(the wife of the Prophet) On the day when the sun Khasafat (eclipsed) Allah's Apostle prayed; he stood up and said Takbir and recited a prolonged recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, then he raised his head and said, "Sami`a l-lahu Lyman Hamidah," and then remained standing and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first. Then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration and he did the same in the second rak`a as in the first and then finished the prayer with Taslim. By that time the sun (eclipse) had cleared He addressed the people and said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse (Yakhsifan) because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. So when you see them make haste for the prayer."

Abu bin Zam`a and Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas carried the case of their claim of the (ownership) of the son of a slave-girl of Zam`a before the Prophet. Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! My brother, before his death, told me that when I would return (to Mecca), I should search for the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a and take him into my custody as he was his son." 'Abu bin Zam`a said, 'the is my brother and the son of the slave-girl of my father, and was born or my father's bed." The Prophet noticed a resemblance between `Utba and the boy but he said, "O 'Abu bin Zam`a! You will get this boy, as the son goes to the owner of the bed. You, Sauda, screen yourself from the boy."

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159) (See Fath-ul-Bari, Page 302 Vol 7)

The Prophet said, "Amongst the people preceding your age, there was a man whom Allah had given a lot of money. While he was in his death-bed, he called his sons and said, 'What type of father have I been to you? They replied, 'You have been a good father.' He said, 'I have never done a single good deed; so when I die, burn me, crush my body, and scatter the resulting ashes on a windy day.' His sons did accordingly, but Allah gathered his particles and asked (him), 'What made you do so?' He replied, "Fear of you.' So Allah bestowed His Mercy upon him. (forgave him).

When Abu Talib's death approached, the Prophet went to him while Abu Jahl and `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya were present with him. The Prophet said, "O uncle, say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, so that I may argue for your case with it before Allah." On that, Abu Jahl and `Abdullah bin Abu Umaiya said, "O Abu Talib! Do you want to renounce `Abdul Muttalib's religion?" Then the Prophet said, "I will keep on asking (Allah for) forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden to do so." Then there was revealed:-- 'It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe that they should invoke (Allah) for forgiveness for pagans even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of the Fire.' (9.113)

When Allah's Apostle was healthy, he used to say, "No prophet dies till he is shown his place in Paradise, and then he is given the option (to live or die)." So when death approached him(during his illness), and while his head was on my thigh, he became unconscious for a while, and when he recovered, he fixed his eyes on the ceiling and said, "O Allah! (Let me join) the Highest Companions (see Qur'an 4:69)," I said, "So, he does not choose us." Then I realized that it was the application of the statement he used to relate to us when he was healthy. So that was his last utterance (before he died), i.e. "O Allah! (Let me join) the Highest Companions."

It was said to `Umar, "Will you appoint your successor?" `Umar said, "If I appoint a Caliph (as my successor) it is true that somebody who was better than I (i.e., Abu Bakr) did so, and if I leave the matter undecided, it is true that somebody who was better than I (i.e., Allah's Apostle) did so." On this, the people praised him. `Umar said, "People are of two kinds: Either one who is keen to take over the Caliphate or one who is afraid of assuming such a responsibility. I wish I could be free from its responsibility in that I would receive neither reward nor retribution I won't bear the burden of the caliphate in my death as I do in my life."

`Uqba said to Hudhaifa, "Won't you narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Apostle ?" Hudhaifa said, "I heard him saying, 'Death approached a man and when he had no hope of surviving, he said to his family, 'When I die, gather for me much wood and build a fire (to burn me),. When the fire has eaten my flesh and reached my bones, take the bones and grind them and scatter the resulting powder in the sea on a hot (or windy) day.' (That was done.) But Allah collected his particles and asked (him), 'Why did you do so?' He replied, 'For fear of You.' So Allah forgave him."

Narrated `Abdu Malik:

As above, saying, "On a windy day."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) announced an expedition, and I was a very old man and I had no servant. I, therefore, sought a hireling who would serve instead of me, and I would give him his portion. So I found a man. When the time of departure arrived, he came to me and said: I do not know what would be the portions, and how much would be my portion. So offer something (as wages) to me, whether there would be any portion or not. I offered three dinars (as his wages) for him. When some booty arrived, I wanted to offer him his portion. But I remembered the dinars, so I went to the Prophet (saws) and mentioned the matter to him. He said: All I can find for him regarding this expedition of his in this world and the next is three dinars which were offered him.

Yahya related to me from Malik that al-Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman said, "We visited Anas ibn Malik after dhuhr and he stood up and prayed asr. When he had finished his prayer, we mentioned doing prayers early in their time, or he mentioned it, and he said that he had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, the prayer of the hypocrites, the prayer of the hypocrites, the prayer of the hypocrites is that one of them sits until the sun becomes yellow and is between the horns of Shaytan, or on the horn of Shaytan, and then gets up and rattles off four rakas, hardly remembering Allah in them at all.' "

(the wife of the Prophet) that she was told that `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (on hearing that she was selling or giving something as a gift) said, "By Allah, if `Aisha does not give up this, I will declare her incompetent to dispose of her wealth." I said, "Did he (`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair) say so?" They (people) said, "Yes." `Aisha said, "I vow to Allah that I will never speak to Ibn Az-Zubair." When this desertion lasted long, `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair sought intercession with her, but she said, "By Allah, I will not accept the intercession of anyone for him, and will not commit a sin by breaking my vow." When this state of affairs was prolonged on Ibn Az-Zubair (he felt it hard on him), he said to Al- Miswar bin Makhrama and `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin 'Abu Yaghuth, who were from the tribe of Bani Zahra, "I beseech you, by Allah, to let me enter upon `Aisha, for it is unlawful for her to vow to cut the relation with me." So Al-Miswar and `Abdur-Rahman, wrapping their sheets around themselves, asked `Aisha's permission saying, "Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you! Shall we come in?" `Aisha said, "Come in." They said, "All of us?" She said, "Yes, come in all of you," not knowing that Ibn Az- Zubair was also with them. So when they entered, Ibn Az-Zubair entered the screened place and got hold of `Aisha and started requesting her to excuse him, and wept. Al-Miswar and `Abdur Rahman also started requesting her to speak to him and to accept his repentance. They said (to her), "The Prophet forbade what you know of deserting (not speaking to your Muslim Brethren), for it is unlawful for any Muslim not to talk to his brother for more than three nights (days)." So when they increased their reminding her (of the superiority of having good relation with Kith and kin, and of excusing others' sins), and brought her down to a critical situation, she started reminding them, and wept, saying, "I have made a vow, and (the question of) vow is a difficult one." They (Al-Miswar and `Abdur-Rahman) persisted in their appeal till she spoke with `Abdullah bin Az- Zubair and she manumitted forty slaves as an expiation for her vow. Later on, whenever she remembered her vow, she used to weep so much that her veil used to become wet with her tears.

The Prophet sent a Sariya of spies and appointed `Asim bin Thabit, the grandfather of `Asim bin `Umar bin Al-Khattab, as their leader. So they set out, and when they reached (a place) between 'Usfan and Mecca, they were mentioned to one of the branch tribes of Bani Hudhail called Lihyan. So, about one-hundred archers followed their traces till they (i.e. the archers) came to a journey station where they (i.e. `Asim and his companions) had encamped and found stones of dates they had brought as journey food from Medina. The archers said, "These are the dates of Medina," and followed their traces till they took them over. When `Asim and his companions were not able to go ahead, they went up a high place, and their pursuers encircled them and said, "You have a covenant and a promise that if you come down to us, we will not kill anyone of you." `Asim said, "As for me, I will never come down on the security of an infidel. O Allah! Inform Your Prophet about us." So they fought with them till they killed `Asim along with seven of his companions with arrows, and there remained Khubaib, Zaid and another man to whom they gave a promise and a covenant. So when the infidels gave them the covenant and promise, they came down. When they captured them, they opened the strings of their arrow bows and tied them with it. The third man who was with them said, "This is the first breach in the covenant," and refused to accompany them. They dragged him and tried to make him accompany them, but he refused, and they killed him. Then they proceeded on taking Khubaib and Zaid till they sold them in Mecca. The sons of Al-Harith bin `Amr bin Naufal bought Khubaib. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin `Amr on the day of Badr. Khubaib stayed with them for a while as a captive till they decided unanimously to kill him. (At that time) Khubaib borrowed a razor from one of the daughters of Al- Harith to shave his pubic hair. She gave it to him. She said later on, "I was heedless of a little baby of mine, who moved towards Khubaib, and when it reached him, he put it on his thigh. When I saw it, I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed my distress while he was carrying the razor in his hand. He said 'Are you afraid that I will kill it? Allah willing, I will never do that,' " Later on she used to say, "I have never seen a captive better than Khubaib Once I saw him eating from a bunch of grapes although at that time no fruits were available at Mecca, and he was fettered with iron chains, and in fact, it was nothing but food bestowed upon him by Allah." So they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him. He said, "Allow me to offer a two-rak`at prayer." Then he went to them and said, "Had I not been afraid that you would think I was afraid of death, I would have prayed for a longer time." So it was Khubaib who first set the tradition of praying two rak`at before being executed. He then said, "O Allah! Count them one by one," and added, 'When I am being martyred as a Muslim, I do not care in what way I receive my death for Allah's Sake, because this death is in Allah's Cause. If He wishes, He will bless the cut limbs." Then `Uqba bin Al-Harith got up and martyred him. The narrator added: The Quraish (infidels) sent some people to `Asim in order to bring a part of his body so that his death might be known for certain, for `Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day of Badr. But Allah sent a cloud of wasps which protected his body from their messengers who could not harm his body consequently.

Fatima the daughter of the Prophet sent someone to Abu Bakr (when he was a caliph), asking for her inheritance of what Allah's Apostle had left of the property bestowed on him by Allah from the Fai (i.e. booty gained without fighting) in Medina, and Fadak, and what remained of the Khumus of the Khaibar booty. On that, Abu Bakr said, "Allah's Apostle said, "Our property is not inherited. Whatever we leave, is Sadaqa, but the family of (the Prophet) Muhammad can eat of this property.' By Allah, I will not make any change in the state of the Sadaqa of Allah's Apostle and will leave it as it was during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, and will dispose of it as Allah's Apostle used to do." So Abu Bakr refused to give anything of that to Fatima. So she became angry with Abu Bakr and kept away from him, and did not task to him till she died. She remained alive for six months after the death of the Prophet. When she died, her husband `Ali, buried her at night without informing Abu Bakr and he said the funeral prayer by himself. When Fatima was alive, the people used to respect `Ali much, but after her death, `Ali noticed a change in the people's attitude towards him. So `Ali sought reconciliation with Abu Bakr and gave him an oath of allegiance. `Ali had not given the oath of allegiance during those months (i.e. the period between the Prophet's death and Fatima's death). `Ali sent someone to Abu Bakr saying, "Come to us, but let nobody come with you," as he disliked that `Umar should come, `Umar said (to Abu Bakr), "No, by Allah, you shall not enter upon them alone " Abu Bakr said, "What do you think they will do to me? By Allah, I will go to them' So Abu Bakr entered upon them, and then `Ali uttered Tashah-hud and said (to Abu Bakr), "We know well your superiority and what Allah has given you, and we are not jealous of the good what Allah has bestowed upon you, but you did not consult us in the question of the rule and we thought that we have got a right in it because of our near relationship to Allah's Apostle ." Thereupon Abu Bakr's eyes flowed with tears. And when Abu Bakr spoke, he said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is to keep good relations with the relatives of Allah's Apostle is dearer to me than to keep good relations with my own relatives. But as for the trouble which arose between me and you about his property, I will do my best to spend it according to what is good, and will not leave any rule or regulation which I saw Allah's Apostle following, in disposing of it, but I will follow." On that `Ali said to Abu Bakr, "I promise to give you the oath of allegiance in this after noon." So when Abu Bakr had offered the Zuhr prayer, he ascended the pulpit and uttered the Tashah-hud and then mentioned the story of `Ali and his failure to give the oath of allegiance, and excused him, accepting what excuses he had offered; Then `Ali (got up) and praying (to Allah) for forgiveness, he uttered Tashah-hud, praised Abu Bakr's right, and said, that he had not done what he had done because of jealousy of Abu Bakr or as a protest of that Allah had favored him with. `Ali added, "But we used to consider that we too had some right in this affair (of rulership) and that he (i.e. Abu Bakr) did not consult us in this matter, and therefore caused us to feel sorry." On that all the Muslims became happy and said, "You have done the right thing." The Muslims then became friendly with `Ali as he returned to what the people had done (i.e. giving the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr).

The Prophet (saws) ordered that the skins of the animals which had died a natural death should be used when they are tanned.