The Prophet said, "There is no believer but I, of all the people, I am the closest to him both in this world and in the Hereafter. Recite if you wish: 'The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves.' (33.6) so if a believer (dies) leaves some property then his relatives will inherit that property; but if he is in debt or he leaves poor children, let those (creditors and children) come to me (that I may pay the debt and provide for the children), for them I am his sponsor (surely).

I asked Mujahid regarding the prostration in Surat Sa`d. He said, "I asked Ibn `Abbas, 'What evidence makes you prostrate?' He said, "Don't you recite:--'And among his progeny, David and Solomon..(6.84). Those are they whom Allah had guided. So follow their guidance.' (6.90) So David was the one of those prophets whom Prophet (Muhammad) was ordered to follow. David prostrated, so Allah's Apostle (Muhammad) performed this prostration too.'

The Prophet used to offer prayer at night (for such a long time) that his feet used to crack. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why do you do it since Allah has forgiven you your faults of the past and those to follow?" He said, "Shouldn't I love to be a thankful slave (of Allah)?' When he became old, he prayed while sitting, but if he wanted to perform a bowing, he would get up, recite (some other verses) and then perform the bowing.

Allah's Apostle while in a tent on the day of the Battle of Badr, said, "O Allah! I request you (to fulfill) Your promise and contract! O Allah! If You wish that you will not be worshipped henceforth.." On that Abu Bakr held the Prophet by the hand and said, "That is enough, O Allah's Apostle You have appealed to your Lord too pressingly," while the Prophet was putting on his armor. So Allah's Apostle went out, reciting Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.' (54.45)

We took the oath of allegiance to Allah's Apostle and he recited to us: 'They will not associate anything in worship with Allah,' and forbade us to bewail the dead. Thereupon a lady withdrew her hand (refrained from taking the oath of allegiance), and said, "But such-and-such lady lamented over one of my relatives, so I must reward (do the same over the dead relatives of) hers." The Prophet did not object to that, so she went (there) and returned to the Prophet so he accepted her pledge of allegiance.

`Abdullah said, "I learnt An-Naza'ir which the Prophet used to recite in pairs in each rak`a." Then `Abdullah got up and Alqama accompanied him to his house, and when Alqama came out, we asked him (about those Suras). He said, "They are twenty Suras that start from the beginning of Al- Mufassal, according to the arrangement done be Ibn Mas`ud, and end with the Suras starting with Ha Mim, e.g. Ha Mim (the Smoke). and "About what they question one another?" (78.1)

I said to Jabir bin Zaid, "The people claim that Allah's Apostle forbade the eating of donkey's meat." He said, "Al-Hakam bin `Amr Al-Ghifari used to say so when he was with us, but Ibn `Abbas, the great religious learned man, refused to give a final verdict and recited:-- 'Say: I find not in that which has been inspired to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be carrion, blood poured forth or the flesh of swine...' (6.145)

Whenever the Prophet intended to go to bed, he would recite: "Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya (With Your name, O Allah, I die and I live)." And when he woke up from his sleep, he would say: "Al-hamdu lil-lahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana; wa ilaihi an-nushur (All the Praises are for Allah Who has made us alive after He made us die (sleep) and unto Him is the Resurrection). "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to pray as much as Allah willed in the night until at the end of the night he would wake his family for the prayer. He used to say to them, "The prayer, the prayer." Then he would recite the ayat, "Enjoin prayer on your family and be constant in it. We do not ask you for your provision. We provide for you. And the end result is for taqwa." (Sura 20 ayat 132)

We were with the Prophet on a full moon night. He looked at the moon and said, "You will certainly see your Lord as you see this moon, and there will be no trouble in seeing Him. So if you can avoid missing (through sleep, business, etc.) a prayer before the rising of the sun (Fajr) and before its setting (`Asr) you must do so. He (the Prophet ) then recited the following verse: And celebrate the praises Of Your Lord before The rising of the sun And before (its) setting." (50.39)

My father said, "When Allah's Apostle became seriously ill, he was told about the prayer. He said, 'Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer.' `Aisha said, 'Abu Bakr is a softhearted man and he would be overpowered by his weeping if he recited the Qur'an.' He said to them, 'Tell him (Abu Bakr) to lead the prayer. The same reply was given to him. He said again, 'Tell him to lead the prayer. You (women) are the companions of Joseph."

That once Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Your brother, i.e. `Abdullah bin Rawaha does not say obscene (referring to his verses): Amongst us is Allah's Apostle, who recites His Book when it dawns. He showed us the guidance, after we were blind. We believe that whatever he says will come true. And he spends his nights in such a way as his sides do not touch his bed. While the pagans were deeply asleep."

For thirty days Allah's Apostle invoked Allah to curse those who had killed the companions of Bir- Mauna; he invoked evil upon the tribes of Ral, Dhakwan, and Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and His Apostle. There was reveled about those who were killed at Bir-Mauna a Qur'anic Verse we used to recite, but it was cancelled later on. The Verse was: "Inform our people that we have met our Lord. He is pleased with us and He has made us pleased."

I went to `Uthman. After reciting Tashah-hud, he said,. "Then after no doubt, Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth, and I was amongst those who responded to the Call of Allah and His Prophet and believed in the message of Muhammad. Then took part in the two migrations. I became the son-in-law of Allah's Apostle and gave the pledge of allegiance to him By Allah, I never disobeyed him, nor did I deceive him till Allah took him unto Him."

`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.

Malik said, "There is no harm in someone who is in itikaf entering into a marriage contract as long as there is no physical relationship. A woman in itikaf may also be betrothed as long as there is no physical relationship. What is haram for someone in itikaf in relation to his womenfolk during the day is haram for him during the night."

Yahya said that Ziyad said that Malik said, "It is not halal for a man to have intercourse with his wife while he is in itikaf, nor for him to take pleasure in her by kissing her, or whatever. However, I have not heard anyone disapproving of a man, or woman, in itikaf getting married as long as there is no physical relationship. Marriage is not disapproved of for someone fasting."

"There is, however, a distinction between the marriage of someone in itikaf and that of someone who is muhrim, in that some one who is muhrim can eat, drink, visit the sick and attend funerals, but cannot put on perfume, whilst a man or woman in itikaf can put on oil and perfume and groom their hair, but cannot attend funerals or pray over the dead or visit the sick. Thus their situations with regard to marriage are different."

"This is the sunna as it has come down to us regarding marriage for those who are muhrim, doing itikaf, or fasting.

Some people went to Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi and told him that they had different opinions regarding the wood of the pulpit. They asked him about it and he said, "By Allah, I know of what wood the pulpit was made, and no doubt I saw it on the very first day when Allah's Apostle took his seat on it. Allah's Apostle sent for such and such an Ansari woman (and Sahl mentioned her name) and said to her, 'Order your slave-carpenter to prepare for me some pieces of wood (i.e. pulpit) on which I may sit at the time of addressing the people.' So she ordered her slave-carpenter and he made it from the tamarisk of the forest and brought it (to the woman). The woman sent that (pulpit) to Allah's Apostle who ordered it to be placed here. Then I saw Allah's Apostle praying on it and then bowed on it. Then he stepped back, got down and prostrated on the ground near the foot of the pulpit and again ascended the pulpit. After finishing the prayer he faced the people and said, 'I have done this so that you may follow me and learn the way I pray.' "

Safiya got her menses on the night of Nafr (departure from Hajj), and she said, "I see that I will detain you." The Prophet said, "Aqra Halqa! Did she perform the Tawaf on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering)?" Somebody replied in the affirmative. He said, "Then depart." (Different narrators mentioned that) `Aisha said, "We set out with Allah''s Apostle (from Medina) with the intention of performing Hajj only. When we reached Mecca, he ordered us to finish the Ihram. When it was the night of Nafr (departure), Safiya bint Huyay got her menses. The Prophet said, "Halqa Aqra! I think that she will detain you," and added, "Did you perform the Tawaf (Al-Ifada) on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering)?" She replied, "Yes." He said, "Then depart." I said, "O Allah''s Apostle! I have not (done the Umra)." He replied, "Perform `Umra from Tan`im." My brother went with me and we came across the Prophet in the last part of the night. He said, "Wait at such and such a place."

`Abdullah bin Al-Abbas and Al-Miswar bin Makhrama differed at Al-Abwa'; Ibn `Abbas said that a Muhrim could wash his head; while Al-Miswar maintained that he should not do so. `Abdullah bin `Abbas sent me to Abu Aiyub Al-Ansari and I found him bathing between the two wooden posts (of the well) and was screened with a sheet of cloth. I greeted him and he asked who I was. I replied, "I am `Abdullah bin Hunain and I have been sent to you by Ibn `Abbas to ask you how Allah's Apostle used to wash his head while in the state of lhram." Abu Aiyub Al-Ansari caught hold of the sheet of cloth and lowered it till his head appeared before me, and then told somebody to pour water on his head. He poured water on his head, and he (Abu Aiyub) rubbed his head with his hands by bringing them from back to front and from front to back and said, "I saw the Prophet doing like this."

Then the other section came; they stood up and uttered the takbir and bowed by themselves. The Messenger of Allah (saws) prostrated himself and they also prostrated with him. Then the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up and they performed the second prostration by themselves. Then both the sections stood up and prayed with the Messenger of Allah (saws). He bowed and they also bowed, and then he prostrated himself and they also prostrated themselves. Then he returned and performed the second prostration and they also prostrated with him as quickly as possible, showing no slackness in quick prostration. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then uttered the salutation. After that the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up. Thus everyone participated in the entire prayer.

A woman came to the Prophet (saws) while we were with him.

She said: Messenger of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn prayer until the sun rises.

He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had said. He replied: Messenger of Allah, as for her statement "he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs (during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so).

He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during prayer), that is sufficient for the people.

(Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes me break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I cannot restrain myself.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said on that day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of her husband.

(Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is already known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from al-Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Yaqub that Abu Said, the mawla of Amir ibn Kuraz told him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called toUbayy ibn Kab while he was praying. When Ubayy had finished his prayer he joined the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Messenger of Allah put his hand upon his hand, and he was intending to leave by the door of the mosque, so the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I hope that you will not leave the mosque until you know a sura whose like Allah has notsentdown in the Tawrah nor in the Injil nor in the Qur'an." Ubayysaid, "I began to slow down my pace in the hope of that. Then I said, 'Messenger of Allah, the sura you promised me!' He said, 'What do you recite when you begin the prayer?' I recited the Fatiha (Sura 1 ) until I came to the end of it, and the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'It is this sura, and it is the "seven oft-repeated" and the Great Qur'an which I was given.' "

There was a black slave girl belonging to an 'Arab tribe and they manumitted her but she remained with them. The slave girl said, "Once one of their girls (of that tribe) came out wearing a red leather scarf decorated with precious stones. It fell from her or she placed it somewhere. A kite passed by that place, saw it Lying there and mistaking it for a piece of meat, flew away with it. Those people searched for it but they did not find it. So they accused me of stealing it and started searching me and even searched my private parts." The slave girl further said, "By Allah! while I was standing (in that state) with those people, the same kite passed by them and dropped the red scarf and it fell amongst them. I told them, 'This is what you accused me of and I was innocent and now this is it.' " `Aisha added: That slave girl came to Allah's Apostle and embraced Islam. She had a tent or a small room with a low roof in the mosque. Whenever she called on me, she had a talk with me and whenever she sat with me, she would recite the following: "The day of the scarf (band) was one of the wonders of our Lord, verily He rescued me from the disbelievers' town. `Aisha added: "Once I asked her, 'What is the matter with you? Whenever you sit with me, you always recite these poetic verses.' On that she told me the whole story. "

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to al-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib: Abbas, my uncle, shall I not give you, shall I not present to you, shall I not donate to you, shall I not produce for you ten things? If you act upon them, Allah will forgive you your sins, first and last, old and new, involuntary and voluntary, small and great, secret and open.

These are the ten things: you should pray four rak'ahs, reciting in each one Fatihat al-Kitab and a surah. When you finish the recitation of the first rak'ah you should say fifteen times while standing: "Glory be to Allah", "Praise be to Allah", "There is no god but Allah", "Allah is most great". Then you should bow and say it ten times while bowing. Then you should raise your head after bowing and say it ten times. Then you should kneel down in prostration and say it ten times while prostrating yourself. Then you should raise your head after prostration and say it ten times. Then you should prostrate yourself and say it ten times. Then you should raise your head after prostrating and say it ten times in every rak'ah. You should do that in four rak'ahs.

If you can observe it once daily, do so; if not, then once weekly; if not, then once a month; if not, then once a year; if not, then once in your lifetime.

That the Prophet sent his (i.e. Abu Burda's) grandfather, Abu Musa and Mu`adh to Yemen and said to both of them "Facilitate things for the people (Be kind and lenient) and do not make things difficult (for people), and give them good tidings, and do not repulse them and both of you should obey each other." Abu Musa said, "O Allah's Prophet! In our land there is an alcoholic drink (prepared) from barley called Al-Mizr, and another (prepared) from honey, called Al-Bit"' The Prophet said, "All intoxicants are prohibited." Then both of them proceeded and Mu`adh asked Abu Musa, "How do you recite the Qur'an?" Abu Musa replied, "I recite it while I am standing, sitting or riding my riding animals, at intervals and piecemeal." Mu`adh said, "But I sleep and then get up. I sleep and hope for Allah's Reward for my sleep as I seek His Reward for my night prayer." Then he (i.e. Mu`adh) pitched a tent and they started visiting each other. Once Mu`adh paid a visit to Abu Musa and saw a chained man. Mu`adh asked, "What is this?" Abu Musa said, "(He was) a Jew who embraced Islam and has now turned apostate." Mu`adh said, "I will surely chop off his neck!"

Ubaydullah ibn Yazid said: AbuLubabah passed by us and we followed him till he entered his house, and we also entered it.

There was a man in a rusty house and in shabby condition. I heard him say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur'an.

I (the narrator AbdulJabbar) said to Ibn AbuMulaykah: AbuMuhammad, what do you think if a person does not have pleasant voice? He said: He should recite with pleasant voice as much as possible.

Marthad ibn AbuMarthad al-Ghanawi used to take prisoners (of war) from Mecca (to Medina). At Mecca there was a prostitute called Inaq who had illicit relations with him. (Marthad said:) I came to the Prophet (saws) and said to him: May I marry Inaq, Messenger of Allah? The narrator said: He kept silence towards me. Then the verse was revealed:"....and the adulteress none shall marry save and adulterer or an idolater." He called me and recited this (verse) to me, and said: Do not marry her.

I went to the Prophet (saws) with my father. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then asked my father: Is this your son? He replied: Yes, by the Lord of the Ka'bah. He again said: Is it true? He said: I bear witness to it. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then smiled for my resemblance with my father, and for the fact that my father took an oath upon me. He then said: He will not bring evil on you, nor will you bring evil on him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) recited the verse: "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Amongst what was sent down of the Qur'an was 'ten known sucklings make haram' - then it was abrogated by 'five known sucklings'. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, it was what is now recited of the Qur'an."

Yahya said that Malik said, "One does not act on this."

The Jews said to `Umar, "You (i.e. Muslims) recite a Verse, and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken the day of its revelation as a day of celebration." `Umar said, "I know very well when and where it was revealed, and where Allah's Apostle was when it was revealed. (It was revealed on) the day of `Arafat (Hajj Day), and by Allah, I was at `Arafat" Sufyan, a sub-narrator said: I am in doubt whether the Verse:-- "This day I have perfected your religion for you." was revealed on a Friday or not.

While the Prophet was in a funeral procession, he took a small stick and started scraping the earth with it and said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him, either in the Hell Fire or in Paradise." They (the people) said, "Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend on this (and leave work)?" He replied. "Carry on doing (good deeds), for everybody will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to his destined place." The Prophet then recited:-- 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the Best Reward.'.....(92.5-10)

(as regards the Verse): 'And about what is recited unto you in the Book, concerning orphan girls to whom you give not the prescribed portions and yet, whom you desire to marry.' (4.127) This Verse is about the female orphan who is under the guardianship of a man with whom she shares her property and he has more right over her (than anybody else) but does not like to marry her, so he prevents her, from marrying somebody else, lest he should share the property with him.

(the daughter of Muawwidh bin Afra) After the consummation of my marriage, the Prophet came and sat on my bed as far from me as you are sitting now, and our little girls started beating the tambourines and reciting elegiac verses mourning my father who had been killed in the battle of Badr. One of them said, "Among us is a Prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow." On that the Prophet said, "Leave this (saying) and keep on saying the verses which you had been saying before."

That the Prophet advised a man, saying, "If you intend to lie down (i.e. go to bed), say, 'Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilaika wa fauwadtu `Amri ilaika, wa wajjahtu wajhi ilaika wa alja'tu zahri ilaika, reghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika. La malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilaika. Amantu bikitabikal-ladhi anzalta; wa nabiyyikalladhi arsalta.' And if you should die then (after reciting this before going to bed) you will die on the religion of Islam"

While we were sitting with the Prophet who had a stick with which he was scraping the earth, he lowered his head and said, "There is none of you but has his place assigned either in the Fire or in Paradise." Thereupon a man from the people said, "Shall we not depend upon this, O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet said, "No, but carry on and do your deeds, for everybody finds it easy to do such deeds (as will lead him to his place)." The Prophet then recited the Verse: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah..' (92.5)

We were with the Prophet in a gathering and he said, 'Swear allegiance to me that you will not worship anything besides Allah, Will not steal, and will not commit illegal sexual intercourse." And then (the Prophet) recited the whole Verse (i.e. 60:12). The Prophet added, 'And whoever among you fulfills his pledge, his reward is with Allah; and whoever commits something of such sins and receives the legal punishment for it, that will be considered as the expiation for that sin, and whoever commits something of such sins and Allah screens him, it is up to Allah whether to excuse or punish him."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].