I was with the Prophet (saws) when a man who was a murderer and had a strap round his neck was brought to him.

He then called the legal guardian of the victim and asked him: Do you forgive him?

He said: No. He asked: Will you accept the blood-money? He said: No. He asked: Will you kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Take him. When he turned his back, he said: Do you forgive him? He said: No. He said: Will you accept the blood-money? He said: No. He said: Will you kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Take him. After repeating all this a fourth time, he said: If you forgive him, he will bear the burden of his own sin and the sin of the victim. He then forgave him. He (the narrator) said: I saw him pulling the strap.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) conquered Khaibar, and stipulated that all the land, gold and silver would belong to him. The people of Khaibar said: we know the land more than you ; so give it to us on condition that you should have half of the produce and we would have the half. He then gave it to them on that condition. When the time of picking the fruits of the palm-trees came, he sent 'Abd Allah b. Rawahah to them, and he assessed the among of the fruits of the palm-trees. This is what the people of Medina call khars (assessment). He used to say: In these palm-trees there is such-and-such amount (of produce). They would say: You assessed more to us, Ibn Rawahah (than the real amount). He would say: I first take the responsibility of assessing the fruits of the palm-trees and give you half of (the amount) I said. They would say: This is true, and on this (equity) stand the heavens and the earth. We agreed that we should take (the amount which) you said.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent me to Khalid b. Sufyan al-Hudhail. This was towards 'Uranah and 'Arafat. He (the Prophet) said: Go and kill him. I saw him when the time of the afternoon prayer had come. I said: I am afraid if a fight takes place between me and him (Khalid b. Sufyan), that might delay the prayer. I proceeded walking towards him while I was praying by making a sign. When I reached near him, he said to me: Who are you ? I replied: A man from the Arabs; it came to me that you were gathering (any army) for this man (i.e. Prophet). Hence I came to you in connection with this matter. He said: I am (engaged) in this (work). I then walked along with him for a while ; when it became convenient for me, I dominated him with my sword until he became cold (dead).

While we were waiting for the Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) for the noon or afternoon prayer, and Bilal had already called him for prayer, he came upon us with Umamah daughter of Abu al-As and daughter of his daughter on his neck. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood at the place of prayer and we stood behind him and she(Umamah) (all this time) was in her place. He uttered the takbir and we also uttered. When the Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) intended to bow, he took her and put her down, and then he bowed and prostrated till he finished his prostration. He then got up and took her and returned he to her place. The Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) kept on doing that in every rak’ah until he finished his prayer. May peace be upon him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from A'isha, umm al-muminin, that whenever the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did ghusl for major ritual impurity, he would begin by washing his hands, and then do wudu as for prayer. He would then put his fingers in the water and rub the roots of his hair with them. Then he would pour as much water as two hands can hold on to his head three times, and over the entire surface of his skin.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim that Abdullah ibn Umar told him that he used to see Abdullah ibn Umar cross his legs in the sitting position of the prayer.He said, "So I did the same, and I was young at the time. Abdullah ibn Umar forbade me and said, 'The sunna of the prayer is that you keep your right foot vertical and lay your left foot down.' I said to him, 'But you do the same (as I did).' He said, 'My feet do not support me.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'nNadr, the mawla of Umar ibn 'Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was sleeping in front of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and my feet were in his qibla. When he prostrated, he nudged me and I pulled up my feet,and when he stood up I spread them out." She added, "There were no lamps in the house at that time."

Yahya related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A group of angels in the night and a group of angels in the day alternate with each other among you, and gather together at the time of the asr and fajr prayers. Then those that have spent the night among you ascend, and He asks them, and He knows best, 'How did you leave my slaves?' and they say, 'When we left them they were praying, and when we came to them they were praying.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered Makka, in the Year of Victory, wearing a helmet, and when he took it off a man came to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, Ibn Khatal is clinging to the covers of the Kaba,'' and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Kill him."

Malik commented, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not in ihram at the time, and Allah knows best."

Malik related to me from al-Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman from Mabad ibn Kab as-Salami from his brother Abdullah ibn Kab ibn Malik al-Ansari from Abu Umama that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever cuts off the right of a muslim man by his oath, Allah forbids him the Garden and obliges the Fire for him." They said, "Even if it is something insignificant, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Even if it is a tooth-stick, even if it is a tooth- stick," repeating it three times.

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said and somebody else from al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri and from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, freed six of his slaves while he was dying. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew lots between them and freed a third of those slaves.

Malik added that he had heard that the man did not have any property other than them.

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from Abu Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about a slave-girl who committed fornication and was not muhsana. He said, "If she commits fornication, then flog her. If she commits fornication again, then flog her, and if she commits fornication again, then sell her, if only for a rope."

Ibn Shihab added, "I don't know whether it was three or four times."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Umar ibn al-Khattab was eating bread with ghee. He summoned one of the desert people and he began to eat and follow the grease in the dish with a morsel of bread. Umar said, "It is as if you were poor." He said, "By Allah. I have not eaten ghee nor have I seen food with it since such- and-such a time." Umar declared, "I shall not eat clarified butter until people are given life again like they were first given life," (i.e. on the Day of Rising.)

Anas bin Malik was asked about the Prophet's fasting and he said: "He would fast during a month until we thought that he did not want to abstain from fasting during any of it. And, he would not fast during a month until we thought that he did not want to fast during any of it. (There was no time) that I wanted to see if he was performing Salat during the night, except that I would see him praying, nor to see him sleeping, except that I would see him sleeping."

"The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) came to me while I had a pain that almost ruined me. So,the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) said: 'Rub it with your right hand seven times and say A`udhu bi `Izzatillah Wa Qudratihi wa Sultanihi min sharri ma ajid." ("I seek refuge in Allah's might, power, an authority, from the evil of what I suffer.)" He said: "So I did it, and Allah removed what I had, and I never ceased telling my family and others to do it."

"Did the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) eat Naqi – meaning refined (flour)?” So Sahl said: “The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) did not see Naqi until he met Allah.” It was said to him: “Did you have sifters during the time of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w)?” He said: “There were no sifters for us.” They said: “How did you prepare the barley?”He said: “We would blow it so (the husk) would fly off of it, then we would add water so we could knead it.” (Hasan)

"A man was killed during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws), so the killer was brought to the man's guardian. The killer said: 'O Messenger of Allah! By Allah! I did not mean to kill him.' So the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Then if what he is saying is true, and you kill him, you would enter the Fire.' So he let the man go." He said: "His hands were bound behind him with a Nis'ah." He said: "So he left, dragging his Nis'ah." [He said:] "So he was called Dhan-Nis'ah'."

The Messsenger of Allah (saws) said: “Whoever says ten times: ‘I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Alone, without partner, One Deity, the One, As-Samad, He did not take a wife, nor a child, nor is there anyone like Him, (Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illallāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, ilahan wahidan, aḥadan ṣamadan lam yattakhidh ṣāḥibatan wa lā waladan wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan aḥad)’ Allah will write for him forty million good deeds.”

“Whoever says ten times: ‘None has the right to be worshipped by Allah, Alone, without partner, to Him belongs all that exists, and to Him belongs the praise, [He gives life and causes death,] and He has power over all things, (Lā ilāha illallāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, [yuḥyī wa yumītu,] wa huwa `alā kulli shai’in qadīr)’ it is for him equal to freeing four slaves among the offspring of Isma`il.”

“Thabit Al-Bunani narrated to me, he said to me: ‘O Muhammad, when you suffer from some ailment, then place your hand at the place of the ailment, then say: “In the Name of Allah, I seek refuge in Allah’s might and power from the evil of this pain I feel (Bismillāh, a`ūdhu bi-`izzatillāhi wa qudratihī min sharri mā ajidu min waja`ī hādhā).” Then lift your hand and repeat that an odd number of times. For indeed, Anas bin Malik narrated to me, that the Messenger of Allah (saws) narrated that to him.’”

Mention of a man was made to the Prophet (PBUH) and someone praised him whereupon he (PBUH) said, "Woe be to you! You have broken the neck of your friend!" He repeated this several times and added, "If one of you has to praise his friend at all, he should say: 'I reckon him to be such and such and Allah knows him well', if you think him to be so-and-so, you will be accountable to Allah because no one can testify the purity of others against Allah."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The people of Syria were mentioned in the presence of `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) when he was in Iraq. They said: Curse them, O Ameer al-Mu`mineen. He said: No, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “The abdal (people who are close to Allah) will be in Syria, and they will be forty men. Every time one of them dies, Allah will replace him with another man. By virtue of them rain is sent and through them victory is achieved against the enemy and punishment is warded off from the people of Syria.`

`Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) came out to us when we were in the mosque and said: Where is the one who was asking about Witr? Those among us who had started the first rak`ah added a second to it so as to make it even, then we gathered around him and he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray Witr at the beginning of the night, then he prayed Witr in the middle of the night, then he settled on praying Witr at this time. He said: That was when dawn was breaking.

I heard an-Nazzal bin Sabrah say: I saw ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) praying Zuhr, then he sat to listen to the people`s needs. When the time for ‘Asr came, a stone vessel of water was brought to him. He took a handful from it and wiped his face, forearms, head and feet. Then he took the leftover water and drank it whilst standing, and he said: Some people dislike this, but I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) do it. And this is the wudoo’ of one who has not broken his wudoo’.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Seek refuge in God from the pit of sorrow.” On being asked what the pit of sorrow was, he replied, “ It is a wadi in jahannam from which jahannam seeks refuge four hundred times every day.” When God’s messenger was asked who would enter it, he replied, “The Qur’an readers who are ostentatious in what they do.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah has the same, adding in it, “Among the Qur’an readers who are most hateful to God are those who visit princes.” Al-Muharibi said that he meant tyrants.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying that if anyone says a hundred times in a day, “There is no god but God alone who has no partner, to whom dominion belongs, to whom praise is due, who is omnipotent”, he will have a reward equivalent to that for emancipating ten slaves, a hundred blessings recorded for him, a hundred evil deeds obliterated from him; it will be a protection for him from the devil all that day till evening, and no one will bring anything more excellent than he brings, except a man who has done more than he has. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet congratulated* a man on his marriage he said, “God bless you, bless you both, and prosper your union.” *The verb used is raffa'a which originally meant saying to someone who had just been married, "may the marriage produce close union and sons." It is said that because this was a phrase used in pre-lslamic times, the Prophet substituted for it the words used in this tradition. The verb thus develops simply the meaning of congratulating without in itself involving any particular formula. Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abul Yasar said, that God’s messenger used to make this supplication, “O God, I seek refuge in Thee from my house falling on me; I seek refuge, in Thee from falling into an abyss, drowning, burning and decrepitude; I seek refuge in Thee from the devil harming me at the time of my death; I seek refuge in Thee from dying in Thy path while retreating; and I seek refuge in Thee from dying of the sting of a poisonous creature.” Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it. In another version Nasa’i added, “and from sorrow.”

Yahya b. Sa'id said that God’s messenger was sitting when a grave was being dug in Medina. A man looked down into the grave and said, "What a bad-resting-place for a believer!" God’s messenger thereupon retorted, "What a bad thing you have said!" and the man replied, "I did not mean that; I meant that being killed in God’s path [is more excellent]." God’s messenger said, "Nothing compares with being killed in God’s path. There is no other region in the earth in which I would prefer my grave to be," saying it three times. Malik transmitted it in mursal form.

Abu Mas'ud reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The one of you who is most versed in God’s Book should act as imam for the people; but if they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding the sunna; if they are equal regarding the sunna, then the earliest of them to emigrate; if they emigrated at the same time, then the oldest of them. No man must lead another in prayer where the latter has authority, or sit in his place of honour in his house, without his permission.” Muslim transmitted it. A version by him has, “And a man must not act as imam for another in his own family.”

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, "The promised day is the day of resurrection, the day which is witnessed is the day of ‘Arafa, and the witness* is Friday on no more excellent day than which has the sun risen or set. It contains a time at which no believing worshipper will supplicate God for what is good without God answering him, or seek refuge from something without His giving him refuge from it.” * Al-Qur’an; 85:2 f. Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, the latter saying that this is a gharib tradition known only among the traditions of Musa b. ‘Ubaida who is declared to be weak.

I went in to visit ‘A’isha, and she was wearing a Qitri (A coarse kind of material. The name is said to be connected with a place, but there is a difference of opinion as to whether it was in Egypt or in the neighbourhood of al-Bahrain) shift which had cost five dirhams. She said, “Lift up your eyes to my slavegirl and look at her, for she is too proud to wear it in the house, yet I had a shift of this type in the time of God’s messenger, and there was not a woman in Medina who was being adorned who did not send to me to borrow it.” Bukhari transmitted it.

Ibn Hawala reported God's messenger as saying, "It will turn out tha t you will be armed troops, one in Syria, one in the Yemen, and one in al-`Iraq." Ibn Hawala said, "Choose for me, messenger of God, if I reach that time." He replied, "Go to Syria, for it is God's chosen land to which His best servants will be gathered; but if you are unwilling, go to your Yemen and draw water from your tanks, for God who is great and glorious has on my account taken special charge of Syria and its people." Ahmad and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas (RAA) narrated, ‘Once the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) passed by some graves in Madinah. He turned his face toward them saying, “Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these graves. May Allah forgive you and us. You have preceded us, and we are following your trail." Related by At-Tirmidhi, who graded it as Hasan.

Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "If one of you prays towards an object separating him from the people and someone tries to pass (between him and the object) in front of him, let him turn him away but if he refuses he should fight him for he is a devil." [Agreed upon].

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab asking a group of people, "What do you think about someone who has intercourse with his wife while he is in ihram?" and none of them answered him. Said said, "There is a man who has had intercourse with his wife while in ihram who has sent a message to Madina asking about it." Some of them said, "They should be kept apart until a future year," and Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "They should carry on and complete the hajj which they have spoiled, and then return home when they have finished. If another hajj comes upon them, they must do hajj and sacrifice an animal. They should go into ihram at the same place where they went into ihram for the hajj that they spoiled, and they should keep apart until they have finished their hajj."

Malik said, "They should both sacrifice an animal."

Malik said, about a man who had intercourse with his wife during hajj after he had come down from Arafa but before he had stoned the Jamra, "He must sacrifice an animal and do hajj again in another year. If, however, he had intercourse with his wife after he stoned the Jamra, he only has to do an umra and sacrifice an animal and he does not have to do another hajj."

Malik said, "What spoils a hajj or an umra and makes sacrificing an animal and repeating the hajj necessary is the meeting of the two circumcised parts, even if there is no emission. It is also made necessary by an emission if it is the result of bodily contact. I do not think that a man who remembers something and has an emission owes anything, and if a man were to kiss his wife and no emission were to occur from that, he would only have to sacrifice an animal. A woman in ihram who has intercourse with her husband several times during hajj or umra out of obedience to him only has to do another hajj and sacrifice an animal. That is if her husband has intercourse with her while she is doing hajj. If he has intercourse with her while she is doing umra, she must repeat the umra she has spoiled and sacrifice an animal."

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to say from the pulpit, before the month of Ramadan: ‘Fasting will begin on such and such a day, but we are going to start fasting earlier, so whoever wants to start fasting earlier (i.e., in Sha’ban), let him do so, and whoever wants to wait until Ramadan begins, let him do so.’”

“I went out with ‘Abdullah to Friday (prayer), and he found three men who arrived before him. He said: ‘The fourth of four, and the fourth of four is not far away. I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: “On the Day of Resurrection people will gather near Allah according to how early they came to Friday (prayer), the first, second, and third.’” Then he said: ‘The fourth of four, and the fourth of four is not far away.’”

“Anas ibn Malik used to breathe into the vessel three times, and Anas ibn Malik maintained that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) likewise used to breathe into the vessel three times.”

"I asked 'A’isha (may Allah be well pleased with her) about the ritual prayer of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and she said: 'He used to perform two cycles of ritual prayer before the noon prayer and two cycles after it, two cycles after the sunset prayer, two cycles after the evening prayer, and two before the dawn prayer.’”

"The Messenger of Allah used to divide his time equally among his wives, then he would say 'O Allah, this is what I am doing with regard to that which is within my control, so do not hold me accountable for that which is under Your control and is beyond my control.'"

“I heard ‘Umar say: ‘Why do they perform Ramal now, when Allah has established Islam and done away with disbelief and its people? By Allah,* we will not give up something that we used to do at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw).’”

“My father told me, narrating from his father, from his grandfather, that during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw), he used to call the Adhan on Fridays when the shadow was like a sandal strap.”

Salim al-Barrad said: We came to AbuMas'ud Uqbah ibn Amr al-Ansari and said to him: Tell us about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

He stood up before us in the mosque and said the takbir. When he bowed, he placed his hands upon his knees and put his fingers below, and kept his elbows (arms) away from his sides, so everything returned properly to its place. Then he said: "Allah listens to him who praises Him"; then he stood up so that everything returned properly to its place; then he said the takbir and prostrated and put the palms of his hands on the ground; he kept his elbow (arms) away from his sides, so that everything returned to its proper place. Then he raised his head and sat so that everything returned to its place; he then repeated it in a similar way. Then he offered four rak'ahs of prayer like this rak'ah and completed his prayer.

Then he said: Thus we witnessed the Messenger of Allah (saws) offering his prayer.

I was sleeping in the mosque on a cloak mine whose price was thirty dirhams. A man came and pinched it away from me. The man was seized and brought to the Messenger of Allah (saws). He ordered that his hand should be cut off. I came to him and said: Do you cut off only for thirty dirhams ? I sell it to him and make the payment of its price a loan ? He said: Why did you not do so before bringing him to me ?

Abu Dawud said: Za'idah has also transmitted it from Simak from Ju'ayd ibn Hujayr. He said: Safwan slept. Mujahid and Tawus said: While he was sleeping a thief came and stole the cloak from beneath his head. The version of AbuSalamah ibn AbdurRahman has: He snatched it away from beneath his head and he awoke. He cried and he (the thief) was seized. Az-Zuhri narrated from Safwan ibn Abdullah. His version has: He slept in the mosque and used his cloak as pillow. A thief came and took his cloak. The thief was seized and brought to the Prophet (saws).

My ears heard it end my heart remembered it from Muhammad (May peace be upon him) who said: if a man claims to be the son of a man who is not his father, paradise will be forbidden for him. He said: I then met Abu Bakrah and mentioned it to him. He said: my ears heard it and my heart remembered it from Muhammad (peace be upon him).

‘Asim said : I said : Abu ‘Uthman! Two men testified before you. Who are they? He said : One of them is the one who is first to shoot arrow in the path of Allah or in the path of Islam, that is to say : Sa’d b. Malik. The other is the one came from al-Taif with ten and some men on foot. He then mentioned his excellence.

Abu Dawud said : When al-Nufaili mentioned this tradition, he said : I swear by Allah, this is sweater with me than honey, that is no say, his way transmission.

Abu ‘Ali said : I heard Abu Dawud say : I heard Ahmad say : The people of Kufah have no light in their traditions. I did not see them like the people of Basrah. They learnt it from Shu’bah.

I came to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri while he was giving his legal opinion to the people who bent down on him. So I waited to see hi when he was alone. When he became alone, I asked him about keeping fast while travelling. He said: we went out along with the Prophet (saws) in Ramadan in the year of conquest of Mecca. The Messenger of Allah (saws) fasted and we fasted until he reached a certain stage. He said: You have come near your enemy; the breaking of fast will bring you more strength. Then morning came when some of us fasted and other broke their fast. He (Abu Sa'id al-Khudri) said: We then proceeded and alighted at a stage. He said: You are going to attack your enemy tomorrow morning ; breaking the fast will bring you more strength ; so break your fast (i.e. do not keep fast). This resolution (of breaking the fast) took place (due to the announcement) from the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Abu Sa'id said: Then I found myself keeping fast along with the Prophet (saws) before and after that.

“I supplicate Allah to bring you and I together in the marketplace of Paradise,” Sa’eed said: “Is there a marketplace there?” He said: “Yes. The Messenger of Allah (saw) told me that when the people of Paradise enter it, they will take their places according to their deeds, and they will be given permission for a length of time equivalent to Friday on earth, when they will visit Allah. His Throne will be shown to them and He will appear to them in one of the gardens of Paradise. Chairs of light and chairs of pearls and chairs of rubies and chairs of chrysolite and chairs of gold and chairs of silver will be placed for them. Those who are of a lower status than them, and none of them will be regarded as insignificant, will sit on sandhills of musk and camphor, and they will not feel that those who are sitting on chairs are seated better than them.” Abu Hurairah said: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord?’ He said: ‘Yes. Do you dispute that you see the sun and the moon on the night when it is full?’ We said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Likewise, you will not dispute that you see your Lord, the Glorified. There will be no one left in that gathering with whom Allah does not speak face to face, until He will say to a man among you: “Do you not remember, O so-and-so, the day you did such and such?” And He will remind him of some of his sins in this world. He will say: “O Lord, have You not forgiven me?” He will say: “Yes, it is by the vastness of My forgiveness that You have reached the position you are in.” While they are like that, a cloud will cover them from above and will rain down on them perfume the like of whose fragrance they have never smelled before. Then He will say: “Get up and go to the honor that has been prepared for you, and take whatever you desire.” So we will go to a marketplace surrounded by the angels, in which there will be such things as eyes have never seen, ears have never heard and it has not entered the heart of man. Whatever we desire will be carried for us. Nothing will be bought or sold therein. In that marketplace the people of Paradise will meet one another. A man of elevated status will meet those who are of lower status than him, but none shall be regarded as insignificant, and he will be dazzled by the clothes that he sees on him. He will not finish the last of his conversation before better clothes appear on him. That is because no one should be sad there.’” “He said: ‘Then we will go back to our homes where we will be met by our wives, and they will say: ‘Welcome. You have come looking more handsome and with a better fragrance than when you left us.’ And we will say: ‘Today we sat with our Lord, the Compeller, the Glorified, and we deserve to come back as we have come back.’”

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Khusayfa that he had asked Sulayman ibn Yasar whether zakat was due from a man who had wealth in hand but also owed a debt for the same amount, and he replied, "No."

Malik said, "The position that we are agreed upon concerning a debt is that the lender of it does not pay zakat on it until he gets it back. Even if it stays with the borrower for a number of years before the lender collects it, the lender only has to pay zakat on it once. If he collects an amount of the debt which is not zakatable, and has other wealth which is zakatable, then what he has collected of the debt is added to the rest of his wealth and he pays zakat on the total sum."

Malik continued, "If he has no ready money other than that which he has collected from his debt, and that does not reach a zakatable amount, then he does not have to pay any zakat. He must, however, keep a record of the amount that he has collected and if, later, he collects another amount which, when added to what he has already collected, brings zakat into effect, then he has to pay zakat on it."

Malik continued, "Zakat is due on this first amount, together with what he has further collected of the debt owed to him, regardless of whether or not he has used up what he first collected. If what he takes back reaches twenty dinars of gold, or two hundred dirhams of silver he pays zakat on it. He pays zakat on anything else he takes back afte rthat, whether it be a large or small amount, according to the amount."

Malik said, "What shows that zakat is only taken once from a debt which is out of hand for some years before it is recovered is that if goods remain with a man for trading purposes for some years before he sells them, he only has to pay zakat on their prices once. This is because the one who is owed the debt, or owns the goods, should not have to take the zakat on the debt, or the goods, from anything else, since the zakat on anything is only taken from the thing itself, and not from anything else."

Malik said, "Our position regarding some onewho owes a debt, and has goods which are worth enough to pay off the debt, and also has an amount of ready money which is zakatable, is that he pays the zakat on the ready money which he has to hand. If, however, he only has enough goods and ready money to pay off the debt, then he does not have to pay any zakat. But if the ready money that he has reaches a zakatable amount over and above the amount of the debt that he owes, then he must pay zakat on it."

Yahya said that Malik said, "The best of what has been heard about a sharecropper stipulating on the owner of the property the inclusion of some slave workers, is that there is no harm in that if they are workers that come with the property. They are like the property. There is no profit in them for the share-cropper except to lighten some of his burden. If they did not come with the property, his toil would be harder. It is like share-cropping land with a spring or land with a watering trough. You will not find anyone who receives the same share for share-cropping two lands which are equal in property and yield, when one property has a constant plentiful spring and the other has a watering trough, because of the lightness of working land with a spring, and the hardship of working land with a watering trough."

Malik added, "That is what is done in our community."

Malik said, "A share-cropper cannot employ workers from the property in other work, and he cannot make that a stipulation with the one who gives him the share-cropping contract. Nor is it permitted to one who share-crops to stipulate on the owner of the property inclusion of slaves for use in the garden who are not in it when he makes the share-cropping contract."

"Nor must the owner of the property stipulate on the one who uses his property for share-cropping that he take any of the slaves of the property and remove him from the property. The share-cropping of property is based on the state which it is currently in."

"If the owner of the property wants to remove one of the slaves of the property, he removes him before the share-cropping, or if he wants to put someone into the property, he does it before the share-cropping. Then he grants the share-cropping contract after that if he wishes. If any of the slaves die or go off or become ill, the owner of the property must replace them."