The verdict of Allah's Apostle was sought about an unmarried slave girl guilty of illegal intercourse. He replied, "If she commits illegal sexual intercourse, then flog her (fifty stripes), and if she commits illegal sexual intercourse (after that for the second time), then flog her (fifty stripes), and if she commits illegal sexual intercourse (for the third time), then flog her (fifty stripes) and sell her for even a hair rope." Ibn Shihab said, "I am not sure whether the Prophet ordered that she be sold after the third or fourth time of committing illegal intercourse."

We, i.e., some people from Basra gathered and went to Anas bin Malik, and we went in company with Thabit Al-Bunnani so that he might ask him about the Hadith of Intercession on our behalf. Behold, Anas was in his palace, and our arrival coincided with his Duha prayer. We asked permission to enter and he admitted us while he was sitting on his bed. We said to Thabit, "Do not ask him about anything else first but the Hadith of Intercession." He said, "O Abu Hamza! There are your brethren from Basra coming to ask you about the Hadith of Intercession." Anas then said, "Muhammad talked to us saying, 'On the Day of Resurrection the people will surge with each other like waves, and then they will come to Adam and say, 'Please intercede for us with your Lord.' He will say, 'I am not fit for that but you'd better go to Abraham as he is the Khalil of the Beneficent.' They will go to Abraham and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Moses as he is the one to whom Allah spoke directly.' So they will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Jesus as he is a soul created by Allah and His Word.' (Be: And it was) they will go to Jesus and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Muhammad.' They would come to me and I would say, 'I am for that.' Then I will ask for my Lord's permission, and it will be given, and then He will inspire me to praise Him with such praises as I do not know now. So I will praise Him with those praises and will fall down, prostrate before Him. Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for your will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say, 'O Lord, my followers! My followers!' And then it will be said, 'Go and take out of Hell (Fire) all those who have faith in their hearts, equal to the weight of a barley grain.' I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down (prostrate) before Him. Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say, 'O Lord, my followers! My followers!' It will be said, 'Go and take out of it all those who have faith in their hearts equal to the weight of a small ant or a mustard seed.' I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down in prostration before Him. It will be said, 'O, Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say, 'O Lord, my followers!' Then He will say, 'Go and take out (all those) in whose hearts there is faith even to the lightest, lightest mustard seed. (Take them) out of the Fire.' I will go and do so."' When we left Anas, I said to some of my companions, "Let's pass by Al-Hasan who is hiding himself in the house of Abi Khalifa and request him to tell us what Anas bin Malik has told us." So we went to him and we greeted him and he admitted us. We said to him, "O Abu Sa`id! We came to you from your brother Anas Bin Malik and he related to us a Hadith about the intercession the like of which I have never heard." He said, "What is that?" Then we told him of the Hadith and said, "He stopped at this point (of the Hadith)." He said, "What then?" We said, "He did not add anything to that." He said, Anas related the Hadith to me twenty years ago when he was a young fellow. I don't know whether he forgot or if he did not like to let you depend on what he might have said." We said, "O Abu Sa`id ! Let us know that." He smiled and said, "Man was created hasty. I did not mention that, but that I wanted to inform you of it. Anas told me the same as he told you and said that the Prophet added, 'I then return for a fourth time and praise Him similarly and prostrate before Him me the same as he 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request): and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted .' I will say, 'O Lord, allow me to intercede for whoever said, 'None has the right to be worshiped except Allah.' Then Allah will say, 'By my Power, and my Majesty, and by My Supremacy, and by My Greatness, I will take out of Hell (Fire) whoever said: 'None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.' ''

`Ata' said, "Jabir bin `Abdullah said, 'The Prophet went out on the Day of `Id-ul-Fitr and offered the prayer before delivering the Khutba, Ata told me that during the early days of Ibn Az-Zubair, Ibn `Abbas had sent a message to him telling him that the Adhan for the `Id Prayer was never pronounced (in the life time of Allah's Apostle) and the Khutba used to be delivered after the prayer. Ata told me that Ibn `Abbas and Jabir bin `Abdullah, had said, "There was no Adhan for the prayer of `Id-ul-Fitr and `Id-ul-Aqha." `Ata' said, "I heard Jabir bin `Abdullah saying, 'The Prophet stood up and started with the prayer, and after it he delivered the Khutba. When the Prophet of Allah (p.b.u.h) finished (the Khutba), he went to the women and preached to them, while he was leaning on Bilal's hand. Bilal was spreading his garment and the ladies were putting alms in it.' " I said to Ata, "Do you think it incumbent upon an Imam to go to the women and preach to them after finishing the prayer and Khutba?" `Ata' said, "No doubt it is incumbent on Imams to do so, and why should they not do so?"

Allah's Apostle offered the prayer on the day of Nahr and then delivered the Khutba and ordered that whoever had slaughtered his sacrifice before the prayer should repeat it, that is, should slaughter another sacrifice. Then a person from the Ansar stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! because of my neighbors (he described them as being very needy or poor) I slaughtered before the prayer. I have a young she-goat which, in my opinion, is better than two sheep." The Prophet gave him the permission for slaughtering it as a sacrifice.

We got down at Al-Muzdalifa and Sauda asked the permission of the Prophet to leave (early) before the rush of the people. She was a slow woman and he gave her permission, so she departed (from Al- Muzdalifa) before the rush of the people. We kept on staying at Al-Muzdalifa till dawn, and set out with the Prophet but (I suffered so much that) I wished I had taken the permission of Allah's Apostle as Sauda had done, and that would have been dearer to me than any other happiness.

Sa'd bin 'Ubada Al-Ansari sought the verdict of Allah's Apostle regarding a vow made by his mother who had died before fulfilling it. Allah's Apostle said, "Fulfill it on her behalf." Some people said, "If the number of camels reaches twenty, then their owner has to pay four sheep as Zakat; and if their owner gives them as a gift or sells them in order to escape the payment of Zakat cunningly before the completion of a year, then he is not to pay anything, and if he slaughters them and then dies, then no Zakat is to be taken from his property."

Ibn `Umar said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'Do not pray at the time of sunrise and at the time of sunset.' " Ibn `Umar said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'If the edge of the sun appears (above the horizon) delay the prayer till it becomes high, and if the edge of the sun disappears, delay the prayer till it sets (disappears completely).' "

We went to Anas bin Malik and complained about the wrong we were suffering at the hand of Al- Hajjaj. Anas bin Malik said, "Be patient till you meet your Lord, for no time will come upon you but the time following it will be worse than it. I heard that from the Prophet."

My father said, "One night we were traveling with the Prophet and some people said, 'We wish that Allah's Apostle would take a rest along with us during the last hours of the night.' He said, 'I am afraid that you will sleep and miss the (Fajr) prayer.' Bilal said, 'I will make you get up.' So all slept and Bilal rested his back against his Rahila and he too was overwhelmed (by sleep) and slept. The Prophet got up when the edge of the sun had risen and said, 'O Bilal! What about your statement?' He replied, 'I have never slept such a sleep.' The Prophet said, 'Allah captured your souls when He wished, and released them when He wished. O Bilal! Get up and pronounce the Adhan for the prayer.' The Prophet performed ablution and when the sun came up and became bright, he stood up and prayed."

A man came to Allah's Apostle asking him about Islam, Allah's Apostle said, "You have to offer five compulsory prayers in a day and a night (24 hours)." The man asked, "Is there any more compulsory prayers for me?" Allah's Apostle said, "No, unless you like to offer Nawafil (i.e. optional prayers)." Allah's Apostle then added, "You have to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." The man said, "Am I to fast any other days?' Allah's Apostle said, "No, unless you wish to observe the optional fast voluntarily." Then Allah's Apostle told him about the compulsory Zakat. The man asked, "Do I have to give anything besides?" Allah's Apostle said, "No, unless you wish to give in charity voluntarily." So, the man departed saying, "By Allah I will neither do more nor less than that." Allah's Apostle said, "If he has said the truth he will be successful."

Once Allah's Apostle remained behind us in a journey. He joined us while we were performing ablution for the `Asr prayer which was over-due. We were just passing wet hands over our feet (not washing them properly) so the Prophet addressed us in a loud voice and said twice or thrice, "Save your heels from the fire."

(on the authority of his father who said) `Ammar said so (the above Statement). And Shu`ba stroked lightly the earth with his hands and brought them close to his mouth (blew off the dust) and passed them over his face and then the backs of his hands. `Ammar said, "Ablution (meaning Tayammum here) is sufficient for a Muslim if water is not available."

Al-Qasim used to walk in front of the funeral procession. He used not to get up for the funeral procession (in case it passed by him). And he narrated from `Aisha that she said, "The people of the pre-lslamic period of ignorance used to stand up for the funeral procession. When they saw it they used to say twice: 'You were noble in your family. What are you now?"

We went out in a campaign and the army was called The Army of the Khabt, and Abu 'Ubaida was our commander. We were struck with severe hunger. Then the sea threw a huge dead fish called Al- `Anbar, the like of which had never been seen. We ate of it for half a month, and then Abu 'Ubaida took one of its bones (and made an arch of it) so that a rider could easily pass under it.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) was asked about a man who divorced his wife three times, and she married another who entered upon her, but divorced her before having intercourse with her, whether she was lawful for the former husband. She said: The Prophet (saws) replied: She is not lawful for the first (husband) until she tastes the honey of the other husband and he tastes her honey.

On the day of the conquest of Mecca, Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn AbuSarh hid himself with Uthman ibn Affan.

He brought him and made him stand before the Prophet (saws), and said: Accept the allegiance of Abdullah, Messenger of Allah! He raised his head and looked at him three times, refusing him each time, but accepted his allegiance after the third time.

Then turning to his companions, he said: Was not there a wise man among you who would stand up to him when he saw that I had withheld my hand from accepting his allegiance, and kill him?

They said: We did not know what you had in your heart, Messenger of Allah! Why did you not give us a signal with your eye?

He said: It is not advisable for a Prophet to play deceptive tricks with the eyes.

Allah's Apostle said, "Keeping horses may be a source of reward to some (man), a shelter to another (i.e. means of earning one's living), or a burden to a third. He to whom the horse will be a source of reward is the one who keeps it in Allah's Cause (prepare it for holy battles) and ties it by a long rope in a pasture (or a garden). He will get a reward equal to what its long rope allows it to eat in the pasture or the garden, and if that horse breaks its rope and crosses one or two hills, then all its footsteps and its dung will be counted as good deeds for its owner; and if it passes by a river and drinks from it, then that will also be regarded as a good deed for its owner even if he has had no intention of watering it then. Horses are a shelter from poverty to the second person who keeps horses for earning his living so as not to ask others, and at the same time he gives Allah's right (i.e. rak`at) (from the wealth he earns through using them in trading etc.,) and does not overburden them. He who keeps horses just out of pride and for showing off and as a means of harming the Muslims, his horses will be a source of sins to him." When Allah's Apostle was asked about donkeys, he replied, "Nothing particular was revealed to me regarding them except the general unique verse which is applicable to everything: "Whoever does goodness equal to the weight of an atom (or small ant) shall see it (its reward) on the Day of Resurrection."

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 offered the `Id prayer with Allah's Apostle, Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman and all of them offered the prayer before delivering the Khutba.

The Prophet used to proceed to the Musalla and an 'Anaza used to be carried before him and planted in the Musalla in front of him and he would pray facing it (as a Sutra).

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to make the two rak`at before the Fajr prayer so light that I would wonder whether he recited Al-Fatiha (or not).

The Prophet said, "On the Day when all mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds, some of them will be enveloped in their sweat up to the middle of their ears."

The news of the migration of the Prophet (from Mecca to Medina) reached us while we were in Yemen. So we set out as emigrants towards him. We were (three) I and my two brothers. I was the youngest of them, and one of the two was Abu Burda, and the other, Abu Ruhm, and our total number was either 53 or 52 men from my people. We got on board a boat and our boat took us to Negus in Ethiopia. There we met Ja`far bin Abi Talib and stayed with him. Then we all came (to Medina) and met the Prophet at the time of the conquest of Khaibar. Some of the people used to say to us, namely the people of the ship, "We have migrated before you." Asma' bint 'Umais who was one of those who had come with us, came as a visitor to Hafsa, the wife the Prophet . She had migrated along with those other Muslims who migrated to Negus. `Umar came to Hafsa while Asma' bint 'Umais was with her. `Umar, on seeing Asma,' said, "Who is this?" She said, "Asma' bint 'Umais," `Umar said, "Is she the Ethiopian? Is she the sea-faring lady?" Asma' replied, "Yes." `Umar said, "We have migrated before you (people of the boat), so we have got more right than you over Allah's Apostle " On that Asma' became angry and said, "No, by Allah, while you were with Allah's Apostle who was feeding the hungry ones amongst you, and advised the ignorant ones amongst you, we were in the far-off hated land of Ethiopia, and all that was for the sake of Allah's Apostle . By Allah, I will neither eat any food nor drink anything till I inform Allah's Apostle of all that you have said. There we were harmed and frightened. I will mention this to the Prophet and will not tell a lie or curtail your saying or add something to it."

Hammam bin Al-Harith said, "I saw Jarir bin `Abdullah urinating. Then he performed ablution and passed his (wet) hands over his Khuffs (socks made from thick fabric or leather), stood up and prayed. He was asked about it. He replied that he had seen the Prophet doing the same." They approved of this narration as Jarir was one of those who embraced Islam very late.

A Jew passed by Allah's Apostle and said, "As-Samu 'Alaika." Allah's Apostle said in reply, "We 'Alaika." Allah's Apostle then said to his companions, "Do you know what he (the Jew) has said? He said, 'As-Samu 'Alaika.'" They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we kill him?" The Prophet, said, "No. When the people of the Book greet you, say: 'Wa 'Alaikum.'"