That he had asked `Aisha about the meaning of the Statement of Allah: "If you fear that you shall not Be able to deal justly With the orphan girls, then Marry (Other) women of your choice Two or three or four." (4.3) She said, "O my nephew! This is about the orphan girl who lives with her guardian and shares his property. Her wealth and beauty may tempt him to marry her without giving her an adequate Mahr (bridal-money) which might have been given by another suitor. So, such guardians were forbidden to marry such orphan girls unless they treated them justly and gave them the most suitable Mahr; otherwise they were ordered to marry any other woman." `Aisha further said, "After that verse the people again asked the Prophet (about the marriage with orphan 'girls), so Allah revealed the following verses:-- 'They ask your instruction Concerning the women. Say: Allah Instructs you about them And about what is Recited unto you In the Book, concerning The orphan girls to whom You give not the prescribed portions and yet whom you Desire to marry..." (4.127) What is meant by Allah's Saying:-- 'And about what is Recited unto you is the former verse which goes:-- 'If you fear that you shall not Be able to deal justly With the orphan girls, then Marry (other) women of your choice.' (4.3) `Aisha said, "Allah's saying in the other verse:--'Yet whom you desire to marry' (4.127) means the desire of the guardian to marry an orphan girl under his supervision when she has not much property or beauty (in which case he should treat her justly). The guardians were forbidden to marry their orphan girls possessing property and beauty without being just to them, as they generally refrain from marrying them (when they are neither beautiful nor wealthy).

While I was (sitting) among the people in the company of Allah's Apostle a woman stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! She has given herself in marriage to you; please give your opinion of her." The Prophet did not give her any reply. She again stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! She has given herself (in marriage) to you; so please give your opinion of her. The Prophet did not give her any reply. She again stood up for the third time and said, "She has given herself in marriage to you: so give your opinion of her." So a man stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Marry her to me." The Prophet asked him, "Have you got anything?" He said, "No." The Prophet said, "Go and search for something, even if it were an iron ring." The man went and searched and then returned saying, "I could not find anything, not even an iron ring." Then the Prophet said, "Do you know something of the Qur'an (by heart)?" He replied, "I know (by heart) such Sura and such Sura." The Prophet said, "Go! I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an (by heart).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Uthman ibn Ishaq ibn Kharasha that Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb said, "A grandmother came to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and asked him for her inheritance. Abu Bakr said to her, 'You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and I do not know that you have anything in the sunna of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Go away therefore, until I have questioned the people.' (i.e.the Companions). He questioned the people, and al-Mughira ibn Shuba said, 'I was present with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he gave the grandmother a sixth.' Abu Bakr said, 'Was there anybody else with you?' Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari stood up and said the like of what al-Mughira said. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq gave it to her. Then the other grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him for her inheritance. He said to her, "You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and what has been decided is only for other than you, and I am not one to add to the fixed shares, other than that sixth. If there are two of you together, it is between you. If eitherof you is left alone with it, it is hers."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah! I have given myself to you." She stood for a long time, and then a man got up and said, "Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you have anything to give her as a bride-price?" He said, "I possess only this lower garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you give it to her you will not have a garment to wear so look for something else." He said, "I have nothing else." He said, "Look for something else, even if it is only an iron ring." He looked, and found that he had nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know any of the Qur'an?" He said, "Yes. I know such-and-such a sura and such-and-such a sura," which he named. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an."

The Prophet set out with the intention of going to Suq `Ukaz (market of `Ukaz) along with some of his companions. At the same time, a barrier was put between the devils and the news of heaven. Fire commenced to be thrown at them. The Devils went to their people, who asked them, "What is wrong with you?" They said, "A barrier has been placed between us and the news of heaven. And fire has been thrown at us." They said, "The thing which has put a barrier between you and the news of heaven must be something which has happened recently. Go eastward and westward and see what has put a barrier between you and the news of heaven." Those who went towards Tuhama came across the Prophet at a place called Nakhla and it was on the way to Suq `Ukaz and the Prophet was offering the Fajr prayer with his companions. When they heard the Qur'an they listened to it and said, "By Allah, this is the thing which has put a barrier between us and the news of heaven." They went to their people and said, "O our people; verily we have heard a wonderful recital (Qur'an) which shows the true path; we believed in it and would not ascribe partners to our Lord." Allah revealed the following verses to his Prophet (Sura 'Jinn') (72): "Say: It has been revealed to me." And what was revealed to him was the conversation of the Jinns.

That Allah's Prophet (saws) said: "Whoever has a partner in an orchard, then he is not to sell his share of that until he proposes that to his partner."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The chain of this Hadith is not connected. I heard Muhammad bin Isma'il saying: It is said that "Sulaiman Al-Yashkuri died during the lifetime of Jabir bin 'Abdullah." He said: "And Qatadah did not hear from him, nor did Abu Bishr." Muhammad said: "We do not know of any of them hearing from Sulaiman Al-Yashkuri except that 'Amr bin Dinar possibly heard from his during the lifetome of Jabir bin 'Abdullah." He said: "Qatadah only narrated from a writing of Sulaiman Al-Yashkuri, and he has a book from Jabir bin 'Abdullah."

Abu Bakr Al-'Attar 'Abdul Quddus narrates to us, he said: " 'Ali bin Al-Madini said: 'Yahya bin Sa'eed said: "Sulaiman At-Taymi said: 'They went with the book of Jabir bin 'Abdullah to Al-Hasan Al-Basri and he took it' - or he said - 'and they reported it. Then they took it to Qatadah and reported it, so they gave it to me but I did not report it [he said: 'I refused it'] This was narrated to us by Abu Bakr Al-'Attar from 'Ali bin Al-Madini.

We were sitting with Ibn Masud when Khabbab came and said, "O Abu `Abdur-Rahman! Can these young fellows recite Qur'an as you do?" Ibn Mas`ud said, "If you wish I can order one of them to recite (Qur'an) for you ." Khabbab replied, "Yes. "Ibn Mas`ud said, "Recite, O 'Alqama!" On that, Zaid bin Hudair, the brother of Ziyad bin Hudair said, (to Ibn Mas`ud), "Why have you ordered 'Alqama to recite though he does not recite better than we?" Ibn Mas`ud said, "If you like, I would tell you what the Prophet said about your nation and his (i.e. 'Alqama's) nation." So I recited fifty Verses from Sura-Maryam. `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud) said to Khabbab, "What do you think (about 'Alqama's recitation)?" Khabbab said, "He has recited well." `Abdullah said, "Whatever I recite, 'Alqama recites." Then `Abdullah turned towards Khabbab and saw that he was wearing a gold ring, whereupon he said, "Hasn't the time for its throwing away come yet?" Khabbab said, "You will not see me wearing it after today," and he throw it away.

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Yemen will be conquered and some people will migrate (from Medina) and will urge their families, and those who will obey them to migrate (to Yemen) although Medina will be better for them; if they but knew. Sham will also be conquered and some people will migrate (from Medina) and will urge their families and those who will obey them, to migrate (to Sham) although Medina will be better for them; if they but knew. 'Iraq will be conquered and some people will migrate (from Medina) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate (to 'Iraq) although Medina will be better for them; if they but knew."

Ubaydullah ibn Yazid said: AbuLubabah passed by us and we followed him till he entered his house, and we also entered it.

There was a man in a rusty house and in shabby condition. I heard him say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur'an.

I (the narrator AbdulJabbar) said to Ibn AbuMulaykah: AbuMuhammad, what do you think if a person does not have pleasant voice? He said: He should recite with pleasant voice as much as possible.

Malik ibn Aws ibn al-Hadthan said: One day Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioned the spoils of war and said: I am not more entitled to this spoil of war than you; and none of us is more entitled to it than another, except that we occupy our positions fixed by the Book of Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, and the division made by the Messenger of Allah (saws), people being arranged according to their precedence in accepting Islam, the hardship they have endured their having children and their need.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that a slave of Abdullah ibn Umar stole while he was a runaway. Abdullah ibn Umar sent him to Said ibn al-As, who was the amir of Madina, to cut off his hand. Said refused to cut off his hand. He said, "The hand of a runaway slave is not cut off when he steals." Abdullah ibn Umar said to him, "In what Book of Allah did you find this?" Then Abdullah ibn Umar gave the order, and his hand was cut off.

Abu Jahl said, "O Allah! If this (Qur'an) is indeed the Truth from You, then rain down on us a shower of stones from the sky or bring on us a painful torment." So Allah revealed:-- "But Allah would not punish them while you were amongst them, nor He will punish them while they seek (Allah's) forgiveness..." (8.33) And why Allah should not punish them while they turn away (men) from Al- Masjid-al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque of Mecca)..." (8.33-34)

(as regards the Verse): 'And about what is recited unto you in the Book, concerning orphan girls to whom you give not the prescribed portions and yet, whom you desire to marry.' (4.127) This Verse is about the female orphan who is under the guardianship of a man with whom she shares her property and he has more right over her (than anybody else) but does not like to marry her, so he prevents her, from marrying somebody else, lest he should share the property with him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al Harith at-Taymi from Abu Hazim at-Tammar from al Bayadi that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out to the people while they were praying and their voices were raised in the recitation. He said, "When you pray you are talking confidentially to your Lord. So look to what you confide to Him, and do not say the Qur'an out loud so that others hear it."

Abu Dawud said : Ahmad (b. Hanbal) said: It is pleasing to me that one should recite in the obligatory prayer those supplications which have occurred in the Quran.

The Prophet (saws) was brought a necklace in which there were gold and pearls.

(The narrators AbuBakr and (Ahmad) Ibn Mani' said: The pearls were set with gold in it, and a man bought it for nine or seven dinars.)

The Prophet (saws) said: (It must not be sold) till the contents are considered separately. The narrator said: He returned it till the contents were considered separately. The narrator Ibn Asa said: By this I intended trade.

Abu Dawud said: The word hijarah (stone) was recorded in his note-book before, but he changed it and narrated tijarah (trade).

The people of pre-Islamic times used to eat some things and leave others alone, considering them unclean. Then Allah sent His Prophet (saws) and sent down His Book, marking some things lawful and others unlawful; so what He made lawful is lawful, what he made unlawful is unlawful, and what he said nothing about is allowable. And he recited: "Say: I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it...." up to the end of the verse.

Allah's Apostle said (to me), "Recite the Qur'an to me." I said, "Shall I recite (it) to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "I like to hear it from another person." So I recited Surat An-Nisa (The Women) till I reached the Verse: 'How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness, and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people.' (4.41) Then he said to me, "Stop!" Thereupon I saw his eyes overflowing with tears.

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "There will appear some people among you whose prayer will make you look down upon yours, and whose fasting will make you look down upon yours, but they will recite the Qur'an which will not exceed their throats (they will not act on it) and they will go out of Islam as an arrow goes out through the game whereupon the archer would examine the arrowhead but see nothing, and look at the unfeathered arrow but see nothing, and look at the arrow feathers but see nothing, and finally he suspects to find something in the lower part of the arrow."

Allah's Apostle said "We are the last (to come amongst the nations) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection. They were given the Holy Scripture before us and we were given the Quran after them. And this was the day (Friday) about which they differed and Allah gave us the guidance (for that). So tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) is the Jews' (day), and the day after tomorrow (i.e. Sunday) is the Christians'." The Prophet (p.b.u.h) remained silent (for a while) and then said, "It is obligatory for every Muslim that he should take a bath once in seven days, when he should wash his head and body."

Abu Qilaba said, "Malik bin Huwairith used to demonstrate to us the prayer of the Prophet at times other than that of the compulsory prayers. So (once) he stood up for prayer and performed a perfect Qiyam (standing and reciting from the Holy Qur'an) and then bowed and performed bowing perfectly; then he raised his head and stood straight for a while." Abu Qilaba added, "Malik bin Huwairith in that demonstration prayed like this Sheikh of ours, Abu Yazid." Abu, Yazid used to sit (for a while) on raising his head from the second prostration before getting up.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) recited - Yahya (sub narrator) said: Sometimes al-Miswar said: I prayed along with the Messenger of Allah (saws) and witnessed that he recited - the Qur'an during the prayer and omitted something (i.e. some verses inadvertently) which he did not recite.

A man said to him: Messenger of Allah, you omitted such-and-such verse. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Why did you not remind me of it?

The narrator Sulayman said in his version: He (the man) said: I thought that it (the verse) was repealed.

reported the Prophet (saws) as saying: There are people from the servants of Allah who are neither prophets nor martyrs; the prophets and martyrs will envy them on the Day of Resurrection for their rank from Allah, the Most High.

They (the people) asked: Tell us, Messenger of Allah, who are they? He replied: They are people who love one another for the spirit of Allah (i.e. the Qur'an), without having any mutual kinship and giving property to one. I swear by Allah, their faces will glow and they will be (sitting) in (pulpits of) light. They will have no fear (on the Day) when the people will have fear, and they will not grieve when the people will grieve.

He then recited the following Qur'anic verse: "Behold! Verily for the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve."

Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he used to draw lots amongst his wives, and Allah's Apostle used to take with him the one on whom lot fell. He drew lots amongst us during one of the Ghazwat which he fought. The lot fell on me and so I proceeded with Allah's Apostle after Allah's order of veiling (the women) had been revealed. I was carried (on the back of a camel) in my howdah and carried down while still in it (when we came to a halt). So we went on till Allah's Apostle had finished from that Ghazwa of his and returned. When we approached the city of Medina he announced at night that it was time for departure. So when they announced the news of departure, I got up and went away from the army camps, and after finishing from the call of nature, I came back to my riding animal. I touched my chest to find that my necklace which was made of Zifar beads (i.e. Yemenite beads partly black and partly white) was missing. So I returned to look for my necklace and my search for it detained me. (In the meanwhile) the people who used to carry me on my camel, came and took my howdah and put it on the back of my camel on which I used to ride, as they considered that I was in it. In those days women were light in weight for they did not get fat, and flesh did not cover their bodies in abundance as they used to eat only a little food. Those people therefore, disregarded the lightness of the howdah while lifting and carrying it; and at that time I was still a young girl. They made the camel rise and all of them left (along with it). I found my necklace after the army had gone. Then I came to their camping place to find no call maker of them, nor one who would respond to the call. So I intended to go to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and come back to me (in my search). While I was sitting in my resting place, I was overwhelmed by sleep and slept. Safwan bin Al-Muattal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army. When he reached my place in the morning, he saw the figure of a sleeping person and he recognized me on seeing me as he had seen me before the order of compulsory veiling (was prescribed). So I woke up when he recited Istirja' (i.e. "Inna li l-lahi wa inna llaihi raji'un") as soon as he recognized me. I veiled my face with my head cover at once, and by Allah, we did not speak a single word, and I did not hear him saying any word besides his Istirja'. He dismounted from his camel and made it kneel down, putting his leg on its front legs and then I got up and rode on it. Then he set out leading the camel that was carrying me till we overtook the army in the extreme heat of midday while they were at a halt (taking a rest). (Because of the event) some people brought destruction upon themselves and the one who spread the Ifk (i.e. slander) more, was `Abdullah bin Ubai Ibn Salul." (Urwa said, "The people propagated the slander and talked about it in his (i.e. `Abdullah's) presence and he confirmed it and listened to it and asked about it to let it prevail." `Urwa also added, "None was mentioned as members of the slanderous group besides (`Abdullah) except Hassan bin Thabit and Mistah bin Uthatha and Hamna bint Jahsh along with others about whom I have no knowledge, but they were a group as Allah said. It is said that the one who carried most of the slander was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul." `Urwa added, "`Aisha disliked to have Hassan abused in her presence and she used to say, 'It was he who said: My father and his (i.e. my father's) father and my honor are all for the protection of Muhammad's honor from you."). `Aisha added, "After we returned to Medina, I became ill for a month. The people were propagating the forged statements of the slanderers while I was unaware of anything of all that, but I felt that in my present ailment, I was not receiving the same kindness from Allah's Apostle as I used to receive when I got sick. (But now) Allah's Apostle would only come, greet me and say,' How is that (lady)?' and leave. That roused my doubts, but I did not discover the evil (i.e. slander) till I went out after my convalescence, I went out with Um Mistah to Al-Manasi' where we used to answer the call of nature and we used not to go out (to answer the call of nature) except at night, and that was before we had latrines near our houses. And this habit of our concerning evacuating the bowels, was similar to the habits of the old 'Arabs living in the deserts, for it would be troublesome for us to take latrines near our houses. So I and Um Mistah who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin `Abd Manaf, whose mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin 'Amir and the aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and whose son was Mistah bin Uthatha bin `Abbas bin Al-Muttalib, went out. I and Um Mistah returned to my house after we finished answering the call of nature. Um Mistah stumbled by getting her foot entangled in her covering sheet and on that she said, 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said, 'What a hard word you have said. Do you abuse a man who took part in the battle of Badr?' On that she said, 'O you Hantah! Didn't you hear what he (i.e. Mistah) said? 'I said, 'What did he say?' Then she told me the slander of the people of Ifk. So my ailment was aggravated, and when I reached my home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting me, said, 'How is that (lady)?' I said, 'Will you allow me to go to my parents?' as I wanted to be sure about the news through them. Allah's Apostle allowed me (and I went to my parents) and asked my mother, 'O mother! What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry, for scarcely is there a charming woman who is loved by her husband and whose husband has other wives besides herself that they (i.e. women) would find faults with her.' I said, 'Subhan-Allah! (I testify the uniqueness of Allah). Are the people really talking in this way?' I kept on weeping that night till dawn I could neither stop weeping nor sleep then in the morning again, I kept on weeping. When the Divine Inspiration was delayed. Allah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usama bin Zaid to ask and consult them about divorcing me. Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of my innocence, and the respect he preserved in himself for me. Usama said, '(O Allah's Apostle!) She is your wife and we do not know anything except good about her.' `Ali bin Abi Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not put you in difficulty and there are plenty of women other than she, yet, ask the maid-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that Allah's Apostle called Barira (i.e. the maid-servant) and said, 'O Barira! Did you ever see anything which aroused your suspicion?' Barira said to him, 'By Him Who has sent you with the Truth. I have never seen anything in her (i.e. Aisha) which I would conceal, except that she is a young girl who sleeps leaving the dough of her family exposed so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' So, on that day, Allah's Apostle got up on the pulpit and complained about `Abdullah bin Ubai (bin Salul) before his companions, saying, 'O you Muslims! Who will relieve me from that man who has hurt me with his evil statement about my family? By Allah, I know nothing except good about my family and they have blamed a man about whom I know nothing except good and he used never to enter my home except with me.' Sa`d bin Mu`adh the brother of Banu `Abd Al-Ashhal got up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! I will relieve you from him; if he is from the tribe of Al-Aus, then I will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, i.e. Al-Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your order.' On that, a man from Al-Khazraj got up. Um Hassan, his cousin, was from his branch tribe, and he was Sa`d bin Ubada, chief of Al-Khazraj. Before this incident, he was a pious man, but his love for his tribe goaded him into saying to Sa`d (bin Mu`adh). 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you shall not and cannot kill him. If he belonged to your people, you would not wish him to be killed.' On that, Usaid bin Hudair who was the cousin of Sa`d (bin Mu`adh) got up and said to Sa`d bin 'Ubada, 'By Allah! You are a liar! We will surely kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on the behalf of hypocrites.' On this, the two tribes of Al-Aus and Al Khazraj got so much excited that they were about to fight while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. Allah's Apostle kept on quietening them till they became silent and so did he. All that day I kept on weeping with my tears never ceasing, and I could never sleep. In the morning my parents were with me and I wept for two nights and a day with my tears never ceasing and I could never sleep till I thought that my liver would burst from weeping. So, while my parents were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked me to grant her admittance. I allowed her to come in, and when she came in, she sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allah's Apostle came, greeted us and sat down. He had never sat with me since that day of the slander. A month had elapsed and no Divine Inspiration came to him about my case. Allah's Apostle then recited Tashah-hud and then said, 'Amma Badu, O `Aisha! I have been informed so-andso about you; if you are innocent, then soon Allah will reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him for forgiveness for when a slave confesses his sins and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.' (continued...) (continuing... 1): -5.462:... ... When Allah's Apostle finished his speech, my tears ceased flowing completely that I no longer felt a single drop of tear flowing. I said to my father, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning what he has said.' My father said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle .' Then I said to my mother, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning what he has said.' She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.' In spite of the fact that I was a young girl and had a little knowledge of Qur'an, I said, 'By Allah, no doubt I know that you heard this (slanderous) speech so that it has been planted in your hearts (i.e. minds) and you have taken it as a truth. Now if I tell you that I am innocent, you will not believe me, and if confess to you about it, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you will surely believe me. By Allah, I find no similitude for me and you except that of Joseph's father when he said, '(For me) patience in the most fitting against that which you assert; it is Allah (Alone) Whose Help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side and lay on my bed; and Allah knew then that I was innocent and hoped that Allah would reveal my innocence. But, by Allah, I never thought that Allah would reveal about my case, Divine Inspiration, that would be recited (forever) as I considered myself too unworthy to be talked of by Allah with something of my concern, but I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. But, by Allah, before Allah's Apostle left his seat and before any of the household left, the Divine inspiration came to Allah's Apostle. So there overtook him the same hard condition which used to overtake him, (when he used to be inspired Divinely). The sweat was dropping from his body like pearls though it was a wintry day and that was because of the weighty statement which was being revealed to him. When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, he got up smiling, and the first word he said was, 'O `Aisha! Allah has declared your innocence!' Then my Mother said to me, 'Get up and go to him (i.e. Allah's Apostle). I replied, 'By Allah, I will not go to him, and I praise none but Allah. So Allah revealed the ten Verses:- - "Verily! They who spread the slander Are a gang, among you............." (24.11-20) Allah revealed those Qur'anic Verses to declare my innocence. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq who used to disburse money for Mistah bin Uthatha because of his relationship to him and his poverty, said, 'By Allah, I will never give to Mistah bin Uthatha anything after what he has said about Aisha.' Then Allah revealed:-- "And let not those among you who are good and wealthy swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, those in need, and those who have left their homes for Allah's cause, let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is oft-Forgiving Most Merciful." (24.22) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, 'Yes, by Allah, I would like that Allah forgive me.' and went on giving Mistah the money he used to give him before. He also added, 'By Allah, I will never deprive him of it at all.' Aisha further said:." Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e. his wife) about my case. He said to Zainab, 'What do you know and what did you see?" She replied, "O Allah's Apostle! I refrain from claiming falsely that I have heard or seen anything. By Allah, I know nothing except good (about `Aisha).' From amongst the wives of the Prophet Zainab was my peer (in beauty and in the love she received from the Prophet) but Allah saved her from that evil because of her piety. Her sister Hamna, started struggling on her behalf and she was destroyed along with those who were destroyed. The man who was blamed said, 'Subhan-Allah! By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, I have never uncovered the cover (i.e. veil) of any female.' Later on the man was martyred in Allah's Cause."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Umar was asked whether a slave could be bought on the specific condition that it was to be used to fulfil the obligation of freeing a slave, and he said, "No."

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard on the obligation of freeing slaves. Someone who has to set a slave free because of an obligation on him, may not buy one on the condition that he sets it free because if he does that, whatever he buys is not completely a slave because he has reduced its price by the condition he has made of setting it free."

Malik added, "There is no harm, however, in someone buying a person expressly to set him free."

Malik said, "The best of what I have heard on the obligation of freeing slaves is that it is not permitted to free a christian or a jew to fulfil it, and one does not free a mukatab or a mudabbar or an umm walad or a slave to be freed after a certain number of years, or a blind person. There is no harm in freeing a christian, jew, or magian voluntarily, because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'either as a favour then or by ransom,' (Sura 47 ayat 4) The favour is setting free."

Malik said, "As for obligations of freeing slaves which Allah has mentioned in the Book, one only frees a mumin slave for them."

Malik said, "It is like that in feeding poor people for kaffara. One must only feed muslims and one does not feed anyone outside of the deen of Islam."

that he heard Abu Huraira in his narration, mentioning that the Prophet said, "A Muslim brother of yours who does not say dirty words." and by that he meant Ibn Rawaha, "said (in verse): 'We have Allah's Apostle with us who recites the Holy Qur'an in the early morning time. He gave us guidance and light while we were blind and astray, so our hearts are sure that whatever he says, will certainly happen. He does not touch his bed at night, being busy in worshipping Allah while the pagans are sound asleep in their beds.' "

`Umar said, "I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, "We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book," and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession." Sufyan added, "I have memorized this narration in this way." `Umar added, "Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him."

Allah's Apostle said, "Not to wish to be the like of except the like of two men: a man whom Allah has given the Qur'an and he recites it during the hours of the night and the hours of the day, in which case one may say, "If I were given the same as this man has been given, I would do the same as he is doing.' The other is a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, in which case one may say, 'If I were given the same as he has been given, I would do the same as he is doing."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Nafi, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Umar said, "You cannot do itikaf unless you are fasting, because of what Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'And eat and drink until the white thread becomes clear to you from the black thread of dawn, then complete the fast until night-time, and do not have intercourse with them while you are doing itikaf in mosques,' (Sura 2 ayat 187). Allah only mentions itikaf together with fasting."

Malik said, "That is what we go by here."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam had said that Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah had written to Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioning to him a great array of Byzantine troops and the anxiety they were causing him. Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote in reply to him, "Whatever hardship befalls a believing slave, Allah will make an opening for him after it, and a hardship will not overcome two eases. Allah the Exalted says in His Book, 'O you who trust, be patient, and vie in patience; be steadfast and fear Allah, perhaps you will profit.' " (Sura 3 ayat 200).

Abu Barza said, "The Prophet used to offer the Fajr (prayer) when one could recognize the person sitting by him (after the prayer) and he used to recite between 60 to 100 Ayat (verses) of the Qur'an. He used to offer the Zuhr prayer as soon as the sun declined (at noon) and the `Asr at a time when a man might go and return from the farthest place in Medina and find the sun still hot. (The sub-narrator forgot what was said about the Maghrib). He did not mind delaying the `Isha prayer to one third of the night or the middle of the night."

When Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) sent Mu`adh to Yemen, he said (to him), "YOU are going to people of a (Divine) Book. First of all invite them to worship Allah (alone) and when they come to know Allah, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers in every day and night; and if they start offering these prayers, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, the Zakat. And it is to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them; and if they obey you in that, take Zakat from them and avoid (don't take) the best property of the people as Zakat."

That he said: "O Messenger of Allah! We live in a land of the People of Book and we cook in their containers, and drink in their vessels." The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If you do not find other than them, then rinse them with water."

The he said: "O Messenger of Allah! We live in a land of game, so what should we do ?" He said: "When you send your trained dog, and you mentioned the Name of Allah, and he kills it, then eat it. And when you shoot it with your bow, and it is killed, then eat it.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.