Malik related to me from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman from Yazid, the mawla of al-Munbaith that Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him about finds. He said, 'Memorize the characteristics of the object found, then publicise it for a year. If the owner comes, give it to him. If not, then it is your business.' He said, 'What about lost sheep, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'They are yours, your brother's or the wolf's.' He said, 'And the lost camel?' He said, 'It's none of your concern. It has its water and its feet. It will reach water and eat trees until its owner finds it.' "

(the Maula of Munba'ith) The Prophet was asked regarding the case of a lost sheep. He said, "You should take it, because it is for you, or for your brother, or for the wolf." Then he was asked about a lost camel. He got angry and his face became red and he said (to the questioner), "You have nothing to do with it; it has its feet and its water container with it; it can go on drinking water and eating trees till its owner meets it." And then the Prophet was asked about a Luqata (money found by somebody). He said, "Remember and recognize its tying material and its container, and make public announcement about it for one year. If somebody comes and identifies it (then give it to him), otherwise add it to your property."

I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are going to face the enemy tomorrow and we do not have knives." He said, "Hurry up (in killing the animal). If the killing tool causes blood to flow out, and if Allah's Name is mentioned, eat (of the slaughtered animal). But do not slaughter with a tooth or a nail. I will tell you why: As for the tooth, it is a bone; and as for the nail, it is the knife of Ethiopians." Then we got some camels and sheep as war booty, and one of those camels ran away, whereupon a man shot it with an arrow and stopped it. Allah's Apostle said, "Of these camels there are some which are as wild as wild beasts, so if one of them (runs away and) makes you tired, treat it in this manner."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab disapproved of killing domestic animals that had become wild by any means that game was slain such as arrows and the like.

Malik said, "I do not see any harm in eating game which is pierced by a throwing stick in a vital organ.

Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted! said, 'Oh you who believe! Allah will surely try you with something of the game that your hands and spears attain.' " (Sura 5 ayat 97).

Yahya said, "Any game that man obtains by his hand or by his spear or by any weapon which pierces it and reaches a vital organ, is acceptable as Allah, the Exalted, has said."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr made an aqiqa for his male and female children of a sheep each.

Malik said, "What we do about the aqiqa is that if someone makes an aqiqa for his children, he gives a sheep for both male and female. The aqiqa is not obligatory but it is desirable to do it, and people continue to come to us about it. If someone makes an aqiqa for his children, the same rules apply as with all sacrificial animals - one-eyed, emaciated, injured, or sick animals must not be used, and neither the meat or the skin is to be sold. The bones are broken and the family eat the meat and give some of it away as sadaqa. The child is not smeared with any of the blood .''

A man asked the Prophet about the picking up of a "Luqata" (fallen lost thing). The Prophet replied, "Recognize and remember its tying material and its container, and make public announcement (about it) for one year, then utilize it but give it to its owner if he comes." Then the person asked about the lost camel. On that, the Prophet got angry and his cheeks or his Face became red and he said, "You have no concern with it as it has its water container, and its feet and it will reach water, and eat (the leaves) of trees till its owner finds it." The man then asked about the lost sheep. The Prophet replied, "It is either for you, for your brother (another person) or for the wolf."

That the Prophet (saws) said: "Let none of you wat with his left hand nor drink with his left hand, for indeed Ash-Shaitan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand."

He said: There are narrations on this topic from Jabir, 'Umar bin Abi Salamah, Salamah bin Al-Akwa', Anas bin Malik, and Hafsah.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. This is how Malik and Ibn 'Uyainah reported it from Az-Zuhri, from Abu Bakr bin 'Ubaidullah, from Ibn 'Umar. Ma'mar and 'Uqail reported it from Az-Zuhri, from Salim, from Ibn 'Umar. And the narration of Malik and Ibn 'Uyainah is more correct.

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) took the hand of a leper and put it in the Qas'ah. Then he said: 'Eat in Allah's Name, trusting in Allah and relying upon Him.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This is a Gharib Hadith, we do not know of it except through the report of Yunus bin Muhammad, from Al-Mufaddal bin Fadalah, a Shaikh from Al-Basrah. There is another Shaikh from Al-Basrah named Al-Mufaddal bin Fadalah, who is more reliable han this one and more popular. Shu'bah reported this Hadith from Habib bin Ash-Shahid, from Ibn Buraidah: "That Ibn 'Umar took the hand of a leper" and the narration of Shu'bah is more appropriate to me and more correct.

That he was in the company of Allah's Apostle and when they had covered a portion of the road to Mecca, he and some of the companions lagged behind. The latter were in a state of Ihram, while he was not. He saw an onager and rode his horse and requested his companions to give him his lash but they refused. Then he asked them to give him his spear but they refused, so he took it himself, attacked the onager, and killed it. Some of the companions of the Prophet ate of it while some others refused to eat. When they caught up with Allah's Apostle they asked him about that, and he said, "That was a meal Allah fed you with." (It is also said that Allah's Apostle asked, "Have you got something of its meat?")

Abu Bakr had a slave who used to give him some of his earnings. Abu Bakr used to eat from it. One day he brought something and Abu Bakr ate from it. The slave said to him, "Do you know what this is?" Abu Bakr then enquired, "What is it?" The slave said, "Once, in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance I foretold somebody's future though I did not know this knowledge of foretelling but I, cheated him, and when he met me, he gave me something for that service, and that is what you have eaten from." Then Abu Bakr put his hand in his mouth and vomited whatever was present in his stomach.

Malik was asked whether the tenth or the twentieth was taken out of olives before they were sold or after and he said, "The sale is not taken into consideration. It is the people who produce the olives that are asked about the olives, just as it is the people who produce foodstuffs that are asked about it, and zakat is taken from them by what they say. Someone who gets five awsuq or more of olives from his olive trees has a tenth taken from the oil after pressing. Whereas someone who does not get five awsuq from his trees does not have to pay any zakat on the oil."

Malik said, "Someone who sells his crops when they are ripe and are ready in the husk has to pay zakat on them but the one who buys them does not. The sale of crops is not valid until they are ready in the husk and no longer need water."

Malik said, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted, "And give its due on the day of its harvesting," that it referred to zakat, and that he had heard people saying that.

Malik said, "If someone sells his garden or his land, on which are crops or fruit which have not yet ripened, then it is the buyer who has to pay the zakat. If, however, they have ripened, it is the seller who has to pay the zakat, unless paying the zakat is one of the conditions of the sale."

Malik related to me that he heard that Abu Salama ibn Abd ar- Rahman and Sulayman ibn Yasar were both asked, "Does one pronounce judgement on the basis of an oath with one witness?" They both said, "Yes."

Malik said, "The precedent of the sunna in judging by an oath with one witness is that if the plaintiff takes an oath with his witness, he is confirmed in his right. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the defendant is made to take an oath. If he takes an oath, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claim is confirmed against him."

Malik said, "This procedure pertains to property cases in particular. It does not occur in any of the hadd-punishments, nor in marriage, divorce, freeing slaves, theft or slander. If some one says, 'Freeing slaves comes under property,' he has erred. It is not as he said. Had it been as he said, a slave could take an oath with one witness, if he could find one, that his master had freed him.

"However, when a slave lays claim to a piece of property, he can take an oath with one witness and demand his right as the freeman demands his right."

Malik said, "The sunna with us is that when a slave brings somebody who witnesses that he has been set free, his master is made to take an oath that he has not freed him, and the slave's claim is dropped."

Malik said, "The sunna about divorce is also like that with us. When a woman brings somebody who witnesses that her husband has divorced her, the husband is made to take an oath that he has not divorced her. If he takes the oath, the divorce does not proceed . "

Malik said, "There is only one sunna of bringing a witness in cases of divorce and freeing a slave. The right to make an oath only belongs to the husband of the woman, and the master of the slave. Freeing is a hadd matter, and the testimony of women is not permitted in it because when a slave is freed, his inviolability is affirmed and the hadd punishments are applied for and against him. If he commits fornication and he is a muhsan, he is stoned. If he kills a slave, he is killed for it. Inheritance is established for him, between him and whoever inherits from him. If somebody disputes this, arguing that if a man frees his slave and then a man comes to demand from the master of the slave payment of a debt, and a man and two women testify to his right, that establishes the right against the master of the slave so that his freeing him is cancelled if he only has the slave as property, inferring by this case that the testimony of women is permitted in cases of setting free. The case is not as he suggests (i.e. it is a case of property not freeing). It is like a man who frees his slave, and then the claimant of a debt comes to the master and takes an oath with one witness, demanding his right. By that, the freeing of the slave would be cancelled. Or else a man comes who has frequent dealings and transactions with the master of the slave. He claims that he is owed money by the master of the slave. Someone says to the master of the slave, 'Take an oath that you don't owe what he claims'. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the one making the claim takes an oath and his right against the master of the slave is confirmed. That would cancel the freeing of the slave if it is confirmed that property is owed by the master."

Malik said, "It is the same case with a man who marries a slave-girl and then the master of the slave-girl comes to the man who has married her and claims, 'You and so-and-so have bought my slave-girl from me for such an amount of dinars. The husband of the slave-girl denies that. The master of the slave-girl brings a man and two women and they testify to what he has said. The sale is confirmed and his claim is considered true. So the slave-girl is haram for her husband and they have to separate, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in divorce."

Malik said, "It is also the same case with a man who accuses a free man, so the hadd falls on him. A man and two women come and testify that the one accused is a slave. That would remove the hadd from the accused after it had befallen him, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in accusations involving hadd punishments."

Malik said, "Another similar case in which judgement appears to go against the precedent of the sunna is that two women testify that a child is born alive and so it is necessary for him to inherit if a situation arises where he is entitled to inherit, and the child's property goes to those who inherit from him, if he dies, and it is not necessary that the two women witnesses should be accompanied by a man or an oath even though it may involve vast properties of gold, silver, live-stock, gardens and slaves and other properties. However, had two women testified to one dirham or more or less than that in a property case, their testimony would not affect anything and would not be permitted unless there was a witness or an oath with them."

Malik said, "There are people who say that an oath is not acceptable with only one witness and they argue by the word of Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, and His word is the Truth, 'And call in to witness two witnesses, men; or if the two be not men, then one man and two women, such witnesses as you approve of.' (Sura 2 ayat 282). Such people argue that if he does not bring one man and two women, he has no claim and he is not allowed to take an oath with one witness."

Malik said, "Part of the proof against those who argue this, is to reply to them, 'Do you think that if a man claimed property from a man, the one claimed from would not swear that the claim was false?' If he swears, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claimant is made to take an oath that his claim is true, and his right against his companion is established. There is no dispute about this with any of the people nor in any country. By what does he take this? In what place in the Book of Allah does he find it? So if he confirms this, let him confirm the oath with one witness, even if it is not in the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic! It is enough that this is the precedent of the sunna. However, man wants to recognise the proper course of action and the location of the proof. In this there is a clarification for what is obscure about that, if Allah ta'ala wills."

I was present at the gathering of Banu Salamah, and I was the youngest of them.

They (the people) said: Who will ask the Messenger of Allah (saws) for us about Laylat al-Qadr? That was the twenty-first of Ramadan. I went out and said the sunset prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (saws). I then stood at the door of his house.

He passed by me and said: Come in. I entered (the house) and dinner was brought for him. I was prevented from taking food as it was scanty.

When he finished his dinner, he said to me: Give me my shoes. He then stood up and I also stood up with him. He said: Perhaps you have some business with me.

I said: Yes. Some people of Banu Salamah have sent me to you to ask you about Laylat al-Qadr. He asked: Which night: Is it tonight?

I said: Twenty-second. He said: This is the very night. He then withdrew and said: Or the following night, referring to the twenty-third night.

Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that Mujahid said, "Abdullah ibn Umar borrowed some dirhams from a man, then he discharged his debt with dirhams better than them. The man said, 'Abu Abdar-Rahman. These are better than the dirhams which I lent you.' Abdullah ibn Umar said, 'I know that. But I am happy with myself about that.' "

Malik said, "There is no harm in a person who has borrowed gold, silver, food, or animals, taking to the person who lent it, something better than what he lent, when that is not a stipulation between them nor a custom. If that is by a stipulation or promise or custom, then it is disapproved, and there is no good in it."

He said, "That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, discharged his debt with a good camel in its seventh year in place of a young camel which he borrowed, and Abdullah ibn Umar borrowed some dirhams, and repaid them with better ones. If that is from the goodness of the borrower, and it is not by a stipulation, promise, or custom, it is halal and there is no harm in it."

We were one hundred and thirty men sitting with the Prophet. The Prophet said, "Have anyone of you any food with him?" It happened that one man had one Sa of wheat flour (or so) which was turned into dough then. After a while a tall lanky pagan came, driving some sheep. The Prophet asked, 'Will you sell us (a sheep), or give (it to) us as a gift?" The pagan said, "No, but I will sell it " So the Prophet bought from him a sheep which was slaughtered, and then the Prophet ordered that the liver, the kidneys, lungs and heart, etc., of that sheep be roasted. By Allah, none of those one hundred and thirty men but had his share of those things. The Prophet gave to those who were present, and also kept a share for those who were absent He then served that cooked sheep in two big trays and we all ate together our fill; yet there remained a part of it in those two trays which I carried on the camel.

"When the Prophet (saws) arrived in Al-Madinah, they were paying in advance for fruits. So he said: 'Whoever pays in advance, then let him pay in advance for known measurements (of dates), and known weights for a specified period of time.'"

He said: There are narrations on this topic from Ibn Abi Awfa and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Abza.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Ibn 'Abbas is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. This is acted upon according to the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others. They allow for advanced payments on food, garments and other things in which the limits and description are known. They differed over delay in delivery of animals. Some of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others thought that delay in delivery of animals is allowed. This is the view of Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad and Ishaq. Some of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others, disliked delay in delivery of animals. This is the saying of Sufyan and the people of Al-Kufah. And Abu Al-Minhal's (a narrator) name is 'Abdur-Rahman bin Mut'im.

The Prophet came visiting me while I was (sick) in Mecca, ('Amir the sub-narrator said, and he disliked to die in the land, whence he had already migrated). He (i.e. the Prophet) said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on Ibn Afra (Sa`d bin Khaula)." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! May I will all my property (in charity)?" He said, "No." I said, "Then may I will half of it?" He said, "No". I said, "One third?" He said: "Yes, one third, yet even one third is too much. It is better for you to leave your inheritors wealthy than to leave them poor begging others, and whatever you spend for Allah's sake will be considered as a charitable deed even the handful of food you put in your wife's mouth. Allah may lengthen your age so that some people may benefit by you, and some others be harmed by you." At that time Sa`d had only one daughter.

Yahya related to me from Malik, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ata ibn Yasar, that Kab al-Ahbar was once coming back from Syria with a group of riders, and at a certain point along the road they found some game- meat and Kab said they could eat it. When they got back to Madina they went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and told him about that, and he said, "Who told you you could do that?", and they said, ''Kab.'' He said, "He was indeed the one I made amir over you until you should return."

Later, when they were on the road to Makka, a swarm of locusts passed them by and Kab told them to catch them and eat them. When they got back to Umar ibn al-Khattab they told him about this, and he said (to Kab), "What made you tell them they could do that?" Kab said, "It is game of the sea." He said, "How do you know?", and Kab said, "Amir al- muminin, by the One in whose hand my self is, it is only the sneeze of a fish which it sneezes twice every year."

Malik was asked whether a muhrim could buy game that he had found on the way. He replied, "Game that is only hunted to be offered to people performing Hajj I disapprove of and forbid, but there is no harm in game that a man has which he does not intend for those in ihram, but which a muhrim finds and buys."

Malik said, about someone who had some game with him that he had hunted or bought at the time when he had entered into ihram, that he did not have to get rid of it, and that there was no harm in him giving it to his family.

Malik said that it was halal for some one in ihram to fish in the sea or in rivers and lakes, etc.

I ate garlic and came to the place where the Prophet (saws) was praying; one rak'ah of prayer had been performed when I joined. When I entered the mosque, the Prophet (saws) noticed the odour of garlic.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) finished his prayer, he said: He who eats from this plant should not come near us until its odour has gone away.

When I finished the prayer, I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said: Messenger of Allah, do give me your hand. Then I put his hand in the sleeve of my shirt, carrying it to my chest to show that my chest was fastened with a belt. He said: You have a (valid) excuse.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr from Abu Salih as-Samman from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man was walking on a road when he became very thirsty. He found a well and went into it and drank and came out. There was a dog panting and eating earth out of thirst. The man said, 'This dog has become as thirsty as I was.' He went down into the well and filled his shoe and then held it in his mouth until he climbed out and gave the dog water to drink. Allah thanked him for it and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, do we have a reward for taking care of beasts?" He said, "There is a reward for every one with a moist liver."

I used to accompany Allah's Apostle to fill my stomach; and that was when I did not eat baked bread, nor wear silk. Neither a male nor a female slave used to serve me, and I used to bind stones over my belly and ask somebody to recite a Qur'anic Verse for me though I knew it, so that he might take me to his house and feed me. Ja`far bin Abi Talib was very kind to the poor, and he used to take us and feed us with what ever was available in his house, (and if nothing was available), he used to give us the empty (honey or butter) skin which we would tear and lick whatever was in it.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he heard Said ibn al Musayyab being asked about making up days missed in Ramadan, and Said said, "What I like best is for days missed in Ramadan to be made up consecutively, and not separately."

Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, about some one who made up the days he had missed in Ramadan separately, that he did not have to repeat them. (What he had done) was enough for him. It was, however, preferable, if he did them consecutively.

Malik said, "Whoever eats or drinks thoughtlessly or forgetfully in Ramadan or during any other obligatory fast that he must do, has to fast another day in its place."

Muhammad reported from his father, Umar, on the authority of his grandfather, Ali ibn AbuTalib: When Ali travelled, he continued to travel till it became nearly dark. He then alighted and offered the sunset prayer. Then he would call for his dinner and eat it. Then he prayed the night prayer and then moved off.

He would say: This is how the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to do.

Usamah ibn Zayd reported from Hafs ibn Ubaydullah, the son of Anas ibn Malik: Anas would combine them (the evening and night prayer) when the twilight disappeared.

He said: The Prophet (saws) used to do so. Az-Zuhri also reported similarly on the authority of Anas from the Prophet (saws).

Allah's Apostle forbade the selling of fruits (fresh dates) for dried dates but allowed the sale of fruits on the 'Araya by estimation and their new owners might eat their dates fresh. Sufyan (in another narration) said, "I told Yahya (a sub-narrator) when I was a mere boy, 'Meccans say that the Prophet allowed them the sale of the fruits on 'Araya by estimation.' Yahya asked, 'How do the Meccans know about it?' I replied, 'They narrated it (from the Prophet ) through Jabir.' On that, Yahya kept quiet." Sufyan said, "I meant that Jabir belonged to Medina." Sufyan was asked whether in Jabir's narration there was any prohibition of selling fruits before their benefit is evident (i.e. no dangers of being spoilt or blighted). He replied that there was none.

A bedouin went to the Prophet and asked him about picking up a lost thing. The Prophet said, "Make public announcement about it for one year. Remember the description of its container and the string with which it is tied; and if somebody comes and claims it and describes it correctly, (give it to him); otherwise, utilize it." He said, "O Allah's Apostle! What about a lost sheep?" The Prophet said, "It is for you, for your brother (i.e. its owner), or for the wolf." He further asked, "What about a lost camel?" On that the face of the Prophet became red (with anger) and said, "You have nothing to do with it, as it has its feet, its water reserve and can reach places of water and drink, and eat trees."

When `Umar got a piece of land in Khaibar, he came to the Prophet saying, "I have got a piece of land, better than which I have never got. So what do you advise me regarding it?" The Prophet said, "If you wish you can keep it as an endowment to be used for charitable purposes." So, `Umar gave the land in charity (i.e. as an endowments on the condition that the land would neither be sold nor given as a present, nor bequeathed, (and its yield) would be used for the poor, the kinsmen, the emancipation of slaves, Jihad, and for guests and travelers; and its administrator could eat in a reasonable just manner, and he also could feed his friends without intending to be wealthy by its means."

We migrated with Allah's Apostle seeking Allah's Countenance, so our rewards became due and sure with Allah. Some of us passed away without eating anything of their rewards in this world. One of these was Mus`ab bin `Umar who was martyred on the day of the battle of Uhud. We did not find anything to shroud his body with except a striped cloak. When we covered his head with it, his feet remained uncovered, and when we covered his feet with it, his head remained uncovered. So Allah's Apostle ordered us to cover his head with it and put some Idhkhir (i.e. a kind of grass) over his feet. And there are some amongst us whose fruits have ripened and they are collecting them (i.e. they have received their rewards in this world).

We went to `Aisha while Hassan bin Thabit was with her reciting poetry to her from some of his poetic verses, saying "A chaste wise lady about whom nobody can have suspicion. She gets up with an empty stomach because she never eats the flesh of indiscreet (ladies)." `Aisha said to him, "But you are not like that." I said to her, "Why do you grant him admittance, though Allah said:-- "and as for him among them, who had the greater share therein, his will be a severe torment." (24.11) On that, `Aisha said, "And what punishment is more than blinding?" She, added, "Hassan used to defend or say poetry on behalf of Allah's Apostle (against the infidels).

Zaynab said, "I heard my mother, Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah! My daughter's husband died, and her eyes are troubling her, can she put kohl on them?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'No' two or three times. Then he said, 'It is only four months and ten days. In the Jahiliyya, none of you threw away the piece of dung until a year had passed.' "

Humayd ibn Nafi said, "I asked Zaynab to explain what 'throwing away the piece of dung at the end of a year' meant. Zaynab said, 'In the Jahiliyya when a woman's husband died, she went into a small tent and dressed in the worst of clothes. She did not touch perfume or anything until a year had passed. Then she was brought an animal - a donkey, a sheep, or a bird, and she would break her idda with it, by rubbing her body against it (taftaddu). Rarely did she break her idda with anything (by rubbing herself against it) but that it died. Then she would come out and would be given a piece of dung. She would throw it away and then return to whatever she wished of perfumes or whatever.' "

Malik explained, 'Taftaddu' means to wipe her skin with it in the same way as with a healing charm."

A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I am suffering from fatigue and hunger." The Prophet sent (somebody) to his wives (to get something), but the messenger found nothing with them. Then Allah's Apostle said (to his companions). "Isn't there anybody who can entertain this man tonight so that Allah may be merciful to him?" An Ansari man got up and said, "I (will, entertain him), O Allah's Apostle!" So he went to his wife and said to her, "This is the guest of Allah's Apostle, so do not keep anything away from him." She said. "By Allah, I have nothing but the children's food." He said, "When the children ask for their dinner, put them to bed and put out the light; we shall not take our meals tonight," She did so. In the morning the Ansari man went to Allah's Apostle who said, "Allah was pleased with (or He bestowed His Mercy) on so-and-so and his wife (because of their good deed)." Then Allah revealed: 'But give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that.' (59.9)

There was a relation of love and brotherhood between this tribe of Jarm and Al-Ash`ariyin. Once we were with Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, and then a meal containing chicken was brought to Abu Musa, and there was present, a man from the tribe of Taimillah who was of red complexion as if he were from non-Arab freed slaves. Abu Musa invited him to the meal. He said, "I have seen chickens eating dirty things, so I deemed it filthy and took an oath that I would never eat chicken." On that, Abu Musa said, "Get up, I will narrate to you about that. Once a group of the Ash`ariyin and I went to Allah's Apostle and asked him to provide us with mounts; he said, 'By Allah, I will never give you any mounts nor do I have anything to mount you on.' Then a few camels of war booty were brought to Allah's Apostle , and he asked about us, saying, 'Where are the Ash-'ariyin?' He then ordered five nice camels to be given to us, and when we had departed, we said, 'What have we done? Allah's Apostle had taken the oath not to give us any mounts, and that he had nothing to mount us on, and later he gave us that we might ride? Did we take advantage of the fact that Allah's Apostle had forgotten his oath? By Allah, we will never succeed.' So we went back to him and said to him, 'We came to you to give us mounts, and you took an oath that you would not give us any mounts and that you had nothing to mount us on.' On that he said, 'I did not provide you with mounts, but Allah did. By Allah, if I take an oath to do something, and then find something else better than it, I do that which is better and make expiation for the dissolution of the oath.' "

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The first defect that permeated Banu Isra'il was that a man (of them) met another man and said: O so-and-so, fear Allah, and abandon what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him the next day and that did not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting with him. When they did so. Allah mingled their hearts with each other.

He then recited the verse: "curses were pronounced on those among the children of Isra'il who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary"...up to "wrongdoers".

He then said: By no means, I swear by Allah, you must enjoin what is good and prohibit what is evil, prevent the wrongdoer, bend him into conformity with what is right, and restrict him to what is right.

About the story of Haml ibn Malik, Ibn Abbas said: She aborted a child who had grown hair and was dead, and the woman also died. He (the Prophet) gave judgment that the blood-wit was to be paid by the woman's relatives on the father's side. Her uncle said: Messenger of Allah! She has aborted a child who had grown hair. The father of the woman who had slain said: He is a liar: I swear by Allah, he did not raise his voice, or drink or eat. No compensation is to be paid for an offence like this. The Prophet (saws) said: is it a rhymed prose of pre-Islamic Arabia and its soothsaying? Pay a male or female slave of the best quality in compensation for the child.

Ibn 'Abbas said: The name of one of them was Mulaikah, and the name of the other was Umm Ghutaif.

When the Prophet realized that the Quraish had delayed in embracing Islam, he said, "O Allah! Protect me against their evil by afflicting them with seven (years of famine) like the seven years of (Prophet) Joseph." So they were struck with a year of famine that destroyed everything till they had to eat bones, and till a man would look towards the sky and see something like smoke between him and it. Allah said:-- "Then watch you (O Muhammad) for the day when the sky will produce a kind of smoke plainly visible." (44.10) And Allah further said:-- "Verily! We shall withdraw the punishment a little, Verily you will return (to disbelief)." (44.15) (Will Allah relieve them from torture on the Day of Resurrection?) (The punishment of) the smoke had passed and Al-Baltsha (the destruction of the pagans in the Badr battle) had passed too.

Allah's Apostle forbade Al-Wisal (fasting continuously for more than one day without taking any meals). A man from the Muslims said, "But you do Al-Wisal, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle I said, "Who among you is similar to me? I sleep and my Lord makes me eat and drink." When the people refused to give up Al-Wisal, the Prophet fasted along with them for one day, and did not break his fast but continued his fast for another day, and when they saw the crescent, the Prophet said, "If the crescent had not appeared, I would have made you continue your fast (for a third day)," as if he wanted to punish them for they had refused to give up Al-Wisal.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Hunayd ibn Abd arRahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that a man broke the fast in Ramadan and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to make kaffara by freeing a slave, or fasting two consecutive months, or feeding sixty poor people, and he said, "I can't do it." Someone brought a large basket of dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, "Take this and give it away as sadaqa." He said, "Messenger of Allah, there is no-ne more needy than I am." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laughed until his eye-teeth appeared, and then he said, "Eat them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that when he brought an animal to be sacrificed from Madina he would garland it and brand it at Dhu'l-Hulayfa, doing the garlanding before the branding, but doing both in the same place, while facing the qibla. He would garland the animal with two sandals and brand it on its left side. It would then be driven with him until he observed the standing together with everybody at Arafa. Then he would drive it on with him when everybody else moved on, and then when he arrived at Mina on the morning of the sacrifice, he would sacrifice the animal, before he shaved his head. He would sacrifice the animals with his own hands ,lining them up standing and facing the qibla. He would then eat some of the meat, and give some of it away.

At Ar-Rabadha I met Abu Dhar who was wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a similar one. I asked about the reason for it. He replied, "I abused a person by calling his mother with bad names." The Prophet said to me, 'O Abu Dhar! Did you abuse him by calling his mother with bad names You still have some characteristics of ignorance. Your slaves are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them (slaves) to do things beyond their capacity (power) and if you do so, then help them.' "

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone applies collyrium, he should do it an odd number of times. If he does so, he has done well; but if not, there is no harm. If anyone cleanses himself with pebbles, he should use an odd number. If he does so, he has done well; but if not, there is no harm.

If anyone eats, he should throw away what he removes with a toothpick and swallow what sticks to his tongue. If he does so, he has done well; if not, there is no harm. If anyone goes to relieve himself, he should conceal himself, and if all he can do is to collect a heap of send, he should sit with his back to it, for the devil makes sport with the posteriors of the children of Adam. If he does so, he has done well; but if not, there is no harm.

I saw Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him about that (i.e. how both were wearing similar cloaks). He replied, "Once I abused a man and he complained of me to the Prophet . The Prophet asked me, 'Did you abuse him by slighting his mother?' He added, 'Your slaves are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So, if one has one's brethren under one's control, one should feed them with the like of what one eats and clothe them with the like of what one wears. You should not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job).

Jabir ibn Abdullah used to say that a Jewess from the inhabitants of Khaybar poisoned a roasted sheep and presented it to the Messenger of Allah (saws) who took its foreleg and ate from it. A group of his companions also ate with him.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Take your hands away (from the food). The Messenger of Allah (saws) then sent someone to the Jewess and he called her.

He said to her: Have you poisoned this sheep? The Jewess replied: Who has informed you? He said: This foreleg which I have in my hand has informed me. She said: Yes. He said: What did you intend by it? She said: I thought if you were a prophet, it would not harm you; if you were not a prophet, we should rid ourselves of him (i.e. the Prophet). The Messenger of Allah (saws) then forgave her, and did not punish her. But some of his companions who ate it, died. The Messenger of Allah (saws) had himself cupped on his shoulder on account of that which he had eaten from the sheep. AbuHind cupped him with the horn and knife. He was a client of Banu Bayadah from the Ansar.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Kathir ibn Farqad asked Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm about a man who sold food to be delivered at a future date to a man for gold and then with the gold, he bought dates before he had taken delivery of the gold. He disapproved of that and forbade it.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab the like of that.

Malik said, ''Said ibn al-Musayyab, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm, and Ibn Shihab forbade that a man sell wheat for gold and then buy dates with that gold before he had received the gold from the transaction in which he sold the wheat. There is no harm for someone to buy dates on delayed terms, on the strength of the gold for which he sold the wheat, from someone other than the person to whom he sold the wheat before taking possession of the gold, and to refer the one from whom he bought the dates to his debtor who bought the wheat, for the gold he is owed for the dates."

Malik said, "I asked more than one of the people of knowledge about that and they did not see any harm in it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas used to say, "The least difficult thing acceptable as a sacrificial animal is a sheep."

Malik said, "That is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'O you who trust, do not kill game while you are in ihram. Whoever of you kills it intentionally, there shall be repayment the like of what he has slain, from livestock, as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal which will reach the Kaba, or food for poor people, or the equivalent of that in fasting,' (Sura 5 ayat 95) and a sheep is one of the animals which is judged to be acceptable as a sacrifice. Allah has called it a sacrificial animal, and there is no dispute among us about the matter. How, indeed, could anyone be in doubt about the matter? A sheep is the kaffara for anything which does not reach the extent of something for which a camel or a cow would be the kaffara, and the kaffara for something which does not reach the extent of something for which a sheep would be the kaffara is fasting, or feeding poor people."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Gabriel (saws) led me in prayer at the House (i.e. the Ka'bah). He prayed the noon prayer with me when the sun had passed the meridian to the extent of the thong of a sandal; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when the shadow of everything was as long as itself; he prayed the sunset prayer with me when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when the twilight had ended; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when food and drink become forbidden to one who is keeping the fast.

On the following day he prayed the noon prayer with me when his shadow was as long as himself; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when his shadow was twice as long as himself; he prayed the sunset prayer at the time when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when about the third of the night had passed; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when there was a fair amount of light.

Then turning to me he said: Muhammad, this is the time observed by the prophets before you, and the time is anywhere between two times.

"Whenever the Prophet passed by (my mother Um-Sulaim) he used to enter her and greet her. Anas further said: Once the Prophet way a bridegroom during his marriage with Zainab, Um Sulaim said to me, "Let us give a gift to Allah's Apostle ." I said to her, "Do it." So she prepared Haisa (a sweet dish) made from dates, butter and dried yoghurt and she sent it with me to him. I took it to him and he said, "Put it down," and ordered me to call some men whom he named, and to invite whomever I would meet. I did what he ordered me to do, and when I returned, I found the house crowded with people and saw the Prophet keeping his hand over the Haisa and saying over it whatever Allah wished (him to say). Then he called the men in batches of ten to eat of it, and he said to them, "Mention the Name of Allah, and each man should eat of the dish the nearest to him." When all of them had finished their meals, some of them left and a few remained there talking, over which I felt unhappy. Then the Prophet went out towards the dwelling places (of his wives) and I too, went out after him and told him that those people had left. Then he returned and entered his dwelling place and let the curtains fall while I was in (his) dwelling place, and he was reciting the Verses:-- 'O you who believe! Enter not the Prophet's house until leave is given you for a meal, (and then) not (as early as) to what for its preparation. But when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken your meals, disperse without sitting for a talk. Verily such (behavior) annoys the Prophet; and he would be shy of (asking) you (to go), but Allah is not shy of (telling you) the Truth.' (33-53) Abu Uthman said: Anas said, "I served the Prophet for ten years."