Allah 's Apostle said, "Allah has some angels who look for those who celebrate the Praises of Allah on the roads and paths. And when they find some people celebrating the Praises of Allah, they call each other, saying, "Come to the object of your pursuit.' " He added, "Then the angels encircle them with their wings up to the sky of the world." He added. "(after those people celebrated the Praises of Allah, and the angels go back), their Lord, asks them (those angels)----though He knows better than them----'What do My slaves say?' The angels reply, 'They say: Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, and Alham-du-li l-lah, Allah then says 'Did they see Me?' The angels reply, 'No! By Allah, they didn't see You.' Allah says, How it would have been if they saw Me?' The angels reply, 'If they saw You, they would worship You more devoutly and celebrate Your Glory more deeply, and declare Your freedom from any resemblance to anything more often.' Allah says (to the angels), 'What do they ask Me for?' The angels reply, 'They ask You for Paradise.' Allah says (to the angels), 'Did they see it?' The angels say, 'No! By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.' Allah says, How it would have been if they saw it?' The angels say, 'If they saw it, they would have greater covetousness for it and would seek It with greater zeal and would have greater desire for it.' Allah says, 'From what do they seek refuge?' The angels reply, 'They seek refuge from the (Hell) Fire.' Allah says, 'Did they see it?' The angels say, 'No By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.' Allah says, How it would have been if they saw it?' The angels say, 'If they saw it they would flee from it with the extreme fleeing and would have extreme fear from it.' Then Allah says, 'I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them."' Allah's Apostle added, "One of the angels would say, 'There was so-and-so amongst them, and he was not one of them, but he had just come for some need.' Allah would say, 'These are those people whose companions will not be reduced to misery.' "

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the one whom Allah created with His Own Hands, and breathed in you of His soul, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you; so please intercede for us with our Lord.' Adam will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, and will remember his sin, and will say, 'Go to Noah, the first Apostle sent by Allah' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking', and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Abraham whom Allah took as a Khalil. They will go to him (and request similarly). He will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Moses to whom Allah spoke directly.' They will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Jesus.' They will go to him, and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad as Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.' They will come to me and I will ask my Lord's permission, and when I see Him, I will fall down in prostration to Him, and He will leave me in that state as long as (He) Allah will, and then I will be addressed. 'Raise up your head (O Muhammad)! Ask, and your request will be granted, and say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' Then I will raise my head, and I will glorify and praise my Lord with a saying(i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede, Allah will fix a limit for me (i.e., certain type of people for whom I may intercede), and I will take them out of the (Hell) Fire and let them enter Paradise. Then I will come back (to Allah) and fall in prostration, and will do the same for the third and fourth times till no-one remains in the (Hell) Fire except those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned therein." (The sub-narrator, Qatada used to say at that point, "...those upon whom eternity (in Hell) has been imposed.") (See Hadith No. 3, Vol 6).

My father said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'The period of your stay as compared to the previous nations is like the period equal to the time between the `Asr prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah and they acted (upon it) till midday then they were exhausted and were given one Qirat (of gold) each. And then the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel and they acted (upon it) till the `Asr prayer then they were exhausted and were! given one Qirat each. And then we were given the Qur'an and we acted (upon it) till sunset and we were given two Qirats each. On that the people of both the scriptures said, 'O our Lord! You have given them two Qirats and given us one Qirat, though we have worked more than they.' Allah said, 'Have I usurped some of your right?' They said, 'No.' Allah said: "That is my blessing I bestow upon whomsoever I wish."

The Prophet said, "The example of the person abiding by Allah's orders and limits (or the one who abides by the limits and regulations prescribed by Allah) in comparison to the one who do wrong and violate Allah's limits and orders is like the example of people drawing lots for seats in a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part while the others in the lower part ; those in the, lower part have to pass by those in the upper one to get water, and that troubled the latter. One of them (i.e. the people in the lower part) took an ax and started making a hole in the bottom of the boat. The people of the upper part came and asked him, (saying), 'What is wrong with you?' He replied, "You have been troubled much by my (coming up to you), and I have to get water.' Now if they prevent him from doing that they will save him and themselves, but if they leave him (to do what he wants), they will destroy him and themselves."

We complained to Allah's Apostle (of the persecution inflicted on us by the infidels) while he was sitting in the shade of the Ka`ba, leaning over his Burd (i.e. covering sheet). We said to him, "Would you seek help for us? Would you pray to Allah for us?" He said, "Among the nations before you a (believing) man would be put in a ditch that was dug for him, and a saw would be put over his head and he would be cut into two pieces; yet that (torture) would not make him give up his religion. His body would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, this religion (i.e. Islam) will prevail till a traveler from Sana (in Yemen) to Hadrarmaut will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty.

I came to the Prophet while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Ka`ba. We were suffering greatly from the pagans in those days. i said (to him). "Will you invoke Allah (to help us)?" He sat down with a red face and said, "(A believer among) those who were before you used to be combed with iron combs so that nothing of his flesh or nerves would remain on his bones; yet that would never make him desert his religion. A saw might be put over the parting of his head which would be split into two parts, yet all that would never make him abandon his religion. Allah will surely complete this religion (i.e. Islam) so that a traveler from Sana to Hadra-maut will not be afraid of anybody except Allah." (The sub-narrator, Baiyan added, "Or the wolf, lest it should harm his sheep.")

On the day of (the battle) of Al-Yarmuk, the companions of Allah's Apostle said to Az-Zubair, "Will you attack the enemy so that we shall attack them with you?" Az-Zubair replied, "If I attack them, you people would not support me." They said, "No, we will support you." So Az-Zubair attacked them (i.e. Byzantine) and pierced through their lines, and went beyond them and none of his companions was with him. Then he returned and the enemy got hold of the bridle of his (horse) and struck him two blows (with the sword) on his shoulder. Between these two wounds there was a scar caused by a blow, he had received on the day of Badr (battle). When I was a child I used to play with those scars by putting my fingers in them. On that day (my brother) "Abdullah bin Az-Zubair was also with him and he was ten years old. Az-Zubair had carried him on a horse and let him to the care of some men.

We entered upon Ibn `Abbas and he said "Are you not astonished at Ibn Az-Zubair's assuming the caliphate?" I said (to myself), "I will support him and speak of his good traits as I did not do even for Abu Bakr and `Umar though they were more entitled to receive al I good than he was." I said "He (i.e Ibn Az-Zubair) is the son of the aunt of the Prophet and the son of AzZubair, and the grandson of Abu Bakr and the son of Khadija's brother, and the son of `Aisha's sister." Nevertheless, he considers himself to be superior to me and does not want me to be one of his friends. So I said, "I never expected that he would refuse my offer to support him, and I don't think he intends to do me any good, therefore, if my cousins should inevitably be my rulers, it will be better for me to be ruled by them than by some others."

One night I was with the Prophet on a journey. He asked (me), "Have you got water with you?" I replied, "Yes" So he got down from his she-camel and went away till he disappeared in the darkness of the night. Then he came back and I poured water for him from the pot (for the ablution). He washed his face and hands while he was wearing a woollen cloak (the sleeves of which were narrow), so he could not take his arms out of it. So he took them out from underneath the cloak. Then he washed his forearms and passed his wet hands over his head. Then I tried to take off his Khuffs (socks made from thick fabric or leather), but he said, "Leave them, for I have performed ablution before putting them on." And so he passed his wet hands over them.

When the Prophet got up at night to offer the night prayer, he used to say: "Allahumma laka l-hamdu; Anta nuras-samawati wal ardi wa man fihinna. wa laka l-hamdu; Anta qaiyim as-samawati wal ardi wa man flhinna. Wa lakaI-hamdu; Anta-l-,haqqun, wa wa'daka haqqun, wa qauluka haqqun, wa liqauka haqqun, wal-jannatu haqqun, wannaru haqqun, was-sa atu haqqun, wan-nabiyyuna huqqun, Mahammadun haqqun, Allahumma laka aslamtu, wa Alaika tawakkaltu, wa bika amantu, wa ilaika anabtu, wa bika Khasamtu, wa ilaika hakamtu, faghfirli ma qaddamtu wa ma akh-khartu, wa ma asrartu, wa ma a'lantu. Anta al-muqaddimu, wa anta al-mu-'akhkhiru. La ilaha il-la anta (or La ilaha ghairuka)"

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (Refuge), I will protect him; (i.e. give him My Refuge) and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him."

The Prophet said, "While I was sleeping, a group (of my followers were brought close to me), and when I recognized them, a man (an angel) came out from amongst (us) me and them, he said (to them), 'Come along.' I asked, 'Where?' He said, 'To the (Hell) Fire, by Allah' I asked, 'what is wrong with them' He said, 'They turned apostate as renegades after you left.' Then behold! (Another) group (of my followers) were brought close to me, and when I recognized them, a man (an angel) came out from (me and them) he said (to them); Come along.' I asked, "Where?' He said, 'To the (Hell) Fire, by Allah.' I asked, What is wrong with them?' He said, 'They turned apostate as renegades after you left. So I did not see anyone of them escaping except a few who were like camels without a shepherd."

We complained to Allah's Apostle (about our state) while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Ka`ba. We said, "Will you ask Allah to help us? Will you invoke Allah for us?" He said, "Among those who were before you a (believer) used to be seized and, a pit used to be dug for him and then he used to be placed in it. Then a saw used to be brought and put on his head which would be split into two halves. His flesh might be combed with iron combs and removed from his bones, yet, all that did not cause him to revert from his religion. By Allah! This religion (Islam) will be completed (and triumph) till a rider (traveler) goes from San`a' (the capital of Yemen) to Hadramout fearing nobody except Allah and the wolf lest it should trouble his sheep, but you are impatient." (See Hadith No. 191, Vol. 5)

Allah's Apostle said, "Your stay (in this world) in comparison to the stay of the nations preceding you, is like the period between `Asr prayer and the sun set (in comparison to a whole day). The people of the Torah were given the Torah and they acted on it till midday and then they were unable to carry on. And they were given (a reward equal to) one Qirat each. Then the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel and they acted on it till `Asr Prayer and then they were unable to carry on, so they were given la reward equal to) one Qirat each. Then you were given the Qur'an and you acted on it till sunset, therefore you were given (a reward equal to) two Qirats each. On that, the people of the Scriptures said, 'These people (Muslims) did less work than we but they took a bigger reward.' Allah said (to them). 'Have I done any oppression to you as regards your rights?' They said, "No." Then Allah said, 'That is My Blessing which I grant to whomsoever I will.' "

Abu Huraira used to say Takbir in all the prayers, compulsory and optional -- in the month of Ramadan or other months. He used to say Takbir on standing for prayer and on bowing; then he would say, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah," and before prostrating he would say "Rabbana wa laka lhamd." Then he would say Takbir on prostrating and on raising his head from the prostration, then another Takbir on prostrating (for the second time), and on raising his head from the prostration. He also would say the Takbir on standing from the second rak`a. He used to do the same in every rak`a till he completed the prayer. On completion of the prayer, he would say, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is! No doubt my prayer is closer to that of Allah's Apostle than yours, and this was His prayer till he left this world."

Abu Salama reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that when Iqama was pronounced for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), the people occupied their places in the rows before the Apostle of Allah (way peace be upon him) stood up at his place.