Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about cleaning after excretion. He replied, "Are any of you unable to find three stones?"

Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that a son of al-Mutawakkil had a mukatab who died at Makka and left (enough to pay) the rest of his kitaba and he owed some debts to people. He also left a daughter. The governor of Makka was not certain about how to judge in the case, so he wrote to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to ask him about it. Abd al-Malik wrote to him, "Begin with the debts owed to people, and then pay what remains of his kitaba. Then divide what remains of the property between the daughter and the master."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that the master of a slave does not have to give his slave a kitaba if he asks for it. I have not heard of any of the Imams forcing a man to give a kitaba to his slave. I heard that one of the people of knowledge, when someone asked about that and mentioned that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'Give them their kitaba, if you know some good in them' (Sura 24 ayat 33) recited these two ayats, 'When you are free of the state of ihram, then hunt for game.' (Sura 5 ayat 3) 'When the prayer is finished, scatter in the land and seek Allah's favour.' " (Sura 62 ayat 10)

Malik commented, "It is a way of doing things for which Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic, has given permission to people, and it is not obligatory for them." Malik said, "I heard one of the people of knowledge say about the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, 'Give them of the wealth which Allah has given you,' that it meant that a man give his slave a kitaba and then reduce the end of his kitaba for him by some specific amount."

Malik said, "This is what I have heard from the people of knowledge and what I see people doing here."

Malik said, "I have heard that Abdullah ibn Umar gave one of his slaves his kitaba for 35,000 dirhams, and then reduced the end of his kitaba by 5,000 dirhams."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that when a master gives a mukatab his kitaba, the mukatab's property goes with him but his children do not go with him unless he stipulates that in his kitaba."

Yahya said, "I heard Malik say that if a mukatab whose master had given him a kitaba had a slave- girl who was pregnant by him, and neither he nor his master knew that on the day he was given his kitaba, the child did not follow him because he was not included in the kitaba. He belonged to the master. As for the slave-girl, she belonged to the mukatab because she was his property."

Malik ...

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Fasting is a protection for you, so when you are fasting, do not behave obscenely or foolishly, and if any one argues with you or abuses you, say, 'I am fasting. I am fasting.' "

Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Marwazi said: The correct chain of this tradition is: 'Ali b. al-Mubarak, from Yahya b. Abi Kathir, from Muhammad b. al-Zubair, from his father, on the authority of 'Imran b. Husain from the Prophet (saws)

Abu Dawud said: By this he (al-Marwazi) means that the narrator Sulaiman b. Arqam had some misunderstanding about this tradition. Al-Zuhri narrated it from him and then transmitted it (omitting his name) from Abu Salamah on the authority of 'Aishah.

Abu Dawud said: Baqiyyah has transmitted it from al-Auza'i from Yahya, from Muhammad b. al-Zubair with a similar chain of Ibn al-Mubarak.

The Prophet (saws) intended to do many things for calling (the people) to prayer, but he did not do any of them. Then Abdullah ibn Zayd was taught in a dream how to pronounce the call to prayer. He came to the Prophet (saws) and informed him. He said: Teach it to Bilal. He then taught him, and Bilal made a call to prayer. Abdullah said: I saw it in a dream and I wished to pronounce it, but he (the Prophet) said: You should pronounce iqamah.

The Prophet said, "None of you should say: 'O Allah! Forgive me if You wish,' or 'Bestow Your Mercy on me if You wish,' or 'Provide me with means of subsistence if You wish,' but he should be firm in his request, for Allah does what He will and nobody can force Him (to do anything).

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, "You are in prayer as long as the prayer detains you and there is nothing that prevents you from returning to your family except the prayer."

Malik 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, "Let none of you complain about time, for Allah is time.'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You should not intend to pray either at sunrise or sunset."

Allah's Apostle said, "The Kanz (money, the Zakat of which is not paid) of anyone of you will appear in the form of bald-headed poisonous male snake on the Day of Resurrection."

When I mentioned it (i.e. the narration of Rafi` 'bin Khadij: no. 532) to Tawus, he said, "It is permissible to rent the land for cultivation, for Ibn `Abbas said, 'The Prophet did not forbid that, but said: One had better give the land to one's brother gratis rather than charge a certain amount for it.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban that a slave stole a small palm from a man's garden and planted it in the garden of his master. The owner of the palm went out looking for the palm and found it. He asked for help against the slave from Marwan ibn al-Hakam. Marwan jailed the slave and wanted to cut off his hand. The master of the slave rushed off to Rafi ibn Khadij and asked him about it. Rafi informed him that he heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The hand is not cut off for fruit or palm pith." The man said, "Marwan ibn al-Hakam has taken a slave of mine and wants to cut off his hand. I would like you to go with me to him so you can tell him what you heard from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace." So, Rafi went with him to Marwan ibn al-Hakam. He said, "Did you arrest a slave for this?" He said, "Yes." He said, "What will you do with him?" He said, "I want to cut off his hand." Rafi said to him, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'The hand is not cut off for dates or palm pith.' Marwan therefore ordered the slave to be released."

Usama bin Zaid said, "The Prophet rode over a donkey with a saddle underneath which there was a thick soft Fadakiya velvet sheet. Usama bin Zaid was his companion rider, and he was going to pay a visit to Sa`d bin Ubada (who was sick) at the dwelling place of Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, and this incident happened before the battle of Badr. The Prophet passed by a gathering in which there were Muslims and pagan idolators and Jews, and among them there was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, and there was `Abdullah bin Rawaha too. When a cloud of dust raised by the animal covered that gathering, `Abdullah bin Ubai covered his nose with his Rida (sheet) and said (to the Prophet), "Don't cover us with dust." The Prophet greeted them and then stopped, dismounted and invited them to Allah (i.e., to embrace Islam) and also recited to them the Holy Qur'an. `Abdullah bin Ubai' bin Salul said, "O man! There is nothing better than what you say, if what you say is the truth. So do not trouble us in our gatherings. Go back to your mount (or house,) and if anyone of us comes to you, tell (your tales) to him." On that `Abdullah bin Rawaha said, "(O Allah's Apostle!) Come to us and bring it(what you want to say) in our gatherings, for we love that." So the Muslims, the pagans and the Jews started quarreling till they were about to fight and clash with one another. The Prophet kept on quietening them (till they all became quiet). He then rode his animal, and proceeded till he entered upon Sa`d bin 'Ubada, he said, "O Sa`d, didn't you hear what Abu Habbab said? (He meant `Abdullah bin Ubai). He said so-and-so." Sa`d bin 'Ubada said, "O Allah's Apostle! Excuse and forgive him, for by Allah, Allah has given you what He has given you. The people of this town decided to crown him (as their chief) and make him their king. But when Allah prevented that with the Truth which He had given you, it choked him, and that was what made him behave in the way you saw him behaving." So the Prophet excused him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so."

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, "Do not wear one sandal. Wear both of them or go with both feet bare."

This hadith has been reported on the authority of Hammad with the same chain of transmitters, but with a slight variation of wording.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Prayer in congregation is better than the prayer of one of you on his own by twenty-five parts."

Allah's Apostle said, "None of you should try to pray at sunrise or sunset."

Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) specified Dhu'l-Hulaifa, for the people of Medina; Juhfa for the people of Syria; Qarn al-Manazil, for the people of Najd; Yalamlam for the people of Yemen (the Mawaqit) and those (Mawaqit) are also meant for those who live at these (places) and for those too who come from without towards them for the sake of Hajj or 'Umra. And those who live within them (within the bounds of these places) or in the suburbs of Mecca or within Mecca, they should enter upon the state of Ihram at these very places.

I divorced my wife. I then came to Medina to sell my land that was there so that I could buy arms and fight in battle. I met a group of the Companions of the Prophet (saws). They said: Six persons of us intended to do so (i.e. divorce their wives and purchase weapons), but the Prophet (saws) prohibited them. He said: For you in the Messenger of Allah there is an excellent model. I then came to Ibn 'Abbas and asked him about the witr observed by the Prophet (saws). He said: I point to you a person who is most familiar with the witr observed by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Go to 'Aishah. While going to her I asked Hakim b. Aflah to accompany me. He refused, but I adjured him. He, therefore, went along with me. We sought permission to enter upon 'Aishah. She said: Who is this ? He said: Hakim b. Aflah. She asked: Who is with you ? He replied: Sa'd b. Hisham. She said: Hisham son of 'Amir who was killed in the Battle of Uhud. I said: Yes. She said: What a good man 'Amir was! I said: Mother of faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (saws). She asked: Do you not recite the Quran ? The character of Messenger of Allah (saws) was the Qur'an. I asked: Tell me about his vigil and prayer at night. She replied: Do you not recite: "O thou folded in garments" (73:1). I said: Why not ?

When the opening of this Surah was revealed, the Companions stood praying (most of the night) until their fett swelled, and the concluding verses were not revealed for twelve months from heaven. At last the concluding verses were revealed and the prayer at night became voluntary after it was obligatory. I said: Tell me about the witr of the Prophet (saws). She replied: He used to pray eight rak'ahs, sitting only during the eighth of them. Then he would stand up and pray another rak'ahs. He would sit only after the eighth and the ninth rak'ahs. He would utter salutation only after the ninth rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting and that made eleven rak'ahs, O my son. But when he grew old and became fleshy he observed a witr of seven, sitting only in sixth and seventh rak'ahs, and would utter salutation only after the seventh rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting, and that made nine rak'ahs, O my son. The Messenger of Allah (saws) would not pray through a whole night, or recite the whole Qur'an in a night or fast a complete month except in Ramadan. When he offered prayer, he would do that regularly. When he was ...

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, "By Him in whose hand myself is! To take your rope and gather firewood on your back is better for you than that you come to a man to whom Allah has given some of His favour and ask him, so he gives to you or refuses."

Allah's Apostle said, "None of you should walk, wearing one shoe only; he should either put on both shoes or put on no shoes whatsoever."

The Prophet said, "It is better for a man to fill the inside of his body with pus than to fill it with poetry."

Allah's Apostle said, "None of you should say: 'O Allah, forgive me if You wish; O Allah, be merciful to me if You wish,' but he should always appeal to Allah with determination, for nobody can force Allah to do something against His Will."

Allah's Apostle said, "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little."