"Allah's Apostle said, 'The best of my followers are those living in my generation (i.e. my contemporaries). and then those who will follow the latter" `Imran added, "I do not remember whether he mentioned two or three generations after his generation, then the Prophet added, 'There will come after you, people who will bear witness without being asked to do so, and will be treacherous and untrustworthy, and they will vow and never fulfill their vows, and fatness will appear among them."

Allah's Apostle neither talked in an insulting manner nor did he ever speak evil intentionally. He used to say, "The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners." He added, " Learn the Qur'an from (any of these) four persons. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubai bin Ka`b, and Mu`adh bin Jabal."

Allah's Apostle said, "Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Ka`b). "The Prophet said, "You may say it." Then Muhammad bin Maslama went to Ka`b and said, "That man (i.e. Muhammad demands Sadaqa (i.e. Zakat) from us, and he has troubled us, and I have come to borrow something from you." On that, Ka`b said, "By Allah, you will get tired of him!" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Now as we have followed him, we do not want to leave him unless and until we see how his end is going to be. Now we want you to lend us a camel load or two of food." (Some difference between narrators about a camel load or two.) Ka`b said, "Yes, (I will lend you), but you should mortgage something to me." Muhammad bin Mas-lama and his companion said, "What do you want?" Ka`b replied, "Mortgage your women to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our women to you and you are the most handsome of the 'Arabs?" Ka`b said, "Then mortgage your sons to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our sons to you? Later they would be abused by the people's saying that so-and-so has been mortgaged for a camel load of food. That would cause us great disgrace, but we will mortgage our arms to you." Muhammad bin Maslama and his companion promised Ka`b that Muhammad would return to him. He came to Ka`b at night along with Ka`b's foster brother, Abu Na'ila. Ka`b invited them to come into his fort, and then he went down to them. His wife asked him, "Where are you going at this time?" Ka`b replied, "None but Muhammad bin Maslama and my (foster) brother Abu Na'ila have come." His wife said, "I hear a voice as if dropping blood is from him, Ka`b said. "They are none but my brother Muhammad bin Maslama and my foster brother Abu Naila. A generous man should respond to a call at night even if invited to be killed." Muhammad bin Maslama went with two men. (Some narrators mention the men as 'Abu bin Jabr. Al Harith bin Aus and `Abbad bin Bishr). So Muhammad bin Maslama went in together with two men, and sail to them, "When Ka`b comes, I will touch his hair and smell it, and when you see that I have got hold of his head, strip him. I will let you smell his head." Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf came down to them wrapped in his clothes, and diffusing perfume. Muhammad bin Maslama said. " have never smelt a better scent than this. Ka`b replied. "I have got the best 'Arab women who know how to use the high class of perfume." Muhammad bin Maslama requested Ka`b "Will you allow me to smell your head?" Ka`b said, "Yes." Muhammad smelt it and made his companions smell it as well. Then he requested Ka`b again, "Will you let me (smell your head)?" Ka`b said, "Yes." When Muhammad got a strong hold of him, he said (to his companions), "Get at him!" So they killed him and went to the Prophet and informed him. (Abu Rafi`) was killed after Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf."

For one year I wanted to ask `Umar about the two women who helped each other against the Prophet but I was afraid of him. One day he dismounted his riding animal and went among the trees of Arak to answer the call of nature, and when he returned, I asked him and he said, "(They were) `Aisha and Hafsa." Then he added, "We never used to give significance to ladies in the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, but when Islam came and Allah mentioned their rights, we used to give them their rights but did not allow them to interfere in our affairs. Once there was some dispute between me and my wife and she answered me back in a loud voice. I said to her, 'Strange! You can retort in this way?' She said, 'Yes. Do you say this to me while your daughter troubles Allah's Apostle?' So I went to Hafsa and said to her, 'I warn you not to disobey Allah and His Apostle.' I first went to Hafsa and then to Um Salama and told her the same. She said to me, 'O `Umar! It surprises me that you interfere in our affairs so much that you would poke your nose even into the affairs of Allah's Apostle and his wives.' So she rejected my advice. There was an Ansari man; whenever he was absent from Allah's Apostle and I was present there, I used to convey to him what had happened (on that day), and when I was absent and he was present there, he used to convey to me what had happened as regards news from Allah's Apostle . During that time all the rulers of the nearby lands had surrendered to Allah's Apostle except the king of Ghassan in Sham, and we were afraid that he might attack us. All of a sudden the Ansari came and said, 'A great event has happened!' I asked him, 'What is it? Has the Ghassani (king) come?' He said, 'Greater than that! Allah's Apostle has divorced his wives! I went to them and found all of them weeping in their dwellings, and the Prophet had ascended to an upper room of his. At the door of the room there was a slave to whom I went and said, "Ask the permission for me to enter." He admitted me and I entered to see the Prophet lying on a mat that had left its imprint on his side. Under his head there was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fires. Behold! There were some hides hanging there and some grass for tanning. Then I mentioned what I had said to Hafsa and Um Salama and what reply Um Salama had given me. Allah's Apostle smiled and stayed there for twenty nine days and then came down." (See Hadith No. 648, Vol. 3 for details)

`Abdur Rahman bin Abi Bakr said, "The Suffa Companions were poor people and the Prophet said, 'Whoever has food for two persons should take a third one from them (Suffa companions). And whosoever has food for four persons he should take one or two from them' Abu Bakr took three men and the Prophet took ten of them." `Abdur Rahman added, my father my mother and I were there (in the house). (The sub-narrator is in doubt whether `Abdur Rahman also said, 'My wife and our servant who was common for both my house and Abu Bakr's house). Abu Bakr took his supper with the Prophet and remained there till the `Isha' prayer was offered. Abu Bakr went back and stayed with the Prophet till the Prophet took his meal and then Abu Bakr returned to his house after a long portion of the night had passed. Abu Bakr's wife said, 'What detained you from your guests (or guest)?' He said, 'Have you not served them yet?' She said, 'They refused to eat until you come. The food was served for them but they refused." `Abdur Rahman added, "I went away and hid myself (being afraid of Abu Bakr) and in the meantime he (Abu Bakr) called me, 'O Ghunthar (a harsh word)!' and also called me bad names and abused me and then said (to his family), 'Eat. No welcome for you.' Then (the supper was served). Abu Bakr took an oath that he would not eat that food. The narrator added: By Allah, whenever any one of us (myself and the guests of Suffa companions) took anything from the food, it increased from underneath. We all ate to our fill and the food was more than it was before its serving. Abu Bakr looked at it (the food) and found it as it was before serving or even more than that. He addressed his wife (saying) 'O the sister of Bani Firas! What is this?' She said, 'O the pleasure of my eyes! The food is now three times more than it was before.' Abu Bakr ate from it, and said, 'That (oath) was from Satan' meaning his oath (not to eat). Then he again took a morsel (mouthful) from it and then took the rest of it to the Prophet. So that meal was with the Prophet. There was a treaty between us and some people, and when the period of that treaty had elapsed the Prophet divided us into twelve (groups) (the Prophet's companions) each being headed by a man. Allah knows how many men were under the command of each (leader). So all of them (12 groups of men) ate of that meal."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thabit ibn al-Ahnaf that he married an umm walad of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab. He said, "Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab summoned me and I went to him. I came in upon him and there were whips and two iron fetters placed there, and two of his slaves whom he had made to sit there. He said, 'Divorce her, or by He by whom one swears, I will do such-and-such to you!' I said, 'It is divorce a thousand times.' Then I left him and I saw Abdullah ibn Umar on the road to Makka and I told him about my situation. Abdullah ibn Umar was furious, and said, 'That is not divorce, and she is not haram for you, so return to your home.' I was still not at ease so I went to Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr who was the Amir of Makka at that time. I told him about my situation and what Abdullah ibn Umar had said to me. Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said to me, 'She is not haram for you, so return to your home,' and he wrote to Jabir ibn al-Aswad az-Zuhra who was the Amir of Madina and ordered him to punish Abdullah ibn Abdar-Rahman and to have him leave me and my family alone. I went to Madina, and Safiyya, the wife of Abdullah ibn Umar fitted out my wife so that she could bring her to my house with the knowledge of Abdullah ibn Umar. Then I invited Abdullah ibn Umar on the day of my wedding to the wedding feast and he came."

Yahya said that Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things in our community is that retaliation is taken from someone who breaks someone's hand or foot intentionally and not blood-money."

Malik said, "Retaliation is not inflicted on anyone until the wound of the injured party has healed. Then retaliation is inflicted on him. If the wound of the person on whom the retaliation has been inflicted is like the first person's wound when it heals, it is retaliation. If the wound of the one on whom the retaliation has been inflicted becomes worse or he dies, there is nothing held against the one who has taken retaliation. If the wound of the person on whom the retaliation has been inflicted heals and the injured party is paralysed or his injury has healed but he has a scar, defect, or blemish, the person on whom the retaliation has been inflicted does not have his hand broken again and further retaliation is not taken for his injury."

He said, "But there is blood-money from him according to what he has impaired or maimed of the hand of the injured party. The bodily injury is also like that."

Malik said, "When a man intentionally goes to his wife and gouges out her eye or breaks her hand or cuts off her finger or such like, and does it intentionally, retaliation is inflicted on him. As for a man who strikes his wife with a rope or a whip and hits what he did not mean to hit or does what he did not intend to do, he pays blood-money for what he has struck according to this principle, and retaliation is not inflicted on him."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abu Bakr ibn Muhammd ibn Amr ibn Hazm took retaliation for the breaking of a leg.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab, and he had heard from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that they said, "When a free man marries a slave-girl and consummates the marriage, she makes him muhsan."

Malik said, "All (of the people of knowledge) I have seen said that a slave-girl makes a free man muhsan when he marries her and consummates the marriage."

Malik said, "A slave makes a free woman muhsana when he consummates a marriage with her and a free woman only makes a slave muhsan when he is freed and he is her husband and has had sexual relations with her after he has been set free. If he parts from her before he is free, he is not a muhsan unless he marries her after having been set free and he consummates the marriage."

Malik said, "When a slave-girl is married to a free man and then he separates from her before she is set free, his marriage to her does not make her muhsana. She is not muhsana until she has married after she has been set free and she has had intercourse with her husband. That gives her ihsan. If she is the wife of a freeman and then she is set free while she is his wife before he separates from her, the man makes her muhsana if he has intercourse with her after she has been set free."

Malik said, "The christian and jewish free women and the muslim slave-girl all make a muslim free man muhsan when he marries one of them and has intercourse with her."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) went out from Juwayriyyah (wife of the Prophet). Earlier her name was Barrah, and he changed it. When he went out she was in her place of worship, and when he returned she was in her place of worship.

He asked: Have you been in your place of worship continuously? She said: Yes. He then said: Since leaving you I have said three times four phrases which, if weighed against all that you have said (during this period), would prove to be heavier: "Glory be to Allah, and I begin with praise of Him to the number of His creatures, in accordance with His good pleasure, to the weight of His throne and to the ink (extent) of His words."

Ibn Abbas explained the following Qur'anic verse: "O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you" During the lifetime of the Prophet (saws), when the people offered night prayer, they were asked to abstain from food and drink and (intercourse with) women, they kept fast till the next night. A man betrayed himself and had intercourse with his wife after he had offered the night prayer, and he did not break his fast. So Allah, the Exalted, intended to make it (fasting) easy for those who survived, thus providing a concession and utility. Allah, the Glorified, said: "Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves." By this Allah benefited the people and provided concession and ease to them.

Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, told that Abdullah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: spells, charms and love-potions are polytheism.

I asked: Why do you say this? I swear by Allah, when my eye was discharging I used to go to so-and-so, the Jew, who applied a spell to me. When he applied the spell to me, it calmed down. Abdullah said:

That was just the work of the Devil who was picking it with his hand, and when he uttered the spell on it, he desisted. All you need to do is to say as the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to say: Remove the harm, O Lord of men, and heal. Thou art the Healer. There is no remedy but Thine which leaves no disease behind.

Malik said from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that an effeminate man was with Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said to Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was listening. "Abdullah! If Allah grants you victory over Ta'if tomorrow, I will lead you to the daughter of Ghailan. She has four folds on her front and eight folds on her back." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "This sort of man should not enter freely with you." (It was customary to allow men with no sexual inclination to enter freely where there were women).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Umar ibn al- Khattab demanded of the people at Mina, "If anyone has knowledge of blood-money, let him inform me." Ad-Dahhak ibn Sufyan al-Kilabi stood up and said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wrote to me that the wife of Ashyam ad-Dibabi inherited from the blood-money of her husband." Umar ibn al-Khattab said to him, "Go into the tent until I come to you." When Umar ibn al-Khattab came in, ad-Dahhak told him about it and Umar ibn al-Khattab gave a decision based on that.

Ibn Shihab said, "The killing of Ashyam was accidental."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sad ibn Zurara that he had heard that Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, killed one of her slave-girls who had used sorcery against her. She was a mudabbara. Hafsa gave the order, and she was killed.

Malik said, "The sorcerer is the one who uses sorcery for himself and no one else uses that for him. It is like the one about whom Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'They know the one who devotes himself to it will have no share in the Next World.' (Sura 2 ayat 102) I think that that person is killed if he does that himself."

`Urwa bin Az-Zubair, Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Al-Qama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah related the narration of `Aisha, the wife the Prophet, when the slanderers had said about her what they had said and Allah later declared her innocence. Each of them related a part of the narration (wherein) the Prophet said (to `Aisha). "If you are innocent, then Allah will declare your innocence: but if you have committed a sin, then ask for Allah's Forgiveness and repent to him." `Aisha said, "By Allah, I find no example for my case except that of Joseph's father (when he said), 'So (for me) patience is most fitting.' " Then Allah revealed the ten Verses:-- "Verily those who spread the slander are a gang amongst you.." (24.11)

(the wife of the Prophet), I never saw Allah's Apostle laughing loudly enough to enable me to see his uvula, but he used to smile only. And whenever he saw clouds or winds, signs of deep concern would appear on his face. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! When people see clouds they usually feel happy, hoping that it would rain, while I see that when you see clouds, one could notice signs of dissatisfaction on your face." He said, "O `Aisha! What is the guarantee for me that there will be no punishment in it, since some people were punished with a wind? Verily, some people saw (received) the punishment, but (while seeing the cloud) they said, 'This cloud will give us rain.' "

That he heard Allah's Apostle describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration, and in his description he said, "While I was walking I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up towards the sky, and behold! I saw the same Angel who came to me in the Cave of Hira', sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was so terrified by him that I fell down on the ground. Then I went to my wife and said, 'Wrap me in garments! Wrap me in garments!' They wrapped me, and then Allah revealed: "O you, (Muhammad) wrapped-up! Arise and warn...and desert the idols." (74.1-5) Abu Salama said....Rujz means idols." After that, the Divine Inspiration started coming more frequently and regularly.

The Prophet stayed for three days between Khaibar and Medina, and there he consummated his marriage to Safiyya bint Huyai. I invited the Muslims to the wedding banquet in which neither meat nor bread was offered. He ordered for leather dining-sheets to be spread, and dates, dried yoghurt and butter were laid on it, and that was the Prophet's wedding banquet. The Muslims wondered, "Is she (Saffiyya) considered as his wife or his slave girl?" Then they said, "If he orders her to veil herself, she will be one of the mothers of the Believers; but if he does not order her to veil herself, she will be a slave girl. So when the Prophet proceeded from there, he spared her a space behind him (on his shecamel) and put a screening veil between her and the people.

Allah's Apostle came to visit me during my ailment which had been aggravated during Hajjat-al- Wada`. I said to him, "You see how sick I am. I have much property but have no heir except my only daughter May I give two thirds of my property in charity?"! He said, "No." I said, "Half of it?" He said, "No." I said "One third?" He said, "One third is too much, for to leave your heirs rich is better than to leave them poor, begging of others. Nothing you spend seeking Allah's pleasure but you shall get a reward for it, even for what you put in the mouth of your wife."

(the wife of the Prophet) When Allah's Apostle was in good health, he used to say, "No prophet's soul is ever captured unless he is shown his place in Paradise and given the option (to die or survive)." So when the death of the Prophet approached and his head was on my thigh, he became unconscious for a while and then he came to his senses and fixed his eyes on the ceiling and said, "O Allah (with) the highest companions." (See Qur'an 4:69). I said' "Hence he is not going to choose us." And I came to know that it was the application of the narration which he (the Prophet) used to narrate to us. And that was the last statement of the Prophet (before his death) i.e., "O Allah! With the highest companions." (See Qur'an 4:69)

Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Alqama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah regarding the narrating of the forged statement against `Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, when the slanderers said what they said and Allah revealed her innocence. `Aisha said, "But by Allah, I did not think that Allah, (to confirm my innocence), would reveal Divine Inspiration which would be recited, for I consider myself too unimportant to be talked about by Allah through Divine Inspiration revealed for recitation, but I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would reveal my innocence. So Allah revealed:-- 'Verily! Those who spread the slander are a gang among you...' (The ten Verses in Suratan- Nur) (24.11-20)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that she saw Safiyya bint Abi Ubayd, the wife of Abdullah ibn 'Umar, take off her head- covering and wipe her head with water. Nafi was a child at the time.

Malik was asked about a man who did wudu but forgot to wipe his head until the water had dried. He said, "I consider that he should wipe his head and then repeat the prayer if he has already performed it."

Malik was asked about a man who did wudu but forgot to wipe his head until the water had dried. He said, "I consider that he should wipe his head and then repeat the prayer if he has already performed it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Sulayman ibn Yasarfrom Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that a certain woman in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to bleed profusely, so Umm Salama consulted the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for her, and he said, "She should calculate the number of nights and days a month that she used to menstruate before it started happening, and she should leave off from prayerfor that much of the month. When she has completed that she should do ghusl, bind her private parts with a cloth, and then pray."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in the mosque one night and people prayed behind him. Then he prayed the next night and there were more people. Then they gathered on the third or fourth night and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not come out to them. In the morning, he said, "I saw what you were doing and the only thing that prevented me from coming out to you was that I feared that it would become obligatory (fard) for you." This happened in Ramadan.

Malik related to me from AIqama ibn Abi Alqama that his mother said that she had heard A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, rose one night and put on his clothes and then went out. I ordered my slave-girl, Barira, to follow him, and she followed him until he got to al-Baqi. He stood near it as long as Allah willed and then he left. Barira arrived back before him and told me and I did not say anything to him until morning, and then I mentioned it to him and he explained, 'I was sent out to the people of al-Baqi to pray for them.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to fast for so long that we thought he would never stop fasting, and he would go without fasting for so long that we thought he would never fast again. I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fast for a complete month except for Ramadan, and I never saw him do more fasting in any one month than he did in Shaban.'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that a son of Kab ibn Malik (Malik believed that ibn Shihab said it was Abd ar-Rahman ibn Kab) said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade those who fought ibn Abi Huqayq (a treacherous jew from Madina) to kill women and children. He said that one of the men fighting had said, 'The wife of ibn Abi Huqayq began screaming and I repeatedly raised my sword against her. Then I would remember the prohibition of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so I would stop. Had it not been for that, we would have been rid of her.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from al-Miswar ibn Rifaa al- Quradhi from az-Zubayr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr that Rifaa ibn Simwal divorced his wife, Tamima bint Wahb, in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, three times. Then she married Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr and he turned from her and could not consummate the marriage and so he parted from her. Rifaa wanted to marry her again and it was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he forbade him to marry her. He said, "She is not halal for you until she has tasted the sweetness of intercourse."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Thawban that Muhammad ibn Iyas ibn al-Bukayr said, "A man divorced his wife three times before he had consummated the marriage, and then it seemed good to him to marry her. Therefore, he wanted an opinion, and I went with him to ask Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra on his behalf about it, and they said, 'We do not think that you should marry her until she has married another husband.' He protested that his divorcing her had been only once. Ibn Abbas said, 'You threw away what you had of blessing.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Go and tell him to take her back and keep her until she is purified and then has a period and then is purified. Then if he wishes, he an keep her, and if he wishes he should divorce her before he has intercourse with her. That is the idda which Allah has commanded for women who are divorced."

(the wife of the Prophet) On the day when the sun Khasafat (eclipsed) Allah's Apostle prayed; he stood up and said Takbir and recited a prolonged recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, then he raised his head and said, "Sami`a l-lahu Lyman Hamidah," and then remained standing and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first. Then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration and he did the same in the second rak`a as in the first and then finished the prayer with Taslim. By that time the sun (eclipse) had cleared He addressed the people and said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse (Yakhsifan) because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. So when you see them make haste for the prayer."

We asked Ibn `Umar whether a man who had performed the Tawaf of the Ka`ba but had not performed the Tawaf between As-Safa and Al-Marwa yet, was permitted to have sexual relation with his wife. He replied, "The Prophet arrived (at Mecca) and circumambulated the Ka`ba seven times and then offered a two rak`at prayer behind Maqam-lbrahim and then performed the going (Tawaf) between As-Safa and Al-Marwa (seven times) (and verily, in Allah's Apostle you have a good example." And we asked Jabir bin `Abdullah (the same question) and he replied, "He should not go near her till he has finished the going (Tawaf) between As-Safa and Al-Marwa."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.' Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hands my soul is' The unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting."

A man came to the Prophet and said, "I had sexual intercourse with my wife on Ramadan (while fasting)." The Prophet asked him, "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet asked him, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He replied in the negative. He asked him, "Can you afford to feed sixty poor persons?" He replied in the negative. (Abu Huraira added): Then a basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet and he said (to that man), "Feed (poor people) with this by way of atonement." He said, "(Should I feed it) to poorer people than we? There is no poorer house than ours between its (Medina's) mountains." The Prophet said, "Then feed your family with it."

That the Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed each of you is a shepherd and all of you will be questioned regarding your flock. The commander who is in authority over the Muslims is responsible and he will be questioned regarding his responsibility. The man is responsible over the inhabitants of his house and he is the one who will be questioned about them. The wife is responsible in her husband's house and she will be questioned about it. The slave is responsible regarding his master's property, and he will be questioned about it. Indeed each of you is a shepherd and each of you will be questioned about his flock."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There are narrations on this topic from Abu Hurairah, Anas, and Abu Musa. The Hadith of Abu Musa is not preserved, and the Hadith of Anas is not preserved. And the Hadith of Ibn 'Umar is Hasan Sahih Hadith.

That 'Umair bin Al-Aswad Al-Anasi told him that he went to 'Ubada bin As-Samit while he was staying in his house at the sea-shore of Hims with (his wife) Um Haram. 'Umair said. Um Haram informed us that she heard the Prophet saying, "Paradise is granted to the first batch of my followers who will undertake a naval expedition." Um Haram added, I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Will I be amongst them?' He replied, 'You are amongst them.' The Prophet then said, 'The first army amongst' my followers who will invade Caesar's City will be forgiven their sins.' I asked, 'Will I be one of them, O Allah's Apostle?' He replied in the negative."

That Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani narrated to him something in the presence of Sa`id bin 'Ubaidullah Al- Khaulani who was brought up in the house of Maimuna the wife of the Prophet. Zaid narrated to them that Abu Talha said that the Prophet said, "The Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a picture." Busr said, "Later on Zaid bin Khalid fell ill and we called on him. To our surprise we saw a curtain decorated with pictures in his house. I said to Ubaidullah Al-Khaulani, "Didn't he (i.e. Zaid) tell us about the (prohibition of) pictures?" He said, "But he excepted the embroidery on garments. Didn't you hear him?" I said, "No." He said, "Yes, he did."