Abu Sa'id reported God’s messenger as saying, “Bathing on Friday is obligatory on everyone who has reached puberty.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “It is a duty for every Muslim to bathe once a week, washing his head and his body.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Samura b. Jundub reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone performs ablution on Friday, well and good; but if anyone bathes, bathing is more excellent.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Darimi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Anyone who has washed a dead body must bathe himself.” Ibn Majah transmitted it; and Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud added, “And he who carries it must perform ablution.”

after seminal defilement, on Friday, after being cupped, and after washing the dead. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Qais b. ‘Asim said that when he accepted Islam the Prophet commanded him to bathe with water and lote-tree leaves. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘Ikrima said that some people from al-‘Iraq came and asked Ibn ‘Abbas whether he considered bathing on Friday obligatory. He replied that, while not obligatory, it had a more cleansing effect and was better for the one who observed it; but if anyone did not bathe there was no obligation for him to do so. He then said that he would tell them how the practice of bathing on Friday began. The people were in difficult circumstances, their clothing being of wool and their work being the carrying of loads on their backs. Their mosques was rather small and had a low roof which was only made of trellis work. God’s messenger came out one hot day when the people were sweating in their woollen garments to such an extent that they annoyed one another by the odours which were spread around. When God’s messenger noticed those odours he said, “When this day comes, you people must wash, and each of you should apply the best grease and perfume you can find.” Ibn ‘Abbas added that when God afterwards brought prosperity, they wore clothes not made of wool, they did not need to do manual labour, their mosque was extended, and some of the annoyance caused to one another by the sweat came to an end. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Anas said that among the Jews, when a woman menstruated, they did not eat with her, and they did not live with such in their houses, so the Prophet's companions questioned him, and God revealed, "And they ask you about menstruation..." [Qur’an, ii, 222.] God’s messenger then said, “Do everything except sexual intercourse.” The Jews heard of that and said, “This man does not want to leave anything we do without opposing us in it.” Usaid b. Hudair and ‘Abbad b. Bishr came and said, ‘Messenger of God, the Jews are saying such and such. Shall we not then live with them?”* The face of God’s messenger underwent such a change that we thought he was angry with them; but when they went out they were met by a gift of milk which was being brought to the Prophet, and he sent after them and gave them a drink, whereby they knew that he was not angry with them. *i.e. with our wives. The word used in this tradition ordinarily refers to sexual intercourse, but it would seem that here and in the first sentence it rather expresses the idea being beside their wives during their periods. Muslim transmitted it.

‘A'isha said, “The Prophet and I used to wash from one vessel when we were both sexually defiled. When I was menstruating he would order me to wrap myself up and would embrace me. And when he was observing prayer in seclusion, he would put out his head for me and I would wash it when I was menstruating. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

She also said, “I would drink when I was menstruating, then hand it to the Prophet, and he would put his mouth where mine had been and drink; and I would eat flesh from a bone when I was menstruating, then hand it to the Prophet, and he would put his mouth where mine had been.” Muslim transmitted it.

She also said, “The Prophet would recline on my lap when I was menstruating, then recite the Qur'an.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Prophet said to me, “Get me the mat from the mosque,” and when I replied that I was menstruating, he said, “Your menstruation is not in your hand.” Muslim transmitted it.

Maimuna said, “God’s messenger used to pray in a woollen garment which was partly over him and partly over me while I was mentruat- ing.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

“If anyone has intercourse with a woman who is menstruating, or uses preposterous venery with a woman¹, or visits a kahin, he has disbelieved in what has been sent down to Muhammad.” Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it. In the version of the last two he declared him to be right in saying that he has disbelieved. Tirmidhi said, “We know this tradition only from Hakim al-Athram from Abu Tamima from Abu Huraira.” 1: i.e. enters her from her behind.

Mu'adh b. Jabal said that he asked God’s messenger what was lawful for him in his wife when she was menstruating, and he replied, “What is above the waist-wrapper, but to abstain from that is better.” Razin transmitted it and Muhyi as-Sunna said that its insad is not strong.

Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s messenger as saying, “When a man has intercourse with his wife while she is menstruating, he must give half a dinar in alms.’ Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i, Darimi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

He also reported that the Prophet said, “When there is red blood he must give a dinar and when there is yellow blood half a dinar.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Zaid b. Aslam said that a man asked God’s messenger what was lawful for him in his wife when she was menstruating, and he replied, “She should tie her waist-wrapper on her, then you can do what you like above it.” Malik and Darimi transmitted it in mursal form.

‘A'isha said, “When I menstruated I left the bed and lay on the reed-mat and did not approach or come near God’s messenger till I was purified.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘A'isha told of Fatima daughter of Abu Hubaish coming to the Prophet and saying, “I am a woman whose blood keeps flowing, and I am never purified; Shall I therefore abandon prayer?” He replied, “No that is only a vein and is not menstruation; so when your menstrua­ tion comes on abandon prayer, and when it ends wash the blood from yourself and then pray.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Urwa b. az-Zubair reported from Fatima daughter of Abu Hubaish that her blood kept flowing, so the Prophet said to her, “When the blood of the menses comes it is black blood which can be recognised, so when that comes refrain from prayer; but when a different type comes perform ablution any pray, for it is due only to a vein.” Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

Umm Salama said that in the time of God’s messenger there was a woman who had an issue of blood, so Umm Salama asked the Prophet to give a decision about her. He said, “She should consider the number of nights and days during which she used to menstruate each month before she was afflicted with this trouble and abandon prayer during that period each month; then when she finishes that she should wash, tie a cloth over her private parts and pray.” Malik, Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it, and Nasa’i transmitted something to the same effect;

‘Adi b. Thabit quoted his father as saying that his grandfather (‘Adi's grandfather’s name is given as Dinar by Yahya b. Ma'in) reported the Prophet as saying regarding a woman who has a prolonged flow of blood that she should abandon prayer during as many days as she used to have her courses, then wash, perform ablution for every prayer, fast and pray. Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Hamna daughter of Jahsh said that her menstruation was great in quantity and severe, so she went to the Prophet for a decision and told him. She found him in the house of her sister Zainab daughter of Jahsh and said, “Messenger of God, I menstruate to a great extent, and it is severe, so what command do you give me about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting.” He said, “I suggest that you use cotton, for it removes the blood.” She replied, “It is too copious for that.” He said, “Then stop it with a tight rag.” She replied, “It is too copious for that.” He said, “Then take a cloth.” She replied, “It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing.” So the Prophet said, “I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, it will make the other unnecessary, but you will know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them This is a stroke of the devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, God alone knowing which it should be, then wash, and when you see that you are purified and quite clean pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification. But if you are strong enough to delay the noon prayer and advance the afternoon prayer, then wash and combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, then wash and combine the two prayers, do so; and to wash at drawn, do so; and fast if you are able.” God’s messenger said, “This is the one which is more attractive to me.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Asma’ daughter of ‘Umais said she told God’s messenger that Fatima daughter of Abu Hubaish had had a flow of blood for a certain period and had not prayed. God’s messenger said, “Glory be to God! This comes from the devil. She should sit in a tub, and when she sees yellowness appearing on the top of the water she should wash once for the noon and afternoon prayer, once for the sunset and night prayer, once for the dawn prayer, and in between times she should perform ablution.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, saying Mujahid transmitted from Ibn ‘Abbas that when the washing became too much for her be ordered her to combine the two prayers.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, "When Ramadan begins the gates of heaven are opened." A version has, "The gates of paradise are opened, the gates of jahannam are locked, and the devils are chained." Another has, "The gates of mercy are opened." (Bukhari and Muslim).

Sahl b. Sa'd reported God’s messenger as saying, "In paradise there are eight gates among which is a gate called ar-Rayyan which only those who fast will enter." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven; and he who passes Lailat al-qadr [Night of Decree] in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God’s messenger as saying, "Every [good] deed a son of Adam does will be multiplied, a good deed receiving a tenfold to seven hundredfold reward. God has said, ‘With the exception of fasting, for it is done for my sake and I give a reward for it. One abandons his passion and his food for my sake.* The one who fasts has two occasions of joy, one when he breaks his fast and one when he meets his Lord. The bad breath of one who fasts is sweeter to God than the fragrance of musk. Fasting is a protection, [i.e. from acts of disobedience in this world and from hell in the next. Pt. vi.] and when the day of the fast of any of you comes he must not use vile language or raise his voice, and if anyone reviles him or tries to fight with him he should tell him he is fasting.” *This is not from the Qur’an, but is a hadith qudsi, a tradition which gives words spoken by God. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "When the first night of Ramadan comes the devils and the rebellious jinn are chained, the gates of hell are locked and not one of them is opened; the gates of paradise are opened and not one of them is locked, and a crier calls, 'You who desire what is good, come forward, and you who desire evil refrain.' Some are freed from hell by God, and that happens every night." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Ahmad transmitted it from a man. [i.e. an unspecified person.] Tirmidhi said this is a gharib tradition.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Ramadan, a blessed month, has come to you during which God has made it obligatory for you to fast. In it the gates of heaven are opened, the gates of al-Jahim are locked, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it God has a night which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of its good has indeed suffered deprivation." Ahmad and Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “Fasting and the Qur’an intercede for a man. Fasting says, ‘O my Lord, I have kept him away from his food and his passions by day, so accept my intercession for him.’ The Qur’an says, ‘I have kept him away from sleep by night, so accept my intercession for him.’ Then their intercession is accepted." Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman.

Anas b. Malik told of God’s messenger saying when Ramadan began, “This month has come to you, and it contains a night which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of it is deprived of all good, but only those who are denied prosperity are deprived of it." Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Salman al-Farisi told of God’s messenger saying in a sermon which he delivered to them on the last day of Sha'ban, “A great month, a blessed month, a month containing a night which is better than a thousand months has approached you people. God has appointed the observance of fasting during it as an obligatory duty, and the passing of its night in prayer as a voluntary practice. If someone draws near to God during it with some good act he will be like one who fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfills an obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfills seventy obligatory duties in another month. It is the month of endurance, and the reward of endurance is paradise. It is the month of sharing with others, and a month in which the believer’s provision is increased. If someone gives one who has been fasting something with which to break his fast it will provide forgiveness of his sins and save him from hell, and he will have a reward equal to his without his reward being diminished in any respect.” Some of them remarked to God’s messenger that they did not all have the means to give one who had been fasting something with which to break his fast, and he replied, “God gives this reward to him who gives one who has been fasting some milk mixed with water, or a date, or a drink of water with which to break his fast, and anyone who gives a full meal to one who has been fasting will be given a drink from any tank by God and will not thirst till he enters paradise. It is a month whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is freedom from hell. If anyone makes things easy for his slave during it, God will forgive him and free him from hell.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said that when the month of Ramadan began God's messenger set every prisoner free and gave to every beggar.

Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet as saying, “Paradise is decorated for Ramadan from the beginning of the year till a following year, and when the first day of Ramadan comes a wind under the throne blows some of the leaves of paradise on the maidens with bright large eyes,* and they say, ‘My Lord, appoint us husbands from among Thy servants with whom we shall be happy and who will be happy with us’.” *cf. Qur’an, xliv, 54; lvi, 22. Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shu'ab al-iman.

Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet stated that his people would be granted forgiveness on the last night in Ramadan and was asked whether it was Lailat al-qadr, he replied, “No, but a workman is paid his full wages only when he has finished his work.” Ahmad transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “Do not fast till you see the new moon, and do not break your fast till you see it; but if the weather is cloudy calculate when it should appear.” In a version he said, “The month consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you see it, and if the weather is cloudy wait till thirty days of the previous month have passed.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Fast when you see it and break your fast when you see it, and if the weather is cloudy treat Sha‘ban as having thirty days.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “We are an unlettered people who can neither write nor count. The month is thus and thus and thus,” drawing in his thumb when he said it the third time.* Then he said, “The month is thus and thus and thus,” meaning a complete thirty days. He meant alternately twenty-nine and thirty. *Spreading out the ten fingers the first two times and nine the third time. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Bakra reported God’s messenger as saying, “The months of festival, Ramadan and Dhul-hijja, are not defective.”* *The most probable meaning is that, even if these months have only twenty-nine days, they are not on that account to be considered deficient in comparison with a month which has thirty days. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “None of you must fast one day or two days just before Ramadan, except in the case of a man who has been in the habit of observing a particular fast, for he may fast on that day.”* *If a man is in the habit of fasting on a particular day of the week and one or other of the two days before Ramadan falls on that day, he may observe his usual practice. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "When the middle of Sha'ban comes do not fast." Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

He reported God’s messenger as saying, "Calculate on the basis of the new moon of Sha'ban when Ramadan begins." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Umm Salama said she never saw the Prophet fasting two consecutive months, except Sha'ban and Ramadan. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

‘Ammar b. Yasir said, "He who fasts on a day about which he is doubtful has disobeyed Abul Qasim"* *i.e., the Prophet. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas told a desert Arab coming to the Prophet and saying he had seen the new moon, i.e. the new moon of Ramadan. He asked him whether he testified that there is no god but God and he replied that he did. He then asked if he testified that Muhammad is God’s messenger, and when he replied that he did he said, “Bilal, announce to the people that they must fast tomorrow." Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar said that the people tried to see the new moon and he informed God’s messenger that he had seen it, so he fasted and commanded the people to observe the fast." Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it.

‘A’isha said that God’s messenger used to count the days in Sha'ban in a manner he did not practise any other month, then fasted when he saw the new moon of Ramadan; but if the weather was cloudy he counted thirty days and then fasted. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

We went out to perform the ‘umra, and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhla we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn ‘Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked what night we had seen it, and when we told him we had seen it on such and such a night he said, “God’s messenger deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned as being on the night you saw it.” In a version he said: We saw the new moon of Ramadan when we were in Dhat ‘Irq* and we sent a man to Ibn ‘Abbas to enquire of him. He replied that God’s messenger had said, “God most high has deferred it till it is seen, but if the weather is cloudy observe the fast after the complete number of days have passed.” *Dhat 'Irq was near Nakhla, so this version is simply a little more precise than the other about were they were. Muslim transmitted it.