Yahya related to me from Malik from Wahb ibn Kaysan that Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Ata said, "I was sitting with Abdullah ibn Abbas when a Yemeni man came in. He said, 'Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessing' (as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu), and then he added something more to that. Ibn Abbas said (and at that time his eyesight had gone), 'Who is this?' People said, 'This is a Yemeni who has come to see you,' and they introduced him. Ibn Abbas said, 'The greeting ends with the word blessing.' "

Yahya said that Malik was asked, "Does one greet a woman?" He said, "As for an old woman, I do not disapprove of it. As for a young woman, I do not like it."

The Prophet said (on the day of Idal-Adha), "The first thing we will do on this day of ours, is to offer the (`Id) prayer and then return to slaughter the sacrifice. Whoever does so, he acted according to our Sunna (tradition), and whoever slaughtered (the sacrifice) before the prayer, what he offered was just meat he presented to his family, and that will not be considered as Nusak (sacrifice)." (On hearing that) Abu Burda bin Niyar got up, for he had slaughtered the sacrifice before the prayer, and said, "I have got a six month old ram." The Prophet said, 'Slaughter it (as a sacrifice) but it will not be sufficient for any-one else (as a sacrifice after you). Al-Bara' added: The Prophet said, "Whoever slaughtered (the sacrifice) after the prayer, he slaughtered it at the right time and followed the tradition of the Muslims."

Sahl said, "We used to feel happy on Fridays." I asked Sahl, "Why?" He said, "There was an old woman of our acquaintance who used to send somebody to Buda'a (Ibn Maslama said, "Buda'a was a garden of date-palms at Medina). She used to pull out the silq (a kind of vegetable) from its roots and put it in a cooking pot, adding some powdered barley over it (and cook it). After finishing the Jumua (Friday) prayer we used to (pass by her and) greet her, whereupon she would present us with that meal, so we used to feel happy because of that. We used to have neither a midday nap, nor meals, except after the Friday prayer." (See Hadith No. 60, Vol.2)

The Prophet used to say, "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness and geriatric old age, from all kinds of sins and from being in debt; from the trial and affliction of the grave and from the punishment in the grave; from the affliction of the Fire and from the punishment of the Fire; and from the evil of the affliction of wealth; and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of poverty, and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of Al-Mesiah Ad-Dajjal. O Allah! Wash away my sins with the water of snow and hail, and cleanse my heart from all the sins as a white garment is cleansed from the filth, and let there be a long distance between me and my sins, as You made East and West far from each other."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha from Anas ibn Malik that his grandmother, Mulayka, invited the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for food and he ate some of it. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Get up and I will lead you in prayer."

Anas said, "I stood up and took a woven mat belonging to us that had become black through long use and sprinkled it with water, and the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood on it. The orphan and I formed a row behind him, and the old woman stood behind us. He prayed two rakas with us and then left."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas said, "Al-Fadl ibn Abbas was riding behind the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when a woman from the Khathama tribe came to him to ask him for a fatwa. Al-Fadl began to look at her, and she at him, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned Fadl's face away to the other side. The woman said, 'Messenger of Allah, Allah's making the hajj obligatory finds my father a very old man, unable to stay firm on his riding-beast. Can I do hajj for him?', and he said, 'Yes.' This was during the farewell hajj."

Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Kinanah reported: Al-Walid ibn Utbah or (according to the version of Uthman) al-Walid ibn Uqbah, the then governor of Medina, sent me to Ibn Abbas to ask him about the prayer for rain offered by the Messenger of Allah (saws). He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) went out wearing old clothes in a humble and lowly manner until he reached the place of prayer. He then ascended the pulpit, but he did not deliver the sermon as you deliver (usually). He remained engaged in making supplication, showing humbleness (to Allah) and uttering the takbir (Allah is most great). He then offered two rak'ahs of prayer as done on the 'Id (festival).

Abu Dawud said: This is the version of al-Nufail. What is correct is Ibn Utbah's

I heard Anas bin Malik describing the Prophet saying, "He was of medium height amongst the people, neither tall nor short; he had a rosy color, neither absolutely white nor deep brown; his hair was neither completely curly nor quite lank. Divine Inspiration was revealed to him when he was forty years old. He stayed ten years in Mecca receiving the Divine Inspiration, and stayed in Medina for ten more years. When he expired, he had scarcely twenty white hairs in his head and beard." Rabi`a said, "I saw some of his hairs and it was red. When I asked about that, I was told that it turned red because of scent. "

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been transmitted by Hashim bin al-Qasim from Muhammad b. 'Adb Allah al-'Ammi from Thabit on the authority of Anas from Prophet (saws) to the same effect.

Abu Dawud said: The tradition of Hammad (i.e. 'Abd al-Rahman's version) is sounder.

Sahl bin Sa’ad said “The version of Musaddad has “I witnessed the invoking of curses by the two spouses during the life time of the Apostle of Allaah(saws) when I was fifteen years old. When they finished invoking curses, the Apostle of Allaah(saws) separated them from each other. Here ends the version of Musaddad. Others said “He was present when the Prophet (saws) separated the spouses who invoked curses on each other. The man (Sahl) said “I shall have lied against her, Apostle of Allaah(saws) if I keep her.

Abu Dawud said “Some narrators did not mention the word ‘alaiha(against her).”

Abu Dawud said “No one supported Ibn ‘Uyainah that he separated the spouses who invoked curses.”

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah made Mecca a sanctuary and it was neither permitted for anyone before, nor will it be permitted for anyone after me (to fight in it). And fighting in it was made legal for me for a few hours of a day only. None is allowed to uproot its thorny shrubs or to cut down its trees or to chase its game or to pick up its Luqata (fallen things) except by a person who would announce it publicly." `Abbas bin `Abdul-Muttalib requested the Prophet, "Except Al-Idhkhir, for our goldsmiths and for the roofs of our houses." The Prophet said, "Except Al-Idhkhir." `Ikrima said, "Do you know what is meant by chasing its game? It is to drive it out of the shade and sit in its place." Khalid said, "(`Abbas said: Al-Idhkhir) for our goldsmiths and our graves."

Al-Aswad ibn Yazid said that he entered upon Aisha and asked her about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws) during the night. She said: He used to pray thirteen rak'ahs during the night. Then he began to pray eleven rak'ahs and left two rak'ahs. When he died, he would pray nine rak'ahs during the night. His last prayer during the night was witr.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Safiyya bint Abi Ubayd from A'isha and Hafsa, the wives 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, "It is not halal for a woman in mourning for someone who has died, if she trusts in Allah and the Last Day, to abstain from adornment for more than three nights, except for a husband."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I have five names. I am Muhammad. I am Ahmad. I am al-Mahi (the effacer), by whom Allah effaces kufr. I am al-Hashir (the gatherer), before whom people are gathered. I am al-Aqib (the last)."

When Um Habiba bint Abi Sufyan was informed of her father's death, she asked for perfume and rubbed it over her arms and said, "I am not in need of perfume, but I have heard the Prophet saying, "It is not lawful for a lady who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days except for her husband for whom the (mourning) period is four months and ten days."

Yahya related to me from Ziyad from Malik that he saw some of the people of knowledge who, when they did itikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan, would not go back to their families until they had attended the Id al-Fitr with everybody.

Ziyad said that Malik said, "I heard this from the people of excellence who have passed away, and it is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter."

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allah has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven."

Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Anyone who takes a bath on Friday and cleans himself as much as he can and puts oil (on his hair) or scents himself; and then proceeds for the prayer and does not force his way between two persons (assembled in the mosque for the Friday prayer), and prays as much as is written for him and remains quiet when the Imam delivers the Khutba, all his sins in between the present and the last Friday will be forgiven."

We were in the funeral procession of the daughter of Allah's Apostle and Allah's Apostle was sitting near the grave and I saw his eyes full of tears. He said, "Is there anyone amongst you who did not have sexual relations with his wife last night?" Abu Talha replied in the affirmative. And so Allah's Apostle told him to get down in her grave and he got down in her grave and buried her.

Whenever Allah's Apostle became ill, he used to recite the Muawidhatan (i.e. the last two surahs of the Qur'an) and blow his breath over himself (after their recitation ) and rubbed his hands over his body. So when he was afflicted with his fatal illness. I started reciting the Muawidhatan and blowing my breath over him as he used to do and then I rubbed the hand of the Prophet over his body.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father fromYahyaibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ha ib that he had set off for Mumra with Umar ibn al-Khattab in a party of riders, among whom was Amr ibn al-As. Umar ibn al-Khattab dismounted for a rest late at night on a certain road near a certain oasis. Umar had a wet dream when it was almost dawn and there was no water among the riding party. He rode until he came to some water and then he began to wash off what he saw of the semen until it had gone. Amr ibn al-As said to him, "It is morning and there are clothes with us, so allow your garment to be washed. ''Umar ibn al-Khattab said to him, "I am surprised at you, Amr ibn al-As! Even if you could find clothes, would everybody be able to find them? By Allah, if I were to do it, it would become a sunna. No, I wash what I see, and I sprinkle with water what I do not see."

Malik spoke about a man who found traces of a wet dream on his clothes and did not know when it had occurred and did not remember anything he had seen in his sleep. He said, "Let the intention of his ghusl be from the time when he last slept, and if he has prayed since that last sleep he should repeat it. This is because often a man has a wet dream and sees nothing, and often he sees something but does not have an emission. But, if he finds liquid on his garment he must do ghusl. This is because Umar repeated what he had prayed after the time he had last slept and not what was before it."

AbuAyyub heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Capitals will be conquered at your hands, and you will have to raise companies in large armies. A man will be unwilling to join a company, so he will escape from his people and go round the tribes offering himself to them, saying: Whose place may I take in such and such expedition? Whose place may I take in such and such expedition? Beware: That man is a hireling to the last drop of his blood.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) intended to get up from the assembly he used to say in the last. Glory be to Thee. O Allah, and I begin with praise of Thee, I testify that there is no god but Thou; I ask Thy pardon, and return to Thee in repentance. The man asked: Messenger of Allah! you utter the words now which you did not do in the past? He replied: (This is an) atonement for what takes place in the assembly.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr from A'isha that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he had a complaint, would recite the last three suras of Qur'an, over himself and blow. She said, "When his pain was great, I would recite it over him and wipe him with his right hand hoping for its blessing."

Allah's Apostle went out to inform the people about the (date of the Night of decree (Al-Qadr). There happened a quarrel between two Muslim men. The Prophet said, "I came out to inform you about the Night of Al-Qadr, but as so-and-so and so-and-so quarrelled, so the news about it had been taken away; and may be it was better for you. So look for it in the ninth, the seventh, or the fifth (of the last ten days of Ramadan).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "On one occasion when the people were praying subhat Quba a man came to them and said, 'A piece of Qur'an was sent down to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, last night, and he was ordered to face the Kaba, so face it.' They had been facing ash-Sham, so they turned round and faced the Kaba.''

I heard Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) saying, "We (Muslims) are the last (to come) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection though the former nations were given the Holy Scriptures before us. And this was their day (Friday) the celebration of which was made compulsory for them but they differed about it. So Allah gave us the guidance for it (Friday) and all the other people are behind us in this respect: the Jews' (holy day is) tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) and the Christians' (is) the day after tomorrow (i.e. Sunday)."

The Prophet (saws) said: Among the most excellent of your days is Friday; on it Adam was created, on it he died, on it the last trumpet will be blown, and on it the shout will be made, so invoke more blessings on me that day, for your blessings will be submitted to me. The people asked: Messenger of Allah, how can it be that our blessings will be submitted to you while your body is decayed? He replied: Allah, the Exalted, has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of Prophets.

The Prophet said, "We are the last (to come) but we will be the foremost on the Day of Resurrection, nations were given the Book (i.e. Scripture) before us, and we were given the Holy Book after them. This (i.e. Friday) is the day about which they differed. So the next day (i.e. Saturday) was prescribed for the Jews and the day after it (i.e. Sunday) for the Christians. It is incumbent on every Muslim to wash his head and body on a Day (i.e. Friday) (at least) in every seven days."

The Prophet said, "Who will go and see what has happened to Abu Jahl?" Ibn Mas`ud went and found that the two sons of 'Afra had struck him fatally (and he was in his last breaths). `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Are you Abu Jahl?" And took him by the beard. Abu Jahl said, "Can there be a man superior to one you have killed or one whom his own folk have killed?"

I went out along with the Prophet (saws) during his last march, and he alighted at al-Muhassab. Abu Dawud said: Ibn Bashshar did not mention that she was sent to al-Tan'im in this tradition. She said: I then came to him in the morning. He announced to his companions for departure, and he himself departed. He passed the house (the Ka'bah) before the dawn prayer, and went round it when he proceeded. He then went away facing Medina.

Yahya said that Malik said, "The person who puts up the principal must not stipulate that he has something of the profit alone without the agent sharing in it, nor must the agent stipulate that he has something of the profit alone without the investor sharing. In qirad, there is no sale, no rent, no work, no advance, and no convenience which one party specifies to himself without the other party sharing unless one party allows it to the other unconditionally as a favour and that is alright to both. Neither of the parties should make a condition over the other which increases him in gold or silver or food over the other party."

He said, "If any of that enters the qirad, it becomes hire, and hire is only good with known and fixed terms. The agent should not stipulate when he takes the principal that he repay or commission anyone with the goods, nor that he take any of them for himself. When there is a profit, and it is time to separate the capital, then they divide the profit according to the terms of the contract. If the principal does not increase or there is a loss, the agent does not have to make up for what he spent on himself or for the loss. That falls to the investor from the principal. Qirad is permitted upon whatever terms the investor and the agent make a mutual agreement, of half the profit, or a third or a fourth or whatever."

Malik said, "It is not permitted for the agent to stipulate that he use the qirad money for a certain number of years and that it not be taken from him during that time."

He said, "It is not good for the investor to stipulate that the qirad money should not be returned for a certain number of years which are specified, because the qirad is not for a term. The investor loans it to an agent to use for him. If it seems proper to either of them to abandon the project and the money is coin, and nothing has been bought with it, it can be abandoned, and the investor takes his money back. If it seems proper to the investor to take the qirad loan back after goods have been purchased with it, he cannot do so until the buyer has sold the goods and they have become money. If it seems proper to the agent to return the loan, and it has been turned to goods he cannot do so until he has sold them. He returns the loan in cash as he took it."

Malik said, "It is not good for the investor to stipulate that the agent pay any zakat due from his portion of the profit in particular, because the investor by stipulating that, stipulates fixed increase for himself from the profit because the portion of zakat he would be liable for by his portion of the profit, is removed from him.

"It is not permitted for the investor to stipulate to the agent to only buy from so-and-so, referring to a specific man. That is not permitted because by doing so he would become his hireling for a wage."

Malik spoke about an investor in qirad who stipulated a guarantee for an amount of money from the agent, "The investor is not permitted to stipulate conditions about his principal other than the conditions on which qirad is based or according to the precedent of the sunna of the Muslims. If the principal is increased by the condition of guarantee, the investor has increased his share of the profit because of the position of the guarantee. But the profit is only to be divided according to what it would have been had the loan been given without the guarantee. If the principal is destroyed, I do not think that the agent has a guarantee held against him because the stipulation of guarantees in qirad is null and void."

Malik spoke about an investor who gave qirad money to a man and the man stipulated that he would only buy palms or animals with it because he sought to eat the dates or the offspring of the animals and he kept them for some time to use for himself. He said, "That is not permitted. It is not the sunna of the Muslims in qirad unless he buys it and then sells it as other goods are sold."

Malik said, "There is no harm in the agent stipulating on the investor a slave to help him provided that the slave stands to gain along with him out of the investment, and when the slave only helps him with the investment, not with anything else."

Malik said, "The best of what is said about a man who buys the mukatab of a man is that if the man wrote the slave's kitaba for dinars or dirhams, he does not sell him unless it is for merchandise which is paid immediately and not deferred, because if it is deferred, it would be a debt for a debt. A debt for a debt is forbidden."

He said, "If the master gives a mukatab his kitaba for certain merchandise of camels, cattle, sheep, or slaves, it is more correct that the buyer buy him for gold, silver, or different goods than the ones his master wrote the kitaba for, and that must be paid immediately, not deferred."

Malik said, "The best of what I have heard about a mukatab when he is sold is that he is more entitled to buy his kitaba than the one who buys him if he can pay his master the price for which he was sold in cash. That is because his buying himself is his freedom, and freedom has priority over what bequests accompany it. If one of those who have written the kitaba for the mukatab sells his portion of him, so that a half, a third, a fourth, or whatever share of the mukatab is sold, the mukatab does not have the right of pre-emption in what is sold of him. That is because it is like the severance of a partner, and a partner can only make a settlement for a partner of the one who is mukatab with the permission of his partners because what is sold of him does not give him complete rights as a free man and his property is barred from him, and by buying part of himself, it is feared that he will become incapable of completing payment because of what he had to spend. That is not like the mukatab buying himself completely unless whoever has some of the kitaba remaining due to him gives him permission. If they give him permission, he is more entitled to what is sold of him."

Malik said, "Selling one of the instalments of a mukatab is not halal. That is because it Is an uncertain transaction. If the mukatab cannot pay it, what he owes is nullified. If he dies or goes bankrupt and he owes debts to people, then the person who bought his instalment does not take any of his portion with the creditors. The person who buys one of the instalments of the mukatab is in the position of the master of the mukatab. The master of the mukatab does not have a share with the creditors of the mukatab for what he is owed of the kitaba of his slave. It is also like that with the kharaj, (a set amount deducted daily from the slave against his earnings), which accumulates for a master from the earnings of his slave. The creditors of his slave do not allow him a share for what has accumulated for him from those deductions."

Malik said, "There is no harm in a mukatab paying off his kitaba with coin or merchandise other than the merchandise for which he wrote his kitaba if it is identical with it, on time (for the instalment) or delayed. "

Malik said that if a mukatab died and left an umm walad and small children by her or by someone else and they could not work and it was feared that they would be unable to fulfil their kitaba, the umm walad of the father was sold if her price would pay all the kitaba for them, whether or not she was their mother. They were paid for and set free because their father did not forbid her sale if he feared that he would be unable to complete his kitaba. If her price would not pay for them and neither she nor they could work, they all reverted to being slaves of the master.

Malik said, "What is done among us in the case of a person who buys the kitaba of a mukatab, and then the mukatab dies before he has paid his kitaba, is that the person who bought the kitaba inherits from him. If, rather than dying, the mukatab cannot pay, the buyer has his person. If the mukatab pays his kitaba to the person who bought him and he is freed, his wala' goes to the person who wrote the kitaba and the person who bought his kitaba does not have any of it."

The first event of Qasama in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance was practiced by us (i.e. Banu Hashim). A man from Banu Hashim was employed by a Quraishi man from another branch-family. The (Hashimi) laborer set out with the Quraishi driving his camels. There passed by him another man from Banu Hashim. The leather rope of the latter's bag had broken so he said to the laborer, "Will you help me by giving me a rope in order to tie the handle of my bag lest the camels should run away from me?" The laborer gave him a rope and the latter tied his bag with it. When the caravan halted, all the camels' legs were tied with their fetters except one camel. The employer asked the laborer, "Why, from among all the camels has this camel not been fettered?" He replied, "There is no fetter for it." The Quraishi asked, "Where is its fetter?" and hit the laborer with a stick that caused his death (later on Just before his death) a man from Yemen passed by him. The laborer asked (him), "Will you go for the pilgrimage?" He replied, "I do not think I will attend it, but perhaps I will attend it." The (Hashimi) laborer said, "Will you please convey a message for me once in your life?" The other man said, "yes." The laborer wrote: 'When you attend the pilgrimage, call the family of Quraish, and if they respond to you, call the family of Banu Hashim, and if they respond to you, ask about Abu Talib and tell him that so-and-so has killed me for a fetter." Then the laborer expired. When the employer reached (Mecca), Abu Talib visited him and asked, "What has happened to our companion?" He said, "He became ill and I looked after him nicely (but he died) and I buried him." Then Abu Talib said, "The deceased deserved this from you." After some time, the messenger whom the laborer has asked to convey the message, reached during the pilgrimage season. He called, "O the family of Quraish!" The people replied, "This is Quraish." Then he called, "O the family of Banu Hashim!" Again the people replied, "This is Banu Hashim." He asked, "Who is Abu Talib?" The people replied, "This is Abu Talib." He said, "'So-and-so has asked me to convey a message to you that so-and-so has killed him for a fetter (of a camel)." Then Abu Talib went to the (Quraishi) killer and said to him, "Choose one of three alternatives: (i) If you wish, give us one-hundred camels because you have murdered our companion, (ii) or if you wish, fifty of your men should take an oath that you have not murdered our companion, and if you do not accept this, (iii) we will kill you in Qisas." The killer went to his people and they said, "We will take an oath." Then a woman from Banu Hashim who was married to one of them (i.e.the Quraishis) and had given birth to a child from him, came to Abu Talib and said, "O Abu Talib! I wish that my son from among the fifty men, should be excused from this oath, and that he should not take the oath where the oathtaking is carried on." Abu Talib excused him. Then another man from them came (to Abu Talib) and said, "O Abu Talib! You want fifty persons to take an oath instead of giving a hundred camels, and that means each man has to give two camels (in case he does not take an oath). So there are two camels I would like you to accept from me and excuse me from taking an oath where the oaths are taken. Abu Talib accepted them from him. Then 48 men came and took the oath. Ibn `Abbas further said:) By Him in Whose Hand my life is, before the end of that year, none of those 48 persons remained alive.

The Prophet sent a Sariya of spies and appointed `Asim bin Thabit, the grandfather of `Asim bin `Umar bin Al-Khattab, as their leader. So they set out, and when they reached (a place) between 'Usfan and Mecca, they were mentioned to one of the branch tribes of Bani Hudhail called Lihyan. So, about one-hundred archers followed their traces till they (i.e. the archers) came to a journey station where they (i.e. `Asim and his companions) had encamped and found stones of dates they had brought as journey food from Medina. The archers said, "These are the dates of Medina," and followed their traces till they took them over. When `Asim and his companions were not able to go ahead, they went up a high place, and their pursuers encircled them and said, "You have a covenant and a promise that if you come down to us, we will not kill anyone of you." `Asim said, "As for me, I will never come down on the security of an infidel. O Allah! Inform Your Prophet about us." So they fought with them till they killed `Asim along with seven of his companions with arrows, and there remained Khubaib, Zaid and another man to whom they gave a promise and a covenant. So when the infidels gave them the covenant and promise, they came down. When they captured them, they opened the strings of their arrow bows and tied them with it. The third man who was with them said, "This is the first breach in the covenant," and refused to accompany them. They dragged him and tried to make him accompany them, but he refused, and they killed him. Then they proceeded on taking Khubaib and Zaid till they sold them in Mecca. The sons of Al-Harith bin `Amr bin Naufal bought Khubaib. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin `Amr on the day of Badr. Khubaib stayed with them for a while as a captive till they decided unanimously to kill him. (At that time) Khubaib borrowed a razor from one of the daughters of Al- Harith to shave his pubic hair. She gave it to him. She said later on, "I was heedless of a little baby of mine, who moved towards Khubaib, and when it reached him, he put it on his thigh. When I saw it, I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed my distress while he was carrying the razor in his hand. He said 'Are you afraid that I will kill it? Allah willing, I will never do that,' " Later on she used to say, "I have never seen a captive better than Khubaib Once I saw him eating from a bunch of grapes although at that time no fruits were available at Mecca, and he was fettered with iron chains, and in fact, it was nothing but food bestowed upon him by Allah." So they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him. He said, "Allow me to offer a two-rak`at prayer." Then he went to them and said, "Had I not been afraid that you would think I was afraid of death, I would have prayed for a longer time." So it was Khubaib who first set the tradition of praying two rak`at before being executed. He then said, "O Allah! Count them one by one," and added, 'When I am being martyred as a Muslim, I do not care in what way I receive my death for Allah's Sake, because this death is in Allah's Cause. If He wishes, He will bless the cut limbs." Then `Uqba bin Al-Harith got up and martyred him. The narrator added: The Quraish (infidels) sent some people to `Asim in order to bring a part of his body so that his death might be known for certain, for `Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day of Badr. But Allah sent a cloud of wasps which protected his body from their messengers who could not harm his body consequently.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al- Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that Abu Said al-Khudri said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do itikaf in the middle ten days of Ramadan. One year he was doing itikaf and then, when it came to the night of the twenty-first, which was the night before the morning when he would normally have finished his itikaf, he said, 'Whoever has done i'tikaf with me should continue doing itikaf for the last ten days. I saw a certain night and then I was made to forget it. I saw myself prostrating the following morning in water and clay. Look for it in the last ten days, and look for it on the odd days.' "

Abu Said continued, "The sky poured with rain that night and the mosque had a roof (made of palm fronds) and the mosque was soaked. With my own eyes I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, leave with traces of water and clay on his forehead and nose, in the morning after the night of the twenty- first."

Whenever the Prophet offered the night (Tahajjud) prayer, he used to say, "O Allah! All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. And all the Praises are for You; You are the Keeper of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is therein. You are the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and Your Speech is the Truth, and meeting You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth and Hell (Fire) is the Truth and all the prophets are the Truth and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender to You, and believe in You, and depend upon You, and repent to You, and in Your cause I fight and with Your orders I rule. So please forgive my past and future sins and those sins which I did in secret or in public. It is You Whom I worship, None has the right to be worshipped except You ." (See Hadith No. 329,Vol. 8)