For the whole year I had the desire to ask `Umar bin Al-Khattab regarding the explanation of a Verse (in Surat Al-Tahrim) but I could not ask him because I respected him very much. When he went to perform the Hajj, I too went along with him. On our return, while we were still on the way home. `Umar went aside to answer the call of nature by the Arak trees. I waited till he finished and then I proceeded with him and asked him. "O chief of the Believers! Who were the two wives of the Prophet who aided one another against him?" He said, "They were Hafsa and `Aisha." Then I said to him, "By Allah, I wanted to ask you about this a year ago, but I could not do so owing to my respect for you." `Umar said, "Do not refrain from asking me. If you think that I have knowledge (about a certain matter), ask me; and if I know (something about it), I will tell you." Then `Umar added, "By Allah, in the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance we did not pay attention to women until Allah revealed regarding them what He revealed regarding them and assigned for them what He has assigned. Once while I was thinking over a certain matter, my wife said, "I recommend that you do so-and-so." I said to her, "What have you got to do with the is matter? Why do you poke your nose in a matter which I want to see fulfilled.?" She said, How strange you are, O son of Al-Khattab! You don't want to be argued with whereas your daughter, Hafsa surely, argues with Allah's Apostle so much that he remains angry for a full day!" `Umar then reported; how he at once put on his outer garment and went to Hafsa and said to her, "O my daughter! Do you argue with Allah's Apostle so that he remains angry the whole day?" H. afsa said, "By Allah, we argue with him." `Umar said, "Know that I warn you of Allah's punishment and the anger of Allah's Apostle . . . O my daughter! Don't be betrayed by the one who is proud of her beauty because of the love of Allah's Apostle for her (i.e. `Aisha)." `Umar addled, "Then I went out to Um Salama's house who was one of my relatives, and I talked to her. She said, O son of Al-Khattab! It is rather astonishing that you interfere in everything; you even want to interfere between Allah's Apostle and his wives!' By Allah, by her talk she influenced me so much that I lost some of my anger. I left her (and went home). At that time I had a friend from the Ansar who used to bring news (from the Prophet) in case of my absence, and I used to bring him the news if he was absent. In those days we were afraid of one of the kings of Ghassan tribe. We heard that he intended to move and attack us, so fear filled our hearts because of that. (One day) my Ansari friend unexpectedly knocked at my door, and said, "Open Open!' I said, 'Has the king of Ghassan come?' He said, 'No, but something worse; Allah's Apostle has isolated himself from his wives.' I said, 'Let the nose of `Aisha and Hafsa be stuck to dust (i.e. humiliated)!' Then I put on my clothes and went to Allah's Apostle's residence, and behold, he was staying in an upper room of his to which he ascended by a ladder, and a black slave of Allah's Apostle was (sitting) on the first step. I said to him, 'Say (to the Prophet ) `Umar bin Al-Khattab is here.' Then the Prophet admitted me and I narrated the story to Allah's Apostle. When I reached the story of Um Salama, Allah's Apostle smiled while he was lying on a mat made of palm tree leaves with nothing between him and the mat. Underneath his head there was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fibres, and leaves of a saut tree were piled at his feet, and above his head hung a few water skins. On seeing the marks of the mat imprinted on his side, I wept. He said.' 'Why are you weeping?' I replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Caesar and Khosrau are leading the life (i.e. Luxurious life) while you, Allah's Apostle though you are, is living in destitute". The Prophet then replied. 'Won't you be satisfied that they enjoy this world and we the Hereafter?' "

They said: Bier of Abdullah ibn Umayr. So I followed it. Suddenly I saw a man, who had a thin garment on riding his small mule. He had a piece of cloth on his head to protect himself from the sun. I asked: Who is this important man? People said: This is Anas ibn Malik.

When the bier was placed, Anas stood and led the funeral prayer over him while I was just behind him, and there was no obstruction between me and him. He stood near his head, and uttered four takbirs (Allah is Most Great). He neither lengthened the prayer nor hurried it. He then went to sit down. They said: AbuHamzah, (here is the bier of) an Ansari woman. They brought her near him and there was a green cupola-shaped structure over her bier. He stood opposite her hips and led the funeral prayer over her as he had led it over the man. He then sat down.

Al-Ala' ibn Ziyad asked: AbuHamzah, did the Messenger of Allah (saws) say the funeral prayer over the dead as you have done, uttering four takbirs (Allah is Most Great) over her, and standing opposite the head of a man and the hips of a woman?

He replied: Yes. He asked: AbuHamzah, did you fight with the Messenger of Allah? He replied: Yes. I fought with him in the battle of Hunayn. The polytheists came out and invaded us so severely that we saw our horses behind our backs. Among the people (i.e. the unbelievers) there was a man who was attacking us, and striking and wounding us (with his sword). Allah then defeated them. They were then brought and began to take the oath of allegiance to him for Islam.

A man from among the companions of the Prophet (saws) said: I make a vow to myself that if Allah brings the man who was striking us (with his sword) that day, I shall behead him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) kept silent and the man was brought (as a captive).

When he saw the Messenger of Allah (saws), he said: Messenger of Allah, I have repented to Allah. The Messenger of Allah (saws) stopped (for a while) receiving his oath of allegiance, so that the other man might fulfil his vow. But the man began to wait for the order of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for his murder. He was afraid of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to kill him. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) saw that he did not do anything, he received his oath of allegiance. The man said: Messenger of Allah, what about my vow? He said: I stopped (receiving his oath of allegiance) today so that you might fulfil your vow. He said: Messenger of Allah, why did you not give any signal to me? The Prophet (saws) said: It is not worthy of a Prophet to give a signal.

AbuGhalib said: I asked (the people) about Anas standing opposite the hips of a woman. They told me that this practice was due to the fact that (in the days of the Prophet) there were no cupola-shaped structures over the biers of women. So the imam used to stand opposite the hips of a woman to hide her from the people.

Abu Dawud said: The saying of the Prophet (saws) "I have been commanded to fight against the people until they say: There is no god bu Allah" abrogated this tradition of fulfilling the vow by his remark: "I have repented".

Abu Dawud said: His grandfathers were Zaid and Ziyad.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr that Asma bint Umays washed Abu Bakr as-Siddiq when he died. Then she went out and asked some of the muhajirun who were there, "I am fasting and this is an extremely cold day. Do I have to do ghusl?" They said, "No."

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Hisham with the same chain of transmitters and he made this addition of Jarir that (Hisham b. Hakim) went to Umair b. Sa'd who was then ruler in Palestine and he narrated to him this hadith and he (submitting before the words of the Prophet) commanded that they should be let off and so they were let off.

The properties of Bani An-Nadir which Allah had transferred to His Apostle as Fai Booty were not gained by the Muslims with their horses and camels. The properties therefore, belonged especially to Allah's Apostle who used to give his family their yearly expenditure and spend what remained thereof on arms and horses to be used in Allah's Cause.

I said to Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, "I have been informed that Jabir bin `Abdullah said that the number (of Al-Hudaibiya Muslim warriors) was 1400." Sa`id said to me, "Jabir narrated to me that they were 1500 who gave the Pledge of allegiance to the Prophet on the day of Al-Hudaibiya.'

I used to write (the account of) the expenditure incurred on orphans who were under the guardianship of so-and-so. They cheated him by one thousand dirhams and he paid these (this amount) to them. I then got double the property which they deserved. I said (to the man: Take one thousand (dirhams) which they have taken from you (by cheating). He said: No, my father has told me that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Pay the deposit to him who deposited it with you, and do not betray him who betrays you.

When we were ordered to give alms, we began to work as porters (to earn something we could give in charity). Abu `Aqil came with one half of a Sa` (special measure for food grains) and another person brought more than he did. So the hypocrites said, "Allah is not in need of the alms of this (i.e. Abu `Aqil); and this other person did not give alms but for showing off." Then Allah revealed:-- 'Those who criticize such of the Believers who give charity voluntarily and those who could not find to give in charity except what is available to them.' (9.79)

Safiyyah, daughter of Atiyyah, said: I entered upon Aisha with some women of AbdulQays, and asked her about mixing dried dates and raisins (for drink). She replied: I used to take a handful of dried dates and a handful or raisins and put them in a vessel, and then crush them (and soak in water). Then I would give it to the Prophet (saws) to drink.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray subh and the women would leave wrapped in their garments and they could not yet be recognised in the darkness."

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "When one of you (women) has a Mukatab ho has with him what will fulfill (the Kitabah) then observe Hijab from him."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. And the meaning of this Hadith according to the people of knowledge is that of caution. They say that the Mukatab is not freed, even if he has the amount to pay, until he pays it.

We were with Uthman when he was besieged in the house. There was an entrance to the house. He who entered it heard the speech of those who were in the Bilat. Uthman then entered it. He came out to us, looking pale.

He said: They are threatening to kill me now. We said: Allah will be sufficient for you against them, Commander of the Faithful! He asked: Why kill me? I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: It is not lawful to kill a man who is a Muslim except for one of the three reasons: Kufr (disbelief) after accepting Islam, fornication after marriage, or wrongfully killing someone, for which he may be killed.

I swear by Allah, I have not committed fornication before or after the coming of Islam, nor did I ever want another religion for me instead of my religion since Allah gave guidance to me, nor have I killed anyone. So for what reason do you want to kill me?

Abu Dawud said: 'Uthman and Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with them) abandoned drinking wine in pre-Islamic times.

AbdurRahman ibn Amr as-Sulami and Hujr ibn Hujr said: We came to Irbad ibn Sariyah who was among those about whom the following verse was revealed: "Nor (is there blame) on those who come to thee to be provided with mounts, and when thou saidst: "I can find no mounts for you."

We greeted him and said: We have come to see you to give healing and obtain benefit from you.

Al-Irbad said: One day the Messenger of Allah (saws) led us in prayer, then faced us and gave us a lengthy exhortation at which the eyes shed tears and the hearts were afraid.

A man said: Messenger of Allah! It seems as if it were a farewell exhortation, so what injunction do you give us?

He then said: I enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey even if it be an Abyssinian slave, for those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.

Mutayr said: I heard a man say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) in the Farewell Pilgrimage. He was commanding and prohibiting them (the people). He said: O Allah, did I give full information? They said: Yes. He said: When the Quraysh quarrel about the rule among themselves, and the presents become bribery, them leave them. The people were asked: Who was he (who narrated this tradition)? They said: This was Dhul-Zawa'id, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Once I gave a horse in Allah's Cause (in charity) but that person did not take care of it. I intended to buy it, as I thought he would sell it at a low price. So, I asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h) about it. He said, "Neither buy, nor take back your alms which you have given, even if the seller were willing to sell it for one Dirham, for he who takes back his alms is like the one who swallows his own vomit."

The Prophet came to me the night my marriage was consummated and sat down on my bed as you (the sub-narrator) are sitting now, and small girls were beating the tambourine and singing in lamentation of my father who had been killed on the day of the battle of Badr. Then one of the girls said, "There is a Prophet amongst us who knows what will happen tomorrow." The Prophet said (to her)," Do not say this, but go on saying what you have spoken before."

I was sent to Aisha by Ibn `Abbas, Al-Miswar bin Makhrama and `Abdur-Rahman bin Azhar . They told me to greet her on their behalf and to ask her about the offering of the two rak`at after the `Asr prayer and to say to her, "We were informed that you offer those two rak`at and we were told that the Prophet had forbidden offering them." Ibn `Abbas said, "I along with `Umar bin Al-Khattab used to beat the people whenever they offered them." I went to Aisha and told her that message. `Aisha said, "Go and ask Um Salama about them." So I returned and informed them about her statement. They then told me to go to Um Salama with the same question with which t sent me to `Aisha. Um Salama replied, "I heard the Prophet forbidding them. Later I saw him offering them immediately after he prayed the `Asr prayer. He then entered my house at a time when some of the Ansari women from the tribe of Bani Haram were sitting with me, so I sent my slave girl to him having said to her, 'Stand beside him and tell him that Um Salama says to you, "O Allah's Apostle! I have heard you forbidding the offering of these (two rak`at after the `Asr prayer) but I have seen you offering them." If he waves his hand then wait for him.' The slave girl did that. The Prophet beckoned her with his hand and she waited for him. When he had finished the prayer he said, "O daughter of Bani Umaiya! You have asked me about the two rak`at after the `Asr prayer. The people of the tribe of `Abdul-Qais came to me and made me busy and I could not offer the two rak`at after the Zuhr prayer. These (two rak`at that I have just prayed) are for those (missed) ones.

That Kuraib, the freed slave of Ibn `Abbas told him that Ibn `Abbas, `Abdur-Rahman bin Azhar and Al-Miswar bin Makhrama sent him to `Aisha saying, "Pay her our greetings and ask her about our offering of the two-rak`at after `Asr Prayer, and tell her that we have been informed that you offer these two rak`at while we have heard that the Prophet had forbidden their offering." Ibn `Abbas said, "I and `Umar used to beat the people for their offering them." Kuraib added, "I entered upon her and delivered their message to her.' She said, 'Ask Um Salama.' So, I informed them (of `Aisha's answer) and they sent me to Um Salama for the same purpose as they sent me to `Aisha. Um Salama replied, 'I heard the Prophet forbidding the offering of these two rak`at. Once the Prophet offered the `Asr prayer, and then came to me. And at that time some Ansari women from the Tribe of Banu Haram were with me. Then (the Prophet ) offered those two rak`at, and I sent my (lady) servant to him, saying, 'Stand beside him and say (to him): Um Salama says, 'O Allah's Apostle! Didn't I hear you forbidding the offering of these two rak`at (after the `Asr prayer yet I see you offering them?' And if he beckons to you with his hand, then wait behind.' So the lady slave did that and the Prophet beckoned her with his hand, and she stayed behind, and when the Prophet finished his prayer, he said, 'O the daughter of Abu Umaiya (i.e. Um Salama), You were asking me about these two rak`at after the `Asr prayer. In fact, some people from the tribe of `Abdul Qais came to me to embrace Islam and busied me so much that I did not offer the two rak`at which were offered after Zuhr compulsory prayer, and these two rak`at (you have seen me offering) make up for those."

I was sitting in the company of the poor members of the emigrants. Some of them were sitting together because of lack of clothing while a reader was reciting to us. All of a sudden the Messenger of Allah (saws) came along and stood beside us. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood, the reader stopped and greeted him.

He asked: What were you doing? We said: Messenger of Allah! We had a reader who was reciting to us and we were listening to the Book of Allah, the Exalted.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Praise be to Allah Who has put among my people those with whom I have been ordered to stay. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then sat among us so as to be like one of us, and when he had made a sign with his hand they sat in a circle with their faces turned towards him.

The narrator said: I think that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did not recognize any of them except me.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Rejoice, you group of poor emigrants, in the announcement that you will have perfect light on the Day of Resurrection. You will enter Paradise half a day before the rich, and that is five hundred years.

(the wife of the Prophet) Three traditions were established concerning situations in which Barra was involved: When she was manumitted, she was given the option to keep her husband or leave him; Allah's Apostle said, "The wala is for the one who manumits, Once Allah's Apostle entered the house while some meat was being cooked in a pot, but only bread and some soup of the house were placed before, him. He said, "Don't I see the pot containing meat?" They said, "Yes, but that meat was given to Barira in charity (by someone), and you do not eat what it given in charity."The Prophet said "That meat is alms for her, but for us it is a present."

The Prophet said, "Whoever eats garlic or onion should keep away from our mosque or should remain in his house." (Jabir bin `Abdullah, in another narration said, "Once a big pot containing cooked vegetables was brought. On finding unpleasant smell coming from it, the Prophet asked, 'What is in it?' He was told all the names of the vegetables that were in it. The Prophet ordered that it should be brought near to some of his companions who were with him. When the Prophet saw it he disliked to eat it and said, 'Eat. (I don't eat) for I converse with those whom you don't converse with (i.e. the angels).

AbdulAziz ibn Rufay' narrated on the authority of some people from the descendants of Abdullah ibn Safwan who reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: Have you weapons, Safwan? He asked: On loan or by force? He replied: No, but on loan. So he lent him coats of mail numbering between thirty and forty! The Messenger of Allah (saws) fought the battle of Hunayn. When the polytheists were defeated, the coats of mail of Safwan were collected. Some of them were lost. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Safwan: We have lost some coats of mail from your coats of mail. Should we pay compensation to you? He replied: No. Messenger of Allah, for I have in my heart today what I did not have that day.

Abu Dawud said: He lent him before embracing Islam. Then he embraced Islam.

Allah's Apostle very often used to ask his companions, "Did anyone of you see a dream?" So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah wished to tell. One morning the Prophet said, "Last night two persons came to me (in a dream) and woke me up and said to me, 'Proceed!' I set out with them and we came across a man lying down, and behold, another man was standing over his head, holding a big rock. Behold, he was throwing the rock at the man's head, injuring it. The rock rolled away and the thrower followed it and took it back. By the time he reached the man, his head returned to the normal state. The thrower then did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions, 'Subhan Allah! Who are these two persons?' They said, 'Proceed!' So we proceeded and came to a man lying flat on his back and another man standing over his head with an iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eye from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he had done with the other side. He hardly completed this side when the other side returned to its normal state. Then he returned to it to repeat what he had done before. I said to my two companions, 'Subhan Allah! Who are these two persons?' They said to me, 'Proceed!' So we proceeded and came across something like a Tannur (a kind of baking oven, a pit usually clay-lined for baking bread)." I think the Prophet said, "In that oven there was much noise and voices." The Prophet added, "We looked into it and found naked men and women, and behold, a flame of fire was reaching to them from underneath, and when it reached them, they cried loudly. I asked them, 'Who are these?' They said to me, 'Proceed!' And so we proceeded and came across a river." I think he said, ".... red like blood." The Prophet added, "And behold, in the river there was a man swimming, and on the bank there was a man who had collected many stones. Behold, while the other man was swimming, he went near him. The former opened his mouth and the latter (on the bank) threw a stone into his mouth whereupon he went swimming again. He returned and every time the performance was repeated. I asked my two companions, 'Who are these (two) persons?' They replied, 'Proceed! Proceed!' And we proceeded till we came to a man with a repulsive appearance, the most repulsive appearance, you ever saw a man having! Beside him there was a fire and he was kindling it and running around it. I asked my companions, 'Who is this (man)?' They said to me, 'Proceed! Proceed!' So we proceeded till we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation, having all sorts of spring colors. In the midst of the garden there was a very tall man and I could hardly see his head because of his great height, and around him there were children in such a large number as I have never seen. I said to my companions, 'Who is this?' They replied, 'Proceed! Proceed!' So we proceeded till we came to a majestic huge garden, greater and better than I have ever seen! My two companions said to me, 'Go up' and I went up. The Prophet added, "So we ascended till we reached a city built of gold and silver bricks and we went to its gate and asked (the gatekeeper) to open the gate, and it was opened and we entered the city and found in it, men with one side of their bodies as handsome as the handsomest person you have ever seen, and the other side as ugly as the ugliest person you have ever seen. My two companions ordered those men to throw themselves into the river. Behold, there was a river flowing across (the city), and its water was like milk in whiteness. Those men went and threw themselves in it and then returned to us after the ugliness (of their bodies) had disappeared and they became in the best shape." The Prophet further added, "My two companions (angels) said to me, 'This place is the Eden Paradise, and that is your place.' I raised up my sight, and behold, there I saw a palace like a white cloud! My two companions said to me, 'That (palace) is your place.' I said to them, 'May Allah bless you both! Let me enter it.' They replied, 'As for now, you will not enter it, but you shall enter it (one day). I said to them, 'I have seen many wonders tonight. What does all that mean which I have seen?' They replied, 'We will inform you: As for the first man you came upon whose head was being injured with the rock, he is the symbol of the one who studies the Qur'an and then neither recites it nor acts on its orders, and sleeps, neglecting the enjoined prayers. As for the man you came upon whose sides of mouth, nostrils and eyes were torn off from front to back, he is the symbol of the man who goes out of his house in the morning and tells so many lies that it spreads all over the world. And those naked men and women whom you saw in a construction resembling an oven, they are the adulterers and the adulteresses. And the man whom you saw swimming in the river and given a stone to swallow, is the eater of usury (Riba). And the bad looking man whom you saw near the fire kindling it and going round it, is Malik, the gatekeeper of Hell. And the tall man whom you saw in the garden, is Abraham and the children around him are those children who die with Al-Fitra (the Islamic Faith). The narrator added: Some Muslims asked the Prophet, "O Allah's Apostle! What about the children of pagans?" The Prophet replied, "And also the children of pagans." The Prophet added, "My two companions added, 'The men you saw half handsome and half ugly were those persons who had mixed an act that was good with another that was bad, but Allah forgave them.'"

Abu Hasan, a client of Banu Nawfal asked Ibn Abbas: A slave had a wife who was a slave-girl. He divorced her by two pronouncements. Afterwards both of them were freed. Is it permissible for him to ask her in marriage again? He said: Yes. This is a decision given by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab and Sulayman ibn Yasar were asked about a man who divorced when he was drunk. They said, "When a drunk man divorces, his divorce is allowed. If he kills, he is killed for it."

Malik said, "That is what is done among us."