Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) forbade the (people) meeting the caravan (for entering into business transaction with them), and the selling of goods by a townsman on behalf of a man of the desert, and seeking by a woman the divorce of her sister (from her husband), and outbidding (against one another), and tying up the udders (of animals), and buying of (things) in opposition to one's brother.

While I was going to help this man ('Ali Ibn Abi Talib), Abu Bakra met me and asked, "Where are you going?" I replied, "I am going to help that person." He said, "Go back for I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'When two Muslims fight (meet) each other with their swords, both the murderer as well as the murdered will go to the Hell-fire.' I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! It is all right for the murderer but what about the murdered one?' Allah's Apostle replied, "He surely had the intention to kill his companion."

The Prophet said, "The example of a miser and an almsgiver is like the example of two persons wearing iron cloaks." Allah's Apostle also said, "The example of an almsgiver and a miser is like the example of two persons who have two iron cloaks on them from their breasts to their collar bones, and when the almsgiver wants to give in charity, the cloak becomes capacious till it covers his whole body to such an extent that it hides his fingertips and covers his footprints (obliterates his tracks). (1) And when the miser wants to spend, it (the iron cloak) sticks and every ring gets stuck to its place and he tries to widen it, but it did not become wide.

Narrated Abu Huraira

The Prophet said, "A man from Bani Israel asked someone from Bani Israel to give him a loan of one thousand Dinars and the later gave it to him. The debtor went on a voyage (when the time for the payment of the debt became due) but he did not find a boat, so he took a piece of wood and bored it and put 1000 diners in it and threw it into the sea. The creditor went out and took the piece of wood to his family to be used as fire-wood." (See Hadith No. 488 B, Vol. 3). And the Prophet narrated the narration (and said), "When he sawed the wood, he found his money."

Allah's Apostle said, "While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?" He replied, "Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate."

Salama said, "I gave the Pledge of allegiance (Al-Ridwan) to Allah's Apostle and then I moved to the shade of a tree. When the number of people around the Prophet diminished, he said, 'O Ibn Al-Akwa` ! Will you not give to me the pledge of Allegiance?' I replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! I have already given to you the pledge of Allegiance.' He said, 'Do it again.' So I gave the pledge of allegiance for the second time." I asked 'O Abu Muslim! For what did you give he pledge of Allegiance on that day?" He replied, "We gave the pledge of Allegiance for death."

Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "We set out, and we were three-hundred men carrying our journey-food on our shoulders. Then we began to eat a single date each per day." A man asked (Jabir), "O Abu `Abdullah! How could a person be satisfied with a single date?" Jabir replied, "We realized the value of that one date when we could not even have that much till we reached the sea-shore, when all of a sudden we saw a huge fish cast by the sea. So, we ate of it as much as we wished for eighteen days."

The Prophet asked me at sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: "And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All- Knowing." (36.38)

The Prophet said, "When the call for the prayer is pronounced, Satan takes to his heels, passing wind with noise, When the call for the prayer is finished, he comes back. And when the Iqama is pronounced, he again takes to his heels, and after its completion, he returns again to interfere between the (praying) person and his heart, saying to him. 'Remember this or that thing.' till the person forgets whether he has offered three or four rak`at: so if one forgets whether he has prayed three or four rak`at, he should perform two prostrations of Sahu (i.e. forgetfulness).

That he heard the Prophet delivering a sermon on the pulpit saying, "Kill snakes and kill Dhu-at- Tufyatain (i.e. a snake with two white lines on its back) and Al-Abtar (i.e. a snake with short or mutilated tail) for they destroy the sight of one's eyes and bring about abortion." (`Abdullah bin `Umar further added): Once while I was chasing a snake in order, to kill it, Abu Lubaba called me saying: "Don't kill it," I said. "Allah's Apostle ordered us to kill snakes." He said, "But later on he prohibited the killing of snakes living in the houses." (Az-Zuhri said. "Such snakes are called Al-Awamir.")

Some people asked the Prophet: "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He replied, "The most honorable among them is the one who is the most Allah-fearing." They said, "O Allah's Prophet! We do not ask about this." He said, "Then the most honorable person is Joseph, Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Khalil." They said, "We do not ask about this." He said, "Then you want to ask me about the Arabs' descent?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Those who were best in the pre-lslamic period, are the best in Islam, if they comprehend (the religious knowledge).

The Prophet said, "Solomon (the son of) David said, 'Tonight I will sleep with seventy ladies each of whom will conceive a child who will be a knight fighting for "Allah's Cause.' His companion said, 'If Allah will.' But Solomon did not say so; therefore none of those women got pregnant except one who gave birth to a half child." The Prophet further said, "If the Prophet Solomon had said it (i.e. 'If Allah will') he would have begotten children who would have fought in Allah's Cause." Shuaib and Ibn Abi Az-Zinad said, "Ninety (women) is more correct (than seventy).

Al-Aqra' bin Habis said to the Prophet "Nobody gave you the pledge of allegiance but the robbers of the pilgrims (i.e. those who used to rob the pilgrims) from the tribes of Aslam, Ghifar, Muzaina." (Ibn Abi Ya'qub is in doubt whether Al-Aqra' added. 'And Juhaina.') The Prophet said, "Don't you think that the tribes of Aslam, Ghifar, Muzaina (and also perhaps) Juhaina are better than the tribes of Bani Tamim, Bani Amir, Asad, and Ghatafan?" Somebody said, "They were unsuccessful and losers!" The Prophet said, "Yes, by Him in Whose Hands my life is, they (i.e. the former) are better than they (i.e. the latter).

The Prophet used to talk so clearly that if somebody wanted to count the number of his words, he could do so. Narrated `Urwa bin Az-Zubair: `Aisha said (to me), "Don't you wonder at Abu so-and-so who came and sat by my dwelling and started relating the traditions of Allah's Apostle intending to let me hear that, while I was performing an optional prayer. He left before I finished my optional prayer. Had I found him still there. I would have said to him, 'Allah's Apostle never talked so quickly and vaguely as you do.' "

The Prophet said, "I saw myself (in a dream) entering Paradise, and behold! I saw Ar-Rumaisa', Abu Talha's wife. I heard footsteps. I asked, Who is it? Somebody said, 'It is Bilal ' Then I saw a palace and a lady sitting in its courtyard. I asked, 'For whom is this palace?' Somebody replied, 'It is for `Umar.' I intended to enter it and see it, but I thought of your (`Umar's) Ghira (and gave up the attempt)." `Umar said, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! How dare I think of my Ghira (self-respect) being offended by you?

The Prophet burnt the date-palm trees of Bani An-Nadir. Hassan bin Thabit said the following poetic Verses about this event:-- "the terrible burning of Al-Buwaira Has been received indifferently By the nobles of Bani Luai (The masters and nobles of Quraish)." Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith (i.e. the Prophet's cousin who was still a disbeliever then) replied to Hassan, saying in poetic verses:-- "May Allah bless that burning And set all its (i.e. Medina's) Parts on burning fire. You will see who is far from it (i.e. Al-Buwaira) And which of our lands will be Harmed by it (i.e. the burning of Al- Buwaira).

While I was praying, the Prophet called me but I did not respond to his call. Later I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say: 'O you who believe! Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle when he calls you'?" (8.24) He then said, "Shall I not teach you the most superior Surah in the Qur'an?" He said, '(It is), 'Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. ' (i.e., Surat Al-Fatiha) which consists of seven repeatedly recited Verses and the Magnificent Qur'an which was given to me."

(The Prophet) Solomon son of (the Prophet) David said, "Tonight I will go round (i.e. have sexual relations with) one hundred women (my wives) everyone of whom will deliver a male child who will fight in Allah's Cause." On that an Angel said to him, "Say: 'If Allah will.' " But Solomon did not say it and forgot to say it. Then he had sexual relations with them but none of them delivered any child except one who delivered a half person. The Prophet said, "If Solomon had said: 'If Allah will,' Allah would have fulfilled his (above) desire and that saying would have made him more hopeful."

Allah's Apostle gave his verdict about two ladies of the Hudhail tribe who had fought each other and one of them had hit the other with a stone. The stone hit her `Abdomen and as she was pregnant, the blow killed the child in her womb. They both filed their case with the Prophet and he judged that the blood money for what was in her womb. was a slave or a female slave. The guardian of the lady who was fined said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I be fined for a creature that has neither drunk nor eaten, neither spoke nor cried? A case like that should be nullified." On that the Prophet said, "This is one of the brothers of soothsayers.

A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Inform me of a deed which will make me enter Paradise." The people said, "What is the matter with him? What is the matter with him?" Allah's Apostle said, "He has something to ask (what he needs greatly)." The Prophet said (to him), (In order to enter Paradise) you should worship Allah and join none in worship with Him: You should offer prayers perfectly, give obligatory charity (Zakat), and keep good relations with your Kith and kin." He then said, "Leave it!" (The sub-narrator said, "It seems that the Prophet was riding his she camel."

A man came to the Prophet and said "I keep away from the morning prayer only because such and such person prolongs the prayer when he leads us in it. The narrator added: I had never seen Allah's Apostle more furious in giving advice than he was on that day. He said, "O people! There are some among you who make others dislike good deeds) cause the others to have aversion (to congregational prayers). Beware! Whoever among you leads the people in prayer should not prolong it, because among them there are the sick, the old, and the needy." (See Hadith No. 670, Vol 1)