Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from A'isha, umm al-muminin that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to send Uthman ibn Affan to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq to ask him about their inheritance from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace A'isha said to them, "Didn't the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No one inherits from us. What we leave is sadaqa.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that a beggar asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for something while she was fasting and there was only a loaf of bread in her house. She said to her female mawla, "Give it to him." The mawla protested, "You will not have anything to break your fast with." A'isha repeated, "Give it to him," so she did so. When evening came, the people of a house or a man who did not usually give to them, gave them a sheep and some food to go with it. A'isha, umm al-muminin, called her mawla and said, "Eat from this. This is better than your loaf of bread."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that A'isha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began fasting voluntarily one morning and then food was given to them and they broke their fast with it. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came in. A'isha said, "Hafsa asked, anticipating me in speech - she took after her father Umar - 'Messenger of Allah, A'isha and I began the morning fasting voluntarily and then food was given us and we broke the fast with it.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Fast another day in its place.' "

Aisha the wife of the Prophet, said, "Allah's Apostle used to examine the believing women who migrated to him in accordance with this Verse: 'O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance to you... Verily! Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.' (60.12) `Aisha said, "And if any of the believing women accepted the condition (assigned in the above-mentioned Verse), Allah's Apostle would say to her. "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance." "He would only say that, for, by Allah, his hand never touched, any lady during that pledge of allegiance. He did not receive their pledge except by saying, "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance for that."

that he had divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle . `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked Allah's Apostle about that. Allah's Apostle said, "Order him (your son) to take her back and keep her till she is clean and then to wait till she gets her next period and becomes clean again, whereupon, if he wishes to keep her, he can do so, and if he wishes to divorce her he can divorce her before having sexual intercourse with her; and that is the prescribed period which Allah has fixed for the women meant to be divorced."

I heard `Urwa bin Az-Zubair, Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Alqama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah narrating from `Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, the story about the liars who said what they said about her and how Allah revealed her innocence afterwards. Each one of the above four narrators narrated to me a portion of her narration. (It was said in it), "The Prophet stood up, saying, 'Is there anyone who can relieve me from `Abdullah bin Ubai?' On that, Usaid bin Hudair got up and said to Sa`d bin 'Ubada, La`Amrullahi (By the Eternity of Allah), we will kill him!' "

I witnessed the case of Lian (the case of a man who charged his wife for committing illegal sexual intercourse when I was fifteen years old. The Prophet ordered that they be divorced, and the husband said, "If I kept her, I would be a liar." I remember that Az-Zubair also said, "(It was said) that if that woman brought forth the child with such-and-such description, her husband would prove truthful, but if she brought it with such-and-such description looking like a Wahra (a red insect), he would prove untruthful." I heard Az-Zubair also saying, "Finally she gave birth to a child of description which her husband disliked .

Once I stayed overnight at the house of (my aunt ) Maimuna while the Prophet was with her, to see how was the night prayer of Allah s Apostle Allah's Apostle talked to his wife for a while and then slept. When it was the last third of the night (or part of it), the Prophet got up and looked towards the sky and recited the Verse:-- 'Verily! In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth....there are indeed signs for the men of understanding.' (3.190) Then He got up and performed the ablution, brushed his teeth and offered eleven rak`at. Then Bilal pronounced the Adhan whereupon the Prophet offered a two-rak`at (Sunna) prayer and went out to lead the people in Fajr (morning compulsory congregational prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Sheep from the zakat were brought past Umar ibn al-Khattab and he saw amongst them a sheep with a large udder, ready to give milk, and he said, 'What is this sheep doing here?' and they replied, 'It is one of the sheep from the zakat.' Umar said, 'The owners did not give this sheep willingly. Do not subject people to trials. Do not take from the muslims those of their animals which are the best food-producers.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'l-Aswad Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Nawfal from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from Zaynab bint Abi Salama that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I once complained to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that I was ill and he said, 'Do tawaf riding behind the people.' So I did tawaf riding my camel, while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was praying by the side of the House, reciting Surat at-Tur."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man came to Abdullah ibn Masud and said, "I have divorced my wife by saying I divorce you eight times." Ibn Masud said to him, "What have people told you?" He replied, "I have been told that I have to part absolutely from her." Ibn Masud said, "They have spoken the truth. A person who divorces as Allah has commanded, Allah makes it clear for him, and a person who obscures himself in error, we make stay by his error. So do not confuse yourselves and pull us into your confusion. It is as they have said."

I asked `Uthman bin `Affan about a man who engaged in the sexual intercourse with his wife but did not discharge. `Uthman replied, "He should perform ablution like that for the prayer after washing his private parts." `Uthman added, "I heard that from Allah's Apostle." I asked `Ali bin Abi Talib, Az- Zubair bin Al-`Awwam, Talha bin 'Ubaidullah and Ubai bin Ka`b and they gave the same reply. (Abu Aiyub said that he had heard that from Allah's Apostle ) (This order was canceled later on so one has to take a bath. See, Hadith No. 180).

Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah told me that `Aisha had said, "When the Prophet became sick and his condition became serious, he requested his wives to allow him to be treated in my house, and they allowed him. He came out leaning on two men while his feet were dragging on the ground. He was walking between Al-`Abbas and another man." 'Ubaidullah said, "When I informed Ibn `Abbas of what `Aisha had said, he asked me whether I knew who was the second man whom `Aisha had not named. I replied in the negative. He said, 'He was `Ali bin Abi Talib."

Abu Dawud said: The Prophet (saws) kept apart from some of his wives for forty days, and Ibn 'Umar kept apart from his son till he died.

Abu Dawud said: If keeping apart is meant for the sake of Allah, then it has no concern with it. 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Aziz covered his face from a man.

Muhammad b. Hatim said: The name of Al-Azdiyyah is Mussah and her patronymic name is Umm Busrah.

Abu Dawud said: The patronymic names of Kathir b. Ziyad s Abu Sahl.

That during the Year of the Conquest, while he was in Makkah, he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: "Indeed Allah and His Messenger unlawful the sale of wine, dead carcasses, the pig, and idols." They said: "O Messenger of Allah! What about the fat of carcasses? For indeed it is used to coat the ships, skins are oiled with it, and people use it for lamps?" He said: "No. It is unlawful." Then, with that, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "May Allah fight (curse) the Jews! Indeed Allah made the fat unlawful for them, they melted it, sold it, and consumed its price."

[He said:] There are narrations of this topic from 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Jabir is Hasan Sahih Hadith. This is acted upon according to the people of knowledge.

While the Prophet was prostrating, surrounded by some of Quraish, `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait brought the intestines (i.e. Abdominal contents) of a camel and put them over the back of the Prophet. The Prophet did not raise his head, (till) Fatima, came and took it off his back and cursed the one who had done the harm. The Prophet said, "O Allah! Destroy the chiefs of Quraish, Abu Jahl bin Hisham, `Utba bin Rabi`al, Shaba bin Rabi`a, Umaiya bin Khalaf or Ubai bin Khalaf." (The sub-narrator Shu`ba, is not sure of the last name.) I saw these people killed on the day of Badr battle and thrown in the well except Umaiya or Ubai whose body parts were mutilated but he was not thrown in the well.

One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.

1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.

2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.

The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone desires the office of Judge and seeks help for it, he will be left to his own devices; if anyone does not desire it, nor does he seek help for it, Allah will send down an angel who will direct him aright.

Waki' said: (This tradition has also been transmitted) by Isra'il, from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Abi Musa, from Anas, from the Prophet (saws).

Abu 'Awanah said: from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Mirdas al-Fazari, from Khaithamah al-Basri from Anas.

I heard the Prophet describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration. He said in his talk, "While I was walking, I heard voices from the sky. I looked up, 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 too much afraid of him (so I returned to my house) and said, 'Fold me up in garments!' They wrapped me up. Then Allah revealed: 'O you wrapped...and desert the idols before the prayer became compulsory.' Rujz means idols.

(the mother of the faithful believers) Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah's Apostle "O Allah's Apostle! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?" Allah's Apostle replied, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says." 'Aisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over).

Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Any person who takes a bath on Friday like the bath of Janaba and then goes for the prayer (in the first hour i.e. early), it is as if he had sacrificed a camel (in Allah's cause); and whoever goes in the second hour it is as if he had sacrificed a cow; and whoever goes in the third hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a horned ram; and if one goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour then it is as if he had offered an egg. When the Imam comes out (i.e. starts delivering the Khutba), the angels present themselves to listen to the Khutba."

I stuffed for the Prophet a pillow decorated with pictures (of animals) which looked like a Namruqa (i.e. a small cushion). He came and stood between the two doors and his face began to change. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! What did we do wrong?" He said, "What is this pillow?" I said, "I have prepared this pillow for you, so that you may recline on it." He said, "Don't you know that angels do not enter a house wherein there are pictures; and whoever makes a picture will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and will be asked to give life to (what he has created)?"

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Allah, Most High, will cause three persons to enter Paradise for one arrow: the maker when he has a good motive in making it, the one who shoots it, and the one who hands it; so shoot and ride, but your shooting is dearer to me than your riding. Everything with which a man amuses himself is vain except three (things): a man's training of his horse, his playing with his wife, and his shooting with his bow and arrow. If anyone abandons archery after becoming an adept through distaste for it, it is a blessing he has abandoned; or he said: for which he has been ungrateful.

I then asked: Messenger of Allah, (what should we do), if the people are assembled together?

He replied: If it is within your power that no one looks at it, then no one should look at it.

I then asked: Messenger of Allah if one of us is alone, (what should he do)?

He replied: Allah is more entitled than people that bashfulness should be shown to him.

The Prophet (saws) said: In the morning alms are due from every bone in man's fingers and toes. Salutation to everyone he meets is alms; enjoining good is alms; forbidding what is disreputable is alms; removing what is harmful from the road is alms; having sexual intercourse with his wife is alms. The people asked: He fulfils his desire, Messenger of Allah; is it alms? He replied: Tell me if he fulfilled his desire where he had no right, would he commit a sin ? He then said: Two rak'ahs which one prays in the forenoon serve instead of all that.

Abu Dawud said: Hammad did not mention enjoining good and forbidding what is disreputable.

'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), said that between the time when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) finished the 'Isha' prayer which is called 'Atama by the people, he used to pray eleven rak'ahs, uttering the salutation at the end of every two rak'ahs, and observing the Witr with a single one. And when the Mu'adhdhin had finished the call (for the) dawn prayer and he saw the dawn clearly and the Mu'adhdhin had come to him, he stood up and prayed two short rak'ahs. Then he lay down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin came to him for lqama. (This hadith has been narrated with the same chain of transmitters by Ibn Shihab, but in it no mention has been made of Iqama )

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from Zaynab bint Abi Salama from Umm Salama, 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, said, "I am but a man to whom you bring your disputes. Perhaps one of you is more eloquent in his proof than the other, so I give judgement according to what I have heard from him. Whatever I decide for him which is part of the right of his brother, he must not take any of it, for I am granting him a portion of the Fire."

I or somebody, asked Allah's Apostle "Which is the biggest sin in the Sight of Allah?" He said, "That you set up a rival (in worship) to Allah though He Alone created you." I asked, "What is next?" He said, "Then, that you kill your son, being afraid that he may share your meals with you." I asked, "What is next?" He said, "That you commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor." Then the following Verse was revealed to confirm the statement of Allah's Apostle: "Those who invoke not with Allah, any other god, nor kill life as Allah has forbidden except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse." (25.68)

That he heard the Prophet delivering a sermon, and he mentioned the shecamel and the one who hamstrung it. Allah's Apostle recited:-- 'When, the most wicked man among them went forth (to hamstrung the she-camel).' (91.12.) Then he said, "A tough man whose equal was rare and who enjoyed the protection of his people, like Abi Zama went forth to (hamstrung) it." The Prophet then mentioned about the women (in his sermon). "It is not wise for anyone of you to lash his wife like a slave, for he might sleep with her the same evening." Then he advised them not to laugh when somebody breaks wind and said, "Why should anybody laugh at what he himself does?"

A man divorced his wife and she married another man who proved to be impotent and divorced her. She could not get her satisfaction from him, and after a while he divorced her. Then she came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! My first husband divorced me and then I married another man who entered upon me to consummate his marriage but he proved to be impotent and did not approach me except once during which he benefited nothing from me. Can I remarry my first husband in this case?" Allah's Apostle said, "It is unlawful to marry your first husband till the other husband consummates his marriage with you."

The Prophet visited me at Mecca while I was ill. I said (to him), "I have property; May I bequeath all my property in Allah's Cause?" He said, "No." I said, "Half of it?" He said, "No." I said, "One third of it?" He said, "One-third (is alright), yet it is still too much, for you'd better leave your inheritors wealthy than leave them poor, begging of others. Whatever you spend will be considered a Sadaqa for you, even the mouthful of food you put in the mouth of your wife. Anyhow Allah may let you recover, so that some people may benefit by you and others be harmed by you."

that the Prophet entered upon her when she had her menses at Sarif before entering Mecca, and she was weeping (because she was afraid that she would not be able to perform the Hajj). The Prophet said, "What is wrong with you? Have you got your period?" She said, "Yes." He said, "This is a matter Allah has decreed for all the daughters of Adam, so perform all the ceremonies of Hajj like the others, but do not perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba." `Aisha added: When we were at Mina, beef was brought to me and I asked, "What is this?" They (the people) said, "Allah's Apostle has slaughtered some cows as sacrifices on behalf of his wives."

that he came to `Aisha and said to her, "O Mother of the Believers! There is a man who sends a Hadi to Ka`ba and stays in his city and requests that his Hadi camel be garlanded while he remains in a state of Ihram from that day till the people finish their Ihram (after completing all the ceremonies of Hajj)" (What do you say about it?) Masruq added, I heard the clapping of her hands behind the curtain. She said, "I used to twist the garlands for the Hadi of Allah's Apostle and he used to send his Hadi to Ka`ba but he never used to regard as unlawful what was lawful for men to do with their wives till the people returned (from the Hajj).

A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which sin is the greatest in Allah's Sight?" The Prophet said, "To set up a rival unto Allah though He Alone created you . " The man said, "What is next?" The Prophet said, "To kill your son lest he should share your food with you." The man said, "What is next?" The Prophet said, "To commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor." So Allah revealed in confirmation of this narration:-- 'And those who invoke not with Allah, any other god. Nor kill, such life as Allah has forbidden except for just cause nor commit illegal sexual intercourse. And whoever does this shall receive the punishment.' (25.68)

A bedouin came to Allah's Apostle and said, "My wife has delivered a black boy, and I suspect that he is not my child." Allah's Apostle said to him, "Have you got camels?" The bedouin said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "What color are they?" The bedouin said, "They are red." The Prophet said, "Are any of them Grey?" He said, "There are Grey ones among them." The Prophet said, "Whence do you think this color came to them?" The bedouin said, "O Allah's Apostle! It resulted from hereditary disposition." The Prophet said, "And this (i.e., your child) has inherited his color from his ancestors." The Prophet did not allow him to deny his paternity of the child.

A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which sin is the biggest in Allah's Sight?" The Prophet said, "To set up rivals unto Allah though He Alone created you." That man said, "What is next?" The Prophet said, "To kill your son lest he should share your food with you.'' The man said, "What is next?" The Prophet said, "To commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor." Then Allah revealed in confirmation of that: "And those who invoke not with Allah any other god, nor kill such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment..... (25.68)

Zainab bint Abu Salama told me these three narrations: Zainab said: I went to Um Habiba, the wife of the Prophet when her father, Abu- Sufyan bin Herb had died. Um ,Habiba asked for a perfume which contained yellow scent (Khaluq) or some other scent, and she first perfumed one of the girls with it and then rubbed her cheeks with it and said, "By Allah, I am not in need of perfume, but I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'It is not lawful for a lady who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a dead person for more than three days unless he is her husband for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman say, ''I heard that the wife of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf asked him to divorce her. He said, 'When you have menstruated and are pure, then come to me.' She did not menstruate until Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf was ill. When she was purified, she told him and he divorced her irrevocably or made a pronouncement of divorce which was all that he had left over her Abd arRahman ibn Awf was terminally ill at the time, so Uthman ibn Affan made her one of the heirs after the end of her idda."

I stayed overnight in the house of my aunt Maimuna bint Al-Harith (the wife of the Prophet ) while the Prophet was there with her during her night turn. The Prophet offered the `Isha' prayer (in the mosque), returned home and after having prayed four rak`at, he slept. Later on he got up at night and then asked whether the boy (or he used a similar word) had slept? Then he got up for the prayer and I stood up by his left side but he made me stand to his right and offered five rak`at followed by two more rak`at. Then he slept and I heard him snoring and then (after a while) he left for the (Fajr) prayer.

Allah's Apostle said, "Fasting is a shield (or a screen or a shelter). So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, 'I am fasting." The Prophet added, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), 'He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times."

That `Aisha the wife of the Prophet told her uncle that once, while the Prophet was in her house, she heard a man asking Hafsa's permission to enter her house. `Aisha said, "I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! I think the man is Hafsa's foster uncle.' " `Aisha added, "O Allah's Apostle! There is a man asking the permission to enter your house." Allah's Apostle replied, "I think the man is Hafsa's foster uncle." `Aisha said, "If so-and-so were living (i.e. her foster uncle) would he be allowed to visit me?" Allah's Apostle said, "Yes, he would, as the foster relations are treated like blood relations (in marital affairs).

While Allah's Apostle was in I`tikaf, I called on him at night and having had a talk with him, I got up to depart. He got up also to accompany me to my dwelling place, which was then in the house of Usama bin Zaid. Two Ansari men passed by, and when they saw the Prophet they hastened away. The Prophet said (to them). "Don't hurry! It is Safiya, the daughter of Huyay (i.e. my wife)." They said, "Glorified be Allah! O Allah's Apostle! (How dare we suspect you?)" He said, "Satan circulates in the human mind as blood circulates in it, and I was afraid that Satan might throw an evil thought (or something) into your hearts."

(The wife of the Prophet) Allah's Apostle said, "Don't you see that when your people built the Ka`ba, they did not build it on all Abraham's foundations?" I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why don't you rebuild it on Abraham's foundations?" He said, "Were your people not so close to (the period of Heathenism, i.e. the Period between their being Muslims and being infidels), I would do so." The sub-narrator, `Abdullah bin `Umar said, "Aisha had surely heard Allah's Apostle saying that, for I do not think that Allah's Apostle left touching the two corners of the Ka`ba facing Al-Hijr except because the Ka`ba was not built on all Abraham's foundations."

'Umar consulted the people about the compensation of abortion of woman. Al-Mughirah b. Shu'bah said: I was present with the Messenger of Allah (saws) when he gave judgement that a male or female slave should testify you. So he brought Muhammad b. Maslamah to him. Harun added: He then testified him.

Imlas means a man striking the belly of his wife.

Abu Dawud said: I have been informed that Abu 'Ubaid said: It (abortion) is called imlas because the woman causes it to slip before the time of delivery. Similarly, anything which slips from the hand or from some other thing is called malasa (slipped).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) was with one of his wives. One of the Mothers of faithful sent a bowl containing food through a servant of hers. She struck with her hand and broke the bowl. Ibn al-Muthanna's version has: The Prophet (saws) took the pieces of the bowl, and joined one with the other, and began to collect the food in it, saying: Your mother is jealous. Ibn al-Muthanna added: Eat. They ate till a bowl of the one in whose house he was brought.

Abu Dawud said: We then returned to the version of the tradition of Musaddad: He said: Eat. He detained the servant and the bowl till they were free. Then he returned the sound bowl to the messenger and detained the broken one (bowl) in his house.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that he was asked about the suckling of an older person. He said, ''Urwa ibn az-Zubayr informed me that Abu Hudhayfa ibn Utba ibn Rabia, one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was present at Badr, adopted Salim (who is called Salim, the mawla of Abu Hudhayfa) as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, adopted Zayd ibn Haritha. He thought of him as his son, and Abu Hudhayfa married him to his brother's sister, Fatima bint al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Rabia, who was at that time among the first emigrants. She was one of the best unmarried women of the Quraysh. When Allah the Exalted sent down in His Book what He sent down about Zayd ibn Haritha, 'Call them after their true fathers. That is more equitable in the sight of Allah. If you do not know who their fathers were then they are your brothers in the deen and your mawali,' (Sura 33 ayat 5) people in this position were traced back to their fathers. When the father was not known, they were traced to their mawla.

"Sahla bint Suhayl who was the wife of Abu Hudhayfa, and one of the tribe of Amr ibn Luayy, came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah! We think of Salim as a son and he comes in to see me while I am uncovered. We only have one room, so what do you think about the situation?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Give him five drinks of your milk and he will be mahram by it.' She then saw him as a foster son. A'isha umm al-muminin took that as a precedent for whatever men she wanted to be able to come to see her. She ordered her sister, Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiq and the daughters of her brother to give milk to whichever men she wanted to be able to come in to see her. The rest of the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, refused to let anyone come in to them by such nursing. They said, 'No! By Allah! We think that what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered Sahla bint Suhayl to do was only an indulgence concerning the nursing of Salim alone. No! By Allah! No one will come in upon us by such nursing!'

"This is what the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thought about the suckling of an older person."

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."