Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that once in the time of Uthman ibn Affan the new moon had been seen in the afternoon and Uthman did not break his fast until evening had come and the sun had set.

Yahya said that he had heard Malik say that some one who sees the new moon of Ramadan when he is on his own should start the fast and not break it if he knows that that day is part of Ramadan. He added, "Some one who sees the new moon of Shawwal when he is on his own does not break the fast, because people suspect the reliability of someone among them who breaks the fast. Such people should say, when they sight the new moon, 'We have seen the new moon.' Whoever sees the new moon of Shawwal during the day should not break his fast but should continue fasting for the rest of that day. This is because it is really the new moon of the night that is coming ."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "If people are fasting on the day of Fitr thinking that it is still Ramadan and then definite evidence comes to them that the new moon of Ramadan had been seen one day before they began to fast and that they are now into the thirty- first day, then they should break the fast on that day at whatever time the news comes to them. However, they do not pray the id prayer if they hear the news after the sun has begun to decline."

On the day of the Conquest of Mecca, when the Prophet had given (from the booty) the Quraish, the Ansar said, "By Allah, this is indeed very strange: While our swords are still dribbling with the blood of Quraish, our war booty are distributed amongst them." When this news reached the Prophet he called the Ansar and said, "What is this news that has reached me from you?" They used not to tell lies, so they replied, "What has reached you is true." He said, "Doesn't it please you that the people take the booty to their homes and you take Allah's Apostle to your homes? If the Ansar took their way through a valley or a mountain pass, I would take the Ansar's valley or a mountain pass."

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying, The people will be assembled in three categories. Those desirous (of Paradise), fearing (Hell), coming two upon the came], three upon the camel, four upon the camel, ten upon the camel and the rest will be assembled, Hell-Fire being with them when they are at midday where they would spend the night and where they would spend the morning and where they would spend the evening.

Allah's Apostle said, "It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to will to stay for two nights without having his last will and testament written and kept ready with him."

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone desires the office of Judge and seeks help for it, he will be left to his own devices; if anyone does not desire it, nor does he seek help for it, Allah will send down an angel who will direct him aright.

Waki' said: (This tradition has also been transmitted) by Isra'il, from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Abi Musa, from Anas, from the Prophet (saws).

Abu 'Awanah said: from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Mirdas al-Fazari, from Khaithamah al-Basri from Anas.

I heard `Umar saying, "May Allah Curse so-and-so! Doesn't he know that the Prophet said, 'May Allah curse the Jews for, though they were forbidden (to eat) fat, they liquefied it and sold it. "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the people of knowledge say, "Women do not have to raise their voices when they are doing talbiya, and a woman should only speak loudly enough to hear herself."

Malik said, "Some one who is in ihram should not raise his voice when doing talbiya if he is in a mosque where there are groups of people. He should only speak loudly enough for himself and those who are near him to be able to hear, except in the Masjid alHaram and the mosque at Mina, where he should raise his voice."

Malik said, "I have heard some of the people of knowledge recommending (people to do) talbiya at the end of every prayer and at every rise on the route."

`Aisha said, "The Prophet said, 'Anybody whose account (record) is questioned will surely be punished.' I said, 'Doesn't Allah say: 'He surely will receive an easy reckoning?' (84.8) The Prophet replied. 'This means only the presentation of the account."'

Narrated `Aisha:

The Prophet said (as above, 543).

Whenever `Aisha (the wife of the Prophet) heard anything which she did not understand, she used to ask again till she understood it completely. Aisha said: "Once the Prophet said, "Whoever will be called to account (about his deeds on the Day of Resurrection) will surely be punished." I said, "Doesn't Allah say: "He surely will receive an easy reckoning." (84.8) The Prophet replied, "This means only the presentation of the accounts but whoever will be argued about his account, will certainly be ruined."

Allah's Apostle said," (On the Day of Resurrection) any one whose account will be taken will be ruined (i.e. go to Hell)." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! May Allah make me be sacrificed for you. Doesn't Allah say: "Then as for him who will be given his record in his right hand, he surely will receive an easy reckoning.?" (84.7-8) He replied, "That is only the presentation of the accounts; but he whose record is questioned, will be ruined."

(This hadith is also narrated through two other chains)

Yahya related to me from Malik, from AIqama ibn Abi AIqama, from his mother, that A'isha, umm al-muminin, used to camp on the plain of Arafa at a place called Namira, and then later she changed to another place called al-Arak.

She said, ''A'isha, and those who were with her, would say the talbiya while she was at the place where they were camping, and then, when she had mounted and set out towards the place of standing, she would stop doing so."

She continued, ''A'isha used to do umra when she was in Makka after the hajj was over, in the month of Dhu'l-Hijja.Then she stopped doing that, and instead would set out before the new moon of Muharram for al-J uhfa, where she would stay until she saw the new moon, and then, when she had seen the new moon, she would go into ihram to do umra."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "This ayat is abrogated. It is the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, 'If he leaves goods, the testament is for parents and kinsmen.' What came down about the division of the fixed shares of inheritance in the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted, abrogated it."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "The established sunna with us, in which there is no dispute, is that it is not permitted for a testator to make a bequest (in addition to the fixed share) in favour of an heir, unless the other heirs permit him. If some of them permit him and others refuse, he is allowed to diminish the share of those who have given their permission. Those who refuse take their full share from the inheritance.

Yahya said that he heard Malik speak about an invalid who made a bequest and asked his heirs to give him permission to make a bequest when he was so ill that he only had command of a third of his property, and they gave him permission to leave some of his heirs more than his third. Malik said, "They cannot revoke that. Had they been permitted to do so, every heir would have done that, and then, when the testator died, they would take that for themselves and prevent him from bequeathing his third and what was permitted to him with respect to his property."

Malik said, "If he asks permission of his heirs to grant a bequest to an heir while he is well and they give him permission, that is not binding on them. The heirs can rescind that if they wish. That is because when a man is well, he is entitled to all his property and can do what he wishes with it. If he wishes, he can spend all of it. He can spend it and give sadaqa with it or give it to whomever he likes. His asking permission of his heirs is permitted for the heirs, when they give him permission when authority over all his property is closed off from him and nothing outside of the third is permitted to him, and when they are more entitled to the two-thirds of his property than he is himself. That is when their permission becomes relevant. If he asks one of the heirs to give his inheritance to him when he is dying, and the heir agrees and then the dying man does not dispose of it at all, it is returned to the one who gave it unless the deceased said to him, 'So-and-so - (one of his heirs) - is weak, and I would like you to give him your inheritance.' So he gives it to him. That is permitted when the deceased specified it for him."

Malik said, "When a man gives the dying man free use of his share of the inheritance, and the dying man distributes some of it and some remains, it is returned to the giver, after the man has died."

Yahya said that he heard Malik speak about someone who made a bequest and mentioned that he had given one of his heirs something which he had not taken possession of, so the heirs refused to permit that. Malik said, "That gift returns to the heirs as inheritance according to the Book of Allah because the deceased did not mean that to be taken out of the third and the heirs do not have a portion in the third (which the dying man is allowed to bequeath)."

The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah's Apostle said to them, "What do you find in the Torah (old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?" They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them." `Abdullah bin Salam said, "You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm." They brought and opened the Torah and one of them solaced his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. `Abdullah bin Salam said to him, "Lift your hand." When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, "Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (`Abdullah bin `Umar said, "I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones."

The Prophet (saws) said: In the morning alms are due from every bone in man's fingers and toes. Salutation to everyone he meets is alms; enjoining good is alms; forbidding what is disreputable is alms; removing what is harmful from the road is alms; having sexual intercourse with his wife is alms. The people asked: He fulfils his desire, Messenger of Allah; is it alms? He replied: Tell me if he fulfilled his desire where he had no right, would he commit a sin ? He then said: Two rak'ahs which one prays in the forenoon serve instead of all that.

Abu Dawud said: Hammad did not mention enjoining good and forbidding what is disreputable.

The Prophet (saws) said: It is not on my own that I give you or withhold from you: I am just a treasure, putting it where I have been commanded.

Malik related to me from Said ibn Amr Shurahbil ibn Said ibn Sad ibn Ubada from his father that his father said, ''Sad ibn Ubada went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in one of his raids and his mother was dying in Madina. Someone said to her, 'Leave a testament.' She said, 'In what shall I leave a testament? The property is Sad's property.' Then she died before Sad returned. When Sad ibn Ubada returned, that was mentioned to him. Sad said,

'Messenger of Allah! Will it help her if I give sadaqa for her?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Yes' Sad said, 'Such-and-such a garden is sadaqa for her,' naming the garden."

Aisha said, "What is wrong with Fatima? Why doesn't she fear Allah?" by saying that a divorced lady is not entitled to be provided with residence and sustenance (by her husband).

Allah's Apostle entered upon Dubaa bint Az-Zubair and said to her, "Do you have a desire to perform the Hajj?" She replied, "By Allah, I feel sick." He said to her, "Intend to perform Hajj and stipulate something by saying, 'O Allah, I will finish my Ihram at any place where You stop me (i.e. I am unable to go further)." She was the wife of Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad.

"The Prophet (saws) sent two armies, place 'Ali bin Abi Talib as the commanded of one of them, and Khalid bin Al-Walid over the other. He said: 'Where there is fighting, then 'Ali (is in command).'" He said: "So 'Ali conquered a fortress and took a slave girl. Khalid [bin Al-Walid] wrote a letter and sent me with it to the Prophet (saws), to speak against him for it. So I arrived to the Prophet (saws) to read the letter. The color of his face changed, the he said: 'What do you think about a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him?'" He said: "I said: 'I seek refuge from angering Allah and angering His Messenger, I am only the Messenger.' So he was silent.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There is something about this from Ibn 'Umar. This Hadith is Hasan Gharib, we do not know of it except from the narration of Al-Ahwas bin Jawwab. And his saying: "To speak against him for that." refers to An-Namimah.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "The woman who loses her husband and does not know where he is, waits for four years, then she does idda for four months, and then she is free to marry."

Malik said, "If she marries after her idda is over, regardless of whether the new husband has consummated the marriage or not, her first husband has no means of access to her."

Malik said, "That is what is done among us and if her husband reaches her before she has remarried, he is more entitled to her."

Malik said that he had seen people disapproving of someone who said that one of the people (of knowledge) attributed to Umar ibn al-Khattab that he said, "Her first husband chooses when he comes either her bride-price or his wife."

Malik said, "I have heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab, speaking about a woman whose husband divorced her while he was absent from her, and then he took her back and the news of his taking her back had not reached her, while the news of his divorcing her had, and so she had married again, said, 'Her first husband who divorced her has no means of access to her whether or not the new husband has consummated the marriage.' "

Malik said, "This is what I like the best of what I heard about the missing man."

Allah's Apostle said, "Doesn't it astonish you how Allah protects me from the Quraish's abusing and cursing? They abuse Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam while I am Muhammad (and not Mudhammam).

I met `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As and asked him, "Tell me about the description of Allah's Apostle which is mentioned in Torah (i.e. Old Testament.") He replied, 'Yes. By Allah, he is described in Torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the Qur'an as follows: "O Prophet ! We have sent you as a witness (for Allah's True religion) And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers), And a warner (to the unbelievers) And guardian of the illiterates. You are My slave and My messenger (i.e. Apostle). I have named you "Al-Mutawakkil" (who depends upon Allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh Nor a noisemaker in the markets And you do not do evil to those Who do evil to you, but you deal With them with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him (the Prophet) Die till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," With which will be opened blind eyes And deaf ears and enveloped hearts."

The Prophet came out to inform us about the Night of Qadr but two Muslims were quarreling with each other. So, the Prophet said, "I came out to inform you about the Night of Qadr but such-and-such persons were quarreling, so the news about it had been taken away; yet that might be for your own good, so search for it on the 29th, 27th and 25th (of Ramadan).

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "whoever desires an expansion in his sustenance and age, should keep good relations with his Kith and kin."

The Prophet said, "When Allah has ordained some affair in the Heaven, the angels beat with their wings in obedience to His statement, which sounds like a chain dragged over a rock." (`Ali and other sub-narrators said, "The sound reaches them.") "Until when fear is banished from their (angels) hearts, they (angels) say, 'What was it that your Lord said? They say, 'The truth; And He is the Most High, the Most Great.' (34.23) Then those who gain a hearing by stealing (i.e. devils) will hear Allah's Statement:-- 'Those who gain a hearing by stealing, (stand one over the other like this). (Sufyan, to illustrate this, spread the fingers of his right hand and placed them one over the other horizontally.) A flame may overtake and burn the eavesdropper before conveying the news to the one below him; or it may not overtake him till he has conveyed it to the one below him, who in his turn, conveys it to the one below him, and so on till they convey the news to the earth. (Or probably Sufyan said, "Till the news reaches the earth.") Then the news is inspired to a sorcerer who would add a hundred lies to it. His prophecy will prove true (as far as the heavenly news is concerned). The people will say. 'Didn't he tell us that on such-and-such a day, such-and-such a thing will happen? We have found that is true because of the true news heard from heaven."

The above hadith is also narrated by Abu Huraira, starting: 'When Allah has ordained some affair...') In this narration the word foreteller is added to the word wizard.

There gathered near the House (i.e. the Ka`ba) two Quraishi persons and a person from Thaqif (or two persons from Thaqif and one from Quraish), and all of them with very fat bellies but very little intelligence. One of them said, "Do you think that Allah hears what we say?" Another said, "He hears us when we talk in a loud voice, but He doesn't hear us when we talk in a low tone." The third said, "If He can hear when we talk in a loud tone, then He can also hear when we speak in a low tone." Then Allah, the Honorable, the Majestic revealed: 'And you have not been screening against yourself lest your ears, and eyes and your skins should testify against you....' (41.22-23)

This hadith has been narrated through another chain as well.

When the Prophet of Allah (saws) saw the new moon, he said: "a new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance. I believe in Him Who created you" three times. He would then say: "Praise be to Allah Who has made such and such a month to pass and has brought such and such a month."

He said, "Doesn't a man who has horses with white legs and white blazes on their foreheads among totally black horses recognise which ones are his own?" They said, "Of course, Messenger of Allah." He went on, "Even so will they come on the day of rising with white marks on their foreheads, hands and feet from wudu, and I will precede them to the Hawd. Some men will be driven away from the Hawd as if they were straying camels and I shall call out to them, 'Will you not come? Will you not come? Will you not come?' and someone will say, 'They changed things after you,' so I shall say, 'Then away with them, away with them, away with them!' "

Ibn `Abbas said, "In the verse: To every one We have appointed ' (Muwaliya Muwaliya means one's) heirs (4.33).' (And regarding the verse) 'And those with whom your right hands have made a pledge.' Ibn `Abbas said, "When the emigrants came to the Prophet in Medina, the emigrant would inherit the Ansari while the latter's relatives would not inherit him because of the bond of brotherhood which the Prophet established between them (i.e. the emigrants and the Ansar). When the verse: 'And to everyone We have appointed heirs' (4.33) was revealed, it canceled (the bond (the pledge) of brotherhood regarding inheritance)." Then he said, "The verse: To those also to whom your right hands have pledged, remained valid regarding cooperation and mutual advice, while the matter of inheritance was excluded and it became permissible to assign something in one's testament to the person who had the right of inheriting before.

That he heard Usama bin Zaid speaking to Sa`d, saying, "Allah's Apostle mentioned the plague and said, 'It is a means of punishment with which some nations were punished and some of it has remained, and it appears now and then. So whoever hears that there is an outbreak of plague in some land, he should not go to that land, and if the plague breaks out in the land where one is already present, one should not run away from that land, escaping from the plague."

There was a Jew in Medina who used to lend me money up to the season of plucking dates. (Jabir had a piece of land which was on the way to Ruma). That year the land was not promising, so the payment of the debt was delayed one year. The Jew came to me at the time of plucking, but gathered nothing from my land. I asked him to give me one year respite, but he refused. This news reached the Prophet whereupon he said to his companions, "Let us go and ask the Jew for respite for Jabir." All of them came to me in my garden, and the Prophet started speaking to the Jew, but he Jew said, "O Abu Qasim! I will not grant him respite." When the Prophet saw the Jew's attitude, he stood up and walked all around the garden and came again and talked to the Jew, but the Jew refused his request. I got up and brought some ripe fresh dates and put it in front of the Prophet. He ate and then said to me, "Where is your hut, O Jabir?" I informed him, and he said, "Spread out a bed for me in it." I spread out a bed, and he entered and slept. When he woke up, I brought some dates to him again and he ate of it and then got up and talked to the Jew again, but the Jew again refused his request. Then the Prophet got up for the second time amidst the palm trees loaded with fresh dates, and said, "O Jabir! Pluck dates to repay your debt." The Jew remained with me while I was plucking the dates, till I paid him all his right, yet there remained extra quantity of dates. So I went out and proceeded till I reached the Prophet and informed him of the good news, whereupon he said, "I testify that I am Allah's Apostle."

Hafsa said, 'We used to forbid our young women to go out for the two `Id prayers. A woman came and stayed at the palace of Bani Khalaf and she narrated about her sister whose husband took part in twelve holy battles along with the Prophet and her sister was with her husband in six (out of these twelve). She (the woman's sister) said, "We used to treat the wounded, look after the patients and once I asked the Prophet, 'Is there any harm for any of us to stay at home if she doesn't have a veil?' He said, 'She should cover herself with the veil of her companion and should participate in the good deeds and in the religious gathering of the Muslims.' When Um `Atiya came I asked her whether she had heard it from the Prophet. She replied, "Yes. May my father be sacrificed for him (the Prophet)! (Whenever she mentioned the Prophet she used to say, 'May my father be sacrificed for him) I have heard the Prophet saying, 'The unmarried young virgins and the mature girl who stay often screened or the young unmarried virgins who often stay screened and the menstruating women should come out and participate in the good deeds as well as the religious gathering of the faithful believers but the menstruating women should keep away from the Musalla (praying place).' " Hafsa asked Um `Atiya surprisingly, "Do you say the menstruating women?" She replied, "Doesn't a menstruating woman attend `Arafat (Hajj) and such and such (other deeds)?"

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "The best of what I have heard about the testament of a pregnant woman and about what settlements she is permitted in her property is that the pregnant woman is like the sick person. When the illness is light, and one does not fear for the sick person, he does with his property what he likes. If the illness is such that his life is feared for, he can only dispose of a third of his estate."

He said, "It is the same with a woman who is pregnant. The beginning of pregnancy is good news and joy. It is not illness and no fear because Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'We gave her good news of Ishaq and after Ishaq, Yaqub.' (Sura ll ayat 71). And He said, 'She bore a light burden and passed by with it, but when she became heavy, they called upon Allah, their Lord, "If you give us a good-doing son, we will be among the thankful." '(Sura 7 ayat 189).

"When a pregnant woman becomes heavy, she is only permitted to dispose of a third of her estate. The beginning of this restriction is after six months. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Mothers suckle their children for two complete years.' And He said, 'his bearing and weaning are thirty months.' (Sura 2 ayat 233).

"When six months have passed for the pregnant woman from the day she conceived, she is only permitted to dispose of a third of her property."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "A man who is advancing in the row for battle, can only dispose of a third of his property. He is in the same position as a pregnant woman or an ill person who is feared for, as long as he is in that situation."

Once `Umar was informed that a certain man sold alcohol. `Umar said, "May Allah curse him! Doesn't he know that Allah's Apostle said, 'May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah had forbidden them to eat the fat of animals but they melted it and sold it."

The Prophet set out with the intention of going to Suq `Ukaz (market of `Ukaz) along with some of his companions. At the same time, a barrier was put between the devils and the news of heaven. Fire commenced to be thrown at them. The Devils went to their people, who asked them, "What is wrong with you?" They said, "A barrier has been placed between us and the news of heaven. And fire has been thrown at us." They said, "The thing which has put a barrier between you and the news of heaven must be something which has happened recently. Go eastward and westward and see what has put a barrier between you and the news of heaven." Those who went towards Tuhama came across the Prophet at a place called Nakhla and it was on the way to Suq `Ukaz and the Prophet was offering the Fajr prayer with his companions. When they heard the Qur'an they listened to it and said, "By Allah, this is the thing which has put a barrier between us and the news of heaven." They went to their people and said, "O our people; verily we have heard a wonderful recital (Qur'an) which shows the true path; we believed in it and would not ascribe partners to our Lord." Allah revealed the following verses to his Prophet (Sura 'Jinn') (72): "Say: It has been revealed to me." And what was revealed to him was the conversation of the Jinns.

`Umar went to Sham and when he reached Sargh, he got the news that an epidemic (of plague) had broken out in Sham. `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf told him that Allah's Apostle said, "If you hear that it (plague) has broken out in a land, do not go to it; but if it breaks out in a land where you are present, do not go out escaping from it."

A man passed by Allah's Apostle and Allah s Apostle asked (his companions) "What do you say about this (man)?" They replied "If he asks for a lady's hand, he ought to be given her in marriage; and if he intercedes (for someone) his intercessor should be accepted; and if he speaks, he should be listened to." Allah's Apostle kept silent, and then a man from among the poor Muslims passed by, an Allah's Apostle asked (them) "What do you say about this man?" They replied, "If he asks for a lady's hand in marriage he does not deserve to be married, and he intercedes (for someone), his intercession should not be accepted; And if he speaks, he should not be listened to.' Allah's Apostle said, "This poor man is better than so many of the first as filling the earth.'

When he was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (saws) and a Jew was also with him, a funeral passed by him. He (the Jew) asked (Him): Muhammad, does this funeral speak? The Prophet (saws) said: Allah has more knowledge. The Jew said: It speaks.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Whatever the people of the Book tell you, do not verify them, nor falsify them, but say: We believe in Allah and His Apostle. If it is false, do not confirm it, and if it is right, do not falsify it.

I got the news that Gabriel came to the Prophet while Um Salama was present. Gabriel started talking (to the Prophet and then left. The Prophet said to Um Salama, "(Do you know) who it was?" (or a similar question). She said, "It was Dihya (a handsome person amongst the companions of the Prophet )." Later on Um Salama said, "By Allah! I thought he was none but Dihya, till I heard the Prophet talking about Gabriel in his sermon." (The Sub-narrator asked Abu `Uthman, "From where have you heard this narration?" He replied, "From Usama bin Zaid.")