the same narration above (i.e. 709), "I make expiation for my dissolved oath, and I do what is better, or do what is better and make expiation."

Qurayzah and Nadir (were two Jewish tribes). An-Nadir were nobler than Qurayzah. When a man of Qurayzah killed a man of an-Nadir, he would be killed. But if a man of an-Nadir killed a man of Qurayzah, a hundred wasq of dates would be paid as blood-money. When Prophethood was bestowed upon the Prophet (saws), a man of an-Nadir killed a man of Qurayzah.

They said: Give him to us, we shall kill him. They replied: We have the Prophet (saws) between you and us. So they came to him.

Thereupon the following verse was revealed: "If thou judge, judge in equity between them." "In equity" means life for a life.

The following verse was then revealed: "Do they seek of a judgment of (the days) ignorance?"

Abu Dawud said: Quraizah and al-Nadir were the descendants of Harun the Prophet (peace be upon him)

I asked the Prophet, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause." I then asked, "What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?" He replied, "The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master." I said, "If I cannot afford to do that?" He said, "Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself." I said, "If I cannot do that?" He said, "Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he had heard that Khalid ibn al-Walid said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "I have nightmares." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "Say, 'I seek refuge with the complete words of Allah from His anger and His punishment and the evil of His slaves, and from the evil suggestions of the shayatin and from their being present (at death).' "

Audhu bi kalimati' llahi't-tammati min ghadabihi wa iqabihi wa sharri ibadihi wa min hamazati' sh-shayatin wa an yahdurun.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father from Abu Hurayra that a man of the Aslam tribe said, "I did not sleep last night." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "For what reason?" He said, "A scorpion bit me." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Had you said in the evening, 'I seek refuge with the complete words of Allah from the evil of what He has created, 'it would not have happened."

Audhu bi kalimati'llahi't-tammati min sharri ma khalaq .

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

From his father, that he sought permission from the Prophet (saws) to take the wages for cupping and he (saws) forbade him from it. He continued asking him and seeking his permission until he said: "Use it to give fodder to your water-carrying camels, and to feed your slaves."

[He said:] There are narrations on this topic from Rafi' bin Khadij, Abu Juhaifah, Jabir, and As-Sa'ib bin Yazid.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Muhayyisah is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. This is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge. Ahmad said: "If I am asked for something by cupper then I deny him, acting upon this Hadith."

Hittan ibn Abdullah ar-Ruqashi said: AbuMusa al-Ash'ari led us in prayer.

When he sat at the end of his prayer, one of the people said: Prayer has been established by virtue and purity.

When AbuMusa returned (from his prayer or finished his prayer), he gave his attention to the people, and said: Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. He said: You might have said them, Hittan. He replied: I did not say them. I was afraid you might punish me. One of the people said: I said them and I did not intend by them (anything) except good.

AbuMusa said: Do you not know how you utter (them) in your prayer? The Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed us, and taught us and explained to us our way of doing and taught us our prayer.

He said: When you pray a (congregational) prayer, straighten your rows, then one of you should lead you in prayer. When he says the takbir (Allah is Most Great), say the takbir, and when he recites verses "Not of those upon whom is Thy anger, nor of those who err" (i.e. the end of Surah i.), say Amin; Allah will favour you. When he says "Allah is most great," and bows, say "Allah is most great" and bow, for the imam will bow before you, and will raise (his head) before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he says "Allah listens to the one who praises Him," say: "O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be praise, Allah be praised," Allah will listen to you, for Allah, the Exalted, said by the tongue of His Prophet (saws): "Allah listens to the one who praises Him." When he says "Allah is most great" and prostrates, say: "Allah is most great" and prostrate, for the imam prostrates before you and raises his head before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he sits, each one of you should say "The adorations of the tongue, all good things, and acts of worship are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah's upright servants. I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle."

This version of Ahmad does not mention the words "and His blessings" nor the phrase "and I testify"; instead, it has the words "that Muhammad."

I was a man who was more given than others to sexual intercourse with women. When the month of Ramadan came, I feared lest I should have intercourse with my wife, and this evil should remain with me till the morning. So I made my wife like my mother's back to me till the end of Ramadan. But one night when she was waiting upon me, something of her was revealed. Suddenly I jumped upon her. When the morning came I went to my people and informed them about this matter.

I said: Go along with me to the Messenger of Allah (saws).

They said: No, by Allah. So I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him and informed him of the matter.

He said: Have you really committed it, Salamah? I said: I committed it twice, Messenger of Allah. I am content with the Commandment of Allah, the Exalted; so take a decision about me according to what Allah has shown you.

He said: Free a slave. I said: By Him Who sent you with truth, I do not possess a neck other than this: and I struck the surface of my neck.

He said: Then fast two consecutive months. I said: Whatever I suffered is due to fasting.

He said: Feed sixty poor people with a wasq of dates.

I said: By Him Who sent you with truth, we passed the night hungry; there was no food in our house.

He said: Then go to the collector of sadaqah of Banu Zurayq; he must give it to you. Then feed sixty poor people with a wasq of dates; and you and your family eat the remaining dates. Then I came back to my people, and said (to them): I found with you poverty and bad opinion; and I found with the Prophet (saws) prosperity and good opinion. He has commanded me to give alms to you.

Ibn al-Ala' added: Ibn Idris said: Bayadah is a sub-clan of Banu Zurayq.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone acquires knowledge that should be sought seeking the Face of Allah, but he acquires it only to get some worldly advantage, he will not experience the arf, i.e. the fragrance, of Paradise.

Allah's Apostle said, "Not to wish to be the like of except the like of two men: a man whom Allah has given the Qur'an and he recites it during the hours of the night and the hours of the day, in which case one may say, "If I were given the same as this man has been given, I would do the same as he is doing.' The other is a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, in which case one may say, 'If I were given the same as he has been given, I would do the same as he is doing."

The Prophet intended to practice I`tikaf and when he reached the place where he intended to perform I`tikaf, he saw some tents, the tents of `Aisha, Hafsa and Zainab. So, he said, "Do you consider that they intended to do righteousness by doing this?" And then he went away and did not perform I`tikaf (in Ramadan) but performed it in the month of Shawwal for ten days.

We were talking about Hajjat-ul-Wada`, while the Prophet was amongst us. We did not know what Hajjat-ul-Wada` signified. The Prophet praised Allah and then mentioned Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal and described him extensively, saying, "Allah did not send any prophet but that prophet warned his nation of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal. Noah and the prophets following him warned (their people) of him. He will appear amongst you (O Muhammad's followers), and if it happens that some of his qualities may be hidden from you, but your Lord's State is clear to you and not hidden from you. The Prophet said it thrice. Verily, your Lord is not blind in one eye, while he (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) is blind in the right eye which looks like a grape bulging out (of its cluster). No doubt,! Allah has made your blood and your properties sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this town of yours, in this month of yours." The Prophet added: No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's Message to you? " They replied, "Yes," The Prophet said thrice, "O Allah! Be witness for it." The Prophet added, "Woe to you!" (or said), "May Allah be merciful to you! Do not become infidels after me (i.e. my death) by cutting the necks (throats) of one another."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'I am to my slave as he thinks of Me, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him). (See Hadith No. 502)

I went to the Prophet with two men from Ash`ari tribe. I said (to the Prophet), "I do not know that they want employment." The Prophet said, "No, we do not appoint for our jobs anybody who demands it earnestly."

The Prophet came to some of his wives among whom there was Um Sulaim, and said, "May Allah be merciful to you, O Anjasha! Drive the camels slowly, as they are carrying glass vessels!" Abu Qalaba said, "The Prophet said a sentence (i.e. the above metaphor) which, had anyone of you said it, you would have admonished him for it".

The Prophet said, "When you are three persons sitting together, then no two of you should hold secret counsel excluding the third person until you are with some other people too, for that would grieve him."

I heard Um Ad-Darda' saying, "Abu Ad-Darda' entered the house in an angry mood. I said to him. 'What makes you angry?' He replied, 'By Allah! I do not find the followers of Muhammad doing those good things (which they used to do before) except the offering of congregational prayer." (This happened in the last days of Abu Ad-Darda' during the rule of `Uthman) .

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi that Ubayd ibn Jurayj once said to Abdullah ibn Umar, "Abu Abd ar- Rahman, I have seen you doing four things which I have never seen any of your companions doing." He said, "What are they, Ibn Jurayj?" and he replied, "I have seen you touching only the twoYamani corners, I have seen you wearing hairless sandals, I have seen you using yellow dye, and, when you were at Makka and everybody had started doing talbiya after seeing the new moon, I saw that you did not do so until the eighth of Dhu'l-Hijja."

Abdullah ibn Umar replied, "As for the corners, I only ever saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, touching the two Yamani corners. As for the sandals, I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wearing hairless sandals and doing wudu in them, and I like wearing them. As for using yellow dye, I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, using it, and I also like to use it for dyeing things with. As for doing talbiya, I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, begin doing so until he had set out on the animal he was riding on (i.e. for Mina and Arafa)."

The Prophet did something as it was allowed from the religious point of view but some people refrained from it. When the Prophet heard of that, he, after glorifying and praising Allah, said, "Why do some people refrain from doing something which I do? By Allah, I know Allah more than they."

I stood up to pray along with the Messenger of Allah (saws); he got up and recited Surat al-Baqarah (Surah 2).

When he came to a verse which spoke of mercy, he stopped and made supplication, and when he came to verse which spoke of punishment, he stopped and sought refuge in Allah, then he bowed and paused as long as he stood (reciting Surah al-Baqarah), and said while bowing, "Glory be to the Possessor of greatness, the Kingdom, grandeur and majesty."

:Then he prostrated himself and paused as long as he stood up and recited Surat Aal Imran (Surah 3) and then recited many surahs one after another.

A man who wants to perform the Hajj (from Mecca) can perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba as long as he is not in the state of Ihram till he assumes the Ihram for Hajj. Then, if he rides and proceeds to `Arafat, he should take a Hadi (i.e. animal for sacrifice), either a camel or a cow or a sheep, whatever he can afford; but if he cannot afford it, he should fast for three days during the Hajj before the day of `Arafat, but if the third day of his fasting happens to be the day of `Arafat (i.e. 9th of Dhul-Hijja) then it is no sin for him (to fast on it). Then he should proceed to `Arafat and stay there from the time of the `Asr prayer till darkness falls. Then the pilgrims should proceed from `Arafat, and when they have departed from it, they reach Jam' (i.e. Al-Muzdalifa) where they ask Allah to help them to be righteous and dutiful to Him, and there they remember Allah greatly or say Takbir (i.e. Allah is Greater) and Tahlil (i.e. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah) repeatedly before dawn breaks. Then, after offering the morning (Fajr) prayer you should pass on (to Mina) for the people used to do so and Allah said:-- "Then depart from the place whence all the people depart. And ask for Allah's Forgiveness. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (2.199) Then you should go on doing so till you throw pebbles over the Jamra.

I can still picture myself looking at the Messenger of Allah (saws) who was among the camps of the Companions seeking the camp of Khalid ibn al-Walid, when a man who had drunk wine was brought before him. He asked the people: Beat him. Some struck him with sandals, some with sticks and some with fresh branches of the palm-tree (mitakhah). Ibn Wahb said: This (mitakhah) means green palm fronds. Then the apostle of Allah (saws) took some dust from the ground and threw it on his face.