I served the Prophet for ten years, and he never said to me, "Uf" (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed me by saying, "Why did you do so or why didn't you do so?"

It is a sign of having knowledge that, when you do not know something, you say: 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to his Prophet: 'Say: No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist)' (38.86) When the Quraish troubled and stood against the Prophet he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by afflicting them with seven years of famine like the seven years of Joseph." So they were stricken with a year of famine during which they ate bones and dead animals because of too much suffering, and one of them would see something like smoke between him and the sky because of hunger. Then they said: Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we are believers. (44.12) And then it was said to the Prophet (by Allah), "If we remove it from them. they will revert to their ways (of heathenism)." So the Prophet invoked his Lord, who removed the punishment from them, but later they reverted (to heathenism), whereupon Allah punished them on the day of the Battle of Badr, and that is what Allah's Statement indicates: 'Then watch for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible...we will indeed (then) exact retribution.' (44.10).

Abu Huraira said, "Abu Bakr sent me in that Hajj in which he was the chief of the pilgrims along with the announcers whom he sent on the Day of Nahr to announce at Mina: "No pagan shall perform Hajj after this year, and none shall perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba in a naked state." Humaid added: That the Prophet sent `Ali bin Abi Talib (after Abu Bakr) and ordered him to recite aloud in public Surat-Baraa. Abu Huraira added, "So `Ali, along with us, recited Bara'a (loudly) before the people at Mina on the Day of Nahr and announced "No pagan shall perform Hajj after this year and none shall perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba in a naked state."

This hadith has been reported on the authority of Qatada with the same chain of transmitters except with this variation that the unmarried is to be lashed and exiled, and the married one is to be lashed and stoned. There is neither any mention of one year nor that of one hundred.

Malik related to me from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Sulayman ibn Yasar from Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya that a woman's husband died, and she did the idda of four months and ten days. Then she married when she was free to marry. She stayed with her husband for four and a half months, then gave birth to a fully developed child. Her husband went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him, so Umar called some of the old women of the Jahiliyya and asked them about that. One of the women said, "I will tell you what happened with this woman. When her husband died, she was pregnant by him, but then the blood flowed from her because of his death and the child became dry in her womb. When her new husband had intercourse with her and the water reached the child, the child moved in the womb and grew." Umar ibn al-Khattab believed her and separated them (until she had completed her idda). Umar said, "Only good has reached me about you two," and he connected the child to the first husband.

We used to salt some of the meat of sacrifice and present it to the Prophet at Medina. Once he said, "Do not eat (of that meat) for more than three days." That was not a final order, but (that year) he wanted us to feed of it to others, Allah knows better.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sasaca that he had heard that Amr ibn al-Jamuh al-Ansari and Abdullah ibn Umar al-Ansari, both of the tribe of Banu Salami, had their grave uncovered by a flood. Their grave was part of what was left after the flood. They were in the same grave, and they were among those martyred at Uhud. They were dug up so that they might be moved. They were found unchanged. It was as if they had died only the day before. One of them had been wounded, and he had put his hand over his wound and had been buried like that. His hand was pulled away from his wound and released, and it returned to where it had been. It was forty-six years between Uhud and the day they were dug up.

Malik said, "There is no harm in burying two or three men in the same grave due to necessity. The oldest one is put next to the qibla."

I asked Anas (about the Prophet's `Umra) and he replied, "The Prophet performed `Umra when the pagans made him return, and Umra of al-Hudaibiya (the next year), and another `Umra in Dhi-l-Qa'da, and another `Umra in combination with his Hajj."

While we were in the company of the Ibn Al-Musaiyab, Sunain Abi Jamila informed us (a Hadith), Abu Jamila said that he lived during the lifetime of the Prophet and that he had accompanied him ( to Mecca) during the year of the Conquest (of Mecca).

I heard the Prophet ordering that an unmarried person guilty of illegal sexual intercourse be flogged one-hundred stripes and be exiled for one year. `Umar bin Al-Khattab also exiled such a person, and this tradition is still valid.

We were at Al-Ahwaz fighting the Al-Haruriya (tribe). While I was at the bank of a river a man was praying and the reins of his animal were in his hands and the animal was struggling and he was following the animal. (Shu`ba, a sub-narrator, said that man was Abu Barza Al-Aslami). A man from the Khawarij said, "O Allah! Be harsh to this sheik." And when the sheik (Abu Barza) finished his prayer, he said, "I heard your remark. No doubt, I participated with Allah's Apostle in six or seven or eight holy battles and saw his leniency, and no doubt, I would rather retain my animal than let it return to its stable, as it would cause me much trouble. "

"Allah's Apostle arranged a horse race amongst the horses that had been made lean, letting them start from Al-Hafya' and their limit (distance of running) was up to Thaniyat-al-Wada`. I asked Musa, 'What was the distance between the two places?' Musa replied, 'Six or seven miles. He arranged a race of the horses which had not been made lean sending them from Thaniyat-al-Wada`, and their limit was up to the mosque of Bani Zuraiq.' I asked, 'What was the distance between those two places?' He replied 'One mile or so.' Ibn `Umar was amongst those who participated in that horse race."

A man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, I keep away from the morning prayer only because So and so prolongs the prayer when he leads us in it." The narrator said, "I never saw Allah's Apostle more furious in giving advice than he was at that time. He then said, "Some of you make people dislike good deeds (the prayer). So whoever among you leads the people in prayer should shorten it because among them are the weak, the old and the needy."

Once a tumbler (full of milk or water) was brought to Allah's Apostle who drank from it, while on his right side there was sitting a boy who was the youngest of those who were present, and on his left side there were old men. The Prophet asked, "O boy ! Do you allow me to give (the drink) to the elder people (first)?" The boy said, "I will not prefer anybody to have my share from you, O Allah's Apostle!" So, he gave it to the boy.

A drink (milk mixed with water) was brought to Allah's Apostle who drank some of it. A boy was sitting to his right, and some old men to his left. Allah's Apostle said to the boy, "Do you allow me to give the rest of the drink to these people?" The boy said, "O Allah's Apostle! I will not give preference to anyone over me to drink the rest of it from which you have drunk." Allah's Apostle then handed the bowl (of drink) to the boy. (See Hadith No. 541).

Sa`d used to teach his sons the following words as a teacher teaches his students the skill of writing and used to say that Allah's Apostle used to seek Refuge with Allah from them (i.e. the evils) at the end of every prayer. The words are: 'O Allah! I seek refuge with You from cowardice, and seek refuge with You from being brought back to a bad stage of old life and seek refuge with You from the afflictions of the world, and seek refuge with You from the punishments in the grave.'

Allah sent (the Prophet) Muhammad and said:-- 'Say, No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an) nor am I one of the pretenders (i.e. a person who pretends things which do not exist). (38.68) When Allah's Apostle saw Quraish standing against him, he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by afflicting them with seven years of famine similar to the seven years (of famine) of Joseph. So they were afflicted with a year of drought that destroyed everything, and they ate bones and hides. (One of them said), "And they ate hides and dead animals, and (it seemed to them that) something like smoke was coming out of the earth. So Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad! Your people are on the verge of destruction! Please invoke Allah to relieve them." So the Prophet invoked Allah for them (and the famine disappeared). He said to them. "You will revert (to heathenism) after that." `Abdullah then recited: 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible.......but truly you will revert (to disbelief).' He added, "Will the punishment be removed from them in the Hereafter? The smoke and the grasp and the Al-Lizam have all passed." One of the sub-narrater said, "The splitting of the moon." And another said, "The defeat of the Romans (has passed).

Sa'd ibn Hisham said: I came to Medina and called upon Aisha, and said to her: Tell me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

She said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to lead the people in the night prayer, and then go to his bed and sleep. When midnight came he got up, went to answer the call of nature and to perform ablution with water. Having performed ablution, he entered the mosque and prayed eight rak'ahs.

To my mind he performed the recitation of the Qur'an, bowing and prostrating equally. He then observed witr with one rak'ah and prayed two rak'ahs sitting. Then he lay down on the ground. Sometimes Bilal came to him and called him for prayer. He then dozed, and sometimes I doubted whether he dozed or not, till he (Bilal) called him for prayer.

This is the prayer he offered till he grew old or put on weight. She then mentioned how he put on weight as Allah wished.

In the year of the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet entered Mecca from Kada' at the higher place of Mecca. (Hisham, a sub-narrator said, " `Urwa used to enter (Mecca) from both Kada' and Kuda and he often entered through Kada' which was nearer to his dwelling place.)"

The Prophet came to Medina and the people used to pay in advance the price of dates to be delivered within two or three years. He said (to them), "Whoever pays in advance the price of a thing to be delivered later should pay it for a specified measure at specified weight for a specified period."

I was sitting with Jabir bin Zaid and `Amr bin Aus, and Bjalla was narrating to them in 70 A.H. the year when Mus`ab bin Az-Zubair was the leader of the pilgrims of Basra. We were sitting at the steps of Zamzam well and Bajala said, "I was the clerk of Juz bin Muawiya, Al-Ahnaf's paternal uncle. A letter came from `Umar bin Al-Khattab one year before his death; and it was read:-- "Cancel every marriage contracted among the Magians between relatives of close kinship (marriages that are regarded illegal in Islam: a relative of this sort being called Dhu-Mahram.)" `Umar did not take the Jizya from the Magian infidels till `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf testified that Allah's Apostle had taken the Jizya from the Magians of Hajar.

Abu Huraira said, "During that Hajj (in which Abu Bakr was the chief of the pilgrims) Abu Bakr sent me along with announcers on the Day of Nahr ( 10th of Dhul-Hijja) in Mina to announce: "No pagans shall perform, Hajj after this year, and none shall perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba in a naked state." Humaid bin `Abdur Rahman added: Then Allah's Apostle sent `Ali bin Abi Talib (after Abu Bakr) and ordered him to recite aloud in public Surat Bara'a. Abu Huraira added, "So `Ali, along with us, recited Bara'a (loudly) before the people at Mina on the Day of Nahr and announced; "No pagan shall perform Hajj after this year and none shall perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba in a naked state."

The Prophet passed by a woman who was weeping beside a grave. He told her to fear Allah and be patient. She said to him, "Go away, for you have not been afflicted with a calamity like mine." And she did not recognize him. Then she was informed that he was the Prophet . so she went to the house of the Prophet and there she did not find any guard. Then she said to him, "I did not recognize you." He said, "Verily, the patience is at the first stroke of a calamity."

The Prophet (saws) said: Kill the old men who are polytheists, but spare their children.