Jabir told that God's messenger looked at Talha b. `Ubaidallah and said, "If anyone wants to look at a man walking on the face of the earth when he has died[*] let him look at this man." A version has, "If anyone finds pleasure in looking at a martyr walking on the face of the earth let him look at Talha b. `Ubaidallah." *The idea may be that he has vowed to fight to death in God's path, and so he is spoken of as being as good as dead. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

`Ali said his ear had heard the following being uttered from God's messenger's mouth, "Talha and az-Zubair will be my neighbours in paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Sa`d b. Abu Waqqas told that God's messenger said that day, i.e., the day of Uhud, "0 God, strengthen his shooting and answer his supplication." It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "0 God, answer Sa`d when he supplicates Thee." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

`Ali said Sa`d was the only one for whom God's messenger named his parents together. At the battle of Uhud he said to him, "Shoot, my father and my mother be your ransom!" He also said to him, "Shoot, strong young man." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Jabir told that Sa'd came forward and the Prophet said, "This is my maternal uncle; now let any man show me his maternal uncle." Tirmidhi transmitted it, explaining that Sa'd belonged to the B. Zuhra, the tribe to which the Prophet's mother belonged, and that on that account the Prophet said, "This is my maternal uncle." Al masabih has "let him honour" instead of "let him show me."

Qais b. Abu Hazim told that he heard Sa'd b. Aba Waqqas say, "I was the first man among the Arabs to shoot an arrow in God's path. I saw once when we were on an expedition with God's messenger and had no food but the fruit and leaves of the mimosa that our stools were dry and in small pieces like a sheep's. The B. Asad were reproving me about [my unsatisfactory observance of] Islam, in which case I would be the loser and lack the benefit of what I had done." They had given information against him to 'Umar, saying he did not perform the prayer properly[*]. *The occasion was when Sa'd was in charge in Iraq. The point of the tradition is that examples of his early faithfulness are given to show what he endured on the Prophet's behalf, but now that he is being accused of laxity there is a danger that he may lose the reward for his earlier good deeds supposing the charge could be substantiated. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

I have seen myself as. the third member of Islam, no one having accepted it except on the day I did, and during the space of seven days I constituted a third of Islam[*]. *The claim is that after Abu Bakr and Khadija no one accepted Islam before he did, and that no one else accepted it for a week after he did. Bukhari transmitted it, and Baghawi rendered it in his Mu'jam.

`A'isha told that God's messenger used to say to his wives, "I am concerned about what will happen to you after I am gone, when only the self-sacrificing and truly generous will continue to care for you." `A'isha said his meaning was those who give sadaqa. Then `A'isha said to Abu Salama b. `Abd ar-Rahman, "May God give your father drink from Salsabil[1] in paradise!" Ibn `Auf[2] had given as sadaqa for the mothers of the faithful a garden which had been sold for forty thousand. A fountain in paradise. Cf. Quran, 76:18. i.e., 'Abd ar-Rahman b. `Auf, Abu Salama's father. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Umm Salama told that she heard God's messenger say to his wives, "Ale who treats you generously after I am gone is the sincere and kindly one. O God, give `Abd ar-Rahman b. `Auf drink from Salsabil in paradise." Ahmad transmitted it.

Hudhaifa told that the people of Najran came to God's messenger and said, "Messenger of God, send us a trustworthy man." When he replied, "I shall certainly send you a trustworthy man who is genuinely trustworthy," the people[*] were looking to see if they would be appointed. He then sent Abu `Ubaida b. al-Jarrah. *i.e., the Prophet's companions. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

`Ali told that when God's messenger was asked whom they should appoint commander after he had gone, he replied, "If you appoint Abu Bakr as commander you will find him trustworthy, with little desire for worldly goods but eager for the next world; if you appoint `Umar as commander you will find him trustworthy and strong, fearing for God's sake no one's blame; and if you appoint `Ali as commander, but I cannot see you doing so, you will find him a guide who is rightly guided who will lead you in the straight way." Ahmad transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "God show mercy to Aba Bakr! He gave me his daughter as wife, he conveyed me to the abode of the emigration, he accompanied me in the cave, and he manumitted Bilal out of his property. God show mercy to `Umar! He speaks the truth even if it is bitter, and the truth has left him without a friend. God show mercy to `Uthman! The angels display bashfulness before him. God show mercy to 'Ali! 0 God, cause the truth to accompany him wherever he goes!'' Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas told that when this verse came down, "Let us call our sons and your sons[*]..." God's messenger called `Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain and said, "0 God, these are the members of my family." *Quran, 3:61. Muslim transmitted it.

`A'isha told that the Prophet went out one morning wearing a striped[1] cloak of black goat's hair. Al-Hasan b. `Ali came and he took him under it, then al-Husain came and went under it along with him, then Fatima came and he took her under it, then `Ali came and he took him under it. He then said, "God only desires to remove abomination from you, members of the family, and purify you[2]." It literally means one decorated with representations of camels' saddles. Quran, 33:33. Muslim transmitted it.

Al-Bara' told that when Ibrahim* died God's messenger said, "He has a nursing-mother in paradise." *The Prophet's son. Bukhari transmitted it.

We, the Prophet's wives, were once with him when Fatima came along, her style of walking being indistinguishable from that of God's messenger. When he saw her, he said, "Welcome, my daughter," and made her sit down. He then said something privately to her and she wept bitterly, so when he saw her grief, he said something else privately to her and she began to laugh. When God's messenger got up and left, I asked her what he had said to her privately, but she replied, "I am not one to publish God's messenger's secrets." After his death I said, "I adjure you by my right over you to tell me," And she replied, "Now I am agreeable. When he spoke privately to me about the first matter, he informed me that Gabriel was in the habit of going over the Quran with him once annually but that he had done it twice that year, so he felt his appointed time was near. He then told me to fear God and show endurance, for he was a good forerunner for me. I wept, and when he saw my distress, he spoke to me privately a second time saying, `Are you not pleased, Fatima, that you will be the chief lady among the female inhabitants of paradise (or, of the women of the believers)'?" A version has, "He spoke to me privately informing me that he would die of his pain, so I wept. He then spoke to me privately informing me that I would be the first member of his family to follow him, so I laughed." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Al-Miswar b. Makhrama reported God's messenger as saying, "Fatima is a piece of me, so he who angers her angers me." A version has "What disturbs her disturbs me and what injures her injures me." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

You people must understand that I am just human. My Lord's messenger will soon come for me and I shall answer his summons, but I am leaving among you the two important things, the first of which is God's Book which contains guidance and light, so study it and follow its commands closely." Then when he had urged attention to God's Book and commended it, he said, "Also my family. I remind you of your duty to God to care for my family; I remind you of your duty to God to care for my family." A version has "God's Book is God's rope; he who follows it has guidance and he who abandons it is in error." Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn `Umar told that when he gave a salutation to Ja'far's son[1] he said, "Peace be upon you, son of the possessor of the wings[2]." i.e., 'Abdallah. When Ja'far was killed at the battle of Mu'ta the Prophet said that though he had lost his limbs he had been provided with wings with which he was flying in paradise. Bukhari transmitted it.

Al-Bara' told that he saw the Prophet with al-Hasan b. `Ali on his shoulder saying, "O God, I love him, so I beseech Thee to love him." Bukhari and Muslim.

Abu Huraira told that at a certain time one day he went out with God's messenger who, when he came to Fatima's tent, said, "Is a little chap[*] there? Is a little chap there?" meaning Hasan. In a moment he came running and when they had embraced one another God's messenger said, "O God, I love him, so I beseech Thee to love him and to love those who love him." *The word is luka'. It is used of one who is contemptible, or of little worth, and is figuratively used of a young child. Perhaps one might compare the use of 'rascal' in English, where it is used of a child with obviously no suggestion of the normal meaning. It is used playfully. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Bakra told that he saw God's messenger on the pulpit with al-Hasan b. `Ali at his side. He was looking towards the people at one moment and towards him at another and saying, "This son of mine is a sayyid, and perhaps God m ay reconcile two large parties of Muslims by means of him." Bukhari transmitted it.

Abd ar-Rahman b. Abu Nu`m told that he heard `Abdallah b. `Umar say when a man asked him about [a pilgrim] wearing the ihram (Shu'ba remarking that he thought it concerned killing flies), "The people of al-`Iraq ask me about flies when they have killed the son of God's messenger's daughter, two people of whom God's messenger has said they[1] are his offspring[2] in the world! " Meaning al-Hasan and al-Husain. The word is raihan, used in the dual. One of the meanings of the word is a bounty or blessing from God. It is usually explained in connection with this tradition as meaning descendants. Bukhari transmitted it.

Anas said no one more closely resembled the Prophet than al-Hasan b. `Ali, and he said of al-Husain also that he was the one who bore the closest resemblance to God's messenger. Bukhari transmitted it.

The Prophet caught me to his breast and said, "O God, teach him the wisdom." A version has "Teach him the Book." Bukhari transmitted it.

The Prophet entered the privy and I placed water for him. On coming out he asked who had placed it, and when he was told he said, "0 God, give him insight regarding the religion." Bukhari and Muslim.

Usama b. Zaid told that the Prophet used to take al-Hasan and him and say, "0 God, I beseech Thee to love them, for I love them." In a version he told that God's messenger used to take him and put him on his knee, then put al-Hasan on the other knee, and after embracing them say, "0 God, I beseech Thee to have compassion on them, for I have compassion on them." Bukhari transmitted it.

`Abdallah b. `Umar told that when God's messenger sent out a force in charge of which he appointed Usama b. Zaid and some people criticised his appointment, he said, "If you criticise his appointment you have done the same before about his father's appointment[*]. I swear by God that he was worthy of the office of commander, that he was one of those who were dearest to me, and that this man is one of those who are dearest to me after his time." *The reference is to Zaid b. Haritha who was killed when leading the troops at Mu'ta. (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Muslim there is something to the same effect at the end of which come the words "I commend him to you, for he is one of your upright ones."

Jabir told that he saw God's messenger when performing the hajj seated on his she-camel al-Qaswa' on the day of `Arafa giving an address, and he heard him saying, "0 you people, I have left among you something of such a nature that if you adhere to it you will not go astray, God's Book and my close relatives who belong to my household." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

God's Book, a rope stretched from heaven to earth, and my close relatives who belong to my household. These two will not separate from one another till they come down to the Pond, so consider how you act regarding them after my departure." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

He told that God's messenger said of `Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husain, "I am war to him who makes war on them and peace to him who makes peace with them." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

I went in with my paternal aunt to visit `A'isha and asked[*] who was dearest to God's messenger. When she replied that it was Fatima, she was asked who was dearest among men and replied that it was her husband. *It is not clear from the text in Mirqat whether Jumai' or his paternal aunt asked the question. The word is not pointed, and the third singular feminine and the first singular have the same consonants. Cf. Mirqat, 5:601. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Once when I was with God's messenger, al-`Abbas came in angrily, and when he asked him what was making him angry he said, "What is wrong between us and Quraish? When they meet one another, they do so with cheerful faces, but when they met us they act differently." God's messenger became so angry that he was red in the face, and he then said, "By Him in whose hand my soul is, faith will not enter a man's heart till be loves you[*] for God's sake and His messenger's." He then said, "O you people, he who injures my paternal uncle has injured me, for a man's paternal uncle is the same as his father." *The pronoun is plural. Tirmidhi transmitted it. In al-Masabih it is given on the authority of al-Muttalib (There was a man al-Muttalib b. Rabi'a as well as 'Abd al-Muttalib b. Rabi'a, both of whom were companions of the Prophet, but it seems that a mistake has been made in Masabih as-sunna through the omission of `Abd, probably inadvertently.)

Ibn `Abbas reported God's messenger as saying, "Al-`Abbas pertains to me and I to him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying to al-`Abbas, "When Monday morning comes come to me with your children so that I may make for you a supplication by which God may benefit you and your children." He and they came in the morning, and when he had put his cloak over them he said, "O God, grant al-`Abbas and his children such forgiveness without and within as will not leave a sin. O God, guard him in his children." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Razin added, "And cause the Caliphate to remain among his descendants." Tirmidhi said this is a gharib tradition.

He told that he had seen Gabriel twice and that God's messenger invoked a blessing on him twice. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

God's messenger made supplication for me twice that God might give me wisdom. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told that Ja'far used to love the poor. He would sit with them and talk to them and they would talk to him. God's messenger used to address him by the kunya Abul Masakin (father of the poor). Tirmidhi transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "I saw Ja'far flying in paradise along with the angels." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Abu Sa'id reported God's messenger as saying, "Al-Hasan and al-Husain will be the chief ones among the youths[*] who go to paradise." *Mirqat, 5:604, indicates that the meaning is not easy to decide. One suggestion is that shabab (plural of shabb) which means "youths" is used in the same sense as fatan (young man) when it means a brave warrior without any particular indication of age. A less likely suggestion is that the words refer to all those who go to paradise, apart from prophets and the four rightly-guided Caliphs, because all the inhabitants of paradise will be young. Another suggestion is that the words refer to those who were young when the Prophet spoke them. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Ibn `Umar reported God's messenger as saying, "Al-Hasan and al-Husain are my offspring in the world." Tirmidhi transmitted it. It has occurred already in the first section.

I went to the Prophet one night about something I required and he came out with something (I did not know what) under his cloak. When I had finished telling him my business, I asked him what he had under his cloak, and when he opened it, I saw al-Hasan and al-Husain on his hips. He then said, "These are my sons and my daughter's sons. 0 God, I love them, so I beseech Thee to love them and those who love them." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

I went in to visit Umm Salama and found her weeping. I asked her what was making her weep and she replied that she had seen God's messenger (meaning in a dream) with dust on his head and beard. She asked him what was the matter and he replied, "I have just been present at the slaying of al-Husain." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Anas told that when God's messenger was asked which member of his family was dearest to him, he replied, "Al-Hasan and al-Husain." He used to say to Fatim a, "Call my two sons to me," and then would sniff and cuddle them. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Buraida told that while God's messenger was addressing the people al-Hasan and al Husain came along in red shirts stumbling as they walked. God's messenger then descended from the pulpit, lifted them and put them in front of him, then said, "God has spoken truth in saying, `Your property and your children are just a temptation[*].' I looked at these two boys stumbling as they walked, and could not refrain from interrupting my address and lifting them up." *Quran; 64:15. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.

I ask my mother to let me go to the Prophet, pray the sunset prayer with him, and ask him to pray forgiveness for her and me. I went to the Prophet and prayed the sunset prayer along, with him, and he remained in prayer till he prayed the night prayer. When he went off, I followed him, and when he heard my voice he said, "Who is this? Is it Hudhaifa?" When I told him that it was, he said, "What do you require? God forgive you and your mother! Here is an angel who has never come down to earth before to-night. He asked his Lord's permission to give me a greeting and give me the good news that Fatima will be the chief lady among the inhabitants of paradise, and that al-Hasan and al-Husain will be the chief ones among the youths who go to paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Ibn `Abbas told that when God's messenger was carrying al-Hasan b. `Ali on his shoulder a man said, "You have mounted on a fine steed, boy." The Prophet said, "And he is a fine rider." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

`Umar allotted to Usama three thousand five hundred and to `Abdallah b. `Umar three thousand, so `Abdallah b. Umar said to his father, "Why have you treated Usama as superior to me? I swear by God that he has never got to any battle before me." He replied, "It is because Zaid was dearer to God's messenger than your father and Usama was dearer to God's messenger than you, so I have given preference to the one who was beloved by God's messenger over the one who is loved by me. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

I came to God's messenger and said, "Messenger of God, send my brother Zaid along with me." He replied, "Here he is; if he goes with you, I shall not prevent him." But when Zaid said, "Messenger of God, I swear to God that I choose no one in preference to you," I considered my brother's opinion better than mine. Tirmidhi transmitted it