Once, while I was sitting with the companions of the Prophet at a station on the road to Mecca and Allah's Apostle was stationing ahead of us and all the people were assuming Ihram while I was not. My companion, saw an onager while I was busy Mending my shoes. They did not Inform me of the onager but they wished that I would see it Suddenly I looked and saw the onager Then I headed towards my horse, saddled it and rode, but I forgot to take the lash and the spear. So I said to them my companions), "Give me the lash and the spear." But they said, "No, by Allah we will not help you in any way to hunt it ' I got angry, dismounted, took it the spear and the lash), rode (the horse chased the onager and wounded it Then I brought it when it had dyed. My companions started eating of its (cooked) meat, but they suspected that it might be unlawful to eat of its meat while they were in a state of Ihram Then I proceeded further and I kept one of its forelegs with me. When we met Allah's Apostle we asked him about that. He said, "Have you some of its meat with you?" I gave him that foreleg and he ate the meat till he stripped the bone of its flesh although he was in a state of Ihram.

The Prophet said, "The neighbor has more right to be taken care of by his neighbor (than anyone else)." Some men said, "If one wants to buy a house for 20,000 Dirhams then there is no harm to play a trick to deprive somebody of preemption by buying it (just on paper) with 20,000 Dirhams but paying to the seller only 9,999 Dirhams in cash and then agree with the seller to pay only one Dinar in cash for the rest of the price (i.e. 10,001 Dirhams). If the preemptor offers 20,000 Dirhams for the house, he can buy it otherwise he has no right to buy it (by this trick he got out of preemption). If the house proves to belong to somebody else other than the seller, the buyer should take back from the seller what he has paid, i.e., 9,999 Dirhams and one Dinar, because if the house proves to belong to somebody else, so the whole bargain (deal) is unlawful. If the buyer finds a defect in the house and it does not belong to somebody other than the seller, the buyer may return it and receive 20,000 Dirhams (instead of 9999 Dirham plus one Dinar) which he actually paid.' Abu `Abdullah said, "So that man allows (some people) the playing of tricks amongst the Muslims (although) the Prophet said, 'In dealing with Muslims one should not sell them sick (animals) or bad things or stolen things."

The Prophet was not one who would abuse (others) or say obscene words, or curse (others), and if he wanted to admonish anyone of us, he used to say: "What is wrong with him, his forehead be dusted!"

That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "A slave of Allah may utter a word without thinking whether it is right or wrong, he may slip down in the Fire as far away a distance equal to that between the east."

I reached him (the Prophet ) while in the shade of the Ka`ba; he was saying, "They are the losers, by the Lord of the Ka`ba! They are the losers, by the Lord of the Ka`ba!" I said (to myself ), "What is wrong with me? Is anything improper detected in me? What is wrong with me? Then I sat beside him and he kept on saying his statement. I could not remain quiet, and Allah knows in what sorrowful state I was at that time. So I said, ' Who are they (the losers)? Let My father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "They are the wealthy people, except the one who does like this and like this and like this (i.e., spends of his wealth in Allah's Cause).

Allah's Apostle was neither a Fahish (one who had a bad tongue) nor a Sabbaba (one who abuses others) and he used to say while admonishing somebody, "What is wrong with him? May dust be on his forehead!"

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)?"

The Prophet with his companions started from Medina after combing and oiling his hair and putting on two sheets of lhram (upper body cover and waist cover). He did not forbid anyone to wear any kind of sheets except the ones colored with saffron because they may leave the scent on the skin. And so in the early morning, the Prophet mounted his Mount while in Dhul-Hulaifa and set out till they reached Baida', where he and his companions recited Talbiya, and then they did the ceremony of Taqlid (which means to put the colored garlands around the necks of the Budn (camels for sacrifice). And all that happened on the 25th of Dhul-Qa'da. And when he reached Mecca on the 4th of Dhul-Hijja he performed the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and performed the Tawaf between Safa and Marwa. And as he had a Badana and had garlanded it, he did not finish his Ihram. He proceeded towards the highest places of Mecca near Al-Hujun and he was assuming the Ihram for Hajj and did not go near the Ka`ba after he performed Tawaf (round it) till he returned from `Arafat. Then he ordered his companions to perform the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and then the Tawaf of Safa and Marwa, and to cut short the hair of their heads and to finish their Ihram. And that was only for those people who had not garlanded Budn. Those who had their wives with them were permitted to contact them (have sexual intercourse), and similarly perfume and (ordinary) clothes were permissible for them.

`Urwa bin Az-Zubair said that he asked `Aisha about the meaning of the Qur'anic Verse:-- "And if you fear that you will not deal fairly with the orphan girls then marry (other) women of your choice." (4.2-3) Aisha said, "It is about a female orphan under the guardianship of her guardian who is inclined towards her because of her beauty and wealth, and likes to marry her with a Mahr less than what is given to women of her standard. So they (i.e. guardians) were forbidden to marry the orphans unless they paid them a full appropriate Mahr (otherwise) they were ordered to marry other women instead of them. Later on the people asked Allah's Apostle about it. So Allah revealed the following Verse:-- "They ask your instruction (O Muhammad!) regarding women. Say: Allah instructs you regarding them..." (4.127) and in this Verse Allah indicated that if the orphan girl was beautiful and wealthy, her guardian would have the desire to marry her without giving her an appropriate Mahr equal to what her peers could get, but if she was undesirable for lack of beauty or wealth, then he would not marry her, but seek to marry some other woman instead of her. So, since he did not marry her when he had no inclination towards her, he had not the right to marry her when he had an interest in her, unless he treated her justly by giving her a full Mahr and securing all her rights.

Hafsa bint Seereen said, "On Id we used to forbid our girls to go out for `Id prayer. A lady came and stayed at the palace of Bani Khalaf and I went to her. She said, 'The husband of my sister took part in twelve holy battles along with the Prophet and my sister was with her husband in six of them. My sister said that they used to nurse the sick and treat the wounded. Once she asked, 'O Allah's Apostle! If a woman has no veil, is there any harm if she does not come out (on `Id day)?' The Prophet said, 'Her companion should let her share her veil with her, and the women should participate in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers.' " Hafsa added, "When Um-`Atiya came, I went to her and asked her, 'Did you hear anything about so-and-so?' Um-`Atiya said, 'Yes, let my father be sacrificed for the Prophet (p.b.u.h). (And whenever she mentioned the name of the Prophet she always used to say, 'Let my father be' sacrificed for him). He said, 'Virgin mature girls staying often screened (or said, 'Mature girls and virgins staying often screened--Aiyub is not sure as which was right) and menstruating women should come out (on the `Id day). But the menstruating women should keep away from the Musalla. And all the women should participate in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers'." Hafsa said, "On that I said to Um-`Atiya, 'Also those who are menstruating?' " Um-`Atiya replied, "Yes. Do they not present themselves at `Arafat and elsewhere?".

(On `Id) We used to forbid our virgins to go out (for `Id prayer). A lady came and stayed at the fortress of Bani Khalaf. She mentioned that her sister was married to one of the companions of Allah's Apostle who participated in twelve Ghazawats along with Allah's Apostle and her sister was with him in six of them. She said, "We used to dress the wounded and look after the patients." She (her sister) asked Allah's Apostle , "Is there any harm for a woman to stay at home if she doesn't have a veil?" He said, "She should cover herself with the veil of her companion and she should take part in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers." When Um 'Atiyya came, I asked her. "Did you hear anything about that?" Um 'Atiyya said, "Bi Abi" and she never mentioned the name of Allah's Apostle without saying "Bi Abi" (i.e. 'Let my father be sacrificed for you'). We asked her, "Have you heard Allah's Apostle saying so and so (about women)?" She replied in the affirmative and said, "Let my father be sacrificed for him. He told us that unmarried mature virgins who stay often screened or unmarried young virgins and mature girls who stay often screened should come out and take part in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers. But the menstruating women should keep away from the Musalla (praying place)." I asked her, "The menstruating women?" She replied, "Don't they present themselves at `Arafat and at such and such places?"

The Prophet delivered to us a sermon on the Day of Nahr. He said, "Do you know what is the day today?" We said, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He remained silent till we thought that he might give that day another name. He said, "Isn't it the Day of Nahr?" We said, "It is." He further asked, "Which month is this?" We said, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He remained silent till we thought that he might give it another name. He then said, "Isn't it the month of Dhul-Hijja?" We replied: "Yes! It is." He further asked, "What town is this?" We replied, "Allah and His Apostle know it better." He remained silent till we thought that he might give it another name. He then said, "Isn't it the forbidden (Sacred) town (of Mecca)?" We said, "Yes. It is." He said, "No doubt, your blood and your properties are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours, till the day you meet your Lord. No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's message to you? They said, "Yes." He said, "O Allah! Be witness. So it is incumbent upon those who are present to convey it (this information) to those who are absent because the informed one might comprehend it (what I have said) better than the present audience, who will convey it to him. Beware! Do not renegade (as) disbelievers after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another."

Hudhaifa said, "`Umar said, 'Who amongst you remembers the statement of Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) about afflictions'?' I said, 'I know it as the Prophet had said it.' `Umar said, 'No doubt, you are bold. How did he say it?' I said, 'A man's afflictions (wrong deeds) concerning his wife, children and neighbors are expiated by (his) prayers, charity, and enjoining good.' (The sub-narrator Sulaiman added that he said, 'The prayer, charity, enjoining good and forbidding evil.') `Umar said, 'I did not mean that, but I ask about that affliction which will spread like the waves of the sea.' I said, 'O chief of the believers! You need not be afraid of it as there is a closed door between you and it.' He asked, 'Will the door be broken or opened?' I replied, 'No, it will be broken.' He said, 'Then, if it is broken, it will never be closed again?' I replied, 'Yes.' " Then we were afraid to ask what that door was, so we asked Masruq to inquire, and he asked Hudhaifa regarding it. Hudhaifa said, "The door was `Umar. "We further asked Hudhaifa whether `Umar knew what that door meant. Hudhaifa replied in the affirmative and added, "He knew it as one knows that there will be a night before the tomorrow morning."

The Prophet said, "The Ansar are my near companions to whom I confided my private secrets, People will go on increasing but the Ansar will go on decreasing; so accept the good of the good-doers amongst them and excuse the wrong-doers amongst them. "