (They said): (He is) a man killed by his own weapon, and expressed doubt about his affair. Salama said: When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) returned from Khaibar, I said: Messenger of Allah, permit me that I may recite to you some rajaz verses. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) permitted him. 'Umar b. Khattab said: I know what you will recite. I recited: By God, if God had guided us not, We would hive neither been guided aright nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: What you have said is true, 'I (continued): And descend on us peace and tranquillity And keep us steadfast if we encounter (with our enemies) And the polytheists have rebelled against us. When I finished my rajaz, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Who composed these verses? I said: They were composed by my brother. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: May God show mercy to him! I said: By God, some people are reluctant to invoke God's mercy on him (because) they say he is a man who died by his own sword. (Hearing this) the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: He died as God's devotee and warrior. Ibn Shihab has said: I asked one of the sons of Salama (b. Akwa') about (the death of 'Amir). He related to me a similar tradition except that he said: When I said some people were reluctant invoke God's blessings on him, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be, upon him said: They lied. ('Amir) died as God's devotee and warrior (in the cause of Allah). For him there is a double reward, and he pointed out this by putting his two fingers together.

Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind me. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that. He then said: One day Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. He (Husain) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren't his wives the members of his family? Thereupon he said: His wives are the members of his family (but here) the members of his family are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: 'Ali and the offspring of 'Ali, 'Aqil and the offspring of 'Aqil and the offspring of Ja'far and the offspring of 'Abbas. Husain said: These are those for whom the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. Zaid said: Yes.

I invited my mother, who was a polytlieist, to Islam. I invited her one day and she said to me something about Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) which I hated. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) weeping and said: Allah's Messenger, I invited my mother to Islam but she did not accept (my invitation). I invited her today but she said to me something which I did not like. (Kindly) supplicate Allah that He may set the mother of Abu Huraira right. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: O Allah, set the mother of Abu Huraira on the right path. I came out quite pleased with the supplication of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and when I came near the door it was closed from within. My mother heard the noise of my footsteps and she said: Abu Huraira, just wait. And I heard the noise of falling of water. She took a bath and put on the shirt and quickly covered her head with a headdress and opened the door and then said: Abu Huraira, I bear witness to the fact that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His bondsman and His Messenger. He (Abu Huraira) said: I went back to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and (this time) I was shedding the tears of joy. I said: Allah's Messenger, be happy, for Allah has responded to your supplication and He has set on the right path the mother of Abu Huraira. He (the Holy Prophet) praised Allah, and extolled Him and uttered good words. I said: Allah's Messenger, supplicate to Allah so that He may instill love of mine and that of my mother too in the believing servants and let our hearts be filled with their love, whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: O Allah, let there be love of these servants of yours, i.e. Abu Huraira and his mother, in the hearts of the believing servants and let their hearts be filled with the love of the believing servants. (Abu Huraira said: This prayer) was so well granted by Allah that no believer was ever born who heard of me and who saw me but did not love me.

I never remained behind Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) from any expedition which he undertook except the Battle of Tabuk and that of the Battle of Badr. So far as the Battle of Badr is concerned, nobody was blamed for remaining behind as Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and the Muslims (did not set out for attack but for waylaying) the caravan of the Quraish, but it was Allah Who made them confront their enemies without their intention (to do so). I had the honour to be with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the night of 'Aqaba when we pledged our allegiance to Islam and it was more dear to me than my participation in the Battle of Badr, although Badr was more popular amongst people as compared with that (Tabuk). And this is my story of remaining back from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk. Never did I possess means enough and (my circumstances) more favourable than at the occasion of this expedition. And, by Allah, I had never before this expedition simultaneously in my possession two rides. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) set out for this expedition in extremely hot season; the journey was long and the land (which he and his army had to cover) was waterless and he had to confront a large army, so he informed the Muslims about the actual situation (they had to face), so that they should adequately equip themselves for this expedition, and he also told them the destination where he intended to go. And the Muslims who accompanied Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) at that time were large in numbers but there was no proper record of them. Ka'b (further) said: Few were the persons who wanted to absent themselves, and were under the impression that they could easily conceal themselves (and thus remain undetected) until revelations from Allah, the Exalted and Glorious (descended in connection with them). And Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) set out on an expedition when the fruits were ripe and their shadows had been lengthened. I had weakness for them and it was during this season that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) made preparations and the Muslims too along with them. I also set out in the morning so that I should make preparations along with them but I came back and did nothing and said to myself: I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) until people were about to depart and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) set out and the Muslims too along with him, but I made no preparations. I went early in the morning and came back, but I made no decision. I continued to do so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. I also made up my mind to march on and to meet them. Would that I had done that but perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as I went out amongst people, I was shocked to find that I did not find anyone like me but people who were labelled as hypocrites or the people whom Allah granted exemption because of their incapacity and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) took no notice of me until he had reached Tabuk. (One day as he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk) he said: What has happened to Ka'b b. Malik? A person from Banu' Salama said: Allah's Messenger, the (beauty) of his cloak and his appreciation of his sides have allured him and he was thus detained. Mua'dh b. Jabal said: Woe be upon that what you contend. Allah's Messenger, by Allah, we know nothing about him but good. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), however, kept quiet. It was during that time that he (the Holy Prophet) saw a person (dressed in all white (garment) shattering the illusion of eye (mirage). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: May he be Abu Khaithama and, lo, it was Abu Khaithama al-Ansari and he was that person who contributed a sa' of dates and was scoffed at by the hypocrites. Ka'b b. Malik farther said: When this news reached me that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was on his way back from Tabuk I was greatly perturbed. I thought of fabricating false stories and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger on the following day. In this connection, I sought the help of every prudent man from amongst the members of my family and when it was said to me that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was about to arrive, all the false ideas banished (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing could save me but the telling of truth, so I decided to speak the truth and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) arrived (in Medina). And it was his habit that as he came back from a journey he first went to the mosque and observed two Rak'ahs of nafl prayer (as a mark of gratitude) and then sat amongst people. And as he did that, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him and they were more than eighty persons. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) accepted their excuses on the very face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their secret (intentions) to Allah, until I presented myself to him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He (the Holy Prophet) then said to me: Come forward. I went forward until I sat in front of him. He said to me: What kept you back? Could you not afford to go in for a ride? I said: Allah's Messenger, by Allah, if I were to sit in the presence of anybody else from amongst the worldly people I would have definitely saved myself from his anger on one pretext (or the other) and I have also the knack to fall into argumentation, but, by Allah, I am fully aware of the fact that if I were to put forward before you a false excuse to please you Allah would definitely provoke your wrath upon me, and if I speak the truth you may be annoyed with me, but I hope that Allah would make its end well and, by Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I never possessed so good means, and I never had such favourable conditions for me as I had when I stayed behind you (failed to join the expedition). Thereupon, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: This man told the truth, so get up until Allah gives a decision in your case. I stood up and some people of Banu' Salama followed me in hot haste, and they said to me: By Allah, we do not know about you that you committed a sin prior to this. You, however, showed inability to put forward an excuse before Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as those who stayed behind him have put forward excuses. It would have been enough for the forgiveness of your sin that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) would have sought forgiveness for you. By Allah, they continued to incite me until I thought of going back to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and contradict myself. Then I said to them: Has anyone else also met the same fate? They said: Yes, two persons have met the same fate as has fallen to you and they have made the sane statement as you have made, and the same verdict has been delivered in their case as it has been delivered in your case. I said: Who are they? They said: Murara b. ar-Rabi'a 'Amiri and Hilal b. Umayya al-Waqafi. They made a mention of these two pious persons to me who had participated in the Battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. I went away when they named these two persons. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) forbade the Nluslims to talk with three of us from amongst those (persons) who had stayed behind him. The people began to avoid us and their attitude towards us underwent a change and it seemed as if the whole atmosphere had turned (hostile) against us and it was in fact the same atmosphere ot which I was fully aware and in which I had lived (for a fairly long time). We spent fifty nights in this very state and my two friends confined themselves withen their houses and spent (most of the) time in weeping, but as I was young and strong amongst them I got (out of my house), participated in congregational prayers, moved about in the bazar; but none spoke to me. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as he sat amongst (people) after the prayer, greeted him and asked myself whether his lips stirred in response to my greetings (or not). Then I observed prayer beside him and looked at him with stealing glances and when I attended to my prayer, he looked at me and when I cast a glance at him he turned away his eyes from me. And when the harsh treatment of the Muslims towards me extended to a (considerable) length of time, I walked until I climbed upon the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada, and he was my cousin, and I had the greatest love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not respond to my greetings. I said to him: Abu Qatada, I adjure you by Allah, arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (may peace be upon him) the most. He kept quiet. I again repeated saying: I adjure you by Allah. arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (may peace be upon him) the most. He kept quiet. I again adjured him, whereupon he said: Allah and the Messenger (may peace be upon him) are best aware of it. My eyes began to shed tears and I came back climbing down from the wall and as I was walking in the bazar of Medina a Nabatean from amongst the Nabateans of Syria, who had come to sell foodgrains in Medina, asked people to direct him to Ka'b b. Malik. People gave him the indication by pointing towards me. He came to me and delivered to me a letter of the King of Ghassan and as I was a scribe I read that letter and it was written like this:" Coming to my point, it has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Holy Prophet) is subjecting you to cruelty and Allah has not created you for a place where you are to be degraded and where you cannot find your right place, so you come to us that we should accord you honour. As I read that letter I said: This is also a calamity, so I burnt it in the oven. When out of the fifty days, forty days had passed and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) received no revelation, there came the messenger of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to me and said: Verily, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has commanded you to remain separate from your wife. I said: Should I divorce her or what (else) should I do? He said: No, but only remain separate from her and don't have sexual contact with her. The same message was sent to my companions. So I said to my wife: You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case. The wife of Hilal b. Umayya came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, Hilal b. Umayya is a senile person, he has no servant. Do you disapprove of my serving him? He said: No, but don't go near him. She said: By Allah, he has no such instinct in him. By Allah, he spends his time in weeping from that day to this day. Some of the members of my family said to me: Were you to seek permission from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in regard to your wife as he has granted permission to the wife of Hilal b. Umayya to serve him. I said: I would not seek permission from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), for I cannot say what Allah's Apostle may say in response to seeking my permission. Moreover, I am a young man. It was in this state that I spent ten more nights and thus fifty nights had passed that (people) had observed boycott with us. It was on the morning of the fiftieth night that I observed my dawn prayer and was sitting on one of the roofs of our houses. And I was in fact sitting in that very state which Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, has described about us in these words:" Life had become hard for myself and the earth had compressed despite its vastness," that I heard the noise of an announcer from the peak of the hill of Sal' saying at the top of his voice: Ka'b b. Malik, there is glad tidings for you. I fell down in prostration and came to realise that there was (a message of) relief for me. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had informed the people of the acceptance of our repentance by Allah as he offered the dawn prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my friends in order to give them the glad tidings and a person galloped his horse and came from the tribe of Aslam and his horse reached me more quickly than his voice. And when he came to me whose sound I heard, he gave me the glad tidings. I took off my clothes and clothed him with them because of his bringing good news to me and, by Allah, I possessed nothing else (in the form of clothes) than these two on that occasion, and I asked one to lend me two clothes and dressed myself in them. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and on my way I met groups of people who greeted me because of (the acceptance of) repentance and they said: Here is a greeting for you for your repentance being accepted by Allah. (I moved on) until I came to the mosque and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had been sitting there amongst persons. So Talha b. 'Ubaidullah got up and rushed towards me and he shook hands with me and greeted me and, by Allah, no person stood up (to greet me) from amongst the emigrants except he. Ka'b said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talha. Ka'b further said: I greeted Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) with Assalam-o-'Alaikam and his face was glistening because of delight, and he said: Let there be glad tidings and blessings for you, the like of which (you have neither found nor you will find, as you find today) since your mother gave your birth. I said: Allah's Messenger. is this acceptance of repentance from you or from Allah? He said: No, (it is not from ma), it is from Allah, and it was common with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) that as he was happy his face brightened up and it looked like a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognised it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said: Allah's Messenger, am I allowed to give in charity my wealth for Allah's sake and for the sake of His Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Keep some property with you as it is better for you. I said: I shall keep with me that part (of my property) which fell to my lot (on the occasion of the expedition of) Khaibar. I said: Allah's Messenger, verily, Allah has granted me salvation because of truth and, therefore, (I think) that repentance implies that I should not speak anything but truth as long as I live. He said: By Allah, I do not know whether anyone amongst the Muslims was put to more severe trial than I by Allah because of telling the truth. And since I made a mention of this to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) up to this day I have not told any lie and, by Allah, I have decided not to tell a lie and I hope that Allah would save me (from trials) for the rest of my life and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed these verses:" Certainly, Allah has turned in Mercy to the Prophet and the emigrants and the helpers who followed him in the hour of hardship after the hearts of a part of them were about to deviate; then He turned to them in mercy. Surely, to them He is Compassionate, Merciful and (He turned in Mercy) to the three who were left behind until the earth despite its vastness became strait for them and their souls were also straitened to them." And this revelation reached up to the (words):" O you who believe, develop God consciousness, and be with the truthful" (ix. 117-118). Ka'b said: By Allah, since Allah directed me to Islam there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and if I were to tell a lie I would have been ruined as were ruined those who told lies, for in regard to those who told lies Allah used harshest words used for anyone as He descended revelation (and the words of Allah are):" They will swear by Allah to you when you return to them so that you may leave them alone. So leave them alone. Surely, they are unclean and their resort is Hell, recompense for what they earned. They will swear to you that you may be pleased with them but if you are pleased with them, yet surely Allah is not pleased with the transgressing people" (ix. 95-96). K'ab said that the matter of us three persons was deferred as compared with those who took an oath in the presence of Allahs Messenger (may peace be upon him) and he accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and Allah did not give any decision in regard to us. It was Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Who gave decisions in our case, three who remained behind. (The words of the Qur'an)" the three who were left behind" do not mean that we remained back from Jihad but these imply that He kept our matter behind them who took oath and presented excuse before Him. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters.

While I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), a man in the company sneezed. I said: Allah have mercy on you! The people stared at me with disapproving looks, so I said: Woe be upon me, why is it that you stare at me? They began to strike their hands on their thighs, and when I saw them urging me to observe silence (I became angry) but I said nothing. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said the prayer (and I declare that neither before him nor after him have I seen a leader who gave better instruction than he for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom). I swear that he did not scold, beat or revile me but said: Talking to persons is not fitting during the prayer, for it consists of glorifying Allah, declaring his Greatness. and recitation of the Qur'an or words to that effect. I said: Messenger of Allah. I was till recently a pagan, but Allah has brought Islam to us; among us there are men who have recourse to Kahins. He said, Do not have recourse to them. I said. There are men who take omens. That is something which they find in their breasts, but let it not turn their way (from freedom of action). I said: Among us there are men who draw lines. He said: There was a prophet who drew lines, so if they do it as they did, that is allowable. I had a maid-servant who tended goats by the side of Uhud and Jawwaniya. One day I happened to pass that way and found that a wolf had carried a goat from her flock. I am after all a man from the posterity of Adam. I felt sorry as they (human beings) feel sorry. So I slapped her. I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and felt (this act of mine) as something grievous I said: Messenger of Allah, should I not grant her freedom? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He said to her: Where is Allah? She said: He is in the heaven. He said: Who am I? She said: Thou art the Messenger of Allah. He said: Grant her freedom, she is a believing woman.

I was sitting behind Abu Talha on the Day of Khaibar and my feet touched the foot of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and we came (to the people of Khaibar) when the sun had risen and they had driven out their cattle, and had themselves come out with their axes, large baskets and hatchets, and they said: (Here come) Muhammad and the army. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Khaibar is ruined. Verily when we get down in the valley of a people, evil is the morning of the warned ones (al-Qur'an, xxxvii. 177). Allah, the Majestic and the Glorious, defeated them (the inhabitants of Khaibar), and there fell to the lot of Dihya a beautiful girl, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) got her in exchange of seven heads, and then entrusted her to Umm Sulaim so that she might embellish her and prepare her (for marriage) with him. He (the narrator) said: He had been under the impression that he had said that so that she might spend her period of 'Iddah in her (Umm Sulaim's) house. (The woman) was Safiyya daughter of Huyayy. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) arranged the wedding feast consisting of dates, cheese, and refined butter, and pits were dug and tiers were set in them dining cloths, and there was brought cheese and refined butter, and these were placed there. And the people ate to their fill, and they said: We do not know whether he (the Holy Prophet) had married her (as a free woman), or as a slave woman. They said: If he (the Holy Prophet) would make her wear the veil, then she would be a (free married) woman, and if he would not make her wear the veil, then she should be a slave woman. When he intended to ride, he made her wear the veil and she sat on the hind part of the camel; so they came to know that he had married her. As they approached Medina, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) drove (his ride) quickly and so we did. 'Adba' (the name of Allah's Apostle's camel) stumbled and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) fell down and she (Radrat Safiyya: also fell down. He (the Holy Prophet) stood up and covered her. Women looked towards her and said: May Allah keep away the Jewess! He (the narrator) said: I said: Aba Hamza, did Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) really fall down? He said: Yes, by Allah, he in fact fell down.

We went with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) with no other aim but that of Hajj till we came (to the place known as) Sarif; and there I entered in the state of menses. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to me while I was weeping. He said: What makes you weep? I said: Would that I had not come (for Pilgrimage) this year. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What has happened to you? You have perhaps entered the period of menses. I said: Yes. He said: This is what has been ordained for the daughters of Adam. Do what a pilgrim does except that you should not circumambulate the House, till you are purified (of the menses). She ('A'isha) said: When I came to Mecca, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to his companions: Make this (Ihram) the Ihram for 'Umra. So the people put off Ihram except those who had sacrificial animals with them. She ('A'isha) said: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had the sacrificial animal with him, and so had Abu Bakr, 'Umar and other persons of means. They (those who had put off Ihram again) put on Ihram (for Hajj) when they marched (towards Mina), and it was the 8th of Dhu'l-Hijja. She ('A'isha) said: When it was the day of sacrifice (10th of Dhu'l-Hijja), I was purified, and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded me and I did the circumambulation of Ifada. She said that the flesh of cow was sent to us. I said: What is it? They said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has offered a cow as sacrifice on behalf of his wives. When it was the night at Hasba, I said: Messenger of Allah, people are coming back from Hajj and Umra, where as I am coming back from Hajj (alone). She (A'isha) reported: He (the Holy Prophet) commanded" Abd al-Rahman b. Abu Bakr to mount me upon his camel behind him. She ('A'isha) said: I was very young and I well remember that I dozed off and my face touched the hind part of the haudaj (camel litter) till we came to Tan'im, and entered into the state of Ihram in lieu of Umra (which I for the time being abandoned) and which the people had performed.

Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) came and sought permission to see Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He found people sitting at his door and none amongst them had been granted permission, but it was granted to Abu Bakr and he went in. Then came 'Umar and he sought permission and it was granted to him, and he found Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) sitting sad and silent with his wives around him. He (Hadrat 'Umar) said: I would say something which would make the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) laugh, so he said: Messenger of Allah, I wish you had seen (the treatment meted out to) the daughter ofKhadija when you asked me some money, and I got up and slapped her on her neck. Allah's Messenger (mav peace be upon him) laughed and said: They are around me as you see, asking for extra money. Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) then got up went to 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) and slapped her on the neck, and 'Umar stood up before Hafsa and slapped her saying: You ask Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) which he does not possess. They said: By Allah, we do not ask Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) for anything he does not possess. Then he withdrew from them for a month or for twenty-nine days. Then this verse was revealed to him:" Prophet: Say to thy wives... for a mighty reward" (xxxiii. 28). He then went first to 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) and said: I want to propound something to you, 'A'isha, but wish no hasty reply before you consult your parents. She said: Messenger of Allah, what is that? He (the Holy Prophet) recited to her the verse, whereupon she said: Is it about you that I should consult my parents, Messenger of Allah? Nay, I choose Allah, His Messenger, and the Last Abode; but I ask you not to tell any of your wives what I have said He replied: Not one of them will ask me without my informing her. God did not send me to be harsh, or cause harm, but He has sent me to teach and make things easy.

" Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment and he was stoned (to death)" And he mentioned nothing subsequent to that pertaining to the revelation of verses.

You have adjudged their case with the judgment of God. the Exalted and Glorified.

In the state of the Ignorance (before embracing Islam), I used to think that the people were in error and they were not on anything (which may be called the right path) and worshipped the idols. Meanwhile, I heard of a man in Mecca who was giving news (on the basis of his prophetic knowledge) ; so I sat on my ride and went to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for him. I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Meccans and thus managed) to enter Mecca and go to him (the Holy Prophet) and I said to him: Who are you? He said: I am a Prophet (of Allah). I again said: Who is a Prophet? He said: (I am a Prophet in the sense that) I have been sent by Allah. I said: What is that which you have been sent with? He said: I have been sent to join ties of relationship (with kindness and affection), to break the Idols, and to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that) nothing is to be associated with Him. I said: Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)? He said: A free man and a slave. He (the narrator) said: Abu Bakr and Bilal were there with him among those who had embraced Islam by that time. I said: I intend to follow you. He said: During these days you would not be able to do so. Don't you see the (hard) condition under which I and (my) people are living? You better go back to your people and when you hear that I have been granted victory, you come to me. So I went to my family. I was in my home when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to Medina. I was among my people and used to seek news and ask people when he arrived in Medina. Then a group of people belonging to Yathrib (Medina) came. I said (to them): How is that person getting on who has come to Medina? They said: The people are hastening to him, while his people (the polytheists of Mecca) planned to kill him, but they could not do so. I (on hearing it) came to Medina and went to him and said: Messenger of Allah, do you recognise me? He said: Yes, you are the same man who met me at Mecca. I said: It is so. I again said: Prophet of Allah, tell me that which Allah has taught you and which I do not know, tell me about the prayer. He said: Observe the dawn prayer, then stop praying when the sun is rising till it is fully up, for when it rises it comes up between the horns of Satan, and the unbelievers prostrate themselves to it at that time. Then pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended (by angels) till the shadow becomes about the length of a lance; then cease prayer, for at that time Hell is heated up. Then when the shadow moves forward, pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended by angels, till you pray the afternoon prayer, then cease prayer till the sun sets, for it sets between the horns of devil, and at that time the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. I said: Apostle of Allah, tell me about ablution also. He said: None of you who uses water for ablution and rinses his mouth, snuffs up water and blows it, but the sins of his face, and his mouth and his nostrils fall out. When he washes his face, as Allah has commanded him, the sins of his face fall out from the end of his beard with water. Then (when) he washes his forearms up to the elbows, the sins of his arms fall out along with water from his finger-tips. And when he wipes his head, the sins of his head fall out from the points of his hair along with water. And (when) he washes his feet up to the ankles, the sins of his feet fall out from his toes along with water. And if he stands to pray and praises Allah, lauds Him and glorifies Him with what becomes Him and shows wholehearted devotion to Allah, his sins would depart leaving him (as innocent) as he was on the day his mother bore him. 'Amr b. 'Abasa narrated this hadith to Abu Umama, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and Abu Umama said to him: 'Amr b. 'Abasa, think what you are saying that such (a great reward) is given to a man at one place (only in the act of ablution and prayer). Upon this 'Amr said: Abu Umama, I have grown old and my bones have become weak and I am at the door of death; what impetus is there for me to attribute a lie to Allah and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)? Had I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) once, twice, or three times (even seven times), I would have never narrated it, but I have heard it from him on occasions more than these.

We arrived at Hudaibiya with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and we were fourteen hundred in number. There were fifty goats for them which could not be watered (by the small quantity of water in the local well). So, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sat on the brink of the well. Either he prayed or spat into the well The water welled up. We drank and watered (the beasts as well). Then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) called us to take the vow of allegiance, as he was sitting at the base of a tree. I was the first man to take the vow. Then other people took the vow. When half the number of people had done so, he said to me: You take the vow, Salama. I said: I was one of those who took the vow in the first instance. He said: (You may do) again. Then the Messenger. of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw that I was without weapons. He gave me a big or a small shield. Then he continued to administer vows to the people until it was the last batch of them. He said (to me): Won't you swear allegiance, Salama? I said: Messenger of Allah, I took the oath with the first batch of the people and then again when you were in the middle of the people. He said: (Doesn't matter), you may (do so) again. So I took the oath of allegiance thrice. Then he said to me: Salama, where is the shield which I gave to thee? I said: Messenger of Allah, my uncle 'Amir met me and he was without any weapons. So I gave the shield to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) laughed and said: You are like a person of the days gone by who said: O God. I seek a friend who is dearer to me than myself. (When all Companions had sworn allegiance to the Holy Prophet), the polytheists sent messages of peace, until people could move from our camp to that of the Meccans and vice versa. Finally, the peace treaty was concluded. I was a dependant of Talha b. Ubaidullah. I watered his horse, rubbed its back. I served Talha (doing odd jobs for him) and partook from his food. I had left my family and my property as an emigrant in the cause of Allah and His Messenger (may peace be uron him). When we and the people of Mecca had concluded a peace treaty and the people of one side began to mix with those of the other, I came to a tree, swept away its thorns and lay down (for rest) at its base; (while I lay there), four of the polytheists from the Meccans came to me and began to talk ill of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I got enraged with them and moved to another tree. They hung their weapons (to the branches of the tree) and lay down (for rest). (While they lay there), somebody from the lower part of the valley cried out: Run up, O Muhajirs! Ibn Zunaim has been murdered. I drew my sword and attacked these four while they were asleep. I seized their arms and collected them up in my hand, and said: By the Being Who has conferred honour upon Muhammad, none of you shall raise his head, else I will smite his face. (Then) I came driving them along to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him). (At the same time). my uncle Amir came (to him) with a man from" Abalat called Mikraz. Amir was dragging him on a horse with a thick covering on its back along with seventy polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) cast a glance at them and said: Let them go (so that) they may prove guilty of breach of trust more than once (before we take action against them). So the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) forgave them. On this occasion. God revealed the Qur'anic verse:" It is He Who restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Mecca after He had granted you a victory over them" (xlviii. 24). Then we moved returning to Medina, and halted at a place where there was a mountain between us and Banu Lihyan who were polytheists. The Messenaer of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked God's forgiveness for one who ascended the mountain at night to act as a scout for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and his Compinions. I ascended (that mountain) twice or thrice that night. (At last) we reached Medina. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent his camels with his slave, Rabah, and I was with him. I (also) went to the pasture with the horse of Talha along with the camels. When the day dawned, Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari made a raid and drove away all the camels of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and killed the man who looked after them. I said: Rabah, ride this horse, take it to Talha b. 'Ubaidullah and Inform the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) that the polytheists have made away with his camels. Then I stood upon a hillock and turning my face to Medina, shouted thrice: Come to our help I Then I set out in pursuit of the raiders, shooting at them with arrows and chanting a (self-eulogatory) verse in the Iambic metre: I am the son of al-Akwa' And today is the day of defeat for the mean. I would overtake a man from them, shoot at him an arrow which, piercing through the saddle, would reach his shoulder. and I would say: Take it, chanting at the same time the verse And I am the son of al-Akwa' And tody is the day of defeat for the mean. By God, I continued shooting at them and hamstringing their animals. Whenever a horseman turned upon me, I would come to a tree and (hid myself) sitting at its base. Then I would shoot at him and hamstring his horse. (At last) they entered a narrow mountain gorge. I ascended that mountain and held them at bay throwing stones at them. I continued to chase them in this way until I got all the camels of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) released and no camel was left with them. They left me; then I followed them shooting at them (continually) until they dropped more than thirty mantles and thirty lances. lightening their burden. On everything they dropped, I put a mark with the help of (a piece of) stone so that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and his Companions might recognise them (that it was booty left by the enemy). (They went on) until They came to a narrow valley when so and so, son of Badr al-Fazari joined them. They (now) sat down to take their breakfast and I sat on the top of a tapering rock. Al-Fazari said: Who is that fellow I am seeing? They said: This fellow has harassed us. By God, he has not left us since dusk and has been (continually) shooting at us until he has snatched everything from our hands. He said: Four of you should make a dash at him (and kill him). (Accordingly), four of them ascended the mountain coming towards me. When it became possible for me to talk to them, I said: Do you recognise me? They said: No. Who are thou? I said: I am Salama, son of al-Akwa'. By the Being Who has honoured the countenance of Muhammad (may peace be upon him) I can kill any of you I like but none of you will be able to kill me. One of them said: I think (he is right). So they returned. I did not move from my place until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), who came riding through the trees. Lo! the foremost among them was Akhram al-Asadi. Behind him was Abu Qatada al-Ansari and behind him was al-Miqdad b. al-Aswad al-Kindi. I caught hold of the rein of Akhram's horse (Seeing this). they (the raiders) fled. I said (to Akhram): Akhram, guard yourself against them until Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and his Companions join you. He said: ) Salama, if you believe In Allah and the Day of Judgment and (if) you kaow that Paradise is a reality and Hell is a reality, you should not stand between me and martyrdom. so I let him go. Akhram and Abd al-Rahman (Fazari) met in combat. Akhram hamstrung Abd al-Rahman's horse and the latter struck him with his lance and killed him. Abd al-Rabman turned about riding Akhram's horse. Abu Qatada, a horse-man of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), met 'Abd al-Rahman (in combat), smote him with his lance and killed him. By the Being Who honoured the countenance of Muhammad (may peace oe upon him), I followed them running on my feet (so fast) that I couldn't see behind me the Companions of Muhammad (may peace be upon him), nor any dust raised by their horses. (I followed them) until before sunset they reached a valley which had a spring of water, which was called Dhu Qarad, so that they could have a drink, for they were thirsty. They saw me running towards them. I turned them out of the valley before they could drink a drop of its water. They left the valley and ran down a slope. I ran (behind them), overtook a man from them, shot him with an arrow through the shoulder blade and said: Take this. I am the son of al-Akwa'; and today is the day of annihilation for the people who are mean. The fellow (who was wounded) said: May his mother weep over him! Are you the Akwa' who has been chasing us since morning? I said: Yes, O enemy of thyself, the same Akwa'. They left two horses dead tired on the hillock and I came dragging them along to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I met 'Amir who had with him a container having milk diluted with water and a container having water. I performed ablution with the water and drank the milk. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) while he was at (the spring of) water from which I had driven them away. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had captured those camels and everything else I had captured and all the lances and mantles I had snatched from the polytheists and Bilal had slaughtered a she-camel from the camels I had seized from the people, and was roasting its liver and hump for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I said: Messenger of Allah, let me select from our people one hundred men and I will follow the marauders and I will finish them all so that nobody is left to convey the news (of their destruction to their people). (At these words of mine), the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) laughed so much that his molar teeth could be seen in the light of the fire, and he said: Salama, do you think you can do this? I said: Yes, by the Being Who has honoured you. He said: Now they have reached the land of Ghatafan where they are being feted. (At this time) a man from the Ghatafan came along and said: So and so slaughtered a camel for them. When they were exposing its skin, they saw dust (being raised far off). They said: They (Akwa' and his companions) have come. So. they went away fleeing. When it was morning, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Our best horseman today is Abu Qatada and our best footman today is Salama. Then he gave me two shares of the booty-the share meant for the horseman and the share meant for the footman, and combined both of them for me. Intending to return to Medina, he made me mount behind him on his she-camel named al-Adba'. While we were travelling, a man from the Ansar who could not be beaten in a race said: Is there anyone who could compete (with me) in race to Medina? Is there any competitor? He continued repeating this. When I heard his talk, I said: Don't you show consideration to a dignified person and don't you have awe for a noble man? He said: No, unless he be the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I said: Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be thy ransom, let me get down so that I may beat this man (in the race). He said: It you wish, (you may). I said (to the man): I am coming to thee, I then turned my feet. sprang up and tan and gasped (for a while) when one or two elevated places were left and again followed his heel and again gasped (for a while) when one or two elevated places were left and again dashed until I joined him and gave a blow between his shoulders. I said: You have been overtaken, by God. He said: I think so. Thus, I reached Medina ahead of him. By God, we had stayed there only three nights when we set out to Khaibar with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). (On the way) my uncle, Amir, began to recite the following rajaz verses for the people: By God, if Thou hadst not guided us aright, We would have neither practised charity nor offered prayers. (O God! ) We cannot do without Thy favours; Keep us steadfast when we encounter the enemy, And descend tranquillity upon us. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Who is this? 'Amir said: it is 'Amir. He said: May thy God forgive thee! The narrator said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked forgiveness for a particular person, he was sure to embrace martyrdom. Umar b. Khattab who was riding on his camel called out: Prophet of Allah, I wish you had allowed us to benefit from Amir. Salama continued: When we reached Khaibar, its king named Marhab advanced brandishing his sword and chanting: Khaibar knows that I am Marhab (who behaves like) A fully armed, and well-tried warrior. When the war comes spreading its flames. My uncle, Amir, came out to combat with him, saying: Khaibar certainly knows that I am 'Amir, A fully armed veteran who plunges into battles. They exchanged blows. Marbab's sword struck the shield of 'Amir who bent forward to attack his opponent from below, but his sword recoiled upon him and cut the main artery: in his forearm which caused his death. Salama said: I came out and heard some people among the Companions of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) saying: Amir's deed has been wasted; he has killed himself. So I came to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) weeping and I said: Messenger of Allah. Amir's deed has been wasted. The Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who passed this remark? I said: Some of your Companions. He said: He who has passed that remark has told a lie, for 'Amir there is a double reward. Then he sent me to 'Ali who had sore eyes, and said: I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger or whom Allah and His Messenger love. So I went to 'Ali, brought him beading him along and he had sore eyes, and I took him to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), who applied his saliva to his eyes and he got well. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) gave him the banner (and 'Ali went to meet Marhab in a single combat). The latter advanced chanting: Khaibar knows certainly that I am Marhab, A fully armed and well-tried valorous warrior (hero) When war comes spreading its flames. 'Ali chanted in reply: I am the one whose mother named him Haidar, (And am) like a lion of the forest with a terror-striking countenance. I give my opponents the measure of sandara in exchange for sa' (i. e. return thir attack with one that is much more fierce). The narrator said: 'Ali struck at the head of Mirhab and killed him, so the victory (capture of Khaibar) was due to him. This long tradition has also been handed down Through a different chain of transmitters.

He who amongst you has food for two persons should take three (guests with him). and he who has with him food for four persons should take five or six (guests with him for entertaining them). It was (in accordance with these instructions of the Holy Prophet) that Abu Bakr brought three persons, and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) brought ten persons (as guests to their respective houses). Abu Bakr had brought three persons (he himself, and myself), my father and my mother (along with therm). He (the narrator) said: I do not know whether he also said: My wife and one servant who was common between our house and that of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr had had his evening meal with Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). He stayed here until night prayer had been offered. He then came back (to the house of Allah's Apostle) and stayed there until Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) felt drowsy and (Abu Bakr) then came (back to his own house) when (a considerable) part of the night had been over, as Allah had desired. His wife said to him: What held you back from your guests? He said: Oh! have you not served them the evening meal (by this time)? She said: It was in fact served to them. but they refused to eat until you came. He ('Abd al-Rahman) said: I slunk away and bid myself. He (Abu Bakr) said: O, you stupid fellow, and he reprimanded me, and said to the guests: Eat, though it may not be pleasant now. He said: By Allah. I will never eat it He ('Abd al-Rahman) said: By Allah. we did not take a morsel when from beneath that (there appeared) more until they had eaten to their fill, and lo! it was more than what it was before. Abu Bakr saw that and found that it was so or more than that. He said to his wife: Sister of Band Firis, what is th-is? She said: By the coolness of my eyes. it is in excess by three times over the previous one. Then Abu Bakr ate saying: That was from the Satan (viz. his vow for not eating the food). He then took a morsel out of that and then took it (the rest) to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and it was kept there until morning, and during (those days) there was a covenant between us and some other people, and the period of covenant was over, and we had appointed twelve officials with every person amongst them. It is Allah only Who knows as to how many people were there with each of them. He sent (this food to them) and all of them ate out of it.

Behold, my Lord commanded me that I should teach you which you do not know and which He has taught me today. (He has instructed thus): The property which I have conferred upon them is lawful for them. I have created My servants as one having a natural inclination to the worship of Allah but it is Satan who turns them away from the right religion and he makes unlawful what has been declared lawful for them and he commands them to ascribe partnership with Me, although he has no justification for that. And verily, Allah looked towards the people of the world and He showed hatred for the Arabs and the non-Arabs, but with the exception of some remnants from the People of the Book. And He (further) said: I have sent thee (the Holy Prophet) in order to put you to test and put (those to test) through you. And I sent the Book to you which cannot be washed away by water, so that you may recite it while in the state of wakefulness or sleep. Verily, Allah commanded me to burn (kill) the Quraish. I said: My Lord, they would break my head (like the tearing) of bread, and Allah said: You turn them out as they turned you out, you fight against them and We shall help you in this, you should spend and you would be conferred upon. You send an army and I would send an army five times greater than that. Fight against those who disobey you along with those who obey you. The inmates of Paradise are three: One who wields authority and is just and fair, one who Is truthful and has been endowed with power to do good deeds. And the person who is merciful and kind hearted towards his relatives and to every pious Muslim, and one who does not stretch his hand in spite of having a large family to support. And He said: The inmates of Hell are five: the weak who lack power to (avoid evil), the (carefree) who pursue (everything irrespective of the fact that it is good or evil) and who do not have any care for their family or for their wealth. And those dishonest whose greed cannot be concealed even in the case of minor things. And the third. who betray you. morning and evening, in regard to your family and your property. He also made a mention of the miser and the liar and those who are in the habit of abusing people and using obscene and foul language. Abu Ghassan in his narration did not make mention of" Spend and there would be spent for you."

I visited 'A'isha and asked her to tell about the illness of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). She agreed and said: The Apostle (may peace be upon him) was seriously ill and he asked whether the people had prayed. We said: No, they are waiting for you, Messenger of Allah. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Put some water in the tub for me. We did accordingly and he (the Holy Prophet) took a bath;and, when he was about to move with difficulty, he fainted. When he came round, he again said: Have the people said prayer? We said: No, they are waiting for you, Messenger of Allah. He (the Holy Prophet) again said: Put some water for me in the tub. We did accordingly and he took a bag, but when he was about to move with difficultyhe fainted. When he came round, he asked whether the people had prayed. We said: No, they are waiting for you, Messenger of Allah. He said: Put some water for me in the tub. We did accordingly and he took a bath and he was about to move with difficulty when he fainted. When he came roundhe said: Have the people saidprayer? We said: No, they are waiting for you, Messenger of Allah. She ('A'isha) said: The people were staying in the mosque and waiting for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) to lead the last (night) prayer. She ('A'isha) said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent (instructions) to Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. When the messenger came, he told him (Abd Bakr): The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has ordered you to lead the people in prayer. Abu Bakr who was a man of very tenderly feelings asked Umar to lead the prayer. 'Umar said: You are more entitled to that. Abu Bakr led the prayers during those days. Afterwards the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) felt some relief and he went out supported by two men, one of them was al-'Abbas, to the noon prayer. Abu Bakr was leading the people in prayer. When Abu Bakr saw him. he began to withdraw, but the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) told him not to withdraw. He told his two (companions) to seat him down beside him (Abu Bakr). They seated him by the side of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr said the prayer standing while following the prayer of the Apostle (may peace be upon him) and the people Bald prayer (standing) while following the prayer of Abu Bakr. The Apostle (may peace be upon him) was seated. Ubaidullah said: I visited 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas, and said: Should I submit to you what 'A'isha had told about the illness of the Apostle (may peace be upon him)? He said: Go ahead. I submitted to him what had been transmitted by her ('A'isha). He objected to none of it, only asking whether she had named to him the man who accompanied al-'Abbas. I said: No. He said: It was 'Ali.

till he reached near the women) He then moved forward and the people also moved forward along with him till he stood at his (original) place (of worship). He then completed the prayer as it was required to complete and the sun brightened and he said: O people! verily the sun and the moon are among the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse at the death of anyone among people (Abu Bakr said: On the death of any human being). So when you see anything like it (of the nature of eclipse), pray till it is bright. There is nothing which you have been promised (in the next world) but I have seen it in this prayer of mine. Hell was brought to me as you saw me moving back on account of fear lest its heat might affect me; and I saw the owner of the curved staff who dragged his intestines in the fire, and he used to steal (the belongings) of the pilgrims with his curved staff. If he (the owner of the staff) became aware, he would say: It got (accidentally) entangled in my curved staff, but if he was unaware of that, he would take that away. I also saw in it (in Hell) the owner of a cat whom she had tied and did not feed her nor set her free so that she could eat the creatures of the earth, till the cat died of starvation. Paradise was brought to me, and it was on that occasion that you saw me moving forward till I stood at my place (of worship). I stretched my hand as I wanted to catch hold of its fruits so that you may see them. Then I thought of not doing it. Nothing which you have been promised was there that I did not see in this prayer of mine.

By Allah, if we had sent these two young boys (i. e. I and Fadl b. 'Abbas) to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and they had spoken to him, he would have appointed them (as the collectors) of these sadaqat; and they would (collect them) and pay (to the Holy Prophet) as other people (collectors) paid and would get a share as other people got it. As they were talking about it there came 'Ali b. Abu Talib and stood before them, and they made a mention of it to him. 'Ali b. Abu Talib said: Don't do that; by Allah he (the Holy Prophet) would not do that (would not accept your request). Rabi'a b. Harith turned to him and said: By Allah, you are not doing so but out of jealousy that you nurse against us By Allah, you became the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) but we felt no jealousy against you (for this great privilege of yours). 'Ali then said: Send them (if you like). They set out and 'Ali lay on the bed. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) offered the noon prayer. we went ahead of him to his apartment and stood near it till he came out. He took hold of our ears (out of love and affection) and then said: Give out what you have kept in your hearts. He then entered (the apartment) and we also went in and he (the Holy Prophet) was on that day (in the house of) Zainab b. jahsh. We urged each (of us) to speak. Then one of us thus spoke: Messenger of Allah, you are the best of humanity and the best to cement the ties of blood-relations. We have reached the-marriageable age. We have come (to you) so that you may appoint us (as collectors) of these sadaqat. and we would pay you just as thin people (other collectors) pay you, and get our share as others get it. He (the Holy Prophet) kept silence for a long time till we wished that we should speak with him (again), and Zainab pointied to us from behind the curtain not to talk (any more). He (the Holy Prophet) said; It does not become the family of Muhammad (to accept) sadaqat for they are the impurities of people. You call to me Mahmiya (and he was in charge of khums, i. e, of the one-fifth part that goes to the treasury out of the spoils of war), and Naufal b. Harith b. 'Abd al-Muttalib. They both came to him, and he (the Holy Prophet) said to Mahmiya: Marry your daughter to this young man (i. e. Fadl b. 'Abbas), and he married her to him And he said to Naufal b. Harith: Marry your daughter to this young man (i e. 'Abd al-Muttalib b. Rabi'a, the narrator of this hadith) and he married her to me, and he said to Mahmiya: Pay so much mahr on behalf of both of them from this khums Zuhri, however. said: He did not determine (the amount of mahr).

We marched upon Khaibar with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). We journeyed during the night. One of the people said to (my brother) 'Amir b. al-Akwa': Won't you recite to us some of your verses? Amir was a poet. So he began to chant his verses to urge the camels, reciting: O God, if Thou hadst not guided us We would have neither been guided rightly nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. We wish to lay down our lives for Thee; so forgive Thou our lapses, And keep us steadfast when we encounter (our enemies). Bestow upon us peace and tranquillity. Behold, when with a cry they called upon us to help. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Who is this driver (of the camels)? They said: It is 'Amir. He said: God will show mercy to him. A man said: Martyrdom is reserved for him. Messenger of Allah, would that you had allowed us to benefit ourselves from his life. (The narrator says): We reached Khaibar and besieged them, and (we continued the siege) until extreme hunger afflicted us. Then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Behold, God has conquered it for you. When it was evening of the day on which the city was conquered. the Muslims lit many fires. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: What are these fires? And what are they cooking? They said: They are cooking meat. He asked. Which meat? They said: That of domestic asses. He said: Let them throw it away and break the pots (in which it is being cooked). A man said: Or should they throw it away and wash the pots? He said: They may do that. When the people drew themselves up in battle array 'Amir caught hold of his sword that was rather short He drove a Jew before him to strike him with it. (As he struck him), his sword recoiled and struck his own knee, and 'Amir died of the wound. When the people returned (after the conquest of Kliaibar) and he (Salama) had caught hold of my hand, and said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw that I was silent (and dejected) ; he said: What's the matter with thee? I said to him: My father and my mother be thy ransom, people presume that 'Amir's sacrifice has been in vain. He asked: Who has said that? I said: So and so and Usaid b. Hudair al-Ansari. He said: Who has said that has lied. For him (for 'Amir) there is a double reward. (He indicated this by putting two of his fingers together.) He was a devotee of God and a warrior fighting for His cause. There will be hardly any Arab who can fight as bravely as he did. Qutaiba has differed in a few words.

Allah has commanded you to treat well your parents and I am your mother and I command you to do this. She passed three days in this state until she fainted because of extreme hunger and at that time her son whose name was Umara stood up and served her drink and she began to curse Sa'd that Allah, the Exalted and Glorions, revealed these verses of the Holy Qur'an:" And We have enjoined upon a person goodness to his parents but if they contend with thee to associate (others) with Me of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not" (xxix. 8) ; Treat thein with customary good in this world" (xxxi. 15). He also reported that there fell to the lot of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) huge spoils of war and there was one sword in them. I picked that up and came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Bestow this sword upon me (as my share in the spoils of war) and you know my state. Thereupon he said: Return it to the place from where you picked it up. I went back until I decided to throw it in a store but my soul repulsed me so I came back and asked him to give that sword to me. He said in a loud voice to return it to the place from where I had picked it up. It was on this occasion that this verse was revealed:" They asked about the spoils of war" (viii. 1). He further said: I once fell ill and sent a message to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). He visited me and I said to him: Permit me to distribute (in charity) my property as much as I like. He did not agree. I said: (Permit me to distribute) half of it. He did not agree. I said: (Permit me to distribute) the third part, whereupon he kept quiet and it was after this (that the distribution of one's property in charity) to the extent of one-third was held valid. He further said: I came to a group of persons of the Ansir and Muhajirin and they said: Come, so that we may serve you wine, and it was before the use of wine had been prohibited. I went to them in a garden and there had been with them the roasted head of a camel and a small water-skin containing wine. I ate and drank along with them and there came under discussion the Ansr (Helpers) and Muhajirin (immigrants). I said: The immigrants are better than the Ansar, that a person picked up a portion of the head (of the camel and struck me with it that my nose was injured. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and informed him of the situation that Aliah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed verses pertaining to wine:" Intoxicants and the games of chance and (sacrificing to) stones set up and (divining by) arrows are only an uncleanliness, the devil's work" (v. 90).

He (the Holy Prophet) sent me along with Abu 'Amir and Abu 'Amir received a wound in his knee from the arrow, (shot by) a person of Bani Jusham. It stuck in his knee. I went to him and said: Uncle, who shot an arrow upon you? Abu 'Amir pointed out to Abu Musa and said: Verily that one who shot an arrow upon me in fact killed me. Abu Musa said: I followed him with the determination to kill him and overtook him and when he saw me he turned upon his heels. I followed him and I said to him: Don't you feel ashamed (that you run), aren't you an Arab? Why don't you stop? He stopped and I had an encounter with him and we exchanged the strokes of (swords). I struck him with the sword and killed him. Then I came back to Abu Amir and said: Verily Allah has killed the one who killed you. And he said: Now draw out this arrow. I drew out the arrow and there came out from that (wound) water. Abu 'Amir said: My nephew, go to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and convey my greetings to him and tell him that Abu Amir begs you to ask forgiveness for him. And Abu Amir appointed me as the chief of the people and he died after a short time. When I came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) I visited him and he had been lying on the cot woven by strings and there was (no) bed over it and so there had been marks of the strings on the back of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and on his sides. I narrated to him what had happened to us and narrated to him about Abu Amir and said to him that he had made a request to the effect that forgiveness should be sought for him (from Allah). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be. upon him) called for water and performed ablution with it. He then lifted his hands and said. O Allah, grant pardon to Thy servant Abu Amir. (The Holy Prophet had raised his hands so high for supplication) that I saw the whiteness of his armpits. He again said: O Allah, grant him distinction amongst the majority of Thine created beings or from amongst the people. I said: Allah's Messenger, ask forgiveness for me too. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Allah, forgive the sins of Abdullah b. Qais (Abu Musa Ash'ari) and admit him to an elevated place on the Day of Resurrection. Abu Burda said: One prayer is for abu 'Amir and the other is tor Abu Musa.

Three persons set out on a journey. They were overtaken by rain and they had to find protection in a mountain cave where at its mouth there fell a rock of that mountain and thus blocked them altogether. One of them said to the others: Look to your good deeds that you performed for the sake of Allah and then supplicate Allah, the Exalted, that He might rescue you (from this trouble). One of them said: 0 Allah, I had my parents who were old and my wife and my small children also. I tended the flock and when I came back to them in the evening, I milked them (the sheep, goats, cows, etc.) and first served that milk to my parents. One day I was obliged to go out to a distant place in search of fodder and I could not come back before evening and found them (the parents) asleep. I milked the animals as I used to milk and brought milk to them and stood by their heads avoiding to disturb them from sleep and I did not deem it advisable to serve milk to my children before serving them. My children wept near my feet. I remained there in that very state and my parents too until it was morning. And (0 Allah) if Thou art aware that I did this in order to seek Thine pleasure, grant us riddance from this trouble. (The rock slipped a bit) that they could see the sky. The second one said: 0 Allah, I had a female cousin whom I loved more than the men love the women. I wanted to have sexual intercourse with her; she refused but on the condition of getting one hundred dinirs. It was with very great difficulty that I could collect one hundred dinirs and then paid them to her and when I was going to have a sexual intercourse with her, that she said: Servant of Allah, fear Allah and do not break the seal (of chastity) but by lawful means. I got up. 0 Allah, if Thou art aware that I did this in order to seek Thine pleasure, rid us from this trouble. The situation was somewhat eased for them. The third one said: Allah, I employed a workman for a measure of rice. After he had finished his work I gave him his dues (in the form of) a measure of rice, but he did not accept them. I used these rice as seeds, and that gave a bumper crop and I became rich enough to have cows and flocks (in my possession). He came to me and said: Fear Allah, and commit no crueltv upon me in regard to my dues. I said to him: Takeaway this flock of cows and sheep. He said: Fear Allah and do not make a fun of me. I said: I am not making a fun of you. You take the cows and the flocks. So he took them. 0 Allah, if Thou art aware that I did it for Thine pleasure, case the situation for us. And Allah relieved them from the rest of the trouble.

‘I wrote to Ibn Abbās asking him to write something [pertaining to knowledge] for me and he withheld from me quite a bit, and said: ‘As [if he were] a sincere child, I will write for him something especially suited to his status withholding from him what would not benefit him’. [Ibn Abī Mulaykah] said: ‘So [Ibn Abbās] called for the judgment of Alī [bin Abī Tālib which was a book with which Alī would pass verdicts in Kuffah], and he began to write from it [with respect to the request of Ibn Abī Mulaykah] and he came upon something [not appropriate to the station of Alī regarding the science of verdicts]. So [Ibn Abbās] said: ‘By Allah, Alī did not give judgment according to this unless he was astray’.’

When a judge gives a decision, having tried his best to decide correctly and is right, there are two rewards for him; and if he gave a judgment after having tried his best (to arrive at a correct decision) but erred, there is one reward for him.

I was with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) in a journey. We travelled the whole of the night, and when it was about to dawn, we got down for rest, and were overpowered (by sleep) till the sun shone. Abu Bakr was the first to awake amongst us. and we did not awake the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) from his sleep allowing him to wake up (of his own accord). It was 'Umar who then woke up. He stood by the side of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and recited takbir in a loud voice till the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) woke up. When he lifted his head, he saw that the sun had arisen; he then said: Proceed on. He travelled along with us till the sun shone brightly. He came down (from his camel) and led us in the morning prayer. A person, however, remained away from the people and did not say, prayer along with us. After having completed the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: O, so and so, what prevented you from observing prayer with us? He said: Apostle of Allah! I was not in a state of purity. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered him arid lie performed Tayammum with dust and said prayer. He then urged me to go ahead immediately along with other riders to find out water, for we felt very thirsty. We were traveling when we came across a woman who was sitting (on a camel) with her feet hanging over two leathern water bags. We said to her: How far is water available? She, said: Far, very far, very far. You cannot get water. We (again) said: How much distance is there between (the residence of) your family and water? She said: It is a day and night journey. We said to her: You go to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). She said: Who is the Messenger of Allah? We somehow or the other managed to bring her to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he asked about her, and she informed him as she had informed us that she was a widow having orphan children. He ordered that her camel should be made to kneal down and he gargled in the opening (of her leathern water-bag). The camel was then raised up and we forty thirsty men drank water till we were completely satiated, and we filled up all leathern water-bags and water-skins that we had with us and we washed our companions, but we did not make any camel drink, and (the leathern water-bags) were about to burst (on account of excess of water). He then said: Bring whatever you have with you. So we collected the bits (of estable things) and dates and packed them up in a bundle, and said to her: Take it away. This is meant for your children, and know that we have not its any way done any loss to your water. W hen she came to her family she said: I have met the greatest magician amongst human beings, or he is an apostle, as he claims to be, and she then narrated what had happened and Allah guided aright those people through that woman. She affirmed her faith in Islam and so did the people embrace Islam.

Messenger of Allah, purify me, whereupon he said: Woe be upon you, go back, ask forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance. He (the narrator) said that he went back not far, then came and said: Allah's Messenger, purify me. whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Woe be upon you, go back and ask forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance. He (the narrator) said that he went back not far, when he came and said: Allah's Messenger, purify me. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said as he had said before. When it was the fourth time, Allah's Messenger (may, peace be upon him) said: From what am I to purify you? He said: From adultery, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) asked if he had been mad. He was informed that he was not mad. He said: Has he drunk wine? A person stood up and smelt his breath but noticed no smell of wine. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Have you committed adultery? He said: Yes. He made pronouncement about him and he was stoned to death. The people had been (divided) into two groups about him (Ma'iz). One of them said: He has been undone for his sins had encompassed him, whereas another said: There is no repentance more excellent than the repentance of Ma'iz, for he came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and placing his hand in his (in the Holy Prophet's) hand said: Kill me with stones. (This controversy about Ma'iz) remained for two or three days. Then came Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to them (his Companions) as they were sitting. He greeted them with salutation and then sat down and said: Ask forgiveness for Ma'iz b. Malik. They said: May Allah forgive Ma'iz b. Malik. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He (Ma'iz) has made such a repentance that if that were to be divided among a people, it would have been enough for all of them. He (the narrator) said: Then a woman of Ghamid, a branch of Azd, came to him and said: Messenger of of Allah, purify me, whereupon he said: Woe be upon you; go back and beg forgiveness from Allah and turn to Him in repentance. She said: I find that you intend to send me back as you sent back Ma'iz. b. Malik. He (the Holy, Prophet) said: What has happened to you? She said that she had become pregnant as a result of fornication. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Is it you (who has done that)? She said: Yes. He (the Holy Prophet) said to her: (You will not be punished) until you deliver what is there in your womb. One of the Ansar became responsible for her until she was delivered (of the child). He (that Ansari) came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said the woman of Ghamid has given birth to a child. He (the Holy Prophet) said: In that case we shall not stone her and so leave her infant with none to suckle him. One of the Ansar got up and said: Allah's Apostle, let the responsibility of his suckling be upon me. She was then stoned to death.

'Umar b. Khattab went along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in the company of some persons to Ibn Sayyad that he found him playing with children near the battlement of Bani Maghala and Ibn Sayyad was at that time just at the threshold of adolescence and he did not perceive (the presence of Holy Prophet) until Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) struck his back with his hands. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Ibn Sayyad, don't you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah? Ibn Sayyad looked toward him and he said: I bear witness to the fact that you the messenger of the unlettered. Ibn Sayyad said to the Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him): Do you bear witness to the fact that I am the messenger of Allah? Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) rejected this and said: I affirm my faith in Allah and in His messengers. Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to him: What do you see? Ibn Sayyad said: It is a Dukh. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: May you be disgraced and dishonoured, you would not not be able to go beyond your rank. 'Umar b. Khattab said: Allah's Messenger, permit me that I should strike his neck. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: If he is the same (Dajjal) who would appear near the Last Hour, you would not be able to overpower him, and if he is not that there is no good for you to kill him. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar further narrated that after some time Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and Ubayy b. Ka'b went towards the palm trees where Ibn Sayyad was. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went near the tree he hid himself behind a tree with the intention of hearing something from Ibn sayyad before Ibn Sayyad could see him, but Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw him on a bed with a blanket around him from which a murmuring sound was being heard and Ibn Sayyad's mother saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) behind the trunk of the palm tree. She said to Ibn Sayyad: Saf (that being his name), here is Muhammad. Thereupon Ibn Sayyad jumped up murmuring and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: If she had left him alone he would have made things clear. Abdullah b. Umar told that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up amongst the people and lauded Allah as He deserved, then he made a mention of the Dajjal and said: I warn you of him and there is no Prophet who has not warned his people against the Dajjal. Even Noah warned (against him) but I am going to tell you a thing which no Prophet told his people. You must know that he (the Dajjal) is one-eyed and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, is not one-eyed. Ibn Shihab said: 'Umar b. Thabit al-Ansari informed me that some of the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) informed him that the day when Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) warned people against the Dajjal, he also said: There would be written between his two eyes (the word) Kafir (infidel) and everyone who would resent his deeds would be able to read or every Muslim would be about to read, and he also said: Bear this thing in mind that none amongst you would be able to see Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, until he dies.

We set out from our tribe Ghafir who look upon the prohibited months as permissible months. I and my brother Unais and our mother stayed with our maternal uncle who treated us well. The men of his tribe fell jealous and they said: When you are anay from your house, Unais commits adultery with your wife. Our -naternal uncle came and he accused us of the sin which was conveyed to him. I said: You have undone the good you did to us. We cannot stay with you after this. We came to our camels and loaded (our) luggage. Our maternal uncle began to weep covering himself with (a piece of) cloth. We proceeded on until we encamped by the side of Mecca. Unais cast lot on the camels (we had) and an equal number (above that). They both went to a Kahin and he made Unais win and Unais came with our camels and an equal number along with them. He (Abu Dharr) said: My nephew, I used to observe prayer three years before my meeting with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I said: For whom did you say prayer? He said: For Allah. I said: To which direction did you turn your face (for observing prayer)? He said: I used to turn my face as Allah has directed me to turn my face. I used to observe the night prayer at the time of the end of night and I fell down in prostration like the mantle until the sun rose over me. Unais said: I have a work in Mecca, so you better stay here. Unais went until he came to Mecca and he came to me late. I said: What did you do? He said: I met a person in Mecca who is on your religion and he claims that verily it is Allah Who has sent him. I said: What do the people say about him? He said: They say that he is a poet or a Kahin or a magician. Unais who was himself one of the poets said. I have heard the words of a Kahin but his words in no way resemble his (words). And 1 also compared his words to the verses of poets but such words cannot be uttered by any poet. By Allah, he is truthful and they are liars. Then I said: you stay here, until I go, so that I should see him. He said: I came to Mecca and I selected an insignificant person from amongst them and said to him: Where is he whom you call as-Sabi? He pointed out towards me saying: He is Sabi. Thereupon the people of the valley attacked me with sods and bows until I fell down unconscious. I stood up after havin. regained my consciousness and I found as if I was a red idol. I came to Zamzarn and washed blood from me and drank water from it and listen, O son of my brother, I stayed there for thirty nights or days and there was no food for me but the water of Zamzarn. And I became so bulky that there appeared wrinkles upon my stomach, and I did not feel any hunger in my stomach. It was during this time that the people of Mecca slept in the moonlit night and none was there to eircumambulate the House but only two women who had been invoking the name of Isafa, and Na'ila (the two idols). They came to me while in their circuit and I said: Marry one with the other, but they did not dissuade from their invoking. They came to me and I said to them: Insert wood (in the idols' private parts). (I said this to them in such plain words) as I could not express in metaphorical terms. These women went away crying and saying: Had there been one amongst our people (he would have taught a lesson to you for the obscene words used for our idols before us). These women met Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr who had also been coming down the hill. He asked them: What has happened to you? They said: There is Sabi, who has hidden himself between the Ka'ba and its curtain. He said: What did he say to you? They said: He uttered such words before us as we cannot express. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came and he kissed the Black Stone and circumambulated the House along with his Companion and then observed prayer, and when he had finished his prayer, Abu Dharr said: I was the first to greet him with the salutation of peace and uttered (these words) in this way; Allah's Messen- ger, may there be peace upon you, whereupon he said: It may be upon you too and the mercy of Allah. He then said: Who are you? I said: From the tribe of Ghifar. He leaned his hand and placed his finger on his forehead and I said to myself: Perhaps he has not liked it that I belong to the tribe of Ghifar. I attempted to catch hold of his hand but his friend who knew about him more than I dissuaded me f rom doing so. He then lifted his head and said: Since how long have you been here? I said: I have been here for the last thirty nights or days. He said: Who has been feeding you? I said: There has been no food for me but the water of Zamzam. I have grown so bulky that there appear wrinkles upon my stomach and I do not feel any hunger. He said: It is blessed (water) and it also serves as food. Thereupon Abu Bakr said: Allah's Messenger, let me serve as a host to him for tonight, and then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) proceeded forth and so did Abu Bakr and I went along with them. Abu Bakr opened the door and then he brought for us the raisins of Ta'if and that was the first food which I ate there. Then I stayed as long as I had to stay. I then came to Allah's Messenaer (may peace be upon him) and he said: I have been shown the land abound- ing in trees and I think it cannot be but that of Yathrib (that is the old name of Medina). You are a preacher to your people on my behalf. I hope Allah would benefit them through you and He would reward you. I came to Unais and he said: What have you done? I said: I have done that I have embraced Islam and I have testified (to the prophethood of Allah's Messenger). He said: I have no aversion for your religion and I also embrace Islam and testify (to the prophethood of Muhammad). Then both of us came to our mother and she said: I have no aversion for your religion and I also embrace Islam and testify to the prophethood of Muhammad. We then loaded our camels and came to our tribe Ghifir and half of the tribe embraced Islam and their chief was Aimi' b. Rahada Ghifirl and he was their leader and hall of the tribe said: We will embrace Islam when Allah's Messenger (may p,. ace be upon him) would come to Medina, and when Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to Medina the remaining half also embraced Islam. Then a tribe Aslam came to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, we also embrace Islam like our brothers who have embraced Islam. And they also embraced Islam. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Allah granted pardon to the tribe of Ghifar and Allah saved (from destruction) the tribe of Aslam.

I bear witness to the fact that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) gave judgment about it that a good quality of slave or female slave should be given for it. Thereupon 'Umar said: Bring one who may bear witness to you. Then Muhammad b. Maslama bore witness to him.

A group of people from my Umma will always remain triumphant on the right path and continue to be triumphant (against their opponents). He who deserts them shall not be able to do them any harm. They will remain in this position until Allah's Command is executed (i.e. Qiyamah is established). In Qutaiba's version of the tradition, we do not have the words:" They will remain in this position."

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah would gather people on the Day of Resurrection and they would be concerned about it, and Ibn Ubaid said. They would get a Divine inspiration about it, and would say: If we could seek intercession with our Lord, we may be relieved from this predicament of ours. He (the Holy Prophet) said: They would come to Adam andsay, Thou art Adam, the father of mankind. Allah created thee with His own hand and breathed unto thee of His Spirit and commanded the angels and they prostrated before thee. So intercede for us with thy Lords, that He may relieve us from this position of ours. He would say: I am not in a position to do this, and would recall his error, and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that; go to Noah the first messenger (after me) sent by Allah. He (the Holy Prophet) said: So they would come to Noah (peace be upon him). He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and recall his fault which he had committed, and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that, (and would say): You better go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) whom Allah took for a friend. They would come to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and he would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and would recall his fault that he had committed and would, therefore, fight shy of his Lord on that account (and would say): You better go to Moses (peace be upon him) with whom Allah conversed and con- ferred Torah upon him. He (the Holy Prophet) said: So they would come to Moses (peace be upon him) He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and would recall his fault that he had committed and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that (and would say): You better go to Jesus, the Spirit of Allah and His word He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you; you better go to Muhammad (may peace be upon him), a servant whose former and later sins have been forgiven. He (the narrator) said: The Messenger or Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: So they would come to me and I would ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me, and when I would see Him, I would fall down in prostration, and He (Allah) would leave me thus as long as He would wish, and then it would be said: O Muhammad, raise your head, say and you would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. Then I would raise my head and extrol my Lord with the praise which my Lord would teach me. I shall then inter- cede, but a limit would be set for me I would bring them out from the Fire and make them enter Paradise (according to the limit). I shall return then ard fall down in pros- tration and Allah would leave me (in that position) as long as He would wish to leave me it would be said: Rise, O Muhammad, say and you would be heard; ask and it would be conferred; intercede and intercession would be granted. I would raise my head and extrol my Lord with praise that He would teach me. I would theft intercede and a limit would be set for me. I would bring them out of the Fire (of Hell) and make them enter Paradise. He (the narrator) said: I do not remember whether he (the Holy Prophet) said at tLe third time or at the fourth time: O my Lord, none has been left in the Fire, but thise restrained by the Holy Qur'an, i e. those who were eternally doomed. Ibn Ubaid said in a narration: Qatada observed: whose everlasting stay was imperative".

I was one of those headmen who swore allegiance to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) that we will not associate anything with Allah, and will not commit adultery, and will not steal, and will not kill any soul which Allah has forbidden, but with justice nor plunder, nor disobey (Allah and His Apostle), then Paradise (will be the reward) in case we do these (acts) ; and if we commit any outrage (and that goes unpunished in the world), it is Allah Who would decide about it. Ibn Rumh said: Its judgment lies with Allah.

Umar b. al-Khattab sent for me and I came to him when the day had advanced. I found him in his house sitting on his bare bed-stead, reclining on a leather pillow. He said (to me): Malik, some people of your tribe have hastened to me (with a request for help). I have ordered a little money for them. Take it and distribute it among them. I said: I wish you had ordered somebody else to do this job. He said: Malik, take it (and do what you have been told). At this moment (his man-servant) Yarfa' came in and said: Commander of the Faithful, what do you say about Uthman, Abd al-Rabman b. 'Auf, Zubair and Sa'd (who have come to seek an audience with you)? He said: Yes, and permitted them. so they entered. Then he (Yarfa') came again and said: What do you say about 'Ali and Abbas (who are present at the door)? He said: Yes, and permitted them to enter. Abbas said: Commander of the Faithful, decide (the dispute) between me and this sinful, treacherous, dishonest liar. The people (who were present) also said: Yes. Commander of the Faithful, do decide (the dispute) and have mercy on them. Malik b. Aus said: I could well imagine that they had sent them in advance for this purpose (by 'Ali and Abbas). 'Umar said: Wait and be patient. I adjure you by Allah by Whose order the heavens and the earth are sustained, don't you know that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:" We (prophets) do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity"? They said: Yes. Then he turned to Abbas and 'Ali and said: I adjure you both by Allah by Whose order the heavens and earth are sustained, don't you know that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:" We do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity"? They (too) said: Yes. (Then) Umar said: Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, had done to His Messenger (may peace be upon him) a special favour that He has not done to anyone else except him. He quoted the Qur'anic verse:" What Allah has bestowed upon His Apostle from (the properties) of the people of township is for Allah and His Messenger". The narrator said: I do not know whether he also recited the previous verse or not. Umar continued: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) distrbuted among you the properties abandoned by Banu Nadir. By Allah, he never preferred himself over you and never appropriated anything to your exclusion. (After a fair distribution in this way) this property was left over. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) would meet from its income his annual expenditure, and what remained would be deposited in the Bait-ul-Mal. (Continuing further) he said: I adjure you by Allah by Whose order the heavens and the earth are sustained. Do you know this? They said: Yes. Then he adjured Abbas and 'All as he had adjured the other persons and asked: Do you both know this? They said: Yes. He said: When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) passed away, Abu Bakr said:" I am the successor of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)." Both of you came to demand your shares from the property (left behind by the Messenger of Allah). (Referring to Hadrat 'Abbas), he said: You demanded your share from the property of your nephew, and he (referring to 'Ali) demanded a share on behalf of his wife from the property of her father. Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said:" We do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity." So both of you thought him to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that he was true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth. When Abu Bakr passed away and (I have become) the successor of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him), you thought me to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that I am true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth. I became the guardian of this property. Then you as well as he came to me. Both of you have come and your purpose is identical. You said: Entrust the property to us. I said: If you wish that I should entrust it to you, it will be on the condition that both of you will undertake to abide by a pledge made with Allah that you will use it in the same way as the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used it. So both of you got it. He said: Wasn't it like this? They said: Yes. He said: Then you have (again) come to me with the request that I should adjudge between you. No, by Allah. I will not give any other judgment except this until the arrival of the Doomsday. If you are unable to hold the property on this condition, return it to me.

I am a human being and the claimants bring to me (the dispute) and perhaps some of them are more eloquent than the others. I judge him to be on the right, and thus decide in his favcur. So he whom I, by my judgment, (give the undue share) out of the right of a Muslim,. I give him a portion of Fire; he may burden himself with it or abandon it.

I and my father set out in search of knowledge to a tribe of the Ansar before their death (i. e. before the Companions of the Holy Prophet left the world) and I was the first to meet Abu Yasar, a Companion of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and there was a young man with him who carried the record of letters with him and there was a mantle prepared by the tribe of Ma'afiri upon him. And his servant too had a Ma'afiri mantle over him. My father said to him: My uncle, I see the signs of anger or that of agony on your face. He said: Yes, such and such person, the son of so and so, of the tribe of Harami owed me a debt. I went to his family, extended salutations and said: Where is he? They said: He is not here. Then came out to me his son who was at the threshold of his youth. I said to him: Where is your father? He said: No sooner did he hear your sound than he hid himself behind my mother's bedstead. I said to him: Walk out to me, for I know where you are. He came out. I said to him: What prompted you to hide yourself from me? He said: By God, whatever I would say to you would not be a lie. By Allah, I fear that I should tell a lie to you and in case of making promise with you I should break it, as you are the Companion of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). The fact is that I was hard up in regard to money. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. I said: Do you adjure by Allah? He said: I adjure by Allah. Then he brought his promissory note and he wrote off (the debt) with his hand and said: Make payment when you find yourself solvent enough to pay me back; if you are not, then there is no liability upon you. These two eyes of mine saw, and he (Abu'I-Yasar) placed his fingers upon his eyes and these two ears of mine heard and my heart retained, and he pointed towards his heart that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He who gives time to one who is financially hard up (in the payment of debt) or writes off his debt, Allah will provide him His shadow. I said to him: My uncle, if you get the cloak of your servant and you give him your two clothes, or take his two clothes of Ma'afir and give him your cloak, then there would be one dress for you and one for him. He wiped my head and said: O Allah, bless the son of my brother. O, son of my brother, these two very eyes of mine saw and these two ears of mine listened to and this heart of mine retained this, and he pointed towards the heart that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Feed them (the servants) and clothe them (the servants) what you wear, and if I give him the goods of the world, it is easy for me than this that he should take my virtues on the Day of Resurrection. We went on till we came to Jabir b. Abdullah in the mosque and he was busy in observing prayer in one cloth which he had joined at its opposite ends. I made my way through the people till I sat between him and the Qibla and I said: May Allah have mercy upon you. Do you observe prayer with one cloth on your body whereas your mantle is lying at your side? He pointed me with his hand towards my breast just like this and he separated his fingers and bent them in the shape of a bow. And (he said): I thought that a fool like you should come to me so that he should see me as I do and he should then also do like it. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to us in this very mosque and he had in his hand the twig of the palm-tree and he saw mucus towards the Qibla of the mosque and he erased it with the help of the twig. He then came to us and said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We were afraid. He then again said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We were afraid. He again said: Who amongst you likes that Allah should turn His face away from him? We said: Allah's Messenger, none of us likes it. And he said: If one amongst you stands for prayer, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, is before him he should not spit in front of him, or on his right side, but should spit on his left side beneath his left foot and if he is impelled to do so all of a sudden (in spite of himself) he should then spit in his cloth and fold it in some part of it. (and he further said: ) Bring some sweet-smelling thing. A young man who belonged to our tribe stood up, went and brought scent in his palm. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) took that and applied it to the end of that twig and then touched the place where there had been mucus. Jabir said: This is why you should apply scent to your mosques. It is reported on the same authority: We set out along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on an expedition of Batn Buwat. He (the Holy Prophet) was in search of al-Majdi b. 'Amr al-Juhani. (We had so meagre equipment) that five. six or seven of us had one camel to ride and so we mounted it turn by turn. Once there wan. the turn of an Ansari to ride upon the camel. He made it kneel down to ride over it (and after having. mounted it), he tried to raise it up but it hesitated. So he said. May there be curse of Allah upon you! Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who is there to curse his camel? He said: Allah's Messenger, it' is I. Thereupon he said: Get down from the camel and let us not have in our company the cursed one. Don't curse your own selves, nor your children. nor your belongings. There is the possibility that your curse may synchronies with the time when Allah is about to confer upon you what you demand and thus your prayer may be readily responded. It is reported on the same authority: We set out on an expedition along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) until it was evening, and we had been near a. water reservoir of Arabia. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who would be the person who would go ahead and set right the reservoir and drink water himself and serve us with it? Jabir said: I stood up and said: Allah's Messenger, it is I who am ready to do that. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Who is the person to accompany Jabir? And then Jabbar b. Sakhr stood up. So we went to that well and poured in that tank a bucket or two of water and plastered it with clay and then began to fill it (with water) until it was filled to the brim. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was the first who appeared before us, and he said: Do you (both) permit me to drink water out of it? We said: Yea, Allah's Messenger. He led his camel to drink water and it drank. He then pulled its rein and it stretched its legs and began to urinate. He then took it aside and made it kneel down at another place and then came to the tank and performed ablution. I then got up and performed ablution like the ablution of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and Jabbar b. Sakhr went in order to relieve himself and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) got up to observe prayer and there was a mantle over me. I tried to invert its ends but it was too short (to cover my body easily). It had its borders. I then inverted it (the mantle) and drew its opposite ends and then tied them at my neck. I then came and stood upon the left side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He caught hold of me and made me go round behind him, until he made me stand on his right side. Then Jabbar b. Sakhr came. He performed ablution and then came and stood on the left side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) caught hold of our hands together, pushed us back and made us stand behind him. Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) began to look upon me with darting looks, but I did not perceive that. After that I became aware of it and he pointed with the gesture of his hand that I should wrap my loin-cloth. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had finished the prayer, he said: Jabir! I said: Allah's Messenger, at thy beck and call. He said: When the cloth around you is inadequate, then tie the opposite ends but when it is small, tie it over the lower body. Jabir reported: We set out on an expedition with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and the only means of sustenance for every person amongst us was only one date for a day and we used to chew it. And we struck the leaves with the help of our bow and ate them until the sides of our mouths were injured. It so happened one day that a person was overlooked and not given a date. We carried that person and bore witness to the fact that he had not been given that date so he was offered that and he got up and received that. Jabir reported: We set out on an expedition along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) until we got down at a spacious valley and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went to relieve himself. I followed him with a bucket full of water and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) looked about and he found no privacy but two trees at the end of the valley and Allah's Messenger (may. peace be upon him) went to one of them and took hold of one of its twigs and said: Be thou under my control by the permission of Allah, and so it came under his control like the camel who has its nosestring in the hand of its rider, and then he came to the second tree and took hold of a twig and said: Be thou under my control with the permission of Allah, and it came under his control, and when he came in the middle of the two trees he joined together the two twigs and said: join with the permission of Allah. Jabir said: I was afraid lest Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) should be aware of my nearness and go still farther. And Muhammad b. Abbad has used the word" faitab'd" and I began to talk to myself. And as I saw, I suddenly found Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) before me and the two trees were separated and each one of them was standing at its place. I saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) standing for a short time, nodding his head towards right and left. Isma'il pointed towards the right and left with the help of his head (in order to demonstrate how the Holy Prophet had pointed). Then he (the Holy Prophet) came to me and said: Jabir did you see my place where I was standing? I said: Allah's Messenger, yes. He then said: Then you should go to those two trees and cut a twig from each of them and go to that place with them where I was standing and stand there where I was standing and place a twig on the right and a twig on the left. Jabir said: I set out and took hold of a stone and broke it and sharpened it and then I came to those trees and cut a twig from each one of them. I then came dragging them until I stood at the place where Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had been standing and placed a twig on the right and a twig on the left. Then I met him and said: Allah's Messenger, I have done that, but (kindly) explain to me the reason for it. Thereupon he said: I passed by two graves the occupants of which had been undergoing torment. I liked to make intercession for them so that the might be relieved of this torment y as long as these twigs remain fresh. Jabir said: We came back to the (camp of the) army and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Jabir, call people for per- forming wudu. I cried: Come and perform wudu, come and perform wudu, come and perform wudu. I said: Allah's Messenger, there is not even a drop of water in the army camp, and there. was a person who used to cool the water for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in the old water-skin which kept hanging by the twig. He asked me to go to such and such Ansari and ask him to see if there was any water in that skin. I went to him and cast a glance in it but did not find anything but a drop in the mouth of that water-skin and if I were to draw that, the water-skin's,. dried part would suck it up. I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, I have not found anything in it but a drop of water in the mouth of the water-skin and now if I were to draw that, it would be absorbed. He said: Go and bring that to me. I brought that to him. He took hold of it -and began to utter something which I could not understand and then pressed it with his hand and gave that to me and said: Jabir, announce for the tub to be brought. So I announced that the tub of the army (be brought). It was brought accordingly and I placed it before him (the Holy Prophet). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) placed his hands in the tub like this: with his fingers stretched out, and then he placed his fingers at the bottom of the tub and said: Jabir, take it (that waters-skin) and pour water over me, by reciting Bismillah, and I poured water and I said: Bismillah, and found water sprouting out between the fingers of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Then that tub gushed forth until it was filled up and the Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Jabir, make an announcement to the effect: He who needs water should take that. Jabir said: The people came and got water until they were all satiated. I said: Is there anyone left who wants to get it? And Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) then lifted up his hand from that tub and it was still full. Then the people made a complaint to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) about hunger and he said: May Allah provide you food! We came to the bank of the ocean and the ocean was tossing and it threw out a big animal and we lit fire and cooked it and took it until we had eaten to our heart's content. Jabir said: I and such and such five persons entered Its socket and nobody could see us until we had come out, and we took hold of one of its ribs and twisted it into a sort of arch, then we called the tallest of the persons of the army and the hugest of the camels of the army and it had the big saddle over it, and it could easily pass through it without the rider having need to bend down.

We went to Anas b. Malik through Thabit and reached there (his house) while he was offering the forenoon prayer. Thabit sought permission for us and we entered, and he seated Thabit with him on his bedstead. He (Thabit) said to him (Anas b. Malik): O Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas b. Malik), your brothers from among the inhabitants of Basra ask you to narrate to them the hadith of intercession. He said: Muhammad (may peace be upon him) narrated to us: When it would be the Day of Resurrection, some of the people would rush to one another in bewilderment. They would come to Adam and say: Intercede (with your Lord) for your progeny. He would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) for he is the Friend of Allah. They would come to Ibrahim, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Moses, for he is Allah's Interlocutor. They would come to Moses, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but you should go to Jesus, for he is the Spirit of Allah and His word. They would come to Jesus, and he would say, I am not fit to do this; you better go to Muhammad (may peace be upon him). They would come to me, and I would say: I am in a position to do that, I would go and ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me. I would then stand before Him and would extol Him with praises which I am not able to do now, but with which Allah would inspire me, then I would fall in prostration and it would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise thy head, and say and it would be listened to; ask and it would be granted, intercede and it would be accepted. I shall say: My Lord, my people, my people It would be said: Go, and bring forth from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a wheat grain or a barley seed. I would go and do that; then I would return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises (taught to me by Allah), then I would fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head, and say and it would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. So I would say: My people. my people. It would be said to me: Go and take out from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a mustard seed. I would go and do that. I would again return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say, and you would be listened to; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: My Lord, my people, my people. It would be said to me: Go, and bring out of the Fire him who has in his heart as much faith as the smallest, smallest, smallest grain of mustard seed. I would go and do that. This is the hadith which Anas narrated to us. We went out of his (house) and when we reached the upper part of Jabban (graveyard) we said: Would that we meet Hasan and salute him and he was hiding in the house of Abu Khalifa. He (Ma'bad b. Hilal, the narrator) said: We went to him and greeted him and we said: O Abu Sa'id, we come from your brother Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas), and we have never heard a hadith like this relating to intercession, which he has narrated to us. He said: Narrate it, we narrated the hadith. He said: Narrate it (still further). We said: He did not (narrate it) before us more than this. He said: He (Anas) had narrated it to us twenty years back, when he was strong and healthy. He has in fact missed something. I cannot make out whether the old man has forgotten or he has (intentionally) avoided to narrate it to you lest you should rely (absolutely) upon it (and abandon doing good deeds). We said to him: Relate that to us, and he laughed and said: There is haste in the nature of man. I did not make mention of it to you but for the fact that I wanted to narrate that to you (and added that the Holy Prophet said): I would then return to my Lord for the fourth time and extol Him with these praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say and it will be listened to; ask and it will be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: O my Lord, permit me regarding him who professed: There is no god but Allah. He (the Lord) would say: That is not for thee or that is not what lies with thee, but by My Honour, Glory, Greatness and Might, I would certainly take him out who professed it: There is no god but Allah. He (the narrator, Ma'bad) said: I hear testimony to the fact that the hadith transmitted to us-by Hasan was heard by him from Anas b. Malik and I can see that he reported it twenty years back, when he was hale and hearty.

A woman killed her fellow-wife with a tent-pole. Her case was brought to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he gave judgment that blood-wit should be paid by the relatives (of the offender) on the father's side. And as she was pregnant, he decided regarding her unborn child that a male or a female slave of good quality be given. Some of her offender's) relatives said: Should we make compensation for one who never ate, nor drank, nor made any noise, who was like a nonentity? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He was talking rhymed phrases like the rhymed phrases of desert Arabs.

I said to Ibn Abbas that Nauf al-Bikali was of the opinion that Moses (peace be upon him), the Apostle of Bani Isra'il, was not the same who accompanied Khadir, whereupon he said: The enemy of Allah tells a lie. I heard Ubayy b. Ka'b say: Moses (peace be upon him) stood up to give sermon to the people of Isra'il. He was asked as to who amongst the people has the best knowledge, whereupon he said: I have the best knowledge. Thereupon Allah was annoyed with him that he did not attribute (the best knowledge) to Him. He revealed to him: A servant amongst My servants is at the junction of two rivers who has more knowledge than yours. Moses said: How can I meet him? It was said to him: Carry a fish in the large basket and the place where you find it missing there you will find him. Thereupon Moses proceeded forth along with a young man (Yusha'). Joshua b. Nun and Moses (peace be upon him) put the fish in the basket and there went along with him the young man (Yusha') until they came to a certain rock and Moses and his companion went to sleep and the fish stirred in that basket and fell into the ocean and Allah stopped the current of water like a vault until the way was made for the fish. Moses and his young companion were astonished and they walked for the rest of the day and the night and the friend of Moses forgot to inform him of this incident. When it was morning, Moses (peace be upon him) said to the young man: Bring for us the breakfast for we are dead tired because of this journey, and they did not feel exhausted until they had passed that place where they had been commanded (to stay). He said: Don't you know that when we reached the Sakhra (rock) I forgot the fish and nothing made me forget it but Satan that I could not remember it? How strange is it that the fish found a way in the river? Moses said: That was what we had been aiming at. Then both of them retraced their steps until they reached Sakhra; there they saw a man covered with a cloth. Moses greeted him. Khadir said to him: Where is as-Salam in our country.? He said: I am Moses, whereupon he (Khadir) said: You mean the Moses of Bani Isra'il? He said: Yes. He (Khadir) said: You have a knowledge out of the knowledge of Allah which in fact Allah imparted to you and about that I know nothing and I have knowledge out of Allah's knowledge which He imparted to me and about that you do not know. Moses (peace be upon him) said to him: May I follow you so that you may teach me that with which you have been taught righteousness. He said: You will not be able to bear with me; how you will be able to bear that about which you do not know? Moses said: Thou wilt find me patient, nor shalt I disobey you in aught. Khadir said to him: If you were to follow me, then do not ask me about anything until I myself speak to you about it. He said: Yes. So Khadir and Moses set forth on the bank of the river that there came before them a boat. Both of them talked to them (the owners of the boat) so that they might carry both of them. They had recognised Khadir and they carried them free. Khadir thereupon took hold of a plank in the boat and broke it away. Moses said: These people have carried us without any charge and you attempt to break their boat so that the people sailing in the boat may drown. This is (something) grievous that you have done. He said: Did I not say that you would not bear with me? He said: Blame me not for what I forgot and be not hard upon what I did. Then both of them got down from the boat and began to walk along the coastline that they saw a boy who had been playing with other boys. Khadir pulled up his head and killed him. Moses said: Have you killed an innocent person who is in no way guilty of slaying another? You have done something horrible. Thereupon he said: Did I not say to you that you will not be able to bear with me? He (Moses) said: This (act) is more grievous than the first one. He (Moses) further said. If I ask you about anything after this, keep not company with me, then you would no doubt find (a plausible) excuse for this. Then they both walked on until they reached the inhabitants of a village. They asked its inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as their guests. They found in it a wall which had been bent on one side and was about to fall. Khadir set it right with his own hand. Moses, said to him: It is the people to whom we came but they showed us no hospitality and they did not serve us food. If you wish you can get wages for it. He (Khadir) said: This is the parting of ways between me and you. Now I wish to reveal to you the significance of that for which you could not bear with me. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said. May Allah have mercy upon Moses! I wish if Moses could show patience and a (fuller) story of both of them could have been told. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said that the first thing which Moses said was out of forgetfulness. Then there came a sparrow until it perched on the wall of the boat and took water from the ocean. Thereupon, Khadir said: My knowledge and your knowledge in comparison with the knowledge of Allah is even less than the water taken by the sparrow in its beak in comparison to the water of the ocean, and Sa'id b. Jubair used to recite (verses 79 and 80 of Sura Kahf) in this way: There was before them a king who used to seize every boat by force which was in order, the boy was an unbeliever.

Messenger of Allah, why should I play blood-wit for one who neither drank, nor ate, nor spoke, nor made any noise; it is like a nonentity (it is, therefore, not justifiable to demand blood-wit for it). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He seems to be one of the brothers of soothsavers on account of the rhymed speech which he has composed.

'A'isha said: Whenever Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) intended to set out on a journey he cast lots amongst his wives and he took one with him in whose favour the lot was cast. It so happened that he cast lots amongst us while setting out on a battle and it was cast in my favour, so I set out along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). This relates to the period when the revelation concerning the commands of veil had been made. I was carried in a haudaj and I was brought down where we had to stay. In short, when we set out for return journey from the expedition and our caravan was near Medina, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded one night to march forward. I also got up when the command for the march was given and moved on until I went out of the encampments of the army and after relieving myself I came to my place. I touched my chest and found that my necklace which had been made of the stones of zafar had been broken. I retraced my steps and tried to search my necklace and this detained me there. The group of people who saddled my ride and placed my haudaj carrying me upon the camels marched on. They were under the impression that I was in it. The women in those days were light of weight and they did not wear much flesh, as they ate less food; so they did not perceive the weight of my haudaj as they placed it upon the camel as I was a young girl at that time. So they drove the camel and Eet out and I found my necklace after the army had marched. I came to my place and there was none to call and none to respond (the call). I waited at my place under the impression that when the people would riot find me they would come back. So I kept sitting at my place. I was overpowered by sleep and slept. Safwan b. Mu'attal Sulami Dhakwini, who had lagged behind the army because of taking rest came to my place walking in the latter part of the night and he saw the body of a person who was asleep. He came to me and recognised me as he had seen rue before it was enjoined to observe purda. I got ap by his voice as he recited Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un [we are for Allah and to Him we have to return. ] and I covered my head with my headdress. By Allah, he did not speak to me a word and I did not hear a word from him except Inna lillahi. He made his camel kneel down and I amounted the camel as he pressed tLe camel's foreleg and he moved on leaning the camel by the nose string on which I was riding until we came to the army where it had encamped for rest because of extreme heat. Woe be upon those who harboured doubts about me and the most notorious among them was 'Abdullah b. Ubayy, the great hypocrite. We came to Medina and I fell sick for a month. The people had been deliberating over the statements of those who had brought these calumnies against me. I was absolutely unaware of anything concerning that. This, however, caused doubt in my mind that I did not see Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him.) treating me with such kindness with which he treated me as I fell ill before this. The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) would coome and greet me with Assalam-o-'Alaikum and only ask me how I was. This caused doubt in my mind, but I was unaware of the evil. I wept outside despite my failing health and there went along with me Umm Mistah and she said the daughter of Abu Rhm b. Muttalib b. 'Abd Manaf and his mother was the daughter of Sakhr b. 'Amir, the sister of the mother of Abu Bakr Sidiq and his son was Mistah b. Uthatha b. 'Abbad b. Muttalib. I and the daughter of Abu Rahm set towards the direction of my house. Something got into the head dress of Umm Mistah and she said: Woe be upon Mistah. And I said. Woe be upon what you say. Do you curse people who had participated in Badr? She said: Innocent woman, have you not heard what he said? I said: What did he say? She conveyed to me the statement of those who had brought false allegations against me. So my illness was aggravated. I went to my house and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to me and he greeted me and then said: How is that woman? I said: Do you permit me to go to the (house) of my parents? She (further) said: I had at that time made up my mind to confirm this news from them. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) permitted me. So I came to (the house of) my parents and said to my mother: Mother, do you know what the people are talking about? She said: My daughter, you should not worry. By Allah, if there is a handsome woman who is loved by her husband and he has co-wives also they talk many a thing about her. I said: Hallowed be Allah, what are the people talking about? I wept during the whole night until it was morning and I did not have a wink of sleep and I wept even in the morning. As the revelation was delayed (in regard to this matter), so Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called 'Ali ibn Abi 'Talib and Usama b. Zaid in order to seek their advice in regard to the separation of his wife. Usama b. Zaid told Allah's Messenger (may peace be apen him) about the innocence of his wives and what he knew about his love for them. He said: Allah's Messenger, they are your wives and we know nothing else about them but goodness. And as for 'Ali b. Abu Talib, he said: Allah has not put any unnecessary burden upon you (in regard to your wives). There are a number of women besides her and if you ask that maidservant (Barira) she will tell you the truth. So, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called Bailra and said: Barira, did you see anything in 'A'isha which can cause doubt about her? Barira said: By Him Who sent thee with the truth, I have seen nothing objectionable in her but only this much that she is a young girl and she goes to sleep while kneading the flour and the lamb eats that. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) mounted the pulpit and sought vindication against 'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul, and he further said: Who would exonerate me from imputations of that person who has troubled (me) in regard to my family? By Allah, I find nothing in my wife but goodness and the person whom the people have mentioned in this connection is, according to my knowledge, a thoroughly pious person, and he did never get into my house but along with me. Sa'd b. Mu'adh stood up and said: Allah's Messenger, I defend your honour against him. If he belong to the tribe of Aus we would strike his neck and if he belongs to the tribe of our brother Khazraj and you order us we would comply with your order. Then Sa'd b. 'Ubada stood up. He was chief of the Khazraj tribe. He was otherwise a pioas man but he had some what tribal partisanship in him and he said to Sa'd b. Mu'adh: By the everlasting existence of Allah. you are not stating the fact, you will not be able to kill him and you will not have the power to do so. Thereupon, Usaid b. Hudair stood up, and he was the first cousin of Sa'd b. Mu'adh and said to Sa'd b. 'Ubada: By the everlasting existence of Allah, you are not stating the fact. We would kill him. You are a hypocrite and so you argue in defence of the hypocrites, and thus both the tribes Aus and Khazraj were flared up, until they were about to fall upon one another and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) kept standing upon the pulpit and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) tried to subside their anger until they became silent and thus there was silence. 'A'isha further reported: I spent the whole day in weeping and even the night and could not have a wink of sleep even next night. My parents thought that this constant weeping of mine would break my heart. I wept and they sat beside me. In the meanwhile a woman of the Ansar came to see me. I permitted her to see me and she also began to weep. And we were in this very state that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came and he greeted me and then sat down. He had never sat with me since a month when this rumour was afloat, and there was no revelation (to clarity) my case. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) recited Tashahhud (there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle) and then said: Coming to the point, 'A'isha, this is what has reached me about you and if you are innocent, Allah would Himself vindicate your honour, and if accidentally there has been a lapse on your part seek forgiveness of Allah; He will pardon thee for when a servant makes a confession of his fault and turns (to Him) penitently, Allah also turns to him (mercifully) accepting his repentance. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) talked, my tears dried up and not even a single drop of tear was perceived by me (rolling out of my eyes). I said to my father: You give a reply to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on my behalf. He said: By Allah, I do not know what I should say to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I then said to my mother: Give a reply to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on my behalf, but she said: By Allah, I do not know what I should say to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I was a small girl at that time and I had not read much of the Qur'an (but I said): By Allah, I perceive that you have heard about this and it has settled down in your mind and you have taken it to be true, so if I say to you that I am quite innocent, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would never believe me to be true, and if I confess to (the alleged) lapse before you, whereas Allah knows that I am completely innocent (and I have not committed this sin at all), in that case You will take me to be true and, by Allah, I, therefore, find no other alternative for me and for you except that what the father of Yousuf said:, (My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought for in that (predicament) which ye describe" (xii 18). After this I turned my face to the other side and lay down on my bed. By Allah, I was fully aware of this fact that I was innocent but I did not expect that Allah would descend Wahy Matlu (Qur'anic Wahy) in my case as I did not think myself so much important that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would speak in this matter in words to be recited. I only hoped that Allah would in vision give an indication of my innocence to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) during his sleep. And, by Allah, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had not moved an inch from where he had been sitting and none from the members of my family had gone that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, descended revelation upon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) there and then and he felt the burden which he used to feel at the time of receiving revelation. He began to perspire because of the burden of words of Allah as they descended upon him even during the winter season and there fell the drops of his sweat like silvery beads. When this state of receiving revelation was over, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) smiled and the first words which he spoke to me were that he said: 'A'isha, there is glad tidings for you. Verily, Allah has vindicated your honour, and my mother who had been standing by me said: Get up (and thank him, i. e. the Holy Prophet). I said: By Allah, I shall not thank him and laud him but Allah Who has descended revelation vindicating my honour. She ('A'isha) said: Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed:" 'Verily, those who spread the slander are a gang among you" (and) ten (subsequent) verses in regard to my innocence. She further said: Abu Bakr used to give to Mistah (some stipend) as a token of kinship with him and for his poverty and he (Abu Bakr) said: By Allah, now I would not spend anything for him. 'A'isha said: It was upon this that Allah the Exalted and Glorious revealed this verse:" And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear to give to the near of the kin" up to" Yearn ye not that Allah may forgive you?" Hibban b. Musa' said that 'Abdullah b. Mubarak used to say: It is a verse contained in the Book which most (eminently) brightens the hope. Abu Bakr said: By Allah, I wish that Allah should pardon me. I shall never stop this stipend. So he continued to give him the stipend which he had withdrawn. 'A'isha said that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) asked Zainab, daughter of Jahsh, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), about me what she knew or what she had seen in me, and she said: Allah's Messenger, I shall not say anything without hearing (with my ears) and seeing with my eyes. By Allah, I find nothing in her but goodness. (And she stated this in spite of the fact) that she was the only lady who amongst the wives of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) used to vie with me but Allah saved her in bringing false allegation against me because of her God-consciousness. Her sister Hamna bint Jahsh, however, opposed her and she was undone along with others.

Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacr ficed her life for Allah, the Majestic?

What do you find in Torah for one who commits adultery? They said: We darken their faces and make them ride on the donkey with their faces turned to the opposite direction (and their backs touching each other), and then they are taken round (the city). He said: Bring Torah if you are truthful. They brought it and recited it until when they came to the verse pertaining to stoning, the person who was reading placed his hand on the verse pertaining to stoning, and read (only that which was) between his hands and what was subsequent to that. Abdullah b. Salim who was at that time with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Command him (the reciter) to lift his hand. He lifted it and there was, underneath that, the verse pertaining to stoning. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about both of them and they were stoned. Abdullah b. 'Umar said: I was one of those who stoned them, and I saw him (the Jew) protecting her (the Jewess) with his body.

Messenger of Allah, I beg of you in the name of Allah that you pronounce judgment about me according to the Book of Allah. The second claimant who was wiser than him said: Well, decide amongst us according to the Book of Allah, but permit me (to say something). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon ham) said: Say. He said: My son was a servant in the house of this person and he committed adultery with his wife. I was informed that my son deserved stoning to death (as punishment for this offence). I gave one hundred goats and a slave girl as ransom for this. I asked the scholars (if this could serve as an expiation for this offence). They informed me that my son deserved one hundred lathes and exile for one year. and this woman deserved stoning (as she was married). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace he upon him) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life. I will decide between you according to the Book of Allah. The slave-girl and the goats should be given back, and your son is to be punished with one hundred lashes and exile for one year. And, O Unais (b. Zuhaq al-Aslami), go to this woman in the morning, and if she makes a confession, then stone her. He (the narrator) said: He went to her in the morning and she made a confession. And Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) made pronouncement about her and she was stoned to death.