Asim ibn Humayd said: I asked Aisha: By what words the Messenger of Allah (saws) would begin his supererogatory prayer at night?

She replied: You ask me about a thing of which no one asked me before you. When he stood up, be uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) ten times, and uttered "Praise be to Allah" ten times, and uttered "Glory be to Allah " ten times, and uttered "There is no god but Allah" ten times, and sought forgiveness ten times, and said: O Allah, forgive me, and guide me, and give me sustenance, and keep me well, and he sought refuge in Allah from the hardship of standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been narrated by Khalid b. Ma'dan from Rab'iah al-Jarashi on the authority of 'Aishah.

Allah's Apostle addressed the people saying, "Allah has given option to a slave to choose this world or what is with Him. The slave has chosen what is with Allah." Abu Bakr wept, and we were astonished at his weeping caused by what the Prophet mentioned as to a Slave ( of Allah) who had been offered a choice, (we learned later on) that Allah's Apostle himself was the person who was given the choice, and that Abu Bakr knew best of all of us. Allah's Apostle added, "The person who has favored me most of all both with his company and wealth, is Abu Bakr. If I were to take a Khalil other than my Lord, I would have taken Abu Bakr as such, but (what relates us) is the Islamic brotherhood and friendliness. All the gates of the Mosque should be closed except the gate of Abu Bakr."

Allah's Apostle sent a group of Ansari men to kill Abu-Rafi`. One of them set out and entered their (i.e. the enemies) fort. That man said, "I hid myself in a stable for their animals. They closed the fort gate. Later they lost a donkey of theirs, so they went out in its search. I, too, went out along with them, pretending to look for it. They found the donkey and entered their fort. And I, too, entered along with them. They closed the gate of the fort at night, and kept its keys in a small window where I could see them. When those people slept, I took the keys and opened the gate of the fort and came upon Abu Rafi` and said, 'O Abu Rafi`. When he replied me, I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He shouted and I came out to come back, pretending to be a helper. I said, 'O Abu Rafi`, changing the tone of my voice. He asked me, 'What do you want; woe to your mother?' I asked him, 'What has happened to you?' He said, 'I don't know who came to me and hit me.' Then I drove my sword into his belly and pushed it forcibly till it touched the bone. Then I came out, filled with puzzlement and went towards a ladder of theirs in order to get down but I fell down and sprained my foot. I came to my companions and said, 'I will not leave till I hear the wailing of the women.' So, I did not leave till I heard the women bewailing Abu Rafi`, the merchant pf Hijaz. Then I got up, feeling no ailment, (and we proceeded) till we came upon the Prophet and informed him."

When Abu Dhar received the news of the Advent of the Prophet he said to his brother, "Ride to this valley (of Mecca) and try to find out the truth of the person who claims to be a prophet who is informed of the news of Heaven. Listen to what he says and come back to me." So his brother set out and came to the Prophet and listened to some of his talks, and returned to Abu Dhar and said to him. "I have seen him enjoining virtuous behavior and saying something that is not poetry." Abu Dhar said, "You have not satisfied me as to what I wanted." He then took his journey-food and carried a waterskin of his, containing some water till be reached Mecca. He went to the Mosque and searched for the Prophet and though he did not know him, he hated to ask anybody about him. When a part of the night had passed away, `Ali saw him and knew that he was a stranger. So when Abu Dhar saw `Ali, he followed him, and none of them asked his companion about anything, and when it was dawn, Abu Dhar took his journey food and his water-skin to the Mosque and stayed there all the day long without being perceived by the Prophet, and when it was evening, he came back to his retiring place. `Ali passed by him and said, "Has the man not known his dwelling place yet?" So `Ali awakened him and took him with him and none of them spoke to the other about anything. When it was the third day. `Ali did the same and Abu Dhar stayed with him. Then `Ali said "Will you tell me what has brought you here?" Abu Dhar said, "If you give me a firm promise that you will guide me, then I will tell you." `Ali promised him, and he informed `Ali about the matter. `Ali said, "It is true, and he is the Apostle of Allah. Next morning when you get up, accompany me, and if I see any danger for you, I will stop as if to pass water, but if I go on, follow me and enter the place which I will enter." Abu Dhar did so, and followed `Ali till he entered the place of the Prophet, and Abu Dhar went in with him, Abu Dhar listened to some of the Prophet's talks and embraced Islam on the spot. The Prophet said to him, "Go back to your people and inform them (about it) till you receive my order." Abu Dhar said, "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, I will proclaim my conversion loudly amongst them (i.e. the pagans)." So he went out, and when he reached the Mosque, he said as loudly as possible, "I bear witness that None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah." The People got up and beat him painfully. Then Al-Abbas came and knelt over him ((to protect him) and said (to the people), "Woe to you! Don't you know that this man belongs to the tribe of Ghifar and your trade to Sha'm is through their way?" So he rescued him from them. Abu Dhar again did the same the next day. They beat him and took vengeance on him and again Al-Abbas knelt over him (to protect him).

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).

When Hani went with his people in a deputation to the Messenger of Allah (saws), he heard them calling him by his kunyah (surname), AbulHakam.

So the Messenger of Allah (saws) called him and said: Allah is the judge (al-Hakam), and to Him judgment belongs. Why are you given the kunyah AbulHakam?

He replied: When my people disagree about a matter, they come to me, and I decide between them, and both parties are satisfied with my decision.

He said: How good this is! What children have you? He replied: I have Shurayh, Muslim and Abdullah. He asked; Who is the oldest of them? I replied: Shurayh. He said: Then you are AbuShurayh.

Abu Dawud said: This is Shuraib who broke the chain, and who entered Tustar.

Abu Dawud said: I have been told that Shuraib broke the gate of Tustar, and he entered it through tunnel.

I said to Ibn `Umar, "If a man accuses his wife of illegal sexual intercourse (what is the judgment)?" He said, "Allah's Prophet separated the couple of Bani 'Ajlan (when the husband accused his wife for an illegal sexual intercourse). The Prophet said, 'Allah knows that one of you two IS a liar; so will one of you repent?' But they refused. He then again said, 'Allah knows that one of you two is a liar; so will one of you repent?' But they refused, whereupon he separated them by divorce." Aiyub (a subnarrator) said: `Amr bin Dinar said to me, "In the narration there is something which I do not see you mentioning, i.e. the husband said, "What about my money (Mahr)?' The Prophet said, "You are not entitled to take back money, for if you told the truth you have already entered upon her (and consummated your marriage with her) and if you are a liar then you are less entitled to take it back.

Allah's Apostle said, "There were two women with whom there were their two sons. A wolf came and took away the son of one of them. That lady said to her companion, 'The wolf has taken your son.' The other said, 'But it has taken your son.' So both of them sought the judgment of (the Prophet) David who judged that the boy should be given to the older lady. Then both of them went to (the Prophet) Solomon, son of David and informed him of the case. Solomon said, 'Give me a knife so that I may cut the child into two portions and give one half to each of you.' The younger lady said, 'Do not do so; may Allah bless you ! He is her child.' On that, he gave the child to the younger lady." Abu Huraira added: By Allah! I had never heard the word 'Sakkin' as meaning knife, except on that day, for we used to call it "Mudya".

Ya`la bin Muslim and `Amr bin Dinar and some others narrated the narration of Sa`id bin Jubair. Narrated Sa`id: While we were at the house of Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Abbas said, "Ask me (any question)" I said, "O Abu `Abbas! May Allah let me be sacrificed for you ! There is a man at Kufa who is a storyteller called Nauf; who claims that he (Al-Khadir's companion) is not Moses of Bani Israel." As for `Amr, he said to me, "Ibn `Abbas said, "(Nauf) the enemy of Allah told a lie." But Ya`la said to me, "Ibn `Abbas said, Ubai bin Ka`b said, Allah's Apostle said, 'Once Moses, Allah's Apostle, preached to the people till their eyes shed tears and their hearts became tender, whereupon he finished his sermon. Then a man came to Moses and asked, 'O Allah's Apostle! Is there anyone on the earth who is more learned than you?' Moses replied, 'No.' So Allah admonished him (Moses), for he did not ascribe all knowledge to Allah. It was said, (on behalf of Allah), 'Yes, (there is a slave of ours who knows more than you ).' Moses said, 'O my Lord! Where is he?' Allah said, 'At the junction of the two seas.' Moses said, 'O my Lord ! Tell I me of a sign whereby I will recognize the place.' " `Amr said to me, Allah said, "That place will be where the fish will leave you." Ya`la said to me, "Allah said (to Moses), 'Take a dead fish (and your goal will be) the place where it will become alive.' " So Moses took a fish and put it in a basket and said to his boy-servant "I don't want to trouble you, except that you should inform me as soon as this fish leaves you." He said (to Moses)." You have not demanded too much." And that is as mentioned by Allah: 'And (remember) when Moses said to his attendant .... ' (18.60) Yusha` bin Noon. (Sa`id did not state that). The Prophet said, "While the attendant was in the shade of the rock at a wet place, the fish slipped out (alive) while Moses was sleeping. His attend an said (to himself), "I will not wake him, but when he woke up, he forgot to tell him The fish slipped out and entered the sea. Allah stopped the flow of the sea. where the fish was, so that its trace looked as if it was made on a rock. `Amr forming a hole with his two thumbs an index fingers, said to me, "Like this, as in its trace was made on a rock." Moses said "We have suffered much fatigue on this journey of ours." (This was not narrated by Sa`id). Then they returned back and found Al-Khadir. `Uthman bin Abi Sulaiman said to me, (they found him) on a green carpet in the middle of the sea. Al-Khadir was covered with his garment with one end under his feet and the other end under his head. When Moses greeted, he uncovered his face and said astonishingly, 'Is there such a greeting in my land? Who are you?' Moses said, 'I am Moses.' Al- Khadir said, 'Are you the Moses of Bani Israel?' Moses said, 'Yes.' Al-Khadir said, "What do you want?' Moses said, ' I came to you so that you may teach me of the truth which you were taught.' Al- Khadir said, 'Is it not sufficient for you that the Torah is in your hands and the Divine Inspiration comes to you, O Moses? Verily, I have a knowledge that you ought not learn, and you have a knowledge which I ought not learn.' At that time a bird took with its beak (some water) from the sea: Al-Khadir then said, 'By Allah, my knowledge and your knowledge besides Allah's Knowledge is like what this bird has taken with its beak from the sea.' Until, when they went on board the boat (18.71). They found a small boat which used to carry the people from this sea-side to the other sea-side. The crew recognized Al-Khadir and said, 'The pious slave of Allah.' (We said to Sa`id "Was that Khadir?" He said, "Yes.") The boat men said, 'We will not get him on board with fare.' Al-Khadir scuttled the boat and then plugged the hole with a piece of wood. Moses said, 'Have you scuttled it in order to drown these people surely, you have done a dreadful thing. (18.71) (Mujahid said. "Moses said so protestingly.") Al-Khadir said, didn't I say that you can have no patience with me?' (18.72) The first inquiry of Moses was done because of forgetfulness, the second caused him to be bound with a stipulation, and the third was done intentionally. Moses said, 'Call me not to account for what I forgot and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you).' (18.73) (Then) they found a boy and Al-Khadir killed him. Ya`la- said: Sa`id said 'They found boys playing and Al-Khadir got hold of a handsome infidel boy laid him down and then slew him with knife. Moses said, 'Have you killed a innocent soul who has killed nobody' (18.74) Then they proceeded and found a wall which was on the point of falling down, and Al-Khadir set it up straight. Sa`id moved his hand thus and said 'Al-Khadir raised his hand and the wall became straight. Ya`la said, 'I think Sa`id said, 'Al-Khadir touched the wall with his hand and it became straight (Moses said to Al-Khadir), 'If you had wished, you could have taken wages for it.' Sa`id said, 'Wages that we might had eaten.' And there was a king in furor (ahead) of them" (18.79) And there was in front of them. Ibn `Abbas recited: 'In front of them (was) a king.' It is said on the authority of somebody other than Sa`id that the king was Hudad bin Budad. They say that the boy was called Haisur. 'A king who seized every ship by force. (18.79) So I wished that if that boat passed by him, he would leave it because of its defect and when they have passed they would repair it and get benefit from it. Some people said that they closed that hole with a bottle, and some said with tar. 'His parents were believers, and he (the boy) was a non-believer and we (Khadir) feared lest he would oppress them by obstinate rebellion and disbelief.' (18.80) (i.e. that their love for him would urge them to follow him in his religion, 'so we (Khadir) desired that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy' (18:81). This was in reply to Moses' saying: Have you killed an innocent soul.'? (18.74). 'Near to mercy" means they will be more merciful to him than they were to the former whom Khadir had killed. Other than Sa`id, said that they were compensated with a girl. Dawud bin Abi `Asim said on the authority of more than one that this next child was a girl.

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: Messenger of Allah, what about my vow? He said: I stopped (receiving his oath of allegiance) today so that you might fulfil your vow. He said: Messenger of Allah, why did you not give any signal to me? The Prophet (saws) said: It is not worthy of a Prophet to give a signal.

AbuGhalib said: I asked (the people) about Anas standing opposite the hips of a woman. They told me that this practice was due to the fact that (in the days of the Prophet) there were no cupola-shaped structures over the biers of women. So the imam used to stand opposite the hips of a woman to hide her from the people.

Abu Dawud said: The saying of the Prophet (saws) "I have been commanded to fight against the people until they say: There is no god bu Allah" abrogated this tradition of fulfilling the vow by his remark: "I have repented".

By Allah except Whom none has the right to- be worshipped, (sometimes) I used to lay (sleep) on the ground on my liver (abdomen) because of hunger, and (sometimes) I used to bind a stone over my belly because of hunger. One day I sat by the way from where they (the Prophet and his companions) used to come out. When Abu Bakr passed by, I asked him about a Verse from Allah's Book and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by and did not do so. Then `Umar passed by me and I asked him about a Verse from Allah's Book, and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by without doing so. Finally Abu-l-Qasim (the Prophet ) passed by me and he smiled when he saw me, for he knew what was in my heart and on my face. He said, "O Aba Hirr (Abu Huraira)!" I replied, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said to me, "Follow me." He left and I followed him. Then he entered the house and I asked permission to enter and was admitted. He found milk in a bowl and said, "From where is this milk?" They said, "It has been presented to you by such-and-such man (or by such and such woman)." He said, "O Aba Hirr!" I said, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Go and call the people of Suffa to me." These people of Suffa were the guests of Islam who had no families, nor money, nor anybody to depend upon, and whenever an object of charity was brought to the Prophet, he would send it to them and would not take anything from it, and whenever any present was given to him, he used to send some for them and take some of it for himself. The order of the Prophet upset me, and I said to myself, "How will this little milk be enough for the people of As- Suffa? though I was more entitled to drink from that milk in order to strengthen myself", but behold! The Prophet came to order me to give that milk to them. I wondered what will remain of that milk for me, but anyway, I could not but obey Allah and His Apostle so I went to the people of As-Suffa and called them, and they came and asked the Prophet's permission to enter. They were admitted and took their seats in the house. The Prophet said, "O Aba-Hirr!" I said, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Take it and give it to them." So I took the bowl (of milk) and started giving it to one man who would drink his fill and return it to me, whereupon I would give it to another man who, in his turn, would drink his fill and return it to me, and I would then offer it to another man who would drink his fill and return it to me. Finally, after the whole group had drunk their fill, I reached the Prophet who took the bowl and put it on his hand, looked at me and smiled and said. "O Aba Hirr!" I replied, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "There remain you and I." I said, "You have said the truth, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Sit down and drink." I sat down and drank. He said, "Drink," and I drank. He kept on telling me repeatedly to drink, till I said, "No. by Allah Who sent you with the Truth, I have no space for it (in my stomach)." He said, "Hand it over to me." When I gave him the bowl, he praised Allah and pronounced Allah's Name on it and drank the remaining milk.

Sa`d was wounded on the day of Khandaq (i.e. Trench) when a man from Quraish, called Hibban bin Al-`Araqa hit him (with an arrow). The man was Hibban bin Qais from (the tribe of) Bani Mais bin 'Amir bin Lu'ai who shot an arrow at Sa`d's medial arm vein (or main artery of the arm). The Prophet pitched a tent (for Sa`d) in the Mosque so that he might be near to the Prophet to visit. When the Prophet returned from the (battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and laid down his arms and took a bath Gabriel came to him while he (i.e. Gabriel) was shaking the dust off his head, and said, "You have laid down the arms?" By Allah, I have not laid them down. Go out to them (to attack them)." The Prophet said, "Where?" Gabriel pointed towards Bani Quraiza. So Allah's Apostle went to them (i.e. Banu Quraiza) (i.e. besieged them). They then surrendered to the Prophet's judgment but he directed them to Sa`d to give his verdict concerning them. Sa`d said, "I give my judgment that their warriors should be killed, their women and children should be taken as captives, and their properties distributed." Narrated Hisham: My father informed me that `Aisha said, "Sa`d said, "O Allah! You know that there is nothing more beloved to me than to fight in Your Cause against those who disbelieved Your Apostle and turned him out (of Mecca). O Allah! I think you have put to an end the fight between us and them (i.e. Quraish infidels). And if there still remains any fight with the Quraish (infidels), then keep me alive till I fight against them for Your Sake. But if you have brought the war to an end, then let this wound burst and cause my death thereby.' So blood gushed from the wound. There was a tent in the Mosque belonging to Banu Ghifar who were surprised by the blood flowing towards them . They said, 'O people of the tent! What is this thing which is coming to us from your side?' Behold! Blood was flowing profusely out of Sa`d's wound. Sa`d then died because of that."

The Prophet used to invoke Allah at night, saying, "O Allah: All the Praises are for You: You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Maintainer of the Heaven and the Earth and whatever is in them. All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. Your Word is the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and the Meeting with You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth, and the (Hell) Fire is the Truth, and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender myself to You, and I believe in You and I depend upon You, and I repent to You and with You (Your evidences) I stand against my opponents, and to you I leave the judgment (for those who refuse my message). O Allah! Forgive me my sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins I did in secret or in public. You are my only God (Whom I worship) and there is no other God for me (i.e. I worship none but You)."

Narrated Sufyan:

(regarding the above narration) that the Prophet added, "You are the Truth, and Your Word is the Truth."

Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met AbuHurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage.

AbuHurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you?

(Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (saws):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.

If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

'Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (saws) told him that there were four types of marriage during Pre-Islamic period of Ignorance. One type was similar to that of the present day i.e. a man used to ask somebody else for the hand of a girl under his guardianship or for his daughter's hand, and give her Mahr and then marry her. The second type was that a man would say to his wife after she had become clean from her period. "Send for so-and-so and have sexual intercourse with him." Her husband would then keep away from her and would never sleep with her till she got pregnant from the other man with whom she was sleeping. When her pregnancy became evident, he husband would sleep with her if he wished. Her husband did so (i.e. let his wife sleep with some other man) so that he might have a child of noble breed. Such marriage was called as Al-Istibda'. Another type of marriage was that a group of less than ten men would assemble and enter upon a woman, and all of them would have sexual relation with her. If she became pregnant and delivered a child and some days had passed after delivery, she would sent for all of them and none of them would refuse to come, and when they all gathered before her, she would say to them, "You (all) know waht you have done, and now I have given birth to a child. So, it is your child so-and-so!" naming whoever she liked, and her child would follow him and he could not refuse to take him. The fourth type of marriage was that many people would enter upon a lady and she would never refuse anyone who came to her. Those were the prostitutes who used to fix flags at their doors as sign, and he who would wished, could have sexual intercourse with them. If anyone of them got pregnant and delivered a child, then all those men would be gathered for her and they would call the Qa'if (persons skilled in recognizing the likeness of a child to his father) to them and would let the child follow the man (whom they recognized as his father) and she would let him adhere to him and be called his son. The man would not refuse all that. But when Muhammad (saws) was sent with the Truth, he abolished all the types of marriages observed in pre-Islamic period of Ignorance except the type of marriage the people recognize today.

`Umar said, "I agreed with Allah in three things," or said, "My Lord agreed with me in three things. I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Would that you took the station of Abraham as a place of prayer.' I also said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Good and bad persons visit you! Would that you ordered the Mothers of the believers to cover themselves with veils.' So the Divine Verses of Al-Hijab (i.e. veiling of the women) were revealed. I came to know that the Prophet had blamed some of his wives so I entered upon them and said, 'You should either stop (troubling the Prophet ) or else Allah will give His Apostle better wives than you.' When I came to one of his wives, she said to me, 'O `Umar! Does Allah's Apostle haven't what he could advise his wives with, that you try to advise them?' " Thereupon Allah revealed:-- "It may be, if he divorced you (all) his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you Muslims (who submit to Allah).." (66.5)

Alqamah and al-Aswad said: A man came to Ibn Mas'ud. He said: I recite the mufassal surahs in one rak'ah. You might recite it quickly as one recites verse (poetry) quickly, or as the dried dates fall down (from the tree).

But the Prophet (saws) used to recite two equal surahs in one rak'ah; he would recite (for instance) surahs an-Najm (53) and ar-Rahman (55) in one rak'ah, surahs Iqtarabat (54) and al-Haqqah (69) in one rak'ah, surahs at-Tur (52) and adh-Dhariyat (51) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Waqi'ah (56) and Nun (68) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Ma'arij (70) and an-Nazi'at (79) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Mutaffifin (83) and Abasa (80) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Muddaththir (74) and al-Muzzammil (73) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Insan (76) and al-Qiyamah (75) in one rak'ah, surahs an-Naba' (78) and al-Mursalat (77) in one rak'ah, and surahs ad-Dukhan (44) and at-Takwir (81) in one rak'ah.

Abu Dawud said: This is the arrangement of Ibn Mas'ud himself

"'Ali delivered a Khutbah for us in which he said: 'Whoever claims that we have some book to read other than Allah's Book and this paper, which include camel's ages and things related to (relatiation for) wounds, then he has lied." And he said in it: "Al-Madinah is sacred, what is between 'Air to Thawr, so whoever introduces in it any innovation or shelters an innovator then upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will not accept his compulsory nor optional good deeds. And whoever claims someone else to be his father, or claims Wala' for someone other than his Mawali, then upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and the people; his compulsory and optional good deeds shall not be accepted. The covenants of the Muslims are one, it covers the rest of them.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. Some of them reported it similarly from Al-A'mash, from Ibrahim At-Taimi, from Al-Harith bin Suwaid from 'Ali.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] It has been reported through more than one route from 'Ali [from the Prophet (saws)].

Who, from among Ka`b's sons, was the guide of Ka`b when he became blind: I heard Ka`b bin Malik narrating the story of (the Ghazwa of) Tabuk in which he failed to take part. Ka`b said, "I did not remain behind Allah's Apostle in any Ghazwa that he fought except the Ghazwa of Tabuk, and I failed to take part in the Ghazwa of Badr, but Allah did not admonish anyone who had not participated in it, for in fact, Allah's Apostle had gone out in search of the caravan of Quraish till Allah made them (i.e. the Muslims) and their enemy meet without any appointment. I witnessed the night of Al-`Aqaba (pledge) with Allah's Apostle when we pledged for Islam, and I would not exchange it for the Badr battle although the Badr battle is more popular amongst the people than it (i.e. Al-`Aqaba pledge). As for my news (in this battle of Tabuk), I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind the Prophet in that Ghazwa. By Allah, never had I two she-camels before, but I had then at the time of this Ghazwa. Whenever Allah's Apostle wanted to make a Ghazwa, he used to hide his intention by apparently referring to different Ghazwa till it was the time of that Ghazwa (of Tabuk) which Allah's Apostle fought in severe heat, facing, a long journey, desert, and the great number of enemy. So the Prophet announced to the Muslims clearly (their destination) so that they might get prepared for their Ghazwa. So he informed them clearly of the destination he was going to. Allah's Apostle was accompanied by a large number of Muslims who could not be listed in a book namely, a register." Ka`b added, "Any man who intended to be absent would think that the matter would remain hidden unless Allah revealed it through Divine Revelation. So Allah's Apostle fought that Ghazwa at the time when the fruits had ripened and the shade looked pleasant. Allah's Apostle and his companions prepared for the battle and I started to go out in order to get myself ready along with them, but I returned without doing anything. I would say to myself, 'I can do that.' So I kept on delaying it every now and then till the people got ready and Allah's Apostle and the Muslims along with him departed, and I had not prepared anything for my departure, and I said, I will prepare myself (for departure) one or two days after him, and then join them.' In the morning following their departure, I went out to get myself ready but returned having done nothing. Then again in the next morning, I went out to get ready but returned without doing anything. Such was the case with me till they hurried away and the battle was missed (by me). Even then I intended to depart to take them over. I wish I had done so! But it was not in my luck. So, after the departure of Allah's Apostle, whenever I went out and walked amongst the people (i.e, the remaining persons), it grieved me that I could see none around me, but one accused of hypocrisy or one of those weak men whom Allah had excused. Allah's Apostle did not remember me till he reached Tabuk. So while he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk, he said, 'What did Ka`b do?' A man from Banu Salama said, 'O Allah's Apostle! He has been stopped by his two Burdas (i.e. garments) and his looking at his own flanks with pride.' Then Mu`adh bin Jabal said, 'What a bad thing you have said! By Allah! O Allahs Apostle! We know nothing about him but good.' Allah's Apostle kept silent." Ka`b bin Malik added, "When I heard that he (i.e. the Prophet ) was on his way back to Medina. I got dipped in my concern, and began to think of false excuses, saying to myself, 'How can I avoid his anger tomorrow?' And I took the advice of wise member of my family in this matter. When it was said that Allah's Apostle, had come near all the evil false excuses abandoned from my mind and I knew well that I could never come out of this problem by forging a false statement. Then I decided firmly to speak the truth. So Allah's Apostle arrived in the morning, and whenever he returned from a journey., he used to visit the Mosque first of all and offer a two-rak`at prayer therein and then sit for the people. So when he had done all that (this time), those who had failed to join the battle (of Tabuk) came and started offering (false) excuses and taking oaths before him. They were something over eighty men; Allah's Apostle accepted the excuses they had expressed, took their pledge of allegiance asked for Allah's Forgiveness for them, and left the secrets of their hearts for Allah to judge. Then I came to him, and when I greeted him, he smiled a smile of an angry person and then said, 'Come on.' So I came walking till I sat before him. He said to me, 'What stopped you from joining us. Had you not purchased an animal For carrying you?' I answered, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! But by Allah, if I were sitting before any person from among the people of the world other than you, I would have avoided his anger with an excuse. By Allah, I have been bestowed with the power of speaking fluently and eloquently, but by Allah, I knew well that if today I tell you a lie to seek your favor, Allah would surely make you angry with me in the near future, but if I tell you the truth, though you will get angry because of it, I hope for Allah's Forgiveness. Really, by Allah, there was no excuse for me. By Allah, I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind you.' Then Allah's Apostle said, 'As regards this man, he has surely told the truth. So get up till Allah decides your case.' I got up, and many men of Banu Salama followed me and said to me. 'By Allah, we never witnessed you doing any sin before this. Surely, you failed to offer excuse to Allah's Apostle as the others who did not join him, have offered. The prayer of Allah's Apostle to Allah to forgive you would have been sufficient for you.' By Allah, they continued blaming me so much that I intended to return (to the Prophet) and accuse myself of having told a lie, but I said to them, 'Is there anybody else who has met the same fate as I have?' They replied, 'Yes, there are two men who have said the same thing as you have, and to both of them was given the same order as given to you.' I said, 'Who are they?' They replied, Murara bin Ar-Rabi Al- Amri and Hilal bin Umaiya Al-Waqifi.' By that they mentioned to me two pious men who had attended the Ghazwa (Battle) of Badr, and in whom there was an example for me. So I did not change my mind when they mentioned them to me. Allah's Apostle forbade all the Muslims to talk to us, the three aforesaid persons out of all those who had remained behind in that Ghazwa. So we kept away from the people and they changed their attitude towards us till the very land (where I lived) appeared strange to me as if I did not know it. We remained in that condition for fifty nights. As regards my two fellows, they remained in their houses and kept on weeping, but I was the youngest of them and the firmest of them, so I used to go out and witness the prayers along with the Muslims and roam about in the markets, but none would talk to me, and I would come to Allah's Apostle and greet him while he was sitting In his gathering after the prayer, and I would wonder whether the Prophet did move his lips in return to my greetings or not. Then I would offer my prayer near to him and look at him stealthily. When I was busy with my prayer, he would turn his face towards me, but when I turned my face to him, he would turn his face away from me. When this harsh attitude of the people lasted long, I walked till I scaled the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada who was my cousin and dearest person to me, and I offered my greetings to him. By Allah, he did not return my greetings. I said, 'O Abu Qatada! I beseech you by Allah! Do you know that I love Allah and His Apostle?' He kept quiet. I asked him again, beseeching him by Allah, but he remained silent. Then I asked him again in the Name of Allah. He said, "Allah and His Apostle know it better.' Thereupon my eyes flowed with tears and I returned and jumped over the wall." Ka`b added, "While I was walking in the market of Medina, suddenly I saw a Nabati (i.e. a Christian farmer) from the Nabatis of Sham who came to sell his grains in Medina, saying, 'Who will lead me to Ka`b bin Malik?' The people began to point (me) out for him till he came to me and handed me a letter from the king of Ghassan in which the following was written: "To proceed, I have been informed that your friend (i.e. the Prophet ) has treated you harshly. Anyhow, Allah does not let you live at a place where you feel inferior and your right is lost. So join us, and we will console you." When I read it, I said to myself, 'This is also a sort of a test.' Then I took the letter to the oven and made a fire therein by burning it. When forty out of the fifty nights elapsed, behold ! There came to me the messenger of Allah's Apostle and said, 'Allah's Apostle orders you to keep away from your wife,' I said, 'Should I divorce her; or else! what should I do?' He said, 'No, only keep aloof from her and do not cohabit her.' The Prophet sent the same message to my two fellows. Then I said to my wife. 'Go to your parents and remain with them till Allah gives His Verdict in this matter." Ka`b added, "The wife of Hilal bin Umaiya came to Apostle and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Hilal bin Umaiya is a helpless old man who has no servant to attend on him. Do you dislike that I should serve him? ' He said, 'No (you can serve him) but he should not come near you.' She said, 'By Allah, he has no desire for anything. By, Allah, he has never ceased weeping till his case began till this day of his.' (continued...) (continuing... 1): -5.702:... ... On that, some of my family members said to me, 'Will you also ask Allah's Apostle to permit your wife (to serve you) as he has permitted the wife of Hilal bin Umaiya to serve him?' I said, 'By Allah, I will not ask the permission of Allah's Apostle regarding her, for I do not know What Allah's Apostle would say if I asked him to permit her (to serve me) while I am a young man.' Then I remained in that state for ten more nights after that till the period of fifty nights was completed starting from the time when Allah's Apostle prohibited the people from talking to us. When I had offered the Fajr prayer on the 50th morning on the roof of one of our houses and while I was sitting in the condition which Allah described (in the Qur'an) i.e. my very soul seemed straitened to me and even the earth seemed narrow to me for all its spaciousness, there I heard the voice of one who had ascended the mountain of Sala' calling with his loudest voice, 'O Ka`b bin Malik! Be happy (by receiving good tidings).' I fell down in prostration before Allah, realizing that relief has come. Allah's Apostle had announced the acceptance of our repentance by Allah when he had offered the Fajr prayer. The people then went out to congratulate us. Some bringers of good tidings went out to my two fellows, and a horseman came to me in haste, and a man of Banu Aslam came running and ascended the mountain and his voice was swifter than the horse. When he (i.e. the man) whose voice I had heard, came to me conveying the good tidings, I took off my garments and dressed him with them; and by Allah, I owned no other garments than them on that day. Then I borrowed two garments and wore them and went to Allah's Apostle. The people started receiving me in batches, congratulating me on Allah's Acceptance of my repentance, saying, 'We congratulate you on Allah's Acceptance of your repentance." Ka`b further said, "When I entered the Mosque. I saw Allah's Apostle sitting with the people around him. Talha bin Ubaidullah swiftly came to me, shook hands with me and congratulated me. By Allah, none of the Muhajirin (i.e. Emigrants) got up for me except him (i.e. Talha), and I will never forget this for Talha." Ka`b added, "When I greeted Allah's Apostle he, his face being bright with joy, said "Be happy with the best day that you have got ever since your mother delivered you." Ka`b added, "I said to the Prophet 'Is this forgiveness from you or from Allah?' He said, 'No, it is from Allah.' Whenever Allah's Apostle became happy, his face would shine as if it were a piece of moon, and we all knew that characteristic of him. When I sat before him, I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Because of the acceptance of my repentance I will give up all my wealth as alms for the Sake of Allah and His Apostle. Allah's Apostle said, 'Keep some of your wealth, as it will be better for you.' I said, 'So I will keep my share from Khaibar with me,' and added, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah has saved me for telling the truth; so it is a part of my repentance not to tell but the truth as long as I am alive. By Allah, I do not know anyone of the Muslims whom Allah has helped fortelling the truth more than me. Since I have mentioned that truth to Allah's Apostle till today, I have never intended to tell a lie. I hope that Allah will also save me (from telling lies) the rest of my life. So Allah revealed to His Apostle the Verse:-- "Verily, Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajirin (i.e. Emigrants (up to His Saying) And be with those who are true (in word and deed)." (9.117-119) By Allah, Allah has never bestowed upon me, apart from His guiding me to Islam, a Greater blessing than the fact that I did not tell a lie to Allah's Apostle which would have caused me to perish as those who have told a lie perished, for Allah described those who told lies with the worst description He ever attributed to anybody else. Allah said:-- "They (i.e. the hypocrites) will swear by Allah to you when you return to them (up to His Saying) Certainly Allah is not pleased with the rebellious people-- " (9.95-96) Ka`b added, "We, the three persons, differed altogether from those whose excuses Allah's Apostle accepted when they swore to him. He took their pledge of allegiance and asked Allah to forgive them, but Allah's Apostle left our case pending till Allah gave His Judgment about it. As for that Allah said):-- And to the three (He did for give also) who remained behind." (9.118) What Allah said (in this Verse) does not indicate our failure to take part in the Ghazwa, but it refers to the deferment of making a decision by the Prophet about our case in contrast to the case of those who had taken an oath before him and he excused them by accepting their excuses.

I went out with 'Ubaidullah bin `Adi Al-Khaiyar. When we reached Hims (i.e. a town in Syria), 'Ubaidullah bin `Adi said (to me), "Would you like to see Wahshi so that we may ask him about the killing of Hamza?" I replied, "Yes." Wahshi used to live in Hims. We enquired about him and somebody said to us, "He is that in the shade of his palace, as if he were a full water skin." So we went up to him, and when we were at a short distance from him, we greeted him and he greeted us in return. 'Ubaidullah was wearing his turban and Wahshi could not see except his eyes and feet. 'Ubaidullah said, "O Wahshi! Do you know me?" Wahshi looked at him and then said, "No, by Allah! But I know that `Adi bin Al-Khiyar married a woman called Um Qital, the daughter of Abu Al-Is, and she delivered a boy for him at Mecca, and I looked for a wet nurse for that child. (Once) I carried that child along with his mother and then I handed him over to her, and your feet resemble that child's feet." Then 'Ubaidullah uncovered his face and said (to Wahshi), "Will you tell us (the story of) the killing of Hamza?" Wahshi replied "Yes, Hamza killed Tuaima bin `Adi bin Al-Khaiyar at Badr (battle) so my master, Jubair bin Mut`im said to me, 'If you kill Hamza in revenge for my uncle, then you will be set free." When the people set out (for the battle of Uhud) in the year of 'Ainain ..'Ainain is a mountain near the mountain of Uhud, and between it and Uhud there is a valley.. I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba' came out and said, 'Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?' Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib came out and said, 'O Siba'. O Ibn Um Anmar, the one who circumcises other ladies! Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?' Then Hamza attacked and killed him, causing him to be non-extant like the bygone yesterday. I hid myself under a rock, and when he (i.e. Hamza) came near me, I threw my spear at him, driving it into his umbilicus so that it came out through his buttocks, causing him to die. When all the people returned to Mecca, I too returned with them. I stayed in (Mecca) till Islam spread in it (i.e. Mecca). Then I left for Taif, and when the people (of Taif) sent their messengers to Allah's Apostle, I was told that the Prophet did not harm the messengers; So I too went out with them till I reached Allah's Apostle. When he saw me, he said, 'Are you Wahshi?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Was it you who killed Hamza?' I replied, 'What happened is what you have been told of.' He said, 'Can you hide your face from me?' So I went out when Allah's Apostle died, and Musailamah Al-Kadhdhab appeared (claiming to be a prophet). I said, 'I will go out to Musailamah so that I may kill him, and make amends for killing Hamza. So I went out with the people (to fight Musailamah and his followers) and then famous events took place concerning that battle. Suddenly I saw a man (i.e. Musailamah) standing near a gap in a wall. He looked like an ash-colored camel and his hair was dishevelled. So I threw my spear at him, driving it into his chest in between his breasts till it passed out through his shoulders, and then an Ansari man attacked him and struck him on the head with a sword. `Abdullah bin `Umar said, 'A slave girl on the roof of a house said: Alas! The chief of the believers (i.e. Musailamah) has been killed by a black slave."

While I was sitting with Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) two person came to him; one of them complained about his poverty and the other complained about the prevalence of robberies. Allah's Apostle said, "As regards stealing and robberies, there will shortly come a time when a caravan will go to Mecca (from Medina) without any guard. And regarding poverty, The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till one of you wanders about with his object of charity and will not find anybody to accept it And (no doubt) each one of you will stand in front of Allah and there will be neither a curtain nor an interpreter between him and Allah, and Allah will ask him, 'Did not I give you wealth?' He will reply in the affirmative. Allah will further ask, 'Didn't send a messenger to you?' And again that person will reply in the affirmative Then he will look to his right and he will see nothing but Hell-fire, and then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-fire. And so, any (each one) of you should save himself from the fire even by giving half of a date-fruit (in charity). And if you do not find a hall datefruit, then (you can do it through saying) a good pleasant word (to your brethren). (See Hadith No. 793 Vol. 4).

`Aisha said that the Prophet said to her, "O Aisha! Were your nation not close to the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, I would have had the Ka`ba demolished and would have included in it the portion which had been left, and would have made it at a level with the ground and would have made two doors for it, one towards the east and the other towards the west, and then by doing this it would have been built on the foundations laid by Abraham." That was what urged Ibn-Az-Zubair to demolish the Ka`ba. Jazz said, "I saw Ibn-Az-Zubair when he demolished and rebuilt the Ka`ba and included in it a portion of Al-Hijr (the unroofed portion of Ka`ba which is at present in the form of a compound towards the northwest of the Ka`ba). I saw the original foundations of Abraham which were of stones resembling the humps of camels." So Jarir asked Yazid, "Where was the place of those stones?" Jazz said, "I will just now show it to you." So Jarir accompanied Yazid and entered Al-Hijr, and Jazz pointed to a place and said, "Here it is." Jarir said, "It appeared to me about six cubits from Al-Hijr or so."

A bedouin with unkempt hair came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Tell me what Allah has enjoined on me as regards prayers." The Prophet said, "You have to offer perfectly the five (compulsory) prayers in a day and a night (24 hrs.), except if you want to perform some extra optional prayers." The bedouin said, "Tell me what Allah has enjoined on me as regards fasting." The Prophet said, "You have to observe fast during the month of Ramadan except if you fast some extra optional fast." The bedouin said, "Tell me what Allah has enjoined on me as regard Zakat." The Prophet then told him the Islamic laws and regulations whereupon the bedouin said, "By Him Who has honored you, I will not perform any optional deeds of worship and I will not leave anything of what Allah has enjoined on me." Allah's Apostle said, "He will be successful if he has told the truth (or he will enter Paradise if he said the truth)." And some people said, "The Zakat for one-hundred and twenty camels is two Hiqqas, and if the Zakat payer slaughters the camels intentionally or gives them as a present or plays some other trick in order to avoid the Zakat, then there is no harm (in it) for him.

I met Bilal, the Mu'adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah (saws) at Aleppo, and said: Bilal, tell me, what was the financial position of the Messenger of Allah (saws)?

He said: He had nothing. It was I who managed it on his behalf since the day Allah made him Prophet of Allah (saws) until he died. When a Muslim man came to him and he found him naked, he ordered me (to clothe him). I would go, borrow (some money), and purchase a cloak for him. I would then clothe him and feed him.

A man from the polytheists met me and said: I am well off, Bilal. Do not borrow money from anyone except me. So I did accordingly. One day when I performed ablution and stood up to make call to prayer, the same polytheist came along with a body of merchants.

When he saw me, he said: O Abyssinian. I said: I am at your service. He met me with unpleasant looks and said harsh words to me. He asked me: Do you know how many days remain in the completion of this month? I replied: The time is near. He said: Only four days remain in the completion of this month. I shall then take that which is due from you (i.e. loan), and then shall return you to tend the sheep as you did before. I began to think in my mind what people think in their minds (on such occasions). When I offered the night prayer, the Messenger of Allah (saws) returned to his family. I sought permission from him and he gave me permission.

I said: Messenger of Allah, may my parents be sacrificed for you, the polytheist from whom I used to borrow money said to me such-and-such. Neither you nor I have anything to pay him for me, and he will disgrace me. So give me permission to run away to some of those tribes who have recently embraced Islam until Allah gives His Apostle (saws) something with which he can pay (the debt) for me. So I came out and reached my house. I placed my sword, waterskin (or sheath), shoes and shield near my head. When dawn broke, I intended to be on my way.

All of a sudden I saw a man running towards me and calling: Bilal, return to the Messenger of Allah (saws). So I went till I reached him. I found four mounts kneeling on the ground with loads on them. I sought permission.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to me: Be glad, Allah has made arrangements for the payment (of your debt). He then asked: Have you not seen the four mounts kneeling on the ground?

I replied: Yes. He said: You may have these mounts and what they have on them. There are clothes and food on them, presented to me by the ruler of Fadak. Take them away and pay off your debt. I did so.

He then mentioned the rest of the tradition. I then went to the mosque and found that the Messenger of Allah (saws) was sitting there. I greeted him.

He asked: What benefit did you have from your property? I replied: Allah Most High paid everything which was due from the Messenger of Allah (saws). Nothing remains now.

He asked: Did anything remain (from that property)? I said: Yes. He said: Look, if you can give me some comfort from it, for I shall not visit any member of my family until you give me some comfort from it. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) offered the night prayer, he called me and said: What is the position of that which you had with you (i.e. property)?

I said: I still have it, no one came to me. The Messenger of Allah (saws) passed the night in the mosque.

He then narrated the rest of the tradition. Next day when he offered the night prayer, he called me and asked: What is the position of that which you had (i.e. the rest of the property)?

I replied: Allah has given you comfort from it, Messenger of Allah. He said: Allah is Most Great, and praised Allah, fearing lest he should die while it was with him. I then followed him until he came to his wives and greeted each one of them and finally he came to his place where he had to pass the night. This is all for which you asked me.

Allah's Apostle said, 'Nations were displayed before me; one or two prophets would pass by along with a few followers. A prophet would pass by accompanied by nobody. Then a big crowd of people passed in front of me and I asked, Who are they Are they my followers?" It was said, 'No. It is Moses and his followers It was said to me, 'Look at the horizon.'' Behold! There was a multitude of people filling the horizon. Then it was said to me, 'Look there and there about the stretching sky! Behold! There was a multitude filling the horizon,' It was said to me, 'This is your nation out of whom seventy thousand shall enter Paradise without reckoning.' "Then the Prophet entered his house without telling his companions who they (the 70,000) were. So the people started talking about the issue and said, "It is we who have believed in Allah and followed His Apostle; therefore those people are either ourselves or our children who are born m the Islamic era, for we were born in the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance.'' When the Prophet heard of that, he came out and said. "Those people are those who do not treat themselves with Ruqya, nor do they believe in bad or good omen (from birds etc.) nor do they get themselves branded (Cauterized). but they put their trust (only) in their Lord " On that 'Ukasha bin Muhsin said. "Am I one of them, O Allah's Apostle?' The Prophet said, "Yes." Then another person got up and said, "Am I one of them?" The Prophet said, 'Ukasha has anticipated you."

I got an agreement written between me and Umaiya bin Khalaf that Umaiya would look after my property (or family) in Mecca and I would look after his in Medina. When I mentioned the word 'Ar64 Rahman' in the documents, Umaiya said, "I do not know 'Ar-Rahman.' Write down to me your name, (with which you called yourself) in the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance." So, I wrote my name ' `Abdu `Amr'. On the day (of the battle) of Badr, when all the people went to sleep, I went up the hill to protect him. Bilal(1) saw him (i.e. Umaiya) and went to a gathering of Ansar and said, "(Here is) Umaiya bin Khalaf! Woe to me if he escapes!" So, a group of Ansar went out with Bilal to follow us (`Abdur-Rahman and Umaiya). Being afraid that they would catch us, I left Umaiya's son for them to keep them busy but the Ansar killed the son and insisted on following us. Umaiya was a fat man, and when they approached us, I told him to kneel down, and he knelt, and I laid myself on him to protect him, but the Ansar killed him by passing their swords underneath me, and one of them injured my foot with his sword. (The sub narrator said, " `Abdur-Rahman used to show us the trace of the wound on the back of his foot.")

A man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (saws) and begged from him.

He (the Prophet) asked: Have you nothing in your house? He replied: Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water.

He said: Bring them to me. He then brought these articles to him and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked: Who will buy these? A man said: I shall buy them for one dirham. He said twice or thrice: Who will offer more than one dirham? A man said: I shall buy them for two dirhams.

He gave these to him and took the two dirhams and, giving them to the Ansari, he said: Buy food with one of them and hand it to your family, and buy an axe and bring it to me. He then brought it to him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight. The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten dirhams, he came to him and bought a garment with some of them and food with the others.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: This is better for you than that begging should come as a spot on your face on the Day of Judgment. Begging is right only for three people: one who is in grinding poverty, one who is seriously in debt, or one who is responsible for compensation and finds it difficult to pay.

Abu Musa said, "I came to the Prophet along with two men (from the tribe) of Ash`ariyin, one on my right and the other on my left, while Allah's Apostle was brushing his teeth (with a Siwak), and both men asked him for some employment. The Prophet said, 'O Abu Musa (O `Abdullah bin Qais!).' I said, 'By Him Who sent you with the Truth, these two men did not tell me what was in their hearts and I did not feel (realize) that they were seeking employment.' As if I were looking now at his Siwak being drawn to a corner under his lips, and he said, 'We never (or, we do not) appoint for our affairs anyone who seeks to be employed. But O Abu Musa! (or `Abdullah bin Qais!) Go to Yemen.'" The Prophet then sent Mu`adh bin Jabal after him and when Mu`adh reached him, he spread out a cushion for him and requested him to get down (and sit on the cushion). Behold: There was a fettered man beside Abu Muisa. Mu`adh asked, "Who is this (man)?" Abu Muisa said, "He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back to Judaism." Then Abu Muisa requested Mu`adh to sit down but Mu`adh said, "I will not sit down till he has been killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Apostle (for such cases) and repeated it thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Abu Musa added, "Then we discussed the night prayers and one of us said, 'I pray and sleep, and I hope that Allah will reward me for my sleep as well as for my prayers.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zubayr al-Makki from Tawus al-Yamani from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, when he rose for prayer in the middle of the night, "O Allah, praise belongs to You. You are the light of the heavens and the earth and praise belongs toYou.You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and praise belongs to You. You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them. You are the Truth, and Your words are true. Your promise is true, and the meeting with You is true. The Garden is true and the Fire is true and the Hour is true. O Allah, I submit toYou and I accept You and I trust in You and I turn to You and I argue by You and I summon toYou for judgement. Forgive me what I have sent before me and what I have left behind, what I have kept secret and what I have proclaimed, You are my god - there is no god but You."

Allahumma laka'l-hamdu anta nuru's-samawati wa'l-ardi, wa laka'l-hamdu anta qayamu's-Samawati wa'l-ardi, wa laka'l-hamdu anta rabbu's-Samawati wa'l-ardi,wamanfihina.Anta'l-haqqu,waqawluka'lhaqqu, wa waduka'l-haqqu, wa liqa'uka haqqun, wa jannatu haqqun, wa naru haqqun, wa sactu haqqun. Allahumma laka aslamtu, wa bikaamantu, waalayka tawakaltu, wa ilayka anabtu, wa bika khasamtu, wa ilayka hakamtu, fa'ghfirliy ma qadamtu wa akhartu wa asrartu, wa alantu. Anta ilahiy, la ilaha illa ant.