The Prophet decreed that one should not try to cancel a bargain already agreed upon between some other persons (by offering a bigger price). And a man should not ask for the hand of a girl who is already engaged to his Muslim brother, unless the first suitor gives her up, or allows him to ask for her hand.

Two men came from the East and addressed the people who wondered at their eloquent speeches On that Allah's Apostle said. Some eloquent speech is as effective as magic.'

"We were in Medina with some of the Iraqi people, and we were struck with famine and Ibn Az- Zubair used to give us dates. Ibn `Umar used to pass by and say, "The Prophet forbade us to eat two dates at a time, unless one takes the permission of one's companions."

Malik related to me from Safwan ibn Sulaym from Ata ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was questioned by a man who said, "Messenger of Allah, shall I ask permission of my mother to enter?" He said, "Yes " The man said, "I live with her in the house". The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "Ask her permission." The man said, "I am her servant." The Messenger of Allah. may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Ask her permission. Do you want to see her naked?" He said, "No." He said, "Then ask her permission."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayr from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, "I was racing a friend on horseback towards a narrow mountain trail and we killed a gazelle accidently and we were in ihram. What is your opinion?" Umar said to a man by his side, "Come, so that you and I may make an assessment." They decided on a female goat for him, and the man turned away saying, "This amir al-muminin cannot even make an assessment in the case of a gazelle until he calls a man to decide with him." Umar overheard the man's words and called him and asked him, "Do you recite surat al-Ma'ida?" and he said, "No." He said, "Then do you recognize this man who has taken the decision with me?" and he said, "No." He said, "If you had told me that you did recite surat al-Ma'ida, I would have dealt you a blow." Then he said, "Allah the Blessed, the Exalted says in His Book, 'as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal to reach the Kaba' (Sura 5 ayat 95), and this is Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Yahya related to me from Malik that he asked Ibn Shihab and Nafi, the mawla of Ibn Umar, whether a man who joined an imam who had already done a raka should say the tashahhud with the imam in the second and fourth rakas, even though these were odd for him? They said, "He should say tashahhud with him."

Malik said, "That is the position with us."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said, "I went out with Umar ibn alKhattab in Ramadan to the mosque and the people there were spread out in groups. Some men were praying by themselves, whilst others were praying in small groups. Umar said, 'By Allah! It would be better in my opinion if these people gathered behind one reciter.' So he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Kab. Then I went out with him another night and the people were praying behind their Qur'an reciter. Umar said, 'How excellent this new way is, but what you miss while you are asleep is better than what you watch in prayer.' He meant the end of the night, and people used to watch the beginning of the night in prayer."

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Whichever person becomes bankrupt, and a man finds his particular merchandise with him, then he is more deserving of it than others.

[He said:] There are narrations on this topic from Samurah and Ibn 'Umar.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Abu Hurairah is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. This is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge and it is the view of Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq.

Some of the people of knowledge said that he is just like one of the debtors. This is the view of the people of Al-Kufah.

A man fell ill and a cry was raised (for his death). So his neighbour came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said to him: He has died. He asked: Who told you? He said: I have seen him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: He has not died. He then returned.

A cry was again raised (for his death). He came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said: He has died. The Prophet (saws) said: He has not died. He then returned.

A cry was again raised over him. His wife said: Go to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and inform him. The man said: O Allah, curse him.

He said: The man then went and saw that he had killed himself with an arrowhead. So he went to the Prophet (saws) and informed him that he had died.

He asked: Who told you? He replied: I myself saw that he had killed himself with arrowheads. He asked: Have you seen him? He replied: Yes. He then said: Then I shall not pray over him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Sulayman ibn Yasar that a slave was set free by one of the people on hajj and his master had abandoned the right to inherit from him. The ex-slave then killed a man from the Banu A'idh tribe. An A'idhi, the father of the slain man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab seeking the blood-money of his son. Umar said, "He has no blood-money." The A'idhi said, "What would you think if it had been my son who killed him?" Umar said, "Then you would pay his blood-money." He said, "He is then like the black and white Arqam snake. If it is left, it devours and if it is killed, it takes revenge."

'Abdur Rahman bin 'Abdul Qari said,

"I went out in the company of 'Umar bin Al-Khattab one night in Ramadan to the mosque and found the people praying in different groups. A man praying alone or a man praying with a little group behind him. So, 'Umar said, 'In my opinion I would better collect these (people) under the leadership of one Qari (Reciter) (i.e. let them pray in congregation!)'. So, he made up his mind to congregate them behind Ubai bin Ka'b. Then on another night I went again in his company and the people were praying behind their reciter. On that, 'Umar remarked, 'What an excellent Bid'a (i.e. innovation in religion) this is; but the prayer which they do not perform, but sleep at its time is better than the one they are offering.' He meant the prayer in the last part of the night. (In those days) people used to pray in the early part of the night."

We were at Al-Ahwaz fighting the Al-Haruriya (tribe). While I was at the bank of a river a man was praying and the reins of his animal were in his hands and the animal was struggling and he was following the animal. (Shu`ba, a sub-narrator, said that man was Abu Barza Al-Aslami). A man from the Khawarij said, "O Allah! Be harsh to this sheik." And when the sheik (Abu Barza) finished his prayer, he said, "I heard your remark. No doubt, I participated with Allah's Apostle in six or seven or eight holy battles and saw his leniency, and no doubt, I would rather retain my animal than let it return to its stable, as it would cause me much trouble. "

I was accompanying the Prophet on a journey and was riding a slow camel that was lagging behind the others. The Prophet passed by me and asked, "Who is this?" I replied, "Jabir bin `Abdullah." He asked, "What is the matter, (why are you late)?" I replied, "I am riding a slow camel." He asked, "Do you have a stick?" I replied in the affirmative. He said, "Give it to me." When I gave it to him, he beat the camel and rebuked it. Then that camel surpassed the others thenceforth. The Prophet said, "Sell it to me." I replied, "It is (a gift) for you, O Allah's Apostle." He said, "Sell it to me. I have bought it for four Dinars (gold pieces) and you can keep on riding it till Medina." When we approached Medina, I started going (towards my house). The Prophet said, "Where are you going?" I Sa`d, "I have married a widow." He said, "Why have you not married a virgin to fondle with each other?" I said, "My father died and left daughters, so I decided to marry a widow (an experienced woman) (to look after them)." He said, "Well done." When we reached Medina, Allah's Apostle said, "O Bilal, pay him (the price of the camel) and give him extra money." Bilal gave me four Dinars and one Qirat extra. (A sub-narrator said): Jabir added, "The extra Qirat of Allah's Apostle never parted from me." The Qirat was always in Jabir bin `Abdullah's purse.

We proceeded in the company of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for the battle of Dhat ar-Riqa. One of the Muslims killed the wife of one of the unbelievers. He (the husband of the woman killed) took an oath saying: I shall not rest until I kill one of the companions of Muhammad.

He went out following the footsteps of the Prophet (saws). The Prophet (saws) encamped at a certain place. He said: Who will keep a watch on us? A person from the Muhajirun (Emigrants) and another from the Ansar (Helpers) responded. He said: Go to the mouth of the mountain-pass. When they went to the mouth of the mountain-pass the man from the Muhajirun lay down while the man from the Ansar stood praying.

The man (enemy) came to them. When he saw the person he realised that he was the watchman of the Muslims. He shot him with an arrow and hit the target. But he (took the arrow out and) threw it away. He (the enemy) then shot three arrows. Then he (the Muslim) bowed and prostrated and awoke his companion. When he (the enemy) perceived that they (the Muslims) had become aware of his presence, he ran away.

When the man from the Muhajirun saw the (man from the Ansar) bleeding, he asked him: Glory be to Allah! Why did you not wake me up the first time when he shot at you.

He replied: I was busy reciting a chapter of the Qur'an. I did not like to leave it.

They said: Bier of Abdullah ibn Umayr. So I followed it. Suddenly I saw a man, who had a thin garment on riding his small mule. He had a piece of cloth on his head to protect himself from the sun. I asked: Who is this important man? People said: This is Anas ibn Malik.

When the bier was placed, Anas stood and led the funeral prayer over him while I was just behind him, and there was no obstruction between me and him. He stood near his head, and uttered four takbirs (Allah is Most Great). He neither lengthened the prayer nor hurried it. He then went to sit down. They said: AbuHamzah, (here is the bier of) an Ansari woman. They brought her near him and there was a green cupola-shaped structure over her bier. He stood opposite her hips and led the funeral prayer over her as he had led it over the man. He then sat down.

Al-Ala' ibn Ziyad asked: AbuHamzah, did the Messenger of Allah (saws) say the funeral prayer over the dead as you have done, uttering four takbirs (Allah is Most Great) over her, and standing opposite the head of a man and the hips of a woman?

He replied: Yes. He asked: AbuHamzah, did you fight with the Messenger of Allah? He replied: Yes. I fought with him in the battle of Hunayn. The polytheists came out and invaded us so severely that we saw our horses behind our backs. Among the people (i.e. the unbelievers) there was a man who was attacking us, and striking and wounding us (with his sword). Allah then defeated them. They were then brought and began to take the oath of allegiance to him for Islam.

A man from among the companions of the Prophet (saws) said: I make a vow to myself that if Allah brings the man who was striking us (with his sword) that day, I shall behead him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) kept silent and the man was brought (as a captive).

When he saw the Messenger of Allah (saws), he said: Messenger of Allah, I have repented to Allah. The Messenger of Allah (saws) stopped (for a while) receiving his oath of allegiance, so that the other man might fulfil his vow. But the man began to wait for the order of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for his murder. He was afraid of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to kill him. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) saw that he did not do anything, he received his oath of allegiance. The man said: ...

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent an army to Banu al-Anbar. They captured them at Rukbah in the suburbs of at-Ta'if and drove them to the Holy Prophet (saws).

I rode hurriedly to the Holy Prophet (saws) and said: Peace be on you, Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Your contingent came to us and arrested us, but we had already embraced Islam and cut the sides of the ears of our cattle.

When Banu al-Anbar arrived, the Holy Prophet (saws) said to me: Have you any evidence that you had embraced Islam before you were captured today?

I said: Yes. He said: Who is your witness? I said: Samurah, a man from Banu al-Anbar, and another man whom he named. The man testified but Samurah refused to testify. The Holy Prophet (saws) said: He (Samurah) has refused to testify for you, so take an oath with your other witness. I said: Yes. He then dictated an oath to me and I swore to the effect that we had embraced Islam on a certain day, and that we had cut the sides of the ears of the cattle.

The Holy Prophet (saws) said: Go and divide half of their property, but do not touch their children. Had Allah not disliked the wastage of action, we should not have taxed you even a rope.

Zubayb said: My mother called me and said: This man has taken my mattress. I then went to the Holy Prophet (saws) and informed him.

He said to me: Detain him. So I caught him with a garment around his neck, and stood there with him . Then the Holy Prophet (saws) looked at us standing there. He asked: What do you intend (doing) with your captive?

I said: I shall let him go free if he returns to this (man) the mattress of his mother which he has taken from her.

He said: Prophet of Allah (saws), I no longer have it.

He said: The Holy Prophet (saws) took the sword of the man and gave it to me, and said to him: Go and give him some sa's of cereal. So he gave me some sa's of barley.

The Prophet and one of his companions entered upon an Ansari man. The Prophet and his companion greeted (the man) and he replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you! It is hot," while he was watering his garden. The Prophet asked him, "If you have water kept overnight in a water skin, (give us), or else we will drink by putting our mouths in the basin." The man was watering the garden The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have water kept overnight in a water-skin. He went to the shade and poured some water into a bowl and milked some milk from a domestic goat in it. The Prophet drank and then gave the bowl to the man who had come along with him to drink.

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) sold a saddle blanket and a drinking bowl. He (saws) said: "Who will buy saddle blanket and drinking bowl ?". So a man said: "I will take them for a Dirham." So the Prophet (saws) said: "Who will give more than a Dirham ? Who will give more that a Dirham ?" A man agreed to give him two Dirham, so he sold them to him.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan. We do not know of it except from the narration of Al-Akhdar bin 'Ajlan, and 'Abdullah Al-Hanafi who is reporting from Anas, is Abu Bakr Al-Hanafi.

This is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge, they did not see any harm in auctioning the spolis of war and inheritance.

Al-Mu'tamir bin Sulaiman and others among the people of Hadith reported from Al-Akhdar bin 'Ajlan.

Allah's Apostle and one of his companions entered upon an Ansari man and the Prophet said to him, "If you have water kept overnight in a water skin, (give us), otherwise we will drink water by putting our mouth in it." The man was watering his garden then. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have water kept overnight; let us go to the shade." So he took them both there and poured water into a bowl and milked a domestic goat of his in it. Allah's Apostle drank, and then the man who had come along with him, drank.

The Prophet said, "Paradise and the Fire (Hell) argued, and the Fire (Hell) said, "I have been given the privilege of receiving the arrogant and the tyrants.' Paradise said, 'What is the matter with me? Why do only the weak and the humble among the people enter me?' On that, Allah said to Paradise. 'You are My Mercy which I bestow on whoever I wish of my servants.' Then Allah said to the (Hell) Fire, 'You are my (means of) punishment by which I punish whoever I wish of my slaves. And each of you will have its fill.' As for the Fire (Hell), it will not be filled till Allah puts His Foot over it whereupon it will say, 'Qati! Qati!' At that time it will be filled, and its different parts will come closer to each other; and Allah will not wrong any of His created beings. As regards Paradise, Allah will create a new creation to fill it with."

Bilal began the Iqamah, and when he said: "The time for prayer has come," the Prophet (saws) said: "May Allah establish it and cause it to continue."

AbuMisbah al-Muqra'i said: We used to sit in the company of AbuZuhayr an-Numayri. He was a companion of the Prophet (saws), and he used to narrate good traditions. Once a man from among us made a supplication. He said: End it with the utterance of Amin, for Amin is like a seal on the book.

AbuZuhayr said: I shall tell you about that. We went out with the Messenger of Allah (saws) one night and came upon a man who made supplication with persistence. The Prophet (saws) waited to hear him. The Prophet (saws) said: He will have done something which guarantees (Paradise for him) if he puts a seal to it. One of the people asked: What should he use as a seal? He replied: Amin, for if he ends it with Amin, he will do something which guarantees (Paradise for him).

Then the man who questioned the Prophet (saws) came to the man who was supplicating, and said to him: So-and-so, end it with Amin and receive the good news. These are the words of Mahmud.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Muqra'i is a clan of Himyar.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "I vowed to walk, but I was struck by a pain in the kidney, so I rode until I came to Makka. I questioned Ata ibn Abi Rabah and others, and they said, 'You must sacrifice an animal.' When I came to Madina I questioned the ulama there, and they ordered me to walk again from the place from which I was unable to go on. So I walked."

Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "What is done among us regarding someone who makes a vow to walk to the House of Allah, and then cannot do it and so rides, is that he must return and walk from the place from which he was unable to go on. If he cannot walk, he should walk what he can and then ride, and he must sacrifice a camel, a cow, or a sheep if that is all that he can find."

Malik, when asked about a man who said to another, "I will carry you to the House of Allah", answered, "If he intended to carry him on his shoulder, by that he meant hardship and exhaustion to himself, and he does not have to do that. Let him walk by foot and make sacrifice. If he did not intend anything, let him do hajj and ride, and take the man on hajj with him. That is because he said, 'I will carry you to the house of Allah.' If the man refuses to do hajj with him, then there is nothing against him, and what is demanded of him is cancelled."

Yahya said that Malik was asked whether it was enough for a man who had made a vow that he would walk to the House of Allah a certain (large) number of times, or who had forbidden himself from talking to his father and brother, if he did not fulfil a certain vow, and he had taken upon himself, by the oath, something which he was incapable of fulfilling in his lifetime, even though he were to try every year, to fulfil only one or a (smaller) number of vows by Allah? Malik said, "The only satisfaction for that that I know is fulfilling what he has obliged himself to do. Let him walk for as long as he is able and draw near Allah the Exalted by what he can of good."

The Prophet used to sell the dates of the garden of Bani An-Nadir and store for his family so much food as would cover their needs for a whole year.

The Prophet said, "A believer to another believer is like a building whose different parts enforce each other." The Prophet then clasped his hands with the fingers interlaced. (At that time) the Prophet was sitting and a man came and begged or asked for something. The Prophet faced us and said, "Help and recommend him and you will receive the reward for it, and Allah will bring about what He will through His Prophet's tongue."

We were one hundred and thirty men sitting with the Prophet. The Prophet said, "Have anyone of you any food with him?" It happened that one man had one Sa of wheat flour (or so) which was turned into dough then. After a while a tall lanky pagan came, driving some sheep. The Prophet asked, 'Will you sell us (a sheep), or give (it to) us as a gift?" The pagan said, "No, but I will sell it " So the Prophet bought from him a sheep which was slaughtered, and then the Prophet ordered that the liver, the kidneys, lungs and heart, etc., of that sheep be roasted. By Allah, none of those one hundred and thirty men but had his share of those things. The Prophet gave to those who were present, and also kept a share for those who were absent He then served that cooked sheep in two big trays and we all ate together our fill; yet there remained a part of it in those two trays which I carried on the camel.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Asma'i's version has: "You put it on it..."

A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is the best of mankind!" The Prophet said, "A man who strives for Allah's Cause with his life and property, and also a man who lives (all alone) in a mountain path among the mountain paths to worship his Lord and save the people from his evil."

That the Prophet (saws) said: "Fulfill the trust for the one who entrusted you, and do not cheat the one who cheated you."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib. Some of the people of knowledge followed this Hadith, they said that when something belonging to a man is with another and he leaves (with it), then he has something that belongs to him, he may not withhold from him an equivalent to what the other took of his.

Some of the people of knowledge among the Tabi'in allowed that. This is the view of Sufyan Ath-Thawri, he said: "If one man has some Dirham that belong to another, and the second has some Dinar belonging to the first, he may not withhold any in place of his Dirham, unless it so happens that he has some Dirham of his, then in that case he can withhold some of his Dirham equal to what he is owed by the first."

Salamh (bin Al Akwa’) said “I went on an expedition with the Apostle of Allaah(saws) against Hawazin and while we were having a meal in the forenoon and most of our people were on foot and some of us were weak, a man came on a red Camel. He took out a rope from the lion of the Camel and tied his Camel with it and began to take meal with the people. When he saw the weak condition of their people and lack of mounts he went out in a hurry to his Camel, untied it made it kneel down and sat on it and went off galloping it. A man of the tribe of Aslam followed him on a brown she Camel which was best of those of the people. I hastened out and I found him while the head of the she Camel was near the paddock of the she Camel. I then went ahead till I reached near the paddock of the Camel. I then went ahead till I caught the Camel’s nose string. I made it kneel. When it placed its knee on the ground, I drew my sword and struck the man on his head and it fell down. I then brought the Camel leading it with (its equipment) on it. The Apostle of Allaah(saws) came forward facing me and asked “Who killed the man? They (the people) said “Salamah bin Akwa’. He said “he gets all his spoil.”

Harun said “This is Hashim’s version.

The Prophet once came out to us and said, "Some nations were displayed before me. A prophet would pass in front of me with one man, and another with two men, and another with a group of people. and another with nobody with him. Then I saw a great crowd covering the horizon and I wished that they were my followers, but it was said to me, 'This is Moses and his followers.' Then it was said to me, 'Look'' I looked and saw a big gathering with a large number of people covering the horizon. It was said, "Look this way and that way.' So I saw a big crowd covering the horizon. Then it was said to me, "These are your followers, and among them there are 70,000 who will enter Paradise without (being asked about their) accounts. " Then the people dispersed and the Prophet did not tell who those 70,000 were. So the companions of the Prophet started talking about that and some of them said, "As regards us, we were born in the era of heathenism, but then we believed in Allah and His Apostle . We think however, that these (70,000) are our offspring." That talk reached the Prophet who said, "These (70,000) are the people who do not draw an evil omen from (birds) and do not get treated by branding themselves and do not treat with Ruqya, but put their trust (only) in their Lord." then 'Ukasha bin Muhsin got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Am I one of those (70,000)?" The Prophet said, "Yes." Then another person got up and said, "Am I one of them?" The Prophet said, " 'Ukasha has anticipated you."

While the Messenger of Allah (saws) was walking a man who had an ass came to him and said: Messenger of Allah, ride; and the man moved to the back of the animal. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: No, you have more right to ride in front on your animal than me unless you grant that right to me. He said: I grant it to you. So he mounted.

A man from the immigrants of the Companions of the Prophet (saws) said: I participated in battle three times along with the Prophet (saws). I heard him say: Muslims have common share in three (things). grass, water and fire.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "A man came to Abdullah ibn Umar when I waswith him at the place where judgments were given and asked him about the suckling of an older person. Abdullah ibn Umar replied, 'A man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, 'I have a slave-girl and I used to have intercourse with her. My wife went to her and suckled her. When I went to the girl, my wife told me to watch out, because she had suckled her!' Umar told him to beat his wife and to go to his slave-girl because kinship by suckling was only by the suckling of the young.' "

Allah's Apostle said, "It is essential to have the consent of a virgin (for the marriage). I said, "A virgin feels shy." The Prophet; said, "Her silence means her consent." Some people said, "If a man falls in love with an orphan slave girl or a virgin and she refuses (him) and then he makes a trick by bringing two false witnesses to testify that he has married her, and then she attains the age of puberty and agrees to marry him and the judge accepts the false witness and the husband knows that the witnesses were false ones, he may consummate his marriage."

We were one-hundred and thirty persons accompanying the Prophet who asked us whether anyone of us had food. There was a man who had about a Sa of wheat which was mixed with water then. A very tall pagan came driving sheep. The Prophet asked him, "Will you sell us (a sheep) or give it as a present?" He said, "I will sell you (a sheep)." The Prophet bought a sheep and it was slaughtered. The Prophet ordered that its liver and other Abdominal organs be roasted. By Allah, the Prophet gave every person of the one-hundred-and-thirty a piece of that; he gave all those of them who were present; and kept the shares of those who were absent. The Prophet then put its meat in two huge basins and all of them ate to their fill, and even then more food was left in the two basins which were carried on the camel (or said something like it).