Abu Waqid al-Laith reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was sitting in the mosque along wish tome people when there came to him three persons; two of them stepped forward to the direction of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and one of them went away. The two stood by the side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and one of them found a space in his circle and he sat in that; and the other one sat behind him and the third one went away. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had finished his work, he said. Should I not inform you about these three persons? One of them sought refuge with Allah and Allah gave him refuge and the second one felt shy and Allah showed kindness to has shyness (and so he was accommodated in that meeting), and the last one reverted and Allah turned away His attention from him.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Ibn Ishaq and al-Auza'i from Yahya b. Sa'id in a similar manner, and Malik narrated it from Yahya b. Sa'id, saying: He observed I'tikaf during twenty days of Shawwal.

Al-Hasan reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab gathered the people (in tarawih prayer) behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b (who led them). He used to lead them for twenty days (during Ramadan, and would not recite the supplication except in the second half of it (i.e. Ramadan). When the last ten days remained, he kept away from them, and prayed in his house. They used to say: Ubayy ran away.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition shows that whatever has been reported about the recitation of the supplication is not tenable. Moreover, these two traditions from Ubayy b. Ka'b indicate that another tradition which tells that the Prophet (saws) recited the supplication in the witr is weak.

The Prophet prayed one of the `Isha' prayer in his last days and after finishing it with Taslim, he stood up and said, "Do you realize (the importance of) this night? Nobody present on the surface of the earth tonight would be living after the completion of one hundred years from this night." The people made a mistake in grasping the meaning of this statement of Allah's Apostle and they indulged in those things which are said about these narrators (i.e. some said that the Day of Resurrection will be established after 100 years etc.) But the Prophet said, "Nobody present on the surface of earth tonight would be living after the completion of 100 years from this night"; he meant "When that century (people of that century) would pass away."

In the year prior to the last Hajj of the Prophet when Allah's Apostle made Abu Bakr the leader of the pilgrims, the latter (Abu Bakr) sent me in the company of a group of people to make a public announcement: 'No pagan is allowed to perform Hajj after this year, and no naked person is allowed to perform Tawaf of the Ka`ba.' (See Hadith No. 365 Vol. 1)

Allah's Apostle said, "My similitude in comparison with the other prophets before me, is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its place!' So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets."

The night Allah's Apostle was taken for a journey from the sacred mosque (of Mecca) Al-Ka`ba: Three persons came to him (in a dreamy while he was sleeping in the Sacred Mosque before the Divine Inspiration was revealed to Him. One of them said, "Which of them is he?" The middle (second) angel said, "He is the best of them." The last (third) angle said, "Take the best of them." Only that much happened on that night and he did not see them till they came on another night, i.e. after The Divine Inspiration was revealed to him. (Fath-ul-Bari Page 258, Vol. 17) and he saw them, his eyes were asleep but his heart was not----and so is the case with the prophets: their eyes sleep while their hearts do not sleep. So those angels did not talk to him till they carried him and placed him beside the well of Zamzam. From among them Gabriel took charge of him. Gabriel cut open (the part of his body) between his throat and the middle of his chest (heart) and took all the material out of his chest and `Abdomen and then washed it with Zamzam water with his own hands till he cleansed the inside of his body, and then a gold tray containing a gold bowl full of belief and wisdom was brought and then Gabriel stuffed his chest and throat blood vessels with it and then closed it (the chest). He then ascended with him to the heaven of the world and knocked on one of its doors. The dwellers of the Heaven asked, 'Who is it?' He said, "Gabriel." They said, "Who is accompanying you?" He said, "Muhammad." They said, "Has he been called?" He said, "Yes" They said, "He is welcomed." So the dwellers of the Heaven became pleased with his arrival, and they did not know what Allah would do to the Prophet on earth unless Allah informed them. The Prophet met Adam over the nearest Heaven. Gabriel said to the Prophet, "He is your father; greet him." The Prophet greeted him and Adam returned his greeting and said, "Welcome, O my Son! O what a good son you are!" Behold, he saw two flowing rivers, while he was in the nearest sky. He asked, "What are these two rivers, O Gabriel?" Gabriel said, "These are the sources of the Nile and the Euphrates." Then Gabriel took him around that Heaven and behold, he saw another river at the bank of which there was a palace built of pearls and emerald. He put his hand into the river and found its mud like musk Adhfar. He asked, "What is this, O Gabriel?" Gabriel said, "This is the Kauthar which your Lord has kept for you." Then Gabriel ascended (with him) to the second Heaven and the angels asked the same questions as those on the first Heaven, i.e., "Who is it?" Gabriel replied, "Gabriel". They asked, "Who is accompanying you?" He said, "Muhammad." They asked, "Has he been sent for?" He said, "Yes." Then they said, "He is welcomed.'' Then he (Gabriel) ascended with the Prophet to the third Heaven, and the angels said the same as the angels of the first and the second Heavens had said. Then he ascended with him to the fourth Heaven and they said the same; and then he ascended with him to the fifth Heaven and they said the same; and then he ascended with him to the sixth Heaven and they said the same; then he ascended with him to the seventh Heaven and they said the same. On each Heaven there were prophets whose names he had mentioned and of whom I remember Idris on the second Heaven, Aaron on the fourth Heavens another prophet whose name I don't remember, on the fifth Heaven, Abraham on the sixth Heaven, and Moses on the seventh Heaven because of his privilege of talking to Allah directly. Moses said (to Allah), "O Lord! I thought that none would be raised up above me." But Gabriel ascended with him (the Prophet) for a distance above that, the distance of which only Allah knows, till he reached the Lote Tree (beyond which none may pass) and then the Irresistible, the Lord of Honor and Majesty approached and came closer till he (Gabriel) was about two bow lengths or (even) nearer. (It is said that it was Gabriel who approached and came closer to the Prophet. (Fate Al-Bari Page 263, 264, Vol. 17). Among the things which Allah revealed to him then, was: "Fifty prayers were enjoined on his followers in a day and a night." Then the Prophet descended till he met Moses, and then Moses stopped him and asked, "O Muhammad ! What did your Lord en join upon you?" The Prophet replied," He enjoined upon me to perform fifty prayers in a day and a night." Moses said, "Your followers cannot do that; Go back so that your Lord may reduce it for you and for them." So the Prophet turned to Gabriel as if he wanted to consult him about that issue. Gabriel told him of his opinion, saying, "Yes, if you wish." So Gabriel ascended with him to the Irresistible and said while he was in his place, "O Lord, please lighten our burden as my followers cannot do that." So Allah deducted for him ten prayers where upon he returned to Moses who stopped him again and kept on sending him back to his Lord till the enjoined prayers were reduced to only five prayers. Then Moses stopped him when the prayers had been reduced to five and said, "O Muhammad! By Allah, I tried to persuade my nation, Bani Israel to do less than this, but they could not do it and gave it up. However, your followers are weaker in body, heart, sight and hearing, so return to your Lord so that He may lighten your burden." The Prophet turned towards Gabriel for advice and Gabriel did not disapprove of that. So he ascended with him for the fifth time. The Prophet said, "O Lord, my followers are weak in their bodies, hearts, hearing and constitution, so lighten our burden." On that the Irresistible said, "O Muhammad!" the Prophet replied, "Labbaik and Sa`daik." Allah said, "The Word that comes from Me does not change, so it will be as I enjoined on you in the Mother of the Book." Allah added, "Every good deed will be rewarded as ten times so it is fifty (prayers) in the Mother of the Book (in reward) but you are to perform only five (in practice)." The Prophet returned to Moses who asked, "What have you done?" He said, "He has lightened our burden: He has given us for every good deed a tenfold reward." Moses said, "By Allah! I tried to make Bani Israel observe less than that, but they gave it up. So go back to your Lord that He may lighten your burden further." Allah's Apostle said, "O Moses! By Allah, I feel shy of returning too many times to my Lord." On that Gabriel said, "Descend in Allah's Name." The Prophet then woke while he was in the Sacred Mosque (at Mecca).

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) went on a journey, the last member of his family he saw was Fatimah, and the first he visited on his return was Fatimah. Once when he returned from an expedition she had hung up a hair-cloth, or a curtain, at her door, and adorned al-Hasan and al-Husayn with silver bracelets. So when he arrived, he did not enter. Thinking that he had been prevented from entering by what he had seen, she tore down the curtain, unfastened the bracelets from the boys and cut them off.

They went weeping to the Messenger of Allah (saws), and when he had taken them from them, he said: Take this to so and so's family. Thawban. In Medina, these are my family, and I did not like them to enjoy their good things in the present life. Buy Fatimah a necklace or asb, Thawban, and two ivory bracelets.

'Abdur Rahman bin 'Abdul Qari said,

"I went out in the company of 'Umar bin Al-Khattab one night in Ramadan to the mosque and found the people praying in different groups. A man praying alone or a man praying with a little group behind him. So, 'Umar said, 'In my opinion I would better collect these (people) under the leadership of one Qari (Reciter) (i.e. let them pray in congregation!)'. So, he made up his mind to congregate them behind Ubai bin Ka'b. Then on another night I went again in his company and the people were praying behind their reciter. On that, 'Umar remarked, 'What an excellent Bid'a (i.e. innovation in religion) this is; but the prayer which they do not perform, but sleep at its time is better than the one they are offering.' He meant the prayer in the last part of the night. (In those days) people used to pray in the early part of the night."

Allah's Apostle used to practice I`tikaf every year in the month of Ramadan. And after offering the morning prayer, he used to enter the place of his I`tikaf. `Aisha asked his permission to let her practice I`tikaf and he allowed her, and so she pitched a tent in the mosque. When Hafsa heard of that, she also pitched a tent (for herself), and when Zainab heard of that, she too pitched another tent. When, in the morning, Allah's Apostle had finished the morning prayer, he saw four tents and asked, "What is this?" He was informed about it. He then said, "What made them do this? Is it righteousness? Remove the tents, for I do not want to see them." So, the tents were removed. The Prophet did not perform I`tikaf that year in the month of Ramadan, but did it in the last ten days of Shawwal.

There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws). The Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up and he was not going to perform bowing till he bowed; and he was not going to raise his head till he raised (after bowing); and he was not going to prostrate himself till he prostrated himself; and he was not going to raise his head till he raised (at the end of prostration); he did similarly in the second rak'ah, he then puffed in the last prostration saying; Fie, Fie! He then said: My Lord, didst Thou not promise me that Thou wouldst not punish them so long as I will remain among them? Didst Thou not promise me that Thou will not punish them so long as they continue to beg pardon of Thee. The Messenger of Allah (saws) finished the prayer, and the sun was clear. The narrator then narrated the tradition (in full).

When it was the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans) and Allah's Apostle dug the trench, I saw him carrying earth out of the trench till dust made the skin of his `Abdomen out of my sight and he was a hairy man. I heard him reciting the poetic verses composed by Ibn Rawaha while he was carrying the earth, "O Allah! Without You we would not have been guided, nor would we have given in charity, nor would we have prayed. So, (O Allah), please send Sakina (i.e. calmness) upon us and make our feet firm if we meet the enemy, as they have rebelled against us. And if they intend affliction (i.e. want to frighten us, and fight against us) then we would not (flee but withstand them)." The Prophet would then prolong his voice at the last words.

Sa'id said that when Abu Idris Khaulini narrated this hadith he knelt upon his knees.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) recited the supplication (Qunut) daily for a month at the noon, afternoon, sunset, night and morning prayers. When he said: "Allah listens to him who praises Him" in the last rak'ah, invoking a curse on some clans of Banu Sulaym, Ri'l, Dhakwan and Usayyah, and those who were standing behind him said: Amen.

There is an Idraj in its last part.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you put on sandals, begin with the right foot. When you take them off, begin with the left foot. The right foot is the first to be put in the sandal and the last to be taken out."

We used to strike the drunks with our hands, shoes, clothes (by twisting it into the shape of lashes) during the lifetime of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and the early part of `Umar's caliphate. But during the last period of `Umar's caliphate, he used to give the drunk forty lashes; and when drunks became mischievous and disobedient, he used to scourge them eighty lashes.

The Prophet led us in prayer and then went up to the pulpit and beckoned with both hands towards the Qibla of the mosque and then said, "When I started leading you in prayer, I saw the display of Paradise and Hell on the wall of the mosque (facing the Qibla). I never saw good and bad as I have seen today." He repeated the last statement thrice.

`Umar said to Sa`d, "The people complained against you in everything, even in prayer." Sa`d replied, "Really I used to prolong the first two rak`at and shorten the last two and I will never shorten the prayer in which I follow Allah's Apostle." `Umar said, "You are telling the truth and that is what I think a tout you."

I asked Aidh bin `Amr, who was one of the companions of the Prophet one of those (who gave the allegiance to the Prophet the Tree: "Can the witr prayer be repeated (in one night)?" He said, "If you have offered it in the first part of the night, you should not repeat it in the last part 'of the night." (See Fath-ul-Bari page 458 Vol 8th).

That once he stayed overnight in the house of his aunt, the wife of the Prophet. He added: I lay on the cushion transversely while Allah's Apostle lay along with his wife in the lengthwise direction of cushion. Allah's Apostle slept till the middle of the night, either a bit before or a bit after it, and then woke up rubbing the traces of sleep off his face with his hands, and then recited the last ten Verses of Suratal-`Imran. Then he got up and went to a hanging water skin, performed ablution from it ---- and performed it perfectly. Then he stood up to perform the prayer. I also did the same as he had done and then went to stand beside him. Allah's Apostle put his right hand on my head and held and twisted my right ear. He then offered two rak`at, then two rak`at then two rak`at, then two then two rak`at, then two rak`at, and finally, one rak`a witr. Then lay down again till the Muadhdhin (i.e. the call-maker) came to him, whereupon he got up and offered a light two rak`at prayer and went out (to the Mosque) and offered the (compulsory congregational) Fajr prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Abi Hakim that he heard Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "One of the last things that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said was, 'May Allah fight the jews and the christians. They took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration . Two deens shall not co-exist in the land of the Arabs.' "

My father said, "The Prophet uses to recite Al-Fatiha followed by another Sura in the first two rak`at of the prayer and used to recite only Al-Fatiha in the last two rak`at of the Zuhr prayer. Sometimes a verse or so was audible and he used to prolong the first rak`a more than the second and used to do the same in the `Asr and Fajr prayers."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The people will leave Medina in spite of the best state it will have, and none except the wild birds and the beasts of prey will live in it, and the last persons who will die will be two shepherds from the tribe of Muzaina, who will be driving their sheep towards Medina, but will find nobody in it, and when they reach the valley of Thaniyat-al-Wada`, they will fall down on their faces dead."

That he stayed overnight in the house of Maimuna the wife of the Prophet, his aunt. He added : I lay on the bed (cushion transversally) while Allah's Apostle and his wife lay in the lengthwise direction of the cushion. Allah's Apostle slept till the middle of the night, either a bit before or a bit after it and then woke up, rubbing the traces of sleep off his face with his hands. He then, recited the last ten verses of Sura Al-`Imran, got up and went to a hanging water-skin. He then Performed the ablution from it and it was a perfect ablution, and then stood up to offer the prayer. I, too, got up and did as the Prophet had done. Then I went and stood by his side. He placed his right hand on my head and caught my right ear and twisted it. He prayed two rak`at then two rak`at and two rak`at and then two rak`at and then two rak`at and then two rak`at (separately six times), and finally one rak`a (the witr). Then he lay down again in the bed till the Mu'adh-dhin came to him where upon the Prophet got up, offered a two light rak`at prayer and went out and led the Fajr prayer.

`Abdullah bin `Abbas said that he had passed a night in the house of Maimuna the mother of the faithful believers , who was his aunt. He said, "I slept across the bed, and Allah's Apostle along with his wife slept lengthwise. Allah's Apostle slept till midnight or slightly before or after it. Then Allah's Apostle woke up, sat, and removed the traces of sleep by rubbing his hands over his face. Then he recited the last ten verses of Surat-Al `Imran (2). Then he went towards a hanging leather watercontainer and performed a perfect ablution and then stood up for prayer." `Abdullah bin `Abbas added, "I got up and did the same as Allah's Apostle had done and then went and stood by his side. Allah's Apostle then put his right hand over my head and caught my right ear and twisted it. He offered two rak`at, then two rak`at, then two rak`at, then two rak`at, then two rak`at, then two rak`at and then offered one rak`a witr. Then he lay down till the Mu'adh-dhin came and then he prayed two light rak`at and went out and offered the early morning (Fajr) prayer."