Abu Dawud said: The following words of this tradition are not supported by any other tradition “You should not eat of it yourself nor any of your companions”.

The version of `Abdal Warith has the words “then hang it in its neck” instead of the words “mark or strike with it”. Abu Dawud said I heard Abu Salamah say if the chain of narrators and the meaning are correct, it is sufficient for you.

The Prophet said, "While I was at the House in a state midway between sleep and wakefulness, (an angel recognized me) as the man lying between two men. A golden tray full of wisdom and belief was brought to me and my body was cut open from the throat to the lower part of the `Abdomen and then my `Abdomen was washed with Zamzam water and (my heart was) filled with wisdom and belief. Al- Buraq, a white animal, smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me and I set out with Gabriel. When I reached the nearest heaven. Gabriel said to the heaven gate-keeper, 'Open the gate.' The gatekeeper asked, 'Who is it?' He said, 'Gabriel.' The gate-keeper,' Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel said, 'Muhammad.' The gate-keeper said, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel said, 'Yes.' Then it was said, 'He is welcomed. What a wonderful visit his is!' Then I met Adam and greeted him and he said, 'You are welcomed O son and a Prophet.' Then we ascended to the second heaven. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel said, 'Gabriel.' It was said, 'Who is with you?' He said, 'Muhammad' It was asked, 'Has he been sent for?' He said, 'Yes.' It was said, 'He is welcomed. What a wonderful visit his is!" Then I met Jesus and Yahya (John) who said, 'You are welcomed, O brother and a Prophet.' Then we ascended to the third heaven. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel said, 'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is with you? Gabriel said, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been sent for?' 'Yes,' said Gabriel. 'He is welcomed. What a wonderful visit his is!' (The Prophet added:). There I met Joseph and greeted him, and he replied, 'You are welcomed, O brother and a Prophet!' Then we ascended to the 4th heaven and again the same questions and answers were exchanged as in the previous heavens. There I met Idris and greeted him. He said, 'You are welcomed O brother and Prophet.' Then we ascended to the 5th heaven and again the same questions and answers were exchanged as in previous heavens. there I met and greeted Aaron who said, 'You are welcomed O brother and a Prophet". Then we ascended to the 6th heaven and again the same questions and answers were exchanged as in the previous heavens. There I met and greeted Moses who said, 'You are welcomed O brother and. a Prophet.' When I proceeded on, he started weeping and on being asked why he was weeping, he said, 'O Lord! Followers of this youth who was sent after me will enter Paradise in greater number ...

Abu Bakr went to a lady from the Ahmas tribe called Zainab bint Al-Muhajir and found that she refused to speak. He asked, "Why does she not speak." The people said, "She has intended to perform Hajj without speaking." He said to her, "Speak, for it is illegal not to speak, as it is an action of the pre-islamic period of ignorance. So she spoke and said, "Who are you?" He said, "A man from the Emigrants." She asked, "Which Emigrants?" He replied, "From Quraish." She asked, "From what branch of Quraish are you?" He said, "You ask too many questions; I am Abu Bakr." She said, "How long shall we enjoy this good order (i.e. Islamic religion) which Allah has brought after the period of ignorance?" He said, "You will enjoy it as long as your Imams keep on abiding by its rules and regulations." She asked, "What are the Imams?" He said, "Were there not heads and chiefs of your nation who used to order the people and they used to obey them?" She said, "Yes." He said, "So they (i.e. the Imams) are those whom I meant."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad said that Abu'd-Darda had said, "Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your King, and are better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Remembrance (dhikr) of Allah ta ala."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Uthman ibn Affan would sometimes never get down from the animal he was riding on when he was doing umra, until he had returned .

Malik said, ''Umra is a sunna, and we do not know of any muslim who has ever said that it is permissible not to do it."

Malik said, "I do not think that anyone can do more than one umra in any one year."

Malik said that someone doing umra who had sexual intercourse with his wife had to sacrifice an animal and do a second umra, which he had to begin when he had finished the one that he had spoiled. He should go into ihram at the same place where he went into ihram for the umra which he had spoiled, except if he had entered into ihram at a place further away than his miqat. This was because he only had to go into ihram from his miqat.

Malik said, "Someone who entered Makka to do umra, and does tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa while he is junub, or not in wudu, and afterwards has intercourse with his wife, and then remembers, should do ghusl, or wudu, and then go back and do tawaf around the House and say between Safa and Marwa and do another umra and sacrifice an animal. A woman should do the same if her husband has intercourse with her while she is in ihram. "

Malik said, "As for beginning umra at at-Tanim, (it is not the only alternative). It is permissible if Allah wills for some one to leave the Haram and go into ihram if he wishes, but the best way is for him to go into ihram at the miqat which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used (i.e. at-Tanim), or one which is further away."

The Prophet led us in the Fajr prayer at Hudaibiya after a rainy night. On completion of the prayer, he faced the people and said, "Do you know what your Lord has said (revealed)?" The people replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "Allah has said, 'In this morning some of my slaves remained as true believers and some became non-believers; whoever said that the rain was due to the Blessings and the Mercy of Allah had belief in Me and he disbelieves in the stars, and whoever said that it rained because of a particular star had no belief in Me but believes in that star.' "

Allah's Apostle led the morning prayer in Al-Hudaibiya and it had rained the previous night. When the Prophet (p.b.u.h) had finished the prayer he faced the people and said, "Do you know what your Lord has said?" They replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." (The Prophet said), "Allah says, 'In this morning some of My worshipers remained as true believers and some became non-believers; he who said that it had rained with the blessing and mercy of Allah is the one who believes in Me and does not believe in star, but he who said it had rained because of such and such (star) is a disbeliever in Me and is a believer in star.' "

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to me: 'If you want to stick with me, then suffice yourself in the world with the provisions of the rider. And beware of gatherings of the rich, and do not consider a garment to be worn out until it has been patched.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib, we do not know of it except as a narration of Salih bin Hassan. He said: I heard Muhammad bin Isma'il saying: "Salih bin Hassan is Munkar is Hadith." And Salih bin Hassan - the one who Ibn Abi Dhi'b reports from - is trustworthy.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The meaning of this saying: "And beware of gathering of the rich" is similar to what was related from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (saws), that he said: "Whoever sees one that has been more favored than him in appearance and provision, then let him look at the one who is less than him, rather than one who is favored more than him. For indeed it is more appropriate so that he not scorn Allah's favors [upon him]."

And it has been related from 'Awn bin 'Abdullah who said: "I accompanied the rich, and did not see anyone with more troubles than me. I saw a beast that was better than my beast, and a garment that was better than my garment. And I accompanied the poor, and felt at ease."

The Prophet said, "The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance. (And) another portion of it was hard and held the rain water and Allah benefited the people with it and they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and for irrigation of the land for cultivation. (And) a portion of it was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth vegetation (then that land gave no benefits). The first is the example of the person who comprehends Allah's religion and gets benefit (from the knowledge) which Allah has revealed through me (the Prophets and learns and then teaches others. The last example is that of a person who does not care for it and does not take Allah's guidance revealed through me (He is like that barren land.)"

`Affan told us: Shu`bah told us: `Alqamah bin Marthad told me... and he said in it: “Whoever learns the Qur`an or teaches it.”

While the Prophet was in a funeral procession. he picked up something and started scraping the ground with it, and said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him either in the Hell Fire or in Paradise." They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we not depend upon what has been written for us and give up deeds? He said, "Carry on doing (good) deeds, for everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created. So he who is destined to be among the happy (in the Hereafter), will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of such people, while he who is destined to be among the miserable ones, will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of such people." Then he recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and fears Allah, and believes in the best....' (92.5-10)

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "There are six things with Allah for the martyr. He is forgiven with the first flow of blood (he suffers), he is shown his place in Paradise, he is protected from punishment in the grave, secured from the greatest terror, the crown of dignity is placed upon his head - and its gems are better than the world and what is in it - he is married to seventy two wives along Al-Huril-'Ayn of Paradise, and he may intercede for seventy of his close relatives."

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

Malik said, "If someone advances for goods to be delivered after a time, and those goods are neither something to be eaten nor drunk, he can sell them to whomever he likes for cash or goods, before he takes delivery ...

Jabir ibn Abdullah used to say that a Jewess from the inhabitants of Khaybar poisoned a roasted sheep and presented it to the Messenger of Allah (saws) who took its foreleg and ate from it. A group of his companions also ate with him.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Take your hands away (from the food). The Messenger of Allah (saws) then sent someone to the Jewess and he called her.

He said to her: Have you poisoned this sheep? The Jewess replied: Who has informed you? He said: This foreleg which I have in my hand has informed me. She said: Yes. He said: What did you intend by it? She said: I thought if you were a prophet, it would not harm you; if you were not a prophet, we should rid ourselves of him (i.e. the Prophet). The Messenger of Allah (saws) then forgave her, and did not punish her. But some of his companions who ate it, died. The Messenger of Allah (saws) had himself cupped on his shoulder on account of that which he had eaten from the sheep. AbuHind cupped him with the horn and knife. He was a client of Banu Bayadah from the Ansar.

Women who are divorced shall wait, keeping themselves apart, three monthly courses; and then said: And for such of your women as despair of menstruation, if ye doubt, their period (of waiting) shall be three months. This was abrogated from the former verse. Again he said: (O ye who believe, if ye wed believing women) and divorce them before ye have touched them, then there is no period that ye should reckon."

A Jew whose face had been slapped (by someone), came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad! A man from your Ansari companions slapped me. " The Prophet said, "Call him". They called him and the Prophet asked him, "Why did you slap his face?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! While I was passing by the Jews, I heard him saying, 'By Him Who chose Moses above all the human beings.' I said (protestingly), 'Even above Muhammad?' So I became furious and slapped him." The Prophet said, "Do not give me preference to other prophets, for the people will become unconscious on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first to gain conscious, and behold, I will Find Moses holding one of the pillars of the Throne (of Allah). Then I will not know whether he has become conscious before me or he has been exempted because of his unconsciousness at the mountain (during his worldly life) which he received."

I was an interpreter between the people and Ibn `Abbas. Once Ibn `Abbas said that a delegation of the tribe of `Abdul Qais came to the Prophet who asked them, "Who are the people (i.e. you)? (Or) who are the delegates?" They replied, "We are from the tribe of Rabi`a." Then the Prophet said to them, "Welcome, O people (or said, "O delegation (of `Abdul Qais).") Neither will you have disgrace nor will you regret." They said, "We have come to you from a distant place and there is the tribe of the infidels of Mudar intervening between you and us and we cannot come to you except in the sacred month. So please order us to do something good (religious deeds) and that we may also inform our people whom we have left behind (at home) and that we may enter Paradise (by acting on them.)" The Prophet ordered them to do four things, and forbade them from four things. He ordered them to believe in Allah Alone, the Honorable the Majestic and said to them, "Do you know what is meant by believing in Allah Alone?" They replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." Thereupon the Prophet said, "(That means to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Apostle, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay Zakat, to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan, (and) to pay Al-Khumus (one fifth of the booty to be given in Allah's cause)." Then he forbade them four things, namely Ad-Dubba.' Hantam, Muzaffat (and) An-Naqir or Muqaiyar (These were the names of pots in which alcoholic drinks used to be prepared). The Prophet further said, "Memorize them (these instructions) and tell them to the people whom you have left behind."

‘Asim said : I said : Abu ‘Uthman! Two men testified before you. Who are they? He said : One of them is the one who is first to shoot arrow in the path of Allah or in the path of Islam, that is to say : Sa’d b. Malik. The other is the one came from al-Taif with ten and some men on foot. He then mentioned his excellence.

Abu Dawud said : When al-Nufaili mentioned this tradition, he said : I swear by Allah, this is sweater with me than honey, that is no say, his way transmission.

Abu ‘Ali said : I heard Abu Dawud say : I heard Ahmad say : The people of Kufah have no light in their traditions. I did not see them like the people of Basrah. They learnt it from Shu’bah.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Neither vomiting, nor emission, nor cupping breaks the fast of the one who is fasting.

I found in my notebook from Shaiban and I did not hear from him ; Abu Bakr, a reliable friend of ours, said: Shaiban - Muhammad b. Rashid - Sulaiman b. Musad - 'Amr b. Suh'aib, On his father's authority, said that his grandfather said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) would fix the blood-money for accidental killing at the rate of four hundred dinars or their equivalent in silver for townsmen, and he would fix it according to the price of camels. So when they were dear, he increased the amount to be paid, and when cheap prices prevailed he reduced the amount to be paid. In the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) they reached between four hundred and eight hundred dinars, their equivalent in silver being eight thousand dirhams.

He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) gave judgment that those who possessed cattle should pay two hundred cows, and those who possessed sheep two thousand sheep.

He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The blood-money is to be treated as something to be inherited by the heirs of the one who has been killed, and the remainder should be divided among the agnates.

He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) gave judgment that for cutting off a nose completely there was full blood-money, one hundred (camels) were to be paid. If the tip of the nose was cut off, half of the blood-money,i.e. fifty camels were to be paid, or their equivalent in gold or in silver, or a hundred cows, or one thousand sheep. For the hand, when it was cut of,f half of the blood-money was to be paid; for one foot of half, the blood-money was to be paid. For a wound in the head, a third of the blood-money was due, i.e. thirty-three camels and a third of the blood-money, or their equivalent in gold, silver, cows or sheep. For a head thrust which reaches the body, the same blood-money was to be paid. Ten camels were to be paid for every finger, and five camels for every tooth.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) gave judgment that the blood-money for a woman should be divided among her relatives on her father's side, who did not inherit anything from her except the residence of her heirs. If she was killed, her blood-money should be distributed among her heirs, and they would have the right of taking revenge on the murderer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: There is nothing for the murderer; and if he (the victim) has no heir, his heir will be the one who is nearest to ...

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade 'selling and lending.'

Malik said, "The explanation of what that meant is that one man says to another, 'I will take your goods for such-and-such if you lend me such-and-such.' If they agree to a transaction in this manner, it is not permitted. If the one who stipulates the loan abandons his stipulation, then the sale is permitted."

Malik said, "There is no harm in exchanging linen from Shata, for garments from Itribi, or Qass, or Ziqa. Or the cloth of Herat or Merv for Yemeni cloaks and shawls and such like as one for two or three, from hand to hand or with delayed terms. If the goods are of the same kind, and deferment enters into the transaction, there is no good in it."

Malik said, "It is not good unless they are different, and the difference between them is clear. When they resemble each other, even if the names are different, do not take two for one with delayed terms, for instance two garments of Herat for one from Merv or Quhy with delayed terms, ortwo garments of Furqub for one from Shata. All these sorts are of the same description, so do not buy two for one, on delayed terms."

Malik said, "There is no harm in selling what you buy of things of this nature, before you complete the deal, to some one other than the person from whom you purchased them if the price was paid in cash."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that a man came to Qasim ibn Muhammad and said, "I did the tawaf al- ifada along with my wife, and then I went off onto a mountain path and approached my wife to make love to her, and she said, 'I have not cut my hair yet.' So I bit some of her hair off with my teeth and then had intercourse with her." Qasim laughed and said, "Tell her to cut her hair with some scissors."

Malik said, "To my liking an animal should be sacrificed in an instance such as this, because Abdullah ibn Abbas said, 'Whoever forgets any of his rites on hajj should sacrifice an animal.' "

I heard `Ali saying, "Allah's Apostle sent me, Az-Zubair and Al-Miqdad somewhere saying, 'Proceed till you reach Rawdat Khakh. There you will find a lady with a letter. Take the letter from her.' " So, we set out and our horses ran at full pace till we got at Ar-Rawda where we found the lady and said (to her). "Take out the letter." She replied, "I have no letter with me." We said, "Either you take out the letter or else we will take off your clothes." So, she took it out of her braid. We brought the letter to Allah's Apostle and it contained a statement from Hatib bin Abi Balta a to some of the Meccan pagans informing them of some of the intentions of Allah's Apostle. Then Allah's Apostle said, "O Hatib! What is this?" Hatib replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Don't hasten to give your judgment about me. I was a man closely connected with the Quraish, but I did not belong to this tribe, while the other emigrants with you, had their relatives in Mecca who would protect their dependents and property . So, I wanted to recompense for my lacking blood relation to them by doing them a favor so that they might protect my dependents. I did this neither because of disbelief not apostasy nor out of preferring Kufr (disbelief) to Islam." Allah's Apostle, said, "Hatib has told you the truth." `Umar said, O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop off the head of this hypocrite." Allah's Apostle said, "Hatib participated in the battle of Badr, and who knows, perhaps Allah has already looked at the Badr warriors and said, 'Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: He who has in his heart as much pride as much pride as grain of mustard-seed will not enter paradise. And he who has in his heart as much faith as grain of mustard-seed will not enter Hell.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Qasmali has transmitted it from Al-A'mash in a similar way.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: In eloquence there is magic, in knowledge ignorance, in poetry wisdom, and in speech heaviness.

Sa'sa'ah ibn Suhan said: The Prophet of Allah (saws) spoke the truth. His statement "In eloquence there is magic" means: (For example), there is a right due from a man who is more eloquent in reasoning than the man who is demanding his right. He (the defendant) charms the people by his speech and takes away his right. His statement "In knowledge there is ignorance" means: A scholar brings to his knowledge what he does not know, and thus he becomes ignorant of that. His statement "In poetry there is wisdom" means: These are the sermons and examples by which people receive admonition. His statement "In speech there is heaviness" means: That you present your speech and your talk to a man who is not capable of understanding it, and who does not want it.

Shu'bah said: I heard 'Uthman from the family of Abu 'Aqeel athThaqafi say--but he said. Shu'bah said: And he recited one of these two verses: `whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof` [an-Nisa'4:110] or “And those who, when they have committed Fahishah (illegal sexual intercourse)...` [Al 'Imran 3:135).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar from Abdullah as-Sanabihi that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A trusting slave does wudu and as he rinses his mouth the wrong actions leave it. As he cleans his nose the wrong actions leave it. As he washes his face, the wrong actions leave it, even from underneath his eyelashes. As he washes his hands the wrong actions leave them, even from underneath his fingernails. As he wipes his head the wrong actions leave it, even from his ears. And as he washes his feet the wrong actions leave them, even from underneath the toenails of both his feet." He added, "Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer are an extra reward for him."

A man from the Jews, having been slapped on his face, came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad! A man from your companions from the Ansar has slapped me on my face!" The Prophet said, "Call him." When they called him, the Prophet said, "Why did you slap him?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! While I was passing by the Jews, I heard him saying, 'By Him Who selected Moses above the human beings,' I said, 'Even above Muhammad?' I became furious and slapped him on the face." The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over the other prophets, for on the Day of Resurrection the people will become unconscious and I will be the first to regain consciousness. Then I will see Moses holding one of the legs of the Throne. I will not know whether he has come to his senses before me or that the shock he had received at the Mountain, (during his worldly life) was sufficient for him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the ayat "You who believe! When you rise for prayer wash your faces, and your arms to the elbows, and wipe over your heads and your feet up to the ankles," refers to rising from bed, meaning sleep.

Yahya said that Malik said, "The situation with us is that one does not have to do wudu for a nose-bleed, or for blood, or for pus issuing from the body. One only has to do wudu for impurities which issue from the genitals or the anus, or for sleep."

Sa’id bin Abd Al ‘Aziz said “Arabia lies between Al Wadi to the extremes of the Yemen extending to the frontiers of Al Iraq and the sea.”

Abu Dawud said “This tradition was read out to Al Harith bin Miskin while I was a witness”. Ashhab bin ‘Abd Al Aziz reported it to you on the authority of Malik who said ‘Umar expelled the people of Najran, but he did not expel (them) from Taima. For it did not fall within the territory of Arabia. As for Al Wadi, I think the Jews were not expelled from there. They did not think it a part of the land of Arabia.

`Ali bin Abi Talib sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle distributed that amongst four Persons: 'Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin H`Abis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin at-Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, "We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons)." When that news reached the Prophet , he said, "Don't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?" There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, "O Allah's Apostle! Be afraid of Allah." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?" Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?" The Prophet said, "No, for he may offer prayers." Khalid said, "Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts." Allah's Apostle said, "I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies." Then the Prophet looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, "From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur'an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game's body." I think he also said, "If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations a Thamud were killed."

Allah's Apostle allowed one of the Ansar families to treat persons who have taken poison and also who are suffering from ear ailment with Ruqya. Anas added: I got myself branded cauterized) for pleurisy, when Allah's Apostle was still alive. Abu Talha, Anas bin An-Nadr and Zaid bin Thabit witnessed that, and it was Abu Talha who branded (cauterized) me.

`Abdullah bin `Umar said: "A man got up in the mosque and said: O Allah's Apostle 'At which place you order us that we should assume the Ihram?' Allah's Apostle replied, 'The residents of Medina should assure the Ihram from Dhil-Hulaifa, the people of Syria from Al-Juhfa and the people of Najd from Qarn." Ibn `Umar further said, "The people consider that Allah's Apostle had also said, 'The residents of Yemen should assume Ihram from Yalamlam.' " Ibn `Umar used to say, "I do not: remember whether Allah's Apostle had said the last statement or not?"

Yahya related to me that Malik asked Ibn Shihab about selling animals, two for one with delayed terms. He said, "There is no harm in it."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us is that there is no harm in bartering a camel for a camel like it and adding some dirhams to the exchange, from hand to hand. There is no harm in bartering a camel for a camel like it with some dirhams on top of the exchange, the camels to be exchanged from hand to hand, and the dirhams to be paid within a period." He said, "There is no good however in bartering a camel for a camel like it with some dirhams on top of it, with the dirhams paid in cash and the camel to be delivered later. If both the camel and the dirhams are deferred there is no good in that either."

Malik said, "There is no harm in buying a riding camel with two or more pack-camels, if they are from inferior stock. There is no harm in bartering two of them for one with delayed terms, if they are different and their difference is clear. If they resemble each other whether their species are different or not, two are not to be taken for one with delayed terms."

Malik said, "The explanation of what is disapproved of in that, is that a camel should not be bought with two camels when there is no distinction between them in speed or hardiness. If this is according to what I have described to you, then one does not buy two of them for one with delayed terms. There is no harm in selling those of them you buy before you complete the deal to somebody other than the one from whom you bought them if you get the price in cash."

Malik said, "It is permitted for someone to advance something on animals for a fixed term and describe the amount and pay its price in cash. Whatever the buyer and seller have described is obliged for them. That is still permitted behaviour between people and what the people of knowledge in our land do."

I said to `Abida, "I have some of the hair of the Prophet which I got from Anas or from his family." `Abida replied. "No doubt if I had a single hair of that it would have been dearer to me than the whole world and whatever is in it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Zurayq ibn Hayyan, who was in charge of Egypt in the time of al-Walid, Sulayman, and Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz, mentioned that Umar ibn Abd al- Aziz had written to him saying, "Assess the muslims that you come across and take from what is apparent of their wealth and whatever merchandise is in their charge, one dinar for every forty dinars, and the same proportion from what is less than that down to twenty dinars, and if the amount falls short of that by one third of a dinar then leave it and do not take anything from it. As for the people of the Book that you come across, take from the merchandise in their charge one dinar for every twenty dinars, and the same proportion from what is less than that down to ten dinars, and if the amount falls short by one third of a dinar leave it and do not take anything from it. Give them a receipt for what you have taken f rom them until the same time next year."

Malik said, "The position among us (in Madina) concerning goods which are being managed for trading purposes is that if a man pays zakat on his wealth, and then buys goods with it, whether cloth, slaves or something similar, and then sells them before a year has elapsed over them, he does not pay zakat on that wealth until a year elapses over it from the day he paid zakat on it. He does not have to pay zakat on any of the goods if he does not sell them for some years, and even if he keeps them for a very long time he still only has to pay zakat on them once when he sells them."

Malik said, "The position among us concerning a man who uses gold or silver to buy wheat, dates, or whatever, for trading purposes and keeps it until a year has elapsed over it and then sells it, is that he only has to pay zakat on it if and when he sells it, if the price reaches a zakatable amount. This is therefore not the same as the harvest crops that a man reaps from his land, or the dates that he harvests from his palms."

Malik said, "A man who has wealth which he invests in trade, but which does not realise a zakatable profit for him, fixes a month in the year when he takes stock of what goods he has for trading, and counts the gold and silver that he has in ready money, and if all of it comes to a zakatable amount he pays zakat on it."

Malik said, "The position is the same for muslims who trade and muslims who do not. They only have to pay zakat once in any one year, whether they trade in ...