Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Amr ibn Rafi said, "I was writing a Qur'an for Hafsa, umm al-muminin, and she said, 'When you reach this ayat, let me know, "Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and stand obedient to Allah." When I reached it I told her and she dictated to me, 'Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and the asr prayer and stand obedient to Allah.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Urwa ibn Husayn from A'isha bint Qudama that her father said, "When I used to come to Uthman ibn Affan to collect my allowance he would ask me, 'Do you have any property on which zakat is due? 'If I said, 'Yes,' he would deduct the zakat on that property from my allowance, and if I said, 'No,' he would pay me my allowance (in full)."

Jabir bin `Abdullah said to me, "Your cousin (Hasan bin Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiya) came to me and asked about the bath of Janaba. I replied, 'The Prophet uses to take three handfuls of water, pour them on his head and then pour more water over his body.' Al-Hasan said to me, 'I am a hairy man.' I replied, 'The Prophet had more hair than you'. "

Allah's Apostle forbade Al-Wisal. The people said (to him), "But you fast Al-`Wisal," He said, "Who among you is like me? When I sleep (at night), my Lord makes me eat and drink. But when the people refused to give up Al-Wisal, he fasted Al-Wisal along with them for two days and then they saw the crescent whereupon the Prophet said, "If the crescent had not appeared I would have fasted for a longer period," as if he intended to punish them herewith.

Ibn Az-Zubair said to me, "Aisha used to tell you secretly a number of things. What did she tell you about the Ka`ba?" I replied, "She told me that once the Prophet said, 'O `Aisha! Had not your people been still close to the pre-Islamic period of ignorance (infidelity)! I would have dismantled the Ka`ba and would have made two doors in it; one for entrance and the other for exit." Later on Ibn Az-Zubair did the same.

A tumbler (full of milk or water) was brought to the Prophet who drank from it, while on his right side there was sitting a boy who was the youngest of those who were present and on his left side there were old men. The Prophet asked, "O boy, will you allow me to give it (i.e. the rest of the drink) to the old men?" The boy said, "O Allah's Apostle! I will not give preference to anyone over me to drink the rest of it from which you have drunk." So, the Prophet gave it to him.

A drink (milk mixed with water) was brought to Allah's Apostle who drank some of it. A boy was sitting to his right, and some old men to his left. Allah's Apostle said to the boy, "Do you allow me to give the rest of the drink to these people?" The boy said, "O Allah's Apostle! I will not give preference to anyone over me to drink the rest of it from which you have drunk." Allah's Apostle then handed the bowl (of drink) to the boy. (See Hadith No. 541).

That while he was with Allah's Apostle who was accompanied by the people on their way back from Hunain, the bedouins started begging things of Allah's Apostle so much so that they forced him to go under a Samura tree where his loose outer garment was snatched away. On that, Allah's Apostle stood up and said to them, "Return my garment to me. If I had as many camels as these trees, I would have distributed them amongst you; and you will not find me a miser or a liar or a coward."

Two men sneezed before the Prophet and he said Tashmit to one of them, while he did not say Tashmit to the other. So that man said, "O Allah's Apostle! You said Tashmit to that fellow but you did not say Tashmit to me. "The Prophet said, "That man praised Allah, but you did not praise Allah."

We were with the Prophet on a journey, and whenever we ascended a high place, we used to say, "Allahu Akbar." The Prophet said, "Don't trouble yourselves too much! You are not calling a deaf or an absent person, but you are calling One Who Hears, Sees, and is very near." Then he came to me while I was saying in my heart, "La hawla wala quwwatta illa billah (There is neither might nor power but with Allah)." He said, to me, "O `Abdullah bin Qais! Say, 'La hawla wala quwwata illa billah (There is neither might nor power but with Allah), for it is one of the treasures of Paradise." Or said, "Shall I tell you of it?"

The Prophet came to me while there was an effeminate man sitting with me, and I heard him (i.e. the effeminate man) saying to `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya, "O `Abdullah! See if Allah should make you conquer Ta'if tomorrow, then take the daughter of Ghailan (in marriage) as (she is so beautiful and fat that) she shows four folds of flesh when facing you, and eight when she turns her back." The Prophet then said, "These (effeminate men) should never enter upon you (O women!)." Ibn Juraij said, "That effeminate man was called Hit."

Narrated Hisham:

The above narration and added extra, that at that time, the Prophet, was besieging Taif.

"I heard Uthman while on the Minbar saying: 'I did not inform you about a Hadith I had heard from the Messenger of Allah (saws), out of dismay that you might part from me. Then it occurred to me that I should narrate to you so that one may choose from these matters accordingly. I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: "(Ribat) Guarding the frontier for a day in Allah's cause is beter in status than thousand days doing other than that.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih Gharib.

Muhammad bin Ism'ail said: "Abu Salih, the freed slave of 'Uthman's name is Burkan."

The Prophet was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Apostle used to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he used to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good.

The Prophet said, "The most hated persons to Allah are three: (1) A person who deviates from the right conduct, i.e., an evil doer, in the Haram (sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina); (2) a person who seeks that the traditions of the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance, should remain in Islam (3) and a person who seeks to shed somebody's blood without any right."

The Prophet said, "When Allah ordains something on the Heaven the angels beat with their wings in obedience to His Statement which sounds like that of a chain dragged over a rock. His Statement: "Until when the fear is banished from their hearts, the Angels say, 'What was it that your Lord said?' 'They reply, '(He has said) the Truth. And He is the Most High, The Great. " (34.23)

That he was told by the most learned one amongst them (i.e. Ibn `Abbas) that the Prophet went towards some land which was flourishing with vegetation and asked to whom it belonged. He was told that such and such a person took it on rent. The Prophet said, "It would have been better (for the owner) if he had given it to him gratis rather than charging him a fixed rent.

Another chain reports a similar narration.

I went to Sham with a group of the companions of `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud). Abu Ad-Darda' heard of our arrival so he came to us and said, "Is there anybody among you who can recite (Qur'an)" We replied in the affirmative. Then he asked, "Who is the best reciter?" They pointed at me. Then he told me to recite, so I recited the verse:-- 'By the night as it envelops 'By the day as it appears in brightness; By (Him Who created) male and the female.' (92.1-3) Abu Ad-Darda' then said to me, "Did you hear it (like this) from the mouth of your friend (`Abdullah bin Mas`ud)?" I said, "Yes." He said, "I too, heard it (like this) from the mouth of the Prophet, but these people do not consider this recitation as the correct one."

Yahya related to me from Malik fromAbdullah ibn Abi Bakr that a mawla of Amir bint Abd ar-Rahman called Ruqayya told him that she once set out with Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman to go to Makka. She said, ''Amra entered Makka on the eighth of Dhu'l-Hijja, and I was with her. She did tawaf of the House, and say between Safa and Marwa, and then entered the back of the mosque. She asked me, 'Do you have a pair of scissors with you?' and I said, 'No.' She said, 'Then try and find some for me.' I went and looked for some and brought them back and she cut some hair from the tresses of her head.Then, on the day of sacrifice, she slaughtered a sheep."

`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)

`Umar bin Al-Khattab departed for Sham and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the (Muslim) army, Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah and his companions met him and told him that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. `Umar said, "Call for me the early emigrants." So `Umar called them, consulted them and informed them that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. Those people differed in their opinions. Some of them said, "We have come out for a purpose and we do not think that it is proper to give it up," while others said (to `Umar), "You have along with you. other people and the companions of Allah's Apostle so do not advise that we take them to this epidemic." `Umar said to them, "Leave me now." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, Leave me now," and added, "Call for me the old people of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Mecca." I called them and they gave a unanimous opinion saying, "We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to that (place) of epidemic." So `Umar made an announcement, "I will ride back to Medina in the morning, so you should do the same." Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah said (to `Umar), "Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?" `Umar said, "Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu 'Ubaida! Yes, we are running from what Allah had ordained to what Allah has ordained. Don't you agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?" At that time `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, who had been absent because of some job, came and said, "I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'If you hear about it (an outbreak of plague) in a land, do not go to it; but if plague breaks out in a country where you are staying, do not run away from it.' " `Umar thanked Allah and returned to Medina.

Sa`d bin Mu`adh came to Mecca with the intention of performing `Umra, and stayed at the house of Umaiya bin Khalaf Abi Safwan, for Umaiya himself used to stay at Sa`d's house when he passed by Medina on his way to Sham. Umaiya said to Sa`d, "Will you wait till midday when the people are (at their homes), then you may go and perform the Tawaf round the Ka`ba?" So, while Sa`d was going around the Ka`ba, Abu Jahl came and asked, "Who is that who is performing Tawaf?" Sa`d replied, "I am Sa`d." Abu Jahl said, "Are you circumambulating the Ka`ba safely although you have given refuge to Muhammad and his companions?" Sa`d said, "Yes," and they started quarreling. Umaiya said to Sa`d, "Don't shout at Abi-l-Hakam (i.e. Abu Jahl), for he is chief of the valley (of Mecca)." Sa`d then said (to Abu Jahl). 'By Allah, if you prevent me from performing the Tawaf of the Ka`ba, I will spoil your trade with Sham." Umaiya kept on saying to Sa`d, "Don't raise your voice." and kept on taking hold of him. Sa`d became furious and said, (to Umaiya), "Be away from me, for I have heard Muhammad saying that he will kill you." Umaiiya said, "Will he kill me?" Sa`d said, "Yes,." Umaiya said, "By Allah! When Muhammad says a thing, he never tells a lie." Umaiya went to his wife and said to her, "Do you know what my brother from Yathrib (i.e. Medina) has said to me?" She said, "What has he said?" He said, "He claims that he has heard Muhammad claiming that he will kill me." She said, By Allah! Muhammad never tells a lie." So when the infidels started to proceed for Badr (Battle) and declared war (against the Muslims), his wife said to him, "Don't you remember what your brother from Yathrib told you?" Umaiya decided not to go but Abu Jahl said to him, "You are from the nobles of the valley (of Mecca), so you should accompany us for a day or two." He went with them and thus Allah got him killed.

Allah's Apostle appointed a man called Ibn Al-Lutabiyya to collect the Zakat from Bani Sulaim's tribe. When he returned, the Prophet called him to account. He said (to the Prophet, 'This is your money, and this has been given to me as a gift." On that, Allah's Apostle said, "Why didn't you stay in your father's and mother's house to see whether you will be given gifts or not if you are telling the truth?" Then the Prophet addressed us, and after praising and glorifying Allah, he said: "Amma Ba'du", I employ a man from among you to manage some affair of what Allah has put under my custody, and then he comes to me and says, 'This is your money and this has been given to me as a gift. Why didn't he stay in his father's and mother's home to see whether he will be given gifts or not? By Allah, not anyone of you takes a thing unlawfully but he will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection, carrying that thing. I do not want to see any of you carrying a grunting camel or a mooing cow or a bleating sheep on meeting Allah." Then the Prophet raised both his hands till the whiteness of his armpits became visible, and he said, "O Allah! Haven't I have conveyed (Your Message)?" The narrator added: My eyes witnessed and my ears heard (that Hadith).

I heard `Ali saying, "Allah's Apostle sent me, Az-Zubair and Al-Miqdad somewhere saying, 'Proceed till you reach Rawdat Khakh. There you will find a lady with a letter. Take the letter from her.' " So, we set out and our horses ran at full pace till we got at Ar-Rawda where we found the lady and said (to her). "Take out the letter." She replied, "I have no letter with me." We said, "Either you take out the letter or else we will take off your clothes." So, she took it out of her braid. We brought the letter to Allah's Apostle and it contained a statement from Hatib bin Abi Balta a to some of the Meccan pagans informing them of some of the intentions of Allah's Apostle. Then Allah's Apostle said, "O Hatib! What is this?" Hatib replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Don't hasten to give your judgment about me. I was a man closely connected with the Quraish, but I did not belong to this tribe, while the other emigrants with you, had their relatives in Mecca who would protect their dependents and property . So, I wanted to recompense for my lacking blood relation to them by doing them a favor so that they might protect my dependents. I did this neither because of disbelief not apostasy nor out of preferring Kufr (disbelief) to Islam." Allah's Apostle, said, "Hatib has told you the truth." `Umar said, O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop off the head of this hypocrite." Allah's Apostle said, "Hatib participated in the battle of Badr, and who knows, perhaps Allah has already looked at the Badr warriors and said, 'Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you."

The Prophet said, "Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'O Adam! Don't you see the people (people's condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking' and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, "But you d better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.' They will go to Noah who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention the mistake which he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.' They will go to Abraham who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly' They will go to Moses who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'You'd better go to Jesus, Allah's slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.' They will go to Jesus who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, but you'd better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).' So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, '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 then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, '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 then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise, I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, '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 then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back and say, 'O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur'an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.' " The Prophet added, "There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ' La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant).

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abbas used to say, "You can eat anything that has had its jugular vein cut."

The Prophet said "None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind."

`Aisha said, "Once Allah's Apostle said (to me), 'O Aish (`Aisha)! This is Gabriel greeting you.' I said, 'Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be on him, you see what I don't see' " She was addressing Allah 's Apostle.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent an army to Banu al-Anbar. They captured them at Rukbah in the suburbs of at-Ta'if and drove them to the Holy Prophet (saws).

I rode hurriedly to the Holy Prophet (saws) and said: Peace be on you, Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Your contingent came to us and arrested us, but we had already embraced Islam and cut the sides of the ears of our cattle.

When Banu al-Anbar arrived, the Holy Prophet (saws) said to me: Have you any evidence that you had embraced Islam before you were captured today?

I said: Yes. He said: Who is your witness? I said: Samurah, a man from Banu al-Anbar, and another man whom he named. The man testified but Samurah refused to testify. The Holy Prophet (saws) said: He (Samurah) has refused to testify for you, so take an oath with your other witness. I said: Yes. He then dictated an oath to me and I swore to the effect that we had embraced Islam on a certain day, and that we had cut the sides of the ears of the cattle.

The Holy Prophet (saws) said: Go and divide half of their property, but do not touch their children. Had Allah not disliked the wastage of action, we should not have taxed you even a rope.

Zubayb said: My mother called me and said: This man has taken my mattress. I then went to the Holy Prophet (saws) and informed him.

He said to me: Detain him. So I caught him with a garment around his neck, and stood there with him . Then the Holy Prophet (saws) looked at us standing there. He asked: What do you intend (doing) with your captive?

I said: I shall let him go free if he returns to this (man) the mattress of his mother which he has taken from her.

He said: Prophet of Allah (saws), I no longer have it.

He said: The Holy Prophet (saws) took the sword of the man and gave it to me, and said to him: Go and give him some sa's of cereal. So he gave me some sa's of barley.

The group of people whom `Umar had selected as candidates for the Caliphate gathered and consulted each other. `Abdur-Rahman said to them, "I am not going to compete with you in this matter, but if you wish, I would select for you a caliph from among you." So all of them agreed to let `Abdur-Rahman decide the case. So when the candidates placed the case in the hands of `Abdur-Rahman, the people went towards him and nobody followed the rest of the group nor obeyed any after him. So the people followed `Abdur-Rahman and consulted him all those nights till there came the night we gave the oath of allegiance to `Uthman. Al-Miswar (bin Makhrama) added: `Abdur-Rahman called on me after a portion of the night had passed and knocked on my door till I got up, and he said to me, "I see you have been sleeping! By Allah, during the last three nights I have not slept enough. Go and call Az-Zubair and Sa`d.' So I called them for him and he consulted them and then called me saying, 'Call `Ali for me." I called `Ali and he held a private talk with him till very late at night, and then 'Al, got up to leave having had much hope (to be chosen as a Caliph) but `Abdur-Rahman was afraid of something concerning `Ali. `Abdur-Rahman then said to me, "Call `Uthman for me." I called him and he kept on speaking to him privately till the Mu'adh-dhin put an end to their talk by announcing the Adhan for the Fajr prayer. When the people finished their morning prayer and that (six men) group gathered near the pulpit, `Abdur-Rahman sent for all the Muhajirin (emigrants) and the Ansar present there and sent for the army chief who had performed the Hajj with `Umar that year. When all of them had gathered, `Abdur- Rahman said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," and added, "Now then, O `Ali, I have looked at the people's tendencies and noticed that they do not consider anybody equal to `Uthman, so you should not incur blame (by disagreeing)." Then `Abdur-Rahman said (to `Uthman), "I gave the oath of allegiance to you on condition that you will follow Allah's Laws and the traditions of Allah's Apostle and the traditions of the two Caliphs after him." So `Abdur-Rahman gave the oath of allegiance to him, and so did the people including the Muhajirin (emigrants) and the Ansar and the chiefs of the army staff and all the Muslims.