He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah's Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah's Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and in Allah's Book?

He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Messenger of Allah to find something which pleases the Messenger of Allah.

My father set out (for Mecca) in the year of Al-Hudaibiya, and his companions assumed Ihram, but he did not. At that time the Prophet was informed that an enemy wanted to attack him, so the Prophet proceeded onwards. While my father was among his companions, some of them laughed among themselves. (My father said), "I looked up and saw an onager. I attacked, stabbed and caught it. I then sought my companions' help but they refused to help me. (Later) we all ate its meat. We were afraid that we might be left behind (separated) from the Prophet so I went in search of the Prophet and made my horse to run at a galloping speed at times and let it go slow at an ordinary speed at other times till I met a man from the tribe of Bani Ghifar at midnight. I asked him, "Where did you leave the Prophet ?" He replied, "I left him at Ta'hun and he had the intention of having the midday rest at As-Suqya. I followed the trace and joined the Prophet and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Your people (companions) send you their compliments, and (ask for) Allah's Blessings upon you. They are afraid lest they may be left behind; so please wait for them.' I added, 'O Allah's Apostle! I hunted an onager and some of its meat is with me. The Prophet told the people to eat it though all of them were in the state of Ihram."

The Prophet said, "Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given, is Divine Inspiration which Allah has revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection."

It is not good that you people have made us (women) equal to dogs and donkeys. No doubt I saw Allah's Apostle praying while I used to lie between him and the Qibla and when he wanted to prostrate, he pushed my legs and I withdrew them.

The Prophet said, "Amongst the people preceding you there used to be 'Muhaddithun' (i.e. persons who can guess things that come true later on, as if those persons have been inspired by a divine power), and if there are any such persons amongst my followers, it is `Umar bin Al-Khattab."

My grandfather, Rafi` said, "We were in the company of the Prophet at DhulHulaifa, and the people suffered from hunger. We got some camels and sheep (as booty) and the Prophet was still behind the people. They hurried and put the cooking pots on the fire. (When he came) he ordered that the cooking pots should be upset and then he distributed the booty (amongst the people) regarding ten sheep as equal to one camel then a camel fled and the people chased it till they got tired, as they had a few horses (for chasing it). So a man threw an arrow at it and caused it to stop (with Allah's Permission). On that the Prophet said, 'Some of these animals behave like wild beasts, so, if any animal flee from you, deal with it in the same way." My grandfather asked (the Prophet ), "We hope (or are afraid) that we may meet the enemy tomorrow and we have no knives. Can we slaughter our animals with canes?" Allah's Apostle replied, "If the instrument used for killing causes the animal to bleed profusely and if Allah's Name is mentioned on killing it, then eat its meat (i.e. it is lawful) but won't use a tooth or a nail and I am telling you the reason: A tooth is a bone (and slaughtering with a bone is forbidden ), and a nail is the slaughtering instrument of the Ethiopians."

The Prophet said, "While three persons were walking, rain began to fall and they had to enter a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled over and blocked the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, 'Invoke Allah with the best deed you have performed (so Allah might remove the rock)'. One of them said, 'O Allah! My parents were old and I used to go out for grazing (my animals). On my return I would milk (the animals) and take the milk in a vessel to my parents to drink. After they had drunk from it, I would give it to my children, family and wife. One day I was delayed and on my return I found my parents sleeping, and I disliked to wake them up. The children were crying at my feet (because of hunger). That state of affairs continued till it was dawn. O Allah! If You regard that I did it for Your sake, then please remove this rock so that we may see the sky.' So, the rock was moved a bit. The second said, 'O Allah! You know that I was in love with a cousin of mine, like the deepest love a man may have for a woman, and she told me that I would not get my desire fulfilled unless I paid her one-hundred Dinars (gold pieces). So, I struggled for it till I gathered the desired amount, and when I sat in between her legs, she told me to be afraid of Allah, and asked me not to deflower her except rightfully (by marriage). So, I got up and left her. O Allah! If You regard that I did if for Your sake, kindly remove this rock.' So, two-thirds of the rock was removed. Then the third man said, 'O Allah! No doubt You know that once I employed a worker for one Faraq (three Sa's) of millet, and when I wanted to pay him, he refused to take it, so I sowed it and from its yield I bought cows and a shepherd. After a time that man came and demanded his money. I said to him: Go to those cows and the shepherd and take them for they are for you. He asked me whether I was joking with him. I told him that I was not joking with him, and all that belonged to him. O Allah! If You regard that I did it sincerely for Your sake, then please remove the rock.' So, the rock was removed completely from the mouth of the cave."

Allah's Apostle said, "There will come a time when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and the places of rainfall so as to flee with his religion from the afflictions.

We were with Allah's Apostle picking the fruits of the 'Arak trees, and Allah's Apostle said, "Pick the black fruit, for it is the best." The companions asked, "Were you a shepherd?" He replied, "There was no prophet who was not a shepherd."

I heard the Prophet (saws) say: There has been no Prophet after Noah who has not warned his people about the antichrist (Dajjal), and I warn you of him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) described him to us, saying: Perhaps some who have seen me and heard my words will live till his time. The people asked: Messenger of Allah! what will be the condition of our hearts on that day? Like what we are today? He replied: Or better.

The Prophet said, "The people of Paradise will look at the dwellers of the lofty mansions (i.e. a superior place in Paradise) in the same way as one looks at a brilliant star far away in the East or in the West on the horizon; all that is because of their superiority over one another (in rewards)." On that the people said, "O Allah's Apostle! Are these lofty mansions for the prophets which nobody else can reach? The Prophet replied," No! "By Allah in whose Hands my life is, these are for the men who believed in Allah and also believed in the Apostles."

When `Umar embraced Islam, all The (disbelieving) people gathered around his home and said, "`Umar has embraced Islam." At that time I was still a boy and was on the roof of my house. There came a man wearing a cloak of Dibaj (i.e. a kind of silk), and said, "`Umar has embraced Islam. Nobody can harm him for I am his protector." I then saw the people going away from `Umar and asked who the man was, and they said, "Al-`As bin Wail."

`Aisha said, "O my head!" Allah's Apostle said, "If that (i.e., your death) should happen while I am still alive, I would ask Allah to forgive you and would invoke Allah for you." `Aisha said, "O my life which is going to be lost! By Allah, I think that you wish for my death, and if that should happen then you would be busy enjoying the company of one of your wives in the last part of that day." The Prophet said, "But I should say, 'O my head!' I feel like calling Abu Bakr and his son and appoint (the former as my successors lest people should say something or wish for something. Allah will insist (on Abu Bakr becoming a Caliph) and the believers will prevent (anyone else from claiming the Caliphate)," or "..Allah will prevent (anyone else from claiming the Caliphate) and the believers will insist (on Abu Bakr becoming the Caliph).

She said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: Yes. She said: I came out, and when I was in the apartment or in the mosque, he called for me, or he commanded (someone to call me) and, therefore, I was called.

He said: what did you say? So I repeated my story which I had already mentioned about my husband. Thereupon he said: Stay in your house till the term lapses. She said:

So I passed my waiting period in it (her house) for four months and ten days. When Uthman ibn Affan became caliph, he sent for me and asked me about that; so I informed him, and he followed it and decided cases accordingly.

Once I came riding a she-ass and I, then, had just attained the age of puberty. Allah's Apostle was leading the people in prayer at Mina facing no wall. I passed in front of the row and let loose the sheass for grazing and joined the row and no one objected to my deed.

Allah's Apostle said, "The Prophet Abraham migrated with Sarah. The people (of the town where they migrated) gave her Ajar (i.e. Hajar). Sarah returned and said to Abraham, "Do you know that Allah has humiliated that pagan and he has given a slave-girl for my service?"

That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When the people of Quraish did not believe me (i.e. the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from a reliable source of his who had heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab refused to let anyone inherit from the non-arabs except for one who was born among the arabs."

Malik said, "If a pregnant woman comes from the land of the enemy and gives birth in arab land so that he is her (an arab) child, he inherits from her if she dies, and she inherits from him if he dies, by the Book of Allah."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us and the sunna in which there is no dispute, and what I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, is that a Muslim does not inherit from a kafir by kinship, clientage (wala'), or maternal relationship, nor does he (the Muslim) overshadow any (of the kafirs) from his inheritance.

Malik said, "Similarly, someone who forgoes his inheritance when he is the chief heir does not overshadow anyone from his inheritance."

Allah's Apostle said, "A time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take on the top of mountains and the places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his religion from afflictions."

A’ishah reported the Apostle of Allaah(saws) as saying “If I had known beforehand about my affair what I have come to know later, I would not have brought the sacrificial animals with me. The narrator Muhammad(bin Yahya) said “ I think he(’Uthman bin ‘Umar) said and I would have taken off my ihram with those who have put their ihram after performing ‘Umrah.

He said “By this he intended that all the people might have performed equal rites(of Hajj)

Allah's Apostle said. "My example and the example of the message with which Allah has sent me is like that of a man who came to some people and said, "I have seen with my own eyes the enemy forces, and I am a naked warner (to you) so save yourself, save yourself! A group of them obeyed him and went out at night, slowly and stealthily and were safe, while another group did not believe him and thus the army took them in the morning and destroyed them."

A man came to the Prophet. The Prophet sent a messenger to his wives (to bring something for that man to eat) but they said that they had nothing except water. Then Allah's Apostle said, "Who will take this (person) or entertain him as a guest?" An Ansar man said, "I." So he took him to his wife and said to her, "Entertain generously the guest of Allah's Apostle " She said, "We have got nothing except the meals of my children." He said, "Prepare your meal, light your lamp and let your children sleep if they ask for supper." So she prepared her meal, lighted her lamp and made her children sleep, and then stood up pretending to mend her lamp, but she put it off. Then both of them pretended to be eating, but they really went to bed hungry. In the morning the Ansari went to Allah's Apostle who said, "Tonight Allah laughed or wondered at your action." Then Allah revealed: "But give them (emigrants) preference over themselves even though they were in need of that And whosoever is saved from the covetousness Such are they who will be successful." (59.9)

Yahya related to me from Malik that Muadh ibn Jabal said, "The last advice the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave me when I put my foot in the stirrup was that he said, 'Make your character good for the people, Muadh ibn Jabal!' "

The Prophet said, "Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence, and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."

I was with the Prophet in the Cave. When I raised my head, I saw the feet of the people. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! If some of them should look down, they will see us." The Prophet said, "O Abu Bakr, be quiet! (For we are) two and Allah is the Third of us."

Aisha said, "Barirah came to me and said, 'My people (masters) have written the contract for my emancipation for nine Awaq ) of gold) to be paid in yearly installments, one Uqiyya per year; so help me." Aisha said (to her), "If your masters agree, I will pay them the whole sum provided the Wala will be for me." Barirah went to her masters and told them about it, but they refused the offer and she returned from them while Allah's Apostles was sitting. She said, "I presented the offer to them, but they refused unless the Wala' would be for them." When the Prophet heard that and `Aisha told him about It, he said to her, "Buy Barirah and let them stipulate that her Wala' will be for them, as the Wala' is for the manumitted." `Aisha did so. After that Allah's Apostle got up amidst the people, Glorified and Praised Allah and said, "What is wrong with some people who stipulate things which are not in Allah's Laws? Any condition which is not in Allah's Laws is invalid even if there were a hundred such conditions. Allah's Rules are the most valid and Allah's Conditions are the most solid. The Wala is for the manumitted."

When it was the day of Uhud, the people left the Prophet while Abu Talha was in front of the Prophet shielding him with his leather shield. Abu Talha was a skillful archer who used to shoot violently. He broke two or three arrow bows on that day. If a man carrying a quiver full of arrows passed by, the Prophet would say (to him), put (scatter) its contents for Abu Talha." The Prophet would raise his head to look at the enemy, whereupon Abu Talha would say, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you ! Do not raise your head, lest an arrow of the enemy should hit you. (Let) my neck (be struck) rather than your neck." I saw `Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, and Um Sulaim rolling up their dresses so that I saw their leg-bangles while they were carrying water skins on their backs and emptying them in the mouths of the (wounded) people. They would return to refill them and again empty them in the mouths of the (wounded) people. The sword fell from Abu Talha's hand twice or thrice (on that day).

The people used to ask Allah's Apostle about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me. Once I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We were in ignorance and in evil and Allah has bestowed upon us the present good; will there by any evil after this good?" He said, "Yes." I asked, "Will there be good after that evil?" He said, "Yes, but it would be tained with Dakhan (i.e. Little evil)." I asked, "What will its Dakhan be?" He said, "There will be some people who will lead (people) according to principles other than my tradition. You will see their actions and disapprove of them." I said, "Will there by any evil after that good?" He said, "Yes, there will be some people who will invite others to the doors of Hell, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it (by them)." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Describe those people to us." He said, "They will belong to us and speak our language" I asked, "What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my life?" He said, "Adhere to the group of Muslims and their Chief." I asked, "If there is neither a group (of Muslims) nor a chief (what shall I do)?" He said, "Keep away from all those different sects, even if you had to bite (i.e. eat) the root of a tree, till you meet Allah while you are still in that state."

(the wife of the Prophet) I never remembered my parents believing in any religion other than the true religion (i.e. Islam), and (I don't remember) a single day passing without our being visited by Allah's Apostle in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were put to test (i.e. troubled by the pagans), Abu Bakr set out migrating to the land of Ethiopia, and when he reached Bark-al-Ghimad, Ibn Ad-Daghina, the chief of the tribe of Qara, met him and said, "O Abu Bakr! Where are you going?" Abu Bakr replied, "My people have turned me out (of my country), so I want to wander on the earth and worship my Lord." Ibn Ad-Daghina said, "O Abu Bakr! A man like you should not leave his home-land, nor should he be driven out, because you help the destitute, earn their livings, and you keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the weak and poor, entertain guests generously, and help the calamity-stricken persons. Therefore I am your protector. Go back and worship your Lord in your town."

So Abu Bakr returned and Ibn Ad-Daghina accompanied him. In the evening Ibn Ad-Daghina visited the nobles of Quraish and said to them. "A man like Abu Bakr should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out. Do you (i.e. Quraish) drive out a man who helps the destitute, earns their living, keeps good relations with his Kith and kin, helps the weak and poor, entertains guests generously and helps the calamity-stricken persons?" So the people of Quraish could not refuse Ibn Ad-Daghina's protection, and they said to Ibn Ad-Daghina, "Let Abu Bakr worship his Lord in his house. He can pray and recite there whatever he likes, but he should not hurt us with it, and should not do it publicly, because we are afraid that he may affect our women and children." Ibn Ad-Daghina told Abu Bakr of all that. Abu Bakr stayed in that state, worshipping his Lord in his house. He did not pray publicly, nor did he recite Quran outside his house.

Then a thought occurred to Abu Bakr to build a mosque in front of his house, and there he used to pray and recite the Quran. The women and children of the pagans began to gather around him in great number. They used to wonder at him and look at him. Abu Bakr was a man who used to weep too much, and he could not help weeping on reciting the Quran. That situation scared the nobles of the pagans of Quraish, so they sent for Ibn Ad-Daghina. When he came to them, they said, "We accepted your protection of Abu Bakr on condition that he should worship his Lord in his house, but he has violated the conditions and he has built a mosque in front of his house where he prays and recites the Quran publicly. We are now afraid that he may affect our women and children unfavorably. So, prevent him from that. If he likes to confine the worship of his Lord to his house, he may do so, but if he insists on doing that openly, ask him to release you from your obligation to protect him, for we dislike to break our pact with you, but we deny Abu Bakr the right to announce his act publicly." Ibn Ad-Daghina went to Abu- Bakr and said, ("O Abu Bakr!) You know well what contract I have made on your behalf; now, you are either to abide by it, or else release me from my obligation of protecting you, because I do not want the 'Arabs hear that my people have dishonored a contract I have made on behalf of another man." Abu Bakr replied, "I release you from your pact to protect me, and am pleased with the protection from Allah."

At that time the Prophet was in Mecca, and he said to the Muslims, "In a dream I have been shown your migration place, a land of date palm trees, between two mountains, the two stony tracts." So, some people migrated to Medina, and most of those people who had previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Medina. Abu Bakr also prepared to leave for Medina, but Allah's Apostle said to him, "Wait for a while, because I hope that I will be allowed to migrate also." Abu Bakr said, "Do you indeed expect this? Let my father be sacrificed for you!" The Prophet said, "Yes." So Abu Bakr did not migrate for the sake of Allah's Apostle in order to accompany him. He fed two she-camels he possessed with the leaves of As-Samur tree that fell on being struck by a stick for four months.

One day, while we were sitting in Abu Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, "This is Allah's Apostle with his head covered coming at a time at which he never used to visit us before." Abu Bakr said, "May my parents be sacrificed for him. By Allah, he has not come at this hour except for a great necessity." So Allah's Apostle came and asked permission to enter, and he was allowed to enter. When he entered, he said to Abu Bakr. "Tell everyone who is present with you to go away." Abu Bakr replied, "There are none but your family. May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "i have been given permission to migrate." Abu Bakr said, "Shall I accompany you? May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle said, "Yes." Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! May my father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels of mine." Allah's Apostle replied, "(I will accept it) with payment." So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey food in a leather bag for them. Asma, Abu Bakr's daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it, and for that reason she was named Dhat-un-Nitaqain (i.e. the owner of two belts).

Then Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr reached a cave on the mountain of Thaur and stayed there for three nights. 'Abdullah bin Abi Bakr who was intelligent and a sagacious youth, used to stay (with them) aver night. He used to leave them before day break so that in the morning he would be with Quraish as if he had spent the night in Mecca. He would keep in mind any plot made against them, and when it became dark he would (go and) inform them of it. 'Amir bin Fuhaira, the freed slave of Abu Bakr, used to bring the milch sheep (of his master, Abu Bakr) to them a little while after nightfall in order to rest the sheep there. So they always had fresh milk at night, the milk of their sheep, and the milk which they warmed by throwing heated stones in it. 'Amir bin Fuhaira would then call the herd away when it was still dark (before daybreak). He did the same in each of those three nights. Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr had hired a man from the tribe of Bani Ad-Dail from the family of Bani Abd bin Adi as an expert guide, and he was in alliance with the family of Al-'As bin Wail As-Sahmi and he was on the religion of the infidels of Quraish. The Prophet and Abu Bakr trusted him and gave him their two she-camels and took his promise to bring their two she camels to the cave of the mountain of Thaur in the morning after three nights later. And (when they set out), 'Amir bin Fuhaira and the guide went along with them and the guide led them along the sea-shore.

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi ].

Editor's note: The Qamees is a modest, traditional outfit thought to resemble what is now referred to as a thawb.

While we were in a funeral procession in Baqi Al-Gharqad, Allah's Apostle came and sat down, and we sat around him. He had a small stick in his hand and he bent his head and started scraping the ground with it. He then said, "There is none among you, and no created soul but has his place written for him either in Paradise or in the Hell-Fire, and also has his happy or miserable fate (in the Hereafter) written for him." A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend upon what is written for us and give up doing (good) deeds? For whoever among us is destined to be fortunate (in the Hereafter), will join the fortunate peoples and whoever among us is destined to be miserable will do such deeds as are characteristic of the people who are destined to misery." The Prophet said, "Those who are destined to be happy (in the Hereafter) will find it easy and pleasant to do the deeds characteristic of those destined to happiness, while those who are to be among the miserable (in the Hereafter), will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of those destined to misery." Then he recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and believes in the Best reward from Allah,' (92.5-6)

I heard from Allah's Apostle a narration which none other than I will narrate to you. The Prophet, said, "From among the portents of the our are the following: General ignorance (in religious affairs) will prevail, (religious) knowledge will decrease, illegal sexual intercourse will prevail, alcoholic drinks will be drunk (in abundance), men will decrease and women will increase so much so that for every fifty women there will be one man to look after them."

While I was sitting in the Mosque of Medina, there entered a man (Abdullah bin Salam) with signs of solemnity over his face. The people said, "He is one of the people of Paradise." He prayed two light rak`at and then left. I followed him and said, "When you entered the Mosque, the people said, 'He is one of the people of Paradise.' " He said, "By Allah, one ought not say what he does not know; and I will tell you why. In the lifetime of the Prophet I had a dream which I narrated to him. I saw as if I were in a garden." He then described its extension and greenery. He added: In its center there was an iron pillar whose lower end was fixed in the earth and the upper end was in the sky, and at its upper end there was a (ring-shaped) hand-hold. I was told to climb it. I said, "I can't." "Then a servant came to me and lifted my clothes from behind and I climbed till I reached the top (of the pillar). Then I got hold of the hand-hold, and I was told to hold it tightly, then I woke up and (the effect of) the handhold was in my hand. I narrated al I that to the Prophet who said, 'The garden is Islam, and the handhold is the Most Truth-worthy Hand-Hold. So you will remain as a Muslim till you die." The narrator added: "The man was `Abdullah bin Salam."

Malik ibn AbuMaryam said: AbdurRahman ibn Ghanam entered upon us and we discussed tila' and he said: AbuMalik al-Ash'ari told me that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Some of my people will assuredly drink wine calling it by another name.

The Prophet said, "There was no prophet among the prophets but was given miracles because of which people had security or had belief, but what I was given was the Divine Inspiration which Allah revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will be more than those of any other prophet on the Day of Resurrection."