I heard `Ali saying, "Allah's Apostle sent me, Az-Zubair and Al-Miqdad somewhere saying, 'Proceed till you reach Rawdat Khakh. There you will find a lady with a letter. Take the letter from her.' " So, we set out and our horses ran at full pace till we got at Ar-Rawda where we found the lady and said (to her). "Take out the letter." She replied, "I have no letter with me." We said, "Either you take out the letter or else we will take off your clothes." So, she took it out of her braid. We brought the letter to Allah's Apostle and it contained a statement from Hatib bin Abi Balta a to some of the Meccan pagans informing them of some of the intentions of Allah's Apostle. Then Allah's Apostle said, "O Hatib! What is this?" Hatib replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Don't hasten to give your judgment about me. I was a man closely connected with the Quraish, but I did not belong to this tribe, while the other emigrants with you, had their relatives in Mecca who would protect their dependents and property . So, I wanted to recompense for my lacking blood relation to them by doing them a favor so that they might protect my dependents. I did this neither because of disbelief not apostasy nor out of preferring Kufr (disbelief) to Islam." Allah's Apostle, said, "Hatib has told you the truth." `Umar said, O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop off the head of this hypocrite." Allah's Apostle said, "Hatib participated in the battle of Badr, and who knows, perhaps Allah has already looked at the Badr warriors and said, 'Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you."

While we were with Allah's Apostle who was distributing (i.e. some property), there came Dhu-l- Khuwaisira, a man from the tribe of Bani Tamim and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do Justice." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Who could do justice if I did not? I would be a desperate loser if I did not do justice." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet said, "Leave him, for he has companions who pray and fast in such a way that you will consider your fasting negligible in comparison to theirs. They recite Qur'an but it does not go beyond their throats (i.e. they do not act on it) and they will desert Islam as an arrow goes through a victim's body, so that the hunter, on looking at the arrow's blade, would see nothing on it; he would look at its Risaf and see nothing: he would look at its Na,di and see nothing, and he would look at its Qudhadh ( 1 ) and see nothing (neither meat nor blood), for the arrow has been too fast even for the blood and excretions to smear. The sign by which they will be recognized is that among them there will be a black man, one of whose arms will resemble a woman's breast or a lump of meat moving loosely. Those people will appear when there will be differences amongst the people." I testify that I heard this narration from Allah's Apostle and I testify that `Ali bin Abi Talib fought with such people, and I was in his company. He ordered that the man (described by the Prophet ) should be looked for. The man was brought and I looked at him and noticed that he looked exactly as the Prophet had described him.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: If anyone who is sexual defiled leaves a spot equal to the breadth of a hair without washing, such and such an amount of Hell-fire will have to be suffered for it. Ali said: On that account I treated my head (hair) as an enemy, meaning I cut my hair. He used to cut the hair (of his head). May Allah be pleased with him.

A man of the Ansar called him and AbdurRahman ibn Awf and supplied them wine before it was prohibited. Ali then led them in the evening prayer, and he recited; "Say: O ye who reject faith." He was confused in it. Then the following verse came down: "O ye who believe! approach not prayers with a mind befogged until you can understand all that ye say.

The Prophet (saws) said: There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a lunatic till he comes to reason.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn Juraij has transmitted it from Al-Qasim b. Yazid on the authority of 'Ali from the Prophet (saws). This version adds: "and an old man who is feeble-minded."

The Prophet (saws) said: The Caliphate of Prophecy will last thirty years; then Allah will give the Kingdom of His Kingdom to anyone He wills.

Sa'id told that Safinah said to him: Calculate Abu Bakr's caliphate as two years, 'Umar's as ten, 'Uthman's as twelve and 'Ali so and so. Sa'id said: I said to Safinah: They conceive that 'Ali was not a caliph. He replied: The buttocks of Marwan told a lie.

Muhammad reported from his father, Umar, on the authority of his grandfather, Ali ibn AbuTalib: When Ali travelled, he continued to travel till it became nearly dark. He then alighted and offered the sunset prayer. Then he would call for his dinner and eat it. Then he prayed the night prayer and then moved off.

He would say: This is how the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to do.

Usamah ibn Zayd reported from Hafs ibn Ubaydullah, the son of Anas ibn Malik: Anas would combine them (the evening and night prayer) when the twilight disappeared.

He said: The Prophet (saws) used to do so. Az-Zuhri also reported similarly on the authority of Anas from the Prophet (saws).

The key to prayer is purification; its beginning is takbir and its end is taslim.

The Prophet (saws) used to wear the signet-ring on his right hand.

Uthman said: He could not vomit it, unless he did not drink it. He said to Ali: Inflict the prescribed punishment on him. Ali said to al-Hasan: Inflict the prescribed punishment on him.

Al-Hasan said: He who has enjoyed its pleasure should also bear its burden. So Ali said to Abdullah ibn Ja'far: Inflict the prescribed punishment on him. He took a whip and struck him with it while Ali was counting.

When he reached (struck) forty (lashes), he said: It is sufficient. The Prophet (saws) gave forty lashes. I think he also said: "And AbuBakr gave forty lashes, and Uthman eighty. This is all sunnah (standard practice). And this is dearer to me."

Ibn Abbas said: A lunatic woman passed by Ali ibn AbuTalib. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition to the same effect as Uthman mentioned. This version has: Do you not remember that the Messenger of Allah (saws) has said: There are three whose actions are not recorded: a lunatic whose mind is deranged till he is restored to consciousness, a sleeper till he awakes, and a boy till he reaches puberty?

‘Ali said “If I survive for the Christians of Banu Taghlib I shall kill fighters and captivate children for I had written a document between them and the Prophet(saws) to the effect that they would not make their children Christian.

Abu Dawud said “This is rejected (munkar) tradition and it has reached me from Ahmad (bin Hanbal) that he used to reject this tradition seriously.

Abu ‘Ali said “Abu Dawud did not present this (tradition) in this second reading.”

The Prophet (saws) said: I have given exemption regarding horses and slaves; with regard to coins, however, you must pay a dirham for every forty (dirhams), but nothing is payable on one hundred and ninety. When the total reaches two hundred, five dirhams are payable.

Abu Dawud said: Al-A'mash transmitted this tradition from Abu Ishaq like the one transmitted by Abu 'Awanah. This tradition has also been narrated by Shaiban, Abu Mu'awiyah and Ibrahim b. Tahman from Abu Ishaq from al-Harith on the authority of 'Ali from the Prophet (saws) to the same effect. The tradition reported by al-Nufail has also been narrated by Shu'bah, Sufyan, and others from Abu Ishaq from 'Asim from 'Ali, But they did not attribute it to the Prophet (saws).

AbuSalih al-Ghifari reported: Ali (once) passed by Babylon during his travels. The mu'adhdhin (the person who calls for prayer) came to him to call for the afternoon prayer. When he passed by that place, he commanded to announce for the prayer. After finishing the prayer he said: My affectionate friend (i.e. the Prophet) prohibited me to say prayer in the graveyard. He also forbade me to offer prayer in Babylon because it is accursed.

Abu Dawud said : The tradition has been narrators by al-Thawri and a group of narrators from Hisham on the authority of his father from al-Miqdad, from ‘Ali reporting from the prophet (May peace be upon him).