Allah's Apostle said, "There are three persons whom Allah will neither talk to nor look at, nor purify from (the sins), and they will have a painful punishment. (They are): (1) A man possessed superfluous water on a way and he withheld it from the travelers. (2) a man who gives a pledge of allegiance to a Muslim ruler and gives it only for worldly gains. If the ruler gives him what he wants, he remains obedient to It, otherwise he does not abide by it, and (3) a man bargains with another man after the `Asr prayer and the latter takes a false oath in the Name of Allah) claiming that he has been offered so much for the thing and the former (believes him and) buys it."

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) saw the new moon, he turned away his face from it.

Abu Dawud said: On this subject there is no tradition which has perfect chain and is sound.

Once Allah's Apostle came to me in the morning, and a man among us said, "Where is Malik bin Ad- Dukhshun?" Another man from us replied, "He is a hypocrite who does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Don't you think that he says: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, only for Allah's sake?" They replied, "Yes" The Prophet said, "Nobody will meet Allah with that saying on the Day of Resurrection, but Allah will save him from the Fire."

Malik related to me that Yahya ibn Said heard Said ibn al- Musayyab say, "When you come to a land where they give full measure and full weight, stay there. When you come to a land where they shorten the measure and weight, then do not stay there very long."

Abu Bakr came to towards me and struck me violently with his fist and said, "You have detained the people because of your necklace." But I remained motionless as if I was dead lest I should awake Allah's Apostle although that hit was very painful.

Allah's Apostle said, "From among the portents of the Hour are (the following): -1. Religious knowledge will be taken away (by the death of Religious learned men). -2. (Religious) ignorance will prevail. -3. Drinking of Alcoholic drinks (will be very common). -4. There will be prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse.

Usama was asked in my presence, "How was the speed of (the camel of) Allah's Apostle while departing from `Arafat during the Hajjatul Wada`?" Usama replied, "The Prophet proceeded on with a modest pace, and when there was enough space he would (make his camel) go very fast."

We set out with Allah's Apostle on one of his journeys on a very hot day, and it was so hot that one had to put his hand over his head because of the severity of heat. None of us was fasting except the Prophet and Ibn Rawaha.

Once there was a feeling of fright in Medina, so the Prophet borrowed a horse belonging to us called Mandub (and he rode away on it). (When the Prophet returned) he said, "I have not seen anything of fright and I found it (i.e. this horse) very fast."

The Prophet said, "The example of him (a believer) who recites the Qur'an is like that of a citron which tastes good and smells good. And he (a believer) who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which is good in taste but has no smell. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who recites the Qur'an is like the Raihana (sweet basil) which smells good but tastes bitter. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who does not recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth which tastes bitter and has no smell.

The Prophet said, "Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, 'Did you steal?, He said, 'No, by Allah, besides Whom there is none who has the right to be worshipped' Jesus said, 'I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas used to say, "The least difficult thing acceptable as a sacrificial animal is a sheep."

Malik said, "That is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'O you who trust, do not kill game while you are in ihram. Whoever of you kills it intentionally, there shall be repayment the like of what he has slain, from livestock, as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal which will reach the Kaba, or food for poor people, or the equivalent of that in fasting,' (Sura 5 ayat 95) and a sheep is one of the animals which is judged to be acceptable as a sacrifice. Allah has called it a sacrificial animal, and there is no dispute among us about the matter. How, indeed, could anyone be in doubt about the matter? A sheep is the kaffara for anything which does not reach the extent of something for which a camel or a cow would be the kaffara, and the kaffara for something which does not reach the extent of something for which a sheep would be the kaffara is fasting, or feeding poor people."

The Prophet, said, "Allah said, 'I have prepared for My pious worshipers such things as no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and nobody has ever thought of. All that is reserved, besides which, all that you have seen, is nothing." Then he recited:-- 'No soul knows what is kept hidden (in reserve) for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.' (32.17)

Allah's Apostle sent ten persons to bring the enemy's secrets and Khubaib Al-Ansari was one of them. 'Ubaidullah bin 'Iyad told me that the daughter of Al-Harith told him that when they gathered (to kill Khubaib Al Ansari) he asked for a razor to clean his pubic region, and when they had taken him outside the sanctuary of Mecca in order to kill him, he said in verse, "I don't care if I am killed as a Muslim, on any side (of my body) I may be killed in Allah's Cause; for that is for the sake of Allah's very Self; and if He will, He will bestow His Blessings upon the torn pieces of my body." Then Ibn Al-Harith killed him, and the Prophet informed his companions of the death of those (ten men) on the very day they were killed.

Allah's Apostle said, " Every nation has an extremely trustworthy man, and the trustworthy man of this (i.e. Muslim) nation is Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah."

About the story of `Aisha and their narrations were similar attesting each other, when the liars said what they invented about `Aisha, and the Divine Inspiration was delayed, Allah's Apostle sent for `Ali and Usama to consult them in divorcing his wife (i.e. `Aisha). Usama said, "Keep your wife, as we know nothing about her except good." Barirah said, "I cannot accuse her of any defect except that she is still a young girl who sleeps, neglecting her family's dough which the domestic goats come to eat (i.e. she was too simpleminded to deceive her husband)." Allah's Apostle said, "Who can help me to take revenge over the man who has harmed me by defaming the reputation of my family? By Allah, I have not known about my family-anything except good, and they mentioned (i.e. accused) a man about whom I did not know anything except good."

A man from the Companions of the Prophet (saws) came to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He bore witness before him that when he (the Prophet) was suffering from a disease of which he died he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibiting performing of umrah before hajj.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) heard a man saying: O Allah, I ask Thee, I bear witness that there is no god but Thou, the One, He to Whom men repair, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal, and he said: You have supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers.

Allah's Apostle said, "Horses may be used for three purposes: For a man they may be a source of reward (in the Hereafter); for another, a means of protection; and for another, a source of sin. The man for whom they are a source of reward, is the one who keeps them for Allah's Cause and ties them with long ropes and lets them graze in a pasture or garden. Whatever those long ropes allow them to eat of that pasture or garden, will be written as good deeds for him and if they break their ropes and run one or two rounds, then all their footsteps and dung will be written as good deeds for him, and if they pass a river and drink from it though he has had no intention of watering them, even then, that will be written as good deeds for him. So such horses are a source of reward for that man. For the man who keeps horses for his livelihood in order not to ask others for help or beg his bread, and at the same time he does not forget Allah's right of what he earns through them and of their backs (that he presents it to be used in Allah's Cause), such horses are a shelter for him (from poverty). For the man who keeps them just out of pride and for showing off, they are a source of sin." Then Allah's Apostle was asked about donkeys. He said, "Allah has not revealed anything to me regarding them except this comprehensive Verse: "Then anyone who has done good, equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it, and any one who has done evil, equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it." (99.7-8)

I heard the Prophet saying, "Any man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling some people and he does not look after them in an honest manner, will never feel even the smell of Paradise."

I heard Ibn `Abbas (giving a verdict) when he was asked about the Mut'a with the women, and he permitted it (Nikah-al-Mut'a). On that a freed slave of his said to him, "That is only when it is very badly needed and women are scarce." On that, Ibn `Abbas said, "Yes."

Anas b. Malik did not like that a person should pick out his white hair from his head or beard, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) did not dye, and there was some whiteness in his hair at his chin, on his temples and very little on his head.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man said to his family that he had never done a good action, and that when he died they were to burn him and then scatter half of him on the land and half of him on the sea, and by Allah, if Allah destined it for him He would punish him with a punishment which He had not punished anyone else with in all the worlds. When the man died, they did as he had told them. Then Allah told the land to collect everything that was in it, and told the sea to collect everything that was in it, and then He said to the man, 'Why did you do this?' and he said, 'From fear of You, Lord, and You know best.' "

Abu Hurayra added, "And He forgave him."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) intended to perform hajj.

A woman said to her husband: Let me perform hajj along with the Messenger of Allah (saws).

He said: I have nothing on which I can let you perform hajj. She said: You may perform hajj on your such-and-such camel. He said: That is dedicated to the cause of Allah, the Exalted. He then came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said: My wife has conveyed her greetings and the blessings of Allah to you. She has asked about performing hajj along with you. She said (to me): Let me perform hajj with the Messenger of Allah (saws). I said (to her): I have nothing upon which I can let you perform hajj. She said: Let me perform hajj on your such-and-such camel. I said: That is dedicated to the cause of Allah, The Exalted.

He replied: If you let her perform hajj on it, that would be in the cause of Allah.

He said: She has also requested me to ask you: What is that action which is equivalent to performing hajj with you?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Convey my greetings, the mercy of Allah and His blessings to her and tell her that umrah during Ramadan is equivalent to performing hajj along with me.

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "The sunna with us about the crime of slaves is that the hand is not cut off for any harm that a slave causes a man, or something he pilfers, or something guarded which he steals, or hanging dates he cuts down or ruins, or steals. That is against the slave's person and does not exceed the price of the slave whether it is little or much. If his master wishes to give the value of what the slave took or ruined, or pay the blood-price for the injury, he pays it and keeps his slave. If he wishes to surrender him, he surrenders him, and none of that is against him. The master has the option in that."

A man peeped through a hole in the door of Allah's Apostle's house, and at that time, Allah's Apostle had a Midri (an iron comb or bar) with which he was rubbing his head. So when Allah's Apostle saw him, he said (to him), "If I had been sure that you were looking at me (through the door), I would have poked your eye with this (sharp iron bar)." Allah's Apostle added, "The asking for permission to enter has been enjoined so that one may not look unlawfully (at what there is in the house without the permission of its people)."

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) was asked: 'Which deed is the most virtuos ? And which deed is the best ?' He (saws) said: 'Faith in Allah and His Messenger.' It was said: 'Then what ?' He said: 'Jihad is the hump (the most prominent) of the deeds.' Then what O Messenger of Allah ? He said: 'Then Hajj Mabrur.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih, it has been reported through other routes from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (saws).

On his father's authority, said that his grandfather reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The blood-wit for a man who makes a covenant is half of the blood-wit for a free man.

Abu Dawud said: It has been transmitted by Usamah b. Zaid al-Laithi and 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Harith on the authority of 'Amr b. Suh'aib in similar manner.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Talha ibn Abi al-Malik al- Ayli from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn as-Siddiq from A'isha that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him. Whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him."

Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "The meaning of the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him' is that for instance a man who vows that, if he speaks to such-and-such a person, he will walk to Syria, Egypt, or any other such things which are not considered as ibada, is not under any obligation by any of that, even if he did speak to the man or did break whatever it was he swore, because Allah does not demand obedience in such things. He should only fulfill those things in which there is obedience to Allah."

22.5 Rashness in Oaths

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (saws) accompanying the bier of a man of the Ansar. When we reached his grave, it was not yet dug. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) sat down and we also sat down around him as if birds were over our heads. He had in his hand a stick with which he was scratching the ground.

He then raised his head and said: Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment in the grave. He said it twice or thrice.

The version of Jabir adds here: He hears the beat of their sandals when they go back, and at that moment he is asked: O so and so! Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?

Hannad's version says: Two angels will come to him, make him sit up and ask him: Who is your Lord?

He will reply: My Lord is Allah. They will ask him: What is your religion? He will reply: My religion is Islam. They will ask him: What is your opinion about the man who was sent on a mission among you? He will reply: He is the Messenger of Allah (saws). They will ask: Who made you aware of this? He will reply: I read Allah's Book, believed in it, and considered it true; which is verified by Allah's words: "Allah's Book, believed in it, and considered it true, which is verified by Allah's words: "Allah establishes those who believe with the word that stands firm in this world and the next."

The agreed version reads: Then a crier will call from Heaven: My servant has spoken the truth, so spread a bed for him from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a door for him into Paradise. So some of its air and perfume will come to him, and a space will be made for him as far as the eye can see.

He also mentioned the death of the infidel, saying: His spirit will be restored to his body, two angels will come to him, make him sit up and ask him: Who is your Lord?

He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask him: What is your religion? He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask: Who was the man who was sent on a mission among you? He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. Then a crier will call from Heaven: He has lied, so spread a bed for him from Hell, clothe him from Hell, and open for him a door into Hell. Then some of its heat and pestilential wind will come to him, and his grave will be compressed, so that his ribs will be crushed together.

Jabir's version adds: One who is blind and dumb will then be placed in charge of him, having a sledge-hammer such that if a mountain were struck with it, it would become dust. He will give him a blow with it which will be heard by everything between the east and the west except by men and jinn, and he will become dust. Then his spirit will be restored to him.

This hadith has been narrated through a couple of other chains of transmitters, one which says "the similitude of the disbeliever" instead and another which agrees with the wording of the previous hadith.

Once in the middle of the night Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) went out and prayed in the mosque and some men prayed with him. The next morning the people spoke about it and so more people gathered and prayed with him (in the second night). They circulated the news in the morning, and so, on the third night the number of people increased greatly. Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) came out and they prayed behind him. On the fourth night the mosque was overwhelmed by the people till it could not accommodate them. Allah's Apostle came out only for the Fajr prayer and when he finished the prayer, he faced the people and recited "Tashah-hud" (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Apostle), and then said, "Amma ba'du. Verily your presence (in the mosque at night) was not hidden from me, but I was afraid that this prayer (Prayer of Tahajjud) might be made compulsory and you might not be able to carry it out."

During the lifetime of the Prophet there was a man called `Abdullah whose nickname was Donkey, and he used to make Allah's Apostle laugh. The Prophet lashed him because of drinking (alcohol). And one-day he was brought to the Prophet on the same charge and was lashed. On that, a man among the people said, "O Allah, curse him ! How frequently he has been brought (to the Prophet on such a charge)!" The Prophet said, "Do not curse him, for by Allah, I know for he loves Allah and His Apostle."

When it was the day of (the battle of) Hunain, I saw a Muslim man fighting with one of the pagans and another pagan was hiding himself behind the Muslim in order to kill him. So I hurried towards the pagan who was hiding behind the Muslim to kill him, and he raised his hand to hit me but I hit his hand and cut it off. That man got hold of me and pressed me so hard that I was afraid (that I would die), then he knelt down and his grip became loose and I pushed him and killed him. The Muslims (excepting the Prophet and some of his companions) started fleeing and I too, fled with them. Suddenly I met `Umar bin Al-Khattab amongst the people and I asked him, "What is wrong with the people?" He said, "It is the order of Allah" Then the people returned to Allah's Apostle (after defeating the enemy). Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever produces a proof that he has killed an infidel, will have the spoils of the killed man." So I got up to look for an evidence to prove that I had killed an infidel, but I could not find anyone to bear witness for me, so I sat down. Then it came to my mind (that I should speak of it) and I mentioned the case to Allah's Apostle. A man from the persons who were sitting with him (i.e. the Prophet), said, "The arms of the deceased one whom he ( i.e. Abu Qatada) has mentioned, are with me, so please compensate him for it (i.e. the spoils)," Abu Bakr said, "No, Allah's Apostle will not give it (i.e. the spoils) to a weak humble person from Quraish and leave one of Allah's Lions who fights on behalf of Allah and His Apostle." Allah's Apostle then got up and gave that (spoils) to me, and I bought with it, a garden which was the first property I got after embracing Islam.

I asked Anas bin Malik about Safa and Marwa. Anas replied, "We used to consider (i.e. going around) them a custom of the Pre-islamic period of Ignorance, so when Islam came, we gave up going around them. Then Allah revealed" "Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah. So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj of the House (of Allah) or perform the Umra to ambulate (Tawaf) between them." (2.158)