26 Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd alMalik, from Ubada ibn Nusayy from Qays ibn al Harith that Abu Abdullah as-Sunabihi said, "I arrived in Madina in the khalifate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and I prayed maghrib behind him. He recited the umm al Qur'an and two suras from the shorter ones of the mufassal in the first two rakas. Then he stood up in the third and I drew so near to him that my clothes were almost touching his clothes. I heard him reciting the umm al-Qur'an and this ayat, 'Our Lord, do not make our hearts go astray after You have guided us, and give us mercy from Your presence. Surely You are the Giver. ' " (Sura 3 ayat 8)

We were at a place which was a thoroughfare for the people, and the caravans used to pass by us and we would ask them, "What is wrong with the people? What is wrong with the people? Who is that man?. They would say, "That man claims that Allah has sent him (as an Apostle), that he has been divinely inspired, that Allah has revealed to him such-and-such." I used to memorize that (Divine) Talk, and feel as if it was inculcated in my chest (i.e. mind) And the 'Arabs (other than Quraish) delayed their conversion to Islam till the Conquest (of Mecca). They used to say." "Leave him (i.e. Muhammad) and his people Quraish: if he overpowers them then he is a true Prophet. So, when Mecca was conquered, then every tribe rushed to embrace Islam, and my father hurried to embrace Islam before (the other members of) my tribe. When my father returned (from the Prophet) to his tribe, he said, "By Allah, I have come to you from the Prophet for sure!" The Prophet afterwards said to them, 'Offer such-and-such prayer at such-and-such time, and when the time for the prayer becomes due, then one of you should pronounce the Adhan (for the prayer), and let the one amongst you who knows Qur'an most should, lead the prayer." So they looked for such a person and found none who knew more Qur'an than I because of the Qur'anic material which I used to learn from the caravans. They therefore made me their Imam ((to lead the prayer) and at that time I was a boy of six or seven years, wearing a Burda (i.e. a black square garment) proved to be very short for me (and my body became partly naked). A lady from the tribe said, "Won't you cover the anus of your reciter for us?" So they bought (a piece of cloth) and made a shirt for me. I had never been so happy with anything before as I was with that shirt.

I came to the Prophet at Al-Batha' while his camel was kneeling down and he asked me, "Have you intended to perform the Hajj?" I replied in the affirmative. He asked me, 'With what intention have you assumed Ihram?" I replied, "I have assumed Ihram with the same intention as that of the Prophet. He said, "You have done well. Perform the Tawaf of the Ka`ba and (the Sai) between As-Safa and Al- Marwa and then finish the Ihram." So, I performed the Tawaf around the Ka`ba and the Sai) between As-Safa and Al-Marwa and then went to a woman of the tribe of Qais who cleaned my head from lice. Later I assumed the Ihram for Hajj. I used to give the verdict of doing the same till the caliphate of `Umar who said, "If you follow the Holy Book then it orders you to remain in the state of Ihram till you finish from Hajj, if you follow the Prophet then he did not finish his Ihram till the Hadi (sacrifice) had reached its place of slaughtering (Hajj-al-Qiran).

A man got up at night and recited the Qur'an in a loud voice. When the dawn came, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: May Allah have mercy on so-and-so who reminded me many verses that I had nearly forgotten.

Abu Dawud said: Harun al-Nahwi transmitted from Hammad b. Salamah the Quranic verse of Surah Al-'Imran: "How many of the prophet fought (in Allah's way)" (3:146)

Sahl bin Sa`d was asked about the (Prophet's) pulpit as to what thing it was made of? Sahl replied: "None remains alive amongst the people, who knows about it better than I. It was made of tamarisk (wood) of the forest. So and so, the slave of so and so prepared it for Allah's Apostle . When it was constructed and place (in the Mosque), Allah's Apostle stood on it facing the Qibla and said 'Allahu Akbar', and the people stood behind him (and led the people in prayer). He recited and bowed and the people bowed behind him. Then he raised his head and stepped back, got down and prostrated on the ground and then he again ascended the pulpit, recited, bowed, raised his head and stepped back, got down and prostrate on the ground. So, this is what I know about the pulpit." Ahmad bin Hanbal said, "As the Prophet was at a higher level than the people, there is no harm according to the above-mentioned Hadith if the Imam is at a higher level than his followers during the prayers."

A lady came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to you to offer myself to you." He raised his eyes and looked at her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not make any decision, she sat down. On that, a man from his companions got up and said. "O Allah's Apostle! If you are not in need of this woman, then marry her to me." Allah's Apostle said, "Do you have anything to offer her?" He replied. "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said to him, "Go to your family and see if you can find something.' The man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I have not found anything." The Prophet said, "Try to find something, even if it is an iron ring.'' He went again and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle, not even an iron ring, but I have this waist sheet of mine." The man had no upper garment, so he intended to give her, half his waist sheet. So Allah's Apostle said, ''What would she do with your waist sheet? If you wear it, she will have nothing of it over her body, and if she wears it, you will have nothing over your body." So that man sat for a long period and then got up, and Allah's Apostle saw him going away, so he ordered somebody to call him. When he came, the Prophet asked him, " How much of the Qur'an do you know?" He replied, "I know such Surat and such Surat and such Surat," and went on counting it, The Prophet asked him, "Can you recite it by heart?" he replied, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Go, I have married this lady to you for the amount of the Qur'an you know by heart."

A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to you to present myself to you (for marriage)." Allah's Apostle glanced at her. He looked at her carefully and fixed his glance on her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not say anything, she sat down. A man from his companions got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! If you are not in need of her, then marry her to me." The Prophet said, "Have you got anything to offer." The man said, 'No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said (to him), "Go to your family and try to find something." So the man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I have not found anything." The Prophet said, "Go again and look for something, even if it were an iron ring." He went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I could not find even an iron ring, but this is my Izar (waist sheet).' He had no Rida (upper garment). He added, "I give half of it to her." Allah's Apostle said "What will she do with your Izar? If you wear it, she will have nothing over herself thereof (will be naked); and if she wears it, then you will have nothing over yourself thereof ' So the man sat for a long period and then got up (to leave). When Allah's Apostle saw him leaving, he ordered that he e called back. When he came, the Prophet asked (him), "How much of the Qur'an do you know (by heart)?" The man replied, I know such Sura and such Sura and such Sura," naming the suras. The Prophet said, "Can you recite it by heart?" He said, 'Yes." The Prophet said, "Go I let you marry her for what you know of the Qur'an (as her Mahr).

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "I heard Abdullah ibn Umar recite from the Qur'an, 'Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at the beginning of their idda.'"

Malik said, "He meant by that, to make one pronouncement of divorce at the beginning of each period of purity."

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).

The Prophet said, "The people were displayed in front of me and I saw one prophet passing by with a large group of his followers, and another prophet passing by with only a small group of people, and another prophet passing by with only ten (persons), and another prophet passing by with only five (persons), and another prophet passed by alone. And then I looked and saw a large multitude of people, so I asked Gabriel, "Are these people my followers?' He said, 'No, but look towards the horizon.' I looked and saw a very large multitude of people. Gabriel said. 'Those are your followers, and those are seventy thousand (persons) in front of them who will neither have any reckoning of their accounts nor will receive any punishment.' I asked, 'Why?' He said, 'For they used not to treat themselves with branding (cauterization) nor with Ruqya (get oneself treated by the recitation of some Verses of the Qur'an) and not to see evil omen in things, and they used to put their trust (only) in their Lord." On hearing that, 'Ukasha bin Mihsan got up and said (to the Prophet), "Invoke Allah to make me one of them." The Prophet said, "O Allah, make him one of them." Then another man got up and said (to the Prophet), "Invoke Allah to make me one of them." The Prophet said, 'Ukasha has preceded you."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to prolong the recitation of the Qur'an in the two rak'ahs after the sunset prayer until the people praying in the mosque dispersed.

Abu Dawud said: This has been reported by Nasr al-Mujaddir from Ya'qub al-Qummi with the same chain of narrators.

Abu Dawud said: Muhammad b. 'Isa b. al-tabba' transmitted from Nasr al-Mujaddir from Ya'qub in like manner.

We came upon the Messenger of Allah (saws) in a deputation of Thaqif. The signatories of the pact came to al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah as his guests. The Messenger of Allah (saws) made Banu-Malik stay in a tent of his.

Musaddad's version says: He was in the deputation of Thaqif which came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). He used to visit and have a talk with us every day after the night prayer.

The version of AbuSa'id says: He remained standing for such a long time (talking to us) that he put his weight sometimes on one leg and sometimes on the other due to his long stay. He mostly told us how his people, the Quraysh, behaved with him.

He would say: We were not equal; we were weak and degraded at Mecca (according to Musaddad's version). When we came over to Medina the fighting began between us; sometimes we overcome them and at other times they overcome us. One night he came late and did not come at the time he used to come.

We asked him: You came late tonight? He said: I could not recite the fixed part of the Qur'an that I used to recite every day. I disliked to come till I had completed it.

Aws said: I asked the companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws): How do you divide the Qur'an for daily recitation? They said: Three surahs, five surahs, eleven surahs, thirteen surahs' mufassal surahs.

Abu Dawud said: The version of Abu Sa'id is complete.

1: At-Tawbah 9:104.

2: Al-Baqarah 2:276.

3: Anthropomorphism, resembling Allah to creatures.

"'Ali delivered a Khutbah for us in which he said: 'Whoever claims that we have some book to read other than Allah's Book and this paper, which include camel's ages and things related to (relatiation for) wounds, then he has lied." And he said in it: "Al-Madinah is sacred, what is between 'Air to Thawr, so whoever introduces in it any innovation or shelters an innovator then upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will not accept his compulsory nor optional good deeds. And whoever claims someone else to be his father, or claims Wala' for someone other than his Mawali, then upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and the people; his compulsory and optional good deeds shall not be accepted. The covenants of the Muslims are one, it covers the rest of them.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. Some of them reported it similarly from Al-A'mash, from Ibrahim At-Taimi, from Al-Harith bin Suwaid from 'Ali.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] It has been reported through more than one route from 'Ali [from the Prophet (saws)].

The Prophet (saws) said: Soon there will appear disagreement and dissension in my people; there will be people who will be good in speech and bad in work. They recite the Qur'an, but it does not pass their collar-bones. They will swerve from the religion as an animal goes through the animal shot at. They will not return to it till the arrow comes back to its notch. They are worst of the people and animals. Happy is the one who kills them and they kill him. They call to the book of Allah, but they have nothing to do with it. He who fights against them will be nearer to Allah than them (the rest of the people). The people asked: What is their sign? He replied: They shave the head.

Imam Muslim said: Ashja'i narrated it from Sufyan al-Thauri, who narrated it from al-Aswad b. Qais, who narrated it from 'Uqba, who narrated it from al-Bara' b. 'Azib who said: We recited with the Prophet (may peace be upon him) (the above-mentioned verse like this, i. e. instead of Salat al- Wusta, Salat al-'Asr) for a certain period. as It has been mentioned (in the above-quoted hadith).