He reported God’s Messenger as saying, "Do not sell gold for gold unless it is like for like, and do not make one amount greater than the other; do not sell silver for silver unless it is like for like, and do not make one amount greater than the other; and do not sell for ready money something to be given later*.” A version has, "Do not sell gold for gold or silver for silver unless both are of equal weight.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) * Payment is not to be made till the goods are received.

‘Amr b. Shu'aib, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told of a man who got up and said, “Messenger of God, so and so is my son; I had illicit intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period.” God’s Messenger replied, “There is no unlawful claiming of paternity in Islam. What was done in pre-Islamic times has been annulled. The child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told that a steward of his came to him and he asked him whether he had given the slaves their food. When he replied that he had not, he told him to go and give it to them, for God’s Messenger had said, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to withhold his food from one whom he possesses.” A version has, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to destroy one he is bound to sustain.” Muslim transmitted it.

'Amr b. Shu'aib, on his father’s authority, said his grandfather reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone kills a man deliberately he is to be handed over to the relatives of the one who has been killed. If they wish they may kill him, but if they wish they may accept blood wit, which is thirty she-camels in their fourth year, thirty in their fifth year, and forty pregnant she-camels. Any arrangement they make with him is for them to decide.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas told that the Prophet asked Ma'iz b. Malik, “Is what I have heard about you true?” He asked what he had heard about him, and he replied that he had heard he had had intercourse with a girl belonging to the family of so and so. When he admitted it, and had acknowledged it four times, he ordered him to be stoned to death. Muslim transmitted it. (Here a tradition by Muslim has been placed in Section II.)

Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone has sexual intercourse with an animal, kill him and kill it along with him.” Ibn ‘Abbas was asked what offence could be attributed to the animal and replied, “I did not hear anything about that from God’s Messenger, but I think he disapproved of its flesh being eaten or of any use being made of it when such a thing had been done to it.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas told that a man of B. Bakr b. Laith came to the Prophet and made a statement four times that he had committed fornication with a woman, so he had a hundred lashes administered to him. The man had not been married. He then asked him to produce proof again the woman, and she said, “I swear by God, Messenger of God, that he has lied.” Then he was given the prescribed number of lashes for falsehood. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Umair b. Sa'id an-Nakha‘i told that he heard ‘Ali b. Abu Talib say, “I am not one to have any feelings about a man who dies when I inflict a prescribed punishment on him, with the exception of one who has drunk wine, for if he were to die I would pay blood wit for him. Thai is because God’s Messenger did not lay down any specific custom regarding him.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir told of a man who came from the Yemen and asked the Prophet about a liquor made from millet called mizr which they drank in their country. The Prophet asked whether it was intoxicating and when he replied that it was, he said, “Every intoxicant is prohibited. God has made a covenant regarding those who drink intoxicants to give them some tinat al-khabal to drink.” He was asked what that was and replied that it was the sweat of the inhabitants of hell, or the discharge of the inhabitants of hell. Muslim transmitted it.

Two of my cousins on my father’s side and I went in to see the Prophet and one of them said, “Messenger of God, put us in command of part of what God has put in your charge,” the other also saying the same. He replied, “I swear by God that I will not put in charge, of this work anyone who asks for it, or anyone who is eager for it.” In a version he said, “We will not employ in our work one who wants it.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

God’s Messenger sent me to the Yemen, but when I set off he sent after me and I was brought back. He then said, “Do you know why I sent for you? Do not take anything without my permission, for it is unfaithful dealing, and he who acts unfaithfully will come on the day of resurrection with the unfaithful deeds he has done. This is why I called you. Now go off to your task." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Thauban reported the Prophet as saying that a servant seeks to please God and keeps on doing so, then God who is great and glorious says to Gabriel, “My servant so and so seeks to please me, therefore my mercy had descended on him.” Gabriel says, “God’s mercy has descended on so and so,” and the bearers of the Throne and those who are around them say it until the inhabitants of the seven heavens say it, after which it comes down to him on the earth. Ahmad transmitted it.

Anas reported God’s messenger as saying that when a man goes out of his house and says, "In the name of God; I trust in God; there is no might and no power but in God," the following will be said to him at that time, "You are guided, defended and protected." The devil will go far from him and another devil will say, "How can you deal with a man who has been guided, defended and protected?" Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted up to “the devil will go far from him."

Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s messenger as saying, “God has prescribed the pilgrimage for you people." Al-Aqra' b. Habis then got up and asked whether it was to be performed annually, to which God’s messenger replied that if he were to tell them that it was, it would become obligatory, and if it did they would not keep it nor be able to do so, adding, “The pilgrimage should be performed once, and if anyone does it oftener he performs supererogatory act." Ahmad, Nasa'i and Darimi transmitted it.

Yazid b. al-Asamm, Maimuna’s nephew, told on Maimuna’s authority that God’s messenger married her when he was not in the sacred state. Muslim transmitted it. The shaikh and imam Muhyi as-Sunna has said that most people believe he married her when he was not in the sacred state, but the news of his marriage to her became public when he was performing the pilgrimage. Then when he had come out of the sacred state he cohabited with her at Sarif on the way to Mecca.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you gets up for prayer he must not spit in front, of him, because he is holding intimate converse with God as long as he is in his place of prayer; nor must he spit towards his right, for there is an angel at his right; but he may spit towards his left or under his feet and bury it.” The version of Abu Sa'id has “under his left foot.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

She said that when the Prophet prostrated himself, if a lamb had wanted to pass between his arms it could have done so.

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “May he be abased who does not invoke a blessing on me when I am mentioned in his presence. May he be abased who passes through the whole of Ramadan before his sins are forgiven him. May he be abased one or both of whose parents have reached old age without causing him to enter paradise.* *This means that he has shown them no kindness. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone says ‘Glory be to God’ after every prayer thirty-three times, ‘Praise be to God’ thirty-three times, and ‘God is most great’ thirty-three times, ninety-nine times in all, and says to complete a hundred, ‘There is no god but God alone who has no partner; to Him belongs the kingdom, to Him praise is due, and He is omnipotent,’ his sins will be forgiven, even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea.” Muslim transmitted it.

The iqama* had been uttered and God’s Messenger faced us and said, “Make your rows straight and stand close together, for l can see you behind my back.” * A repetition of the words of the call to prayer after the worshippers have taken their places with the addition of a statement that the time of prayer has come. Bukhari transmitted it. In the version given by Bukhari and Muslim he said, “Make the rows perfect, for I can see you behind my back."

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told how a man came when God’s Messenger had already prayed, and he said, “Will no one give alms* to this man and pray along with him?” Thereupon a man got up and prayed along with him. * This is a literal translation. The idea is that by joining with him he increased the reward the man would receive for his prayer, as prayer in company has a much greater reward than prayer alone. Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Malik al-Ash‘ari reported God’s Messenger as saying, “In paradise there are rooms the outside of which can be seen from within and the inside from without which God has prepared for those who speak gently, provide food, observe frequent fasting, and pray during the night when people are asleep.” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman and Tirmidhi transmitted something similar from ‘Ali. In his version it says “for those who speak pleasantly.”

Abud Darda’ reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Invoke many blessings on me on Friday for it is witnessed. The angels are present on it, and no one will invoke a blessing on me without his blessing being submitted to me till he stops." He said that he asked whether that applied also after his death, and he replied, “God has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of the prophets;" so God’s prophet is alive and given provision. Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Aus b. Aus reported God's Messenger as saying, “If anyone washes and bathes on Friday, goes out early* walking, not riding, goes near to the imam and listens without interrupting, he will have the reward of a year’s fasting and praying for every step he takes." *The text has bakkara wa 'btakara. Both words mean the same thing and are presumably both used to emphasise the idea of going out early. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Sahl b. al-Hanzaliya reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who begs when he has a sufficiency is simply asking for a great amount of hell.” An-Nufaili, who was one of its transmitters, said in another place that he was asked what was a sufficiency which made begging unfitting and replied that it was what would provide a morning and an evening meal. In another place he said it was when one had enough for a day, or for a night and a day. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Hubshi b. Janada reported God’s messenger as saying, “Begging is not allowable to a rich man, or to one who has strength and is sound in limb, but only to one who is in grinding poverty or is seriously in debt. If anyone begs to increase thereby his property, it will appear as lacerations on his face on the day of resurrection and as heated stones which he will eat from jahannam. So let him who wishes ask little, and let him who wishes ask much.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

‘A’isha reported God’s messenger as saying, “Everyone of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints, so he who declares God’s greatness, praises God, declares that He is the only God, glorifies God, asks forgiveness of God, removes a stone, a thorn, or a bone from people’s path, enjoins what is reputable, or forbids what is objectionable to the number of those three hundred and sixty, will walk that day having removed himself from hell.” Muslim transmitted it.

Anas said God’s messenger liked what was at the bottom of the pot.* *Mirqat, iv, 381 has quite a long discussion of the meaning of thufl. It means 'dregs', or 'what sinks to the bottom'. The preference for the meaning in the translation above is said to "be either because what is in the bottom of the pot is cooked longer and so is better than the rest, or because the Prophet liked others to be served first. It is also suggested that here thufl means tharid. Tirmidhi and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-iman, transmitted it.

Anas told that when God’s Messenger returned from the expedition to Tabuk and approached Medina he said, “In Medina there are people who did not fail to be with you wherever you went and whatever wadi you crossed.” A version has, “Who have not failed to share your reward.” On their expressing surprise that that should be true when they were still in Medina, he said, “While they are still in Medina, being kept back by a valid excuse.” Bukhari transmitted it, and Muslim transmitted it on Jabir’s authority.

While we were in the mosque the Prophet came out and said, “Come on to the Jews.” So we went out with him and came to the house where they read their Scriptures, and the Prophet stood up and said, “If you Jews accept Islam you will be safe. Know that the land belongs to God and His Messenger, and I intend to deport you from this land; so if any of you has property [he cannot take away] he must sell it.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "The last hour will not come before you fight with Khuz and Kirman[*] who are foreigners with red faces, snub noses and small eyes, whose faces look as if they were shields covered with skin and whose sandals are of hair." *Yaqut, Mu'jam, ii, 494, says Khuz is used both of Khuzistan and of its people. The districts mentioned are in what is now Iran. Bukhari transmitted it. A version of his on the authority of `Amr b. Taghlib has ``broad faces."

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported God's messenger as saying. "How can I be at ease when the one who blows the trumpet has put it to his mouth, inclined his ears and bent his forehead, waiting to see when he will be ordered to blow it?" God's messenger was asked what command he had to give them and told them to say, "God is sufficient for us and an excellent guardian is He." * *Quran; 3:173 Tirmidhi transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different, but their religion is one[*]. There has been no prophet between us." *This saying is explained as meaning that all prophets have the same religion, which is figuratively called their lather, but they differ in their law and in a number of regulations, these being figuratively called their mothers. Cf. Mirqat, 5:346. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "The way in which I may be compared with the prophets is by a castle which was beautifully constructed, but in which the place of one brick was left incomplete. Sightseers went round admiring the beauty of its construction with the exception of the place for that brick. Now I have filled up the place of that brick, in me the building is completed and in me the messengers are complete." A version has "I am the brick and I am the seal of the prophets." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by terror [in the hearts of enemies] ; spoils have been made lawful to me; the earth has been made for me a place of worship and ceremonially pure; I have been sent to all mankind; and the line of prophets is closed with me." Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told that God's messenger recited this verse, "If you turn back He will substitute other people for you and they will not be like you[*]," and the people asked, "Messenger of God, who are these people of whom God has mentioned that they will be substituted for us if we turn back and will not be like us?" He struck Salman al-Farisi on the thigh and said, "This man and his people. If the religion were in the Pleiades men from among the Persians would attain to it." *Quran 47:38 Tirmidhi transmitted it.

I heard that the people asked the Prophet of Allah (saws): Water is brought for you from the well of Buda'ah. It is a well in which dead dogs, menstrual clothes and excrement of people are thrown. The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: Verily water is pure and is not defiled by anything.

Abu Dawud said I heard Qutaibah b. Sa'id say: I asked the person in charge of the well of Bud'ah about the depth of the well. He replied: At most the water reaches pubes. Then I asked: Where does it reach when its level goes down ? He replied: Below the private part of the body.

Abu Dawud said: I measured the breadth of the well of Buda'ah with my sheet which I stretched over it. I them measured it with the hand. It measured six cubits in breadth. I then asked the man who opened the door of garden for me and admitted me to it: Has the condition of this well changed from what it had originally been in the past ? He replied: No. I saw the color of water in this well had changed.

Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met AbuHurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage.

AbuHurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you?

(Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (saws):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.

If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) sat on his camel to go out on a journey, he said: "Allah is Most Great" three times. Then he said: "Glory be to Him Who has made subservient to us, for we had not the strength for it, and to our Lord do we return. O Allah, we ask Thee in this journey of ours, uprightness, piety and such deeds as are pleasing to Thee. O Allah, make easy for us this journey of ours and make its length short for us. O Allah, Thou art the Companion in the journey, and the One Who looks after the family and property in our absence." When he returned, he said these words adding: "Returning, repentant, serving and praising our Lord." The Prophet (saws) and his armies said: "Allah is Most Great" when they went up to high ground; and when armies said: "Allah is most Great" when they went up to high ground; and when they descended, they said: "Glory be to Allah." So the prayer was patterned on that.

Ali ibn Rabi'ah said: I was present with Ali while a beast was brought to him to ride. When he put his foot in the stirrup, he said: "In the name of Allah." Then when he sat on its back, he said: "Praise be to Allah." He then said: "Glory be to Him Who has made this subservient to us, for we had not the strength, and to our Lord do we return." He then said: "Praise be to Allah (thrice); Allah is Most Great (thrice): glory be to Thee, I have wronged myself, so forgive me, for only Thou forgivest sins." He then laughed. He was asked: At what did you laugh? He replied: I saw the Messenger of Allah (saws) do as I have done, and laugh after that. I asked: Messenger of Allah , at what are you laughing? He replied: Your Lord, Most High, is pleased with His servant when he says: "Forgive me my sins." He know that no one forgives sins except Him.

There was a bedouin called AbuTha'labah. He said: Messenger of Allah, I have trained dogs, so tell me your opinion about (eating) the animal they hunt. The Prophet (saws) said: If you have trained dogs, then eat what they catch for you. He asked: Whether it is slaughtered or not? He replied: Yes. He asked: Does it apply even if it eats any of it? He replied: Even if it eats any of it. He again asked: Messenger of Allah, tell me your opinion about my bow (i.e. the game hunted by arrow). He said: Eat what your bow returns to you, whether it is slaughtered or not. He asked: If it goes out of my sight? He replied: Even if it goes out of your sight, provided it has no stench, or you find a mark on it other than the mark of your arrow.

He asked: Tell me about the use of the vessels of the Magians when we are forced to use them. He replied: Wash them and eat in them.

A grandmother came to AbuBakr asking him for her share of inheritance. He said: There is nothing prescribed for you in Allah's Book, nor do I know anything for you in the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allah (saws) Go home till I question the people. He then questioned the people, and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said: I had been present with the Messenger of Allah (saws) when he gave grandmother a sixth. AbuBakr said: Is there anyone with you? Muhammad ibn Maslamah stood and said the same as al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah had said. So AbuBakr made it apply to her. Another grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him for her share of inheritance. He said: Nothing has been prescribed for you in Allah's Book. The decision made before you was made for a grandmother other than you. I am not going to add in the shares of inheritance; but it is that sixth. If there are two of you, it is shared between you, but whichever of you is the only one left gets it all.

The Prophet (saws) assigned as a fief to Bilal ibn Harith al-Muzani the mines of al-Qabaliyyah, both those which lay on the upper side those and which lay on the lower side. The narrator, Ibn an-Nadr, added: "also Jars and Dhat an-Nusub." The agreed version reads: "and (the land) which is suitable for cultivation at Quds". He did not assign to Bilal ibn al-Harith the right of any Muslim. The Prophet (saws) wrote a document to him:

"This is what the Messenger of Allah (saws) assigned to Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani. He gave him the mines of al-Qabaliyyah both those which lay on the upper and lower side, and that which is fit for cultivation at Quds. He did not give him the right of any Muslim."

The narrator AbuUways said: A similar tradition has been transmitted to me by Thawr ibn Zayd from Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn Abbas from the Prophet (saws). Ibn an-Nadr added: Ubayy ibn Ka'b wrote it.

The tradition mentioned above (No. 4243) has also been transmitted by Ibn Mas'ud through a different chain of narrators.

Ibn Mas'ud said: I heard the Prophet (saws) say: He then mentioned a portion of the tradition narrated by AbuBakrah (No. 4243).

This version adds: He (the Prophet) said: All their slain will go to Hell. I (Wabisah) asked: When will this happen Ibn Mas'ud?

He replied: This is the period of turmoil (harj) when a man will not be safe from his associates.

I asked: What do you command me (to do) if I happen to live during that period? He replied: You should restrain your tongue and hand and stay at home.

When Uthman was slain, I recollected this tradition. I then rode (on a camel) and came to Damascus. There I met Khuraym ibn Fatik and mentioned this tradition to him. He swore by Allah, there was no god but He, he had heard it from the Messenger of Allah (saws), as Ibn Mas'ud transmitted it to me (Wabisah).

AbuBarzah said: I was with AbuBakr. He became angry at a man and uttered hot words. I said: Do you permit me, Caliph of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that I cut off his neck? These words of mine removed his anger; he stood and went in. He then sent for me and said: What did you say just now? I said: (I had said:) Permit me that I cut off his neck. He said: Would you do it if I ordered you? I said: Yes. He said: No, I swear by Allah, this is not allowed for any man after Muhammad (saws).

Abu Dawud said: This is Yazid's version. Ahmad bin Hanbal said: That is, Abu Bakr has no powers to slay a man except for three reasons which the Messenger of Allah (saws) had mentioned: disbelief after belief, fornication after marriage, or killing a man without (murdering) any man by him. The Prophet (saws) had powers to kill.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone drinks wine, flog him; if he repeats it, flog him, and if he repeats it, flog him. If he does it again a third or a fourth time, kill him. A man who had drunk wine was brought (to him) and he gave him lashes. He was again brought to him, and he flogged him. He was again brought to him and he flogged him. He was again brought to him and he flogged him. The punishment of killing (for drinking) was repealed, and a concession was allowed.

Sufyan said: Al-Zuhri transmitted this tradition when Mansur b. al-Mu'tamir amd Mukhawwal b. Rashid were present with him. He said to them: Take this tradition as a present to the people of Iraq.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by al-Sharid b. Suwaid, Sharahbil b. Aws, 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr, 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar, Abu Ghutaif al-Kindi, and Abu Salamah b. 'Abd al-Rahman from Abu Hurairah.

Return to your people ; if you like that I make payment for the purchase of your freedom on your behalf and I shall have the right to inherit from you, I shall do so. Barirah mentioned it to her people, but they refused and said: If she wants to purchase your freedom for reward from Allah, she may do so, but the right to inherit from her shall be ours. She mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (saws). The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Purchase her (freedom) and set her free, for the right of inheritance belongs to only to the one who set a person free. The Messenger of Allah (saw) then stood up and said: If anyone makes a condition which is not in Allah's Book, he has no right to it, even if he stipulates it hundred times. Allah's condition is more valid and binding.

On the Authority of his father: A man from Hadramawt and a man of Kindah came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). Al-Hadrami said: Messenger of Allah, this (man) took away forcibly from me the land which belongs to my father. Al-Kindi said: It is my land in my possession, and I cultivate it, he has no right to it. The Prophet (saws) then said to al-Hadrami: Have you any proof ? He said: No. He then said: So for you is his oath. He said: Messenger of Allah, he is liar, he does not care for which he is taking the oath. He does not refrain himself from anything. The Prophet (saws) said: You will have nothing from him except that. He went to take an oath for him. When he turned his back, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: If he takes an oath on the property to take it away by unfair means, he will meet Allah while He is unmindful of him.

I said to Ubayy b. Ka'b: Tell me about lailat al-qadr, O Abu al-Mundhir, for our companion (Ibn Mas'ud) was questioned about it, and he said: Anyone who gets up for prayer every night all the year round will hit upon it (i.e. lailat al-qadr). He replied: May Allah have mercy on Abu 'Abd al-Rahman. By Allah, he knew that it was in Ramadan, (Musaddad's version goes) but he disliked that the people should content themselves (with that night alone); or he liked that the people should not content themselves (with the night alone). According to the agreed version: By Allah, it is the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan, without any reservation. I said: How did you know that, Abu al-Mundhir? He replied: By the indication (or sign) of which the Messenger of Allah (saws) informed us. I asked Zirr: What is the sign ? He replied: The sun rises like a vessel of water in the morning following that night; it has no rays until it rises high up.

"The Khumus that is for Allah and His Messenger was for the Prophet and His relatives; they did not take anything from the Sadaqah. The Prophet was allocated one-fifth of the Khumus; his relatives were allocated one-fifth of the Khumus; the same was allocated to orphans, the poor and they wayfarers." (Da 'if) Abu Abdur-Rahman (An-Nasi) said: Allah, the Majestic is he and Praised, said: "And know that whatever of spoils of war that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives ( of the Messenger (Muhammad)), (and also) the orphans, Al-Masakin (the Poor) and the wayfarer." His, the Mighty and Sublime, saying to Allah starts the speech since everything is of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, saying to Allah starts the speech since everything is of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime. And perhaps He only oened His speech about the Fay and the Khumus, mentioning Himself, because that is the noblest of earnings. And He did not attribute Sadaqah to Himself, the Mighty and Sublime, because that is the dirt of people. And Allah knows best. It was said that something should be taken form the spoils of war and placed inside the Kabah, and this is the share that is for Allah, the Mighty and Sublime. The share of the Messenger is to be given to the imam to buy horses and weapons, and to give to whomever he thinks will benefit the people of Islam, and to the people of Hadith, Knowledge, Fiqh and the Quran. The share that is for near relatives should be given to Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttablib, rich and poor alike, or it was said that it should be given to the poor among them and not to the rich, such as orphans and wayfarers. This is the view that is more appropriate in my view, and Allah knows best. And the young and the old, male and female, are equal in that, because Allah, the mighty and sublime, has allocated it to them and the Messenger of Allah distributed it among them, and there is nothing in the Hadith to indicate that he preferred some of them over others. And there is no scholarly dispute, as far as we know, to suggest that if a man bequeaths one-third of his wealth to such a tribe, to be distributed out among them equally, that it should be done otherwise, unless the giver stipulated otherwise. And Allah is the source of strength. And (there is) a share for the orphans among the Muslims, and a share for the poor among the Muslims, and a share for the wayfarers among the Muslims. No one should be given both a share for the poor and a share for the wayfarer; it is to be said to him: "Take whichever of them you want." And the other four-fifths are to be divided by the imam among those adult Muslims who were present in the battle. (Daif)