(The wife of the Prophet) Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he used to draw lots among his wives and would take with him the one on whom the lot had fallen. Once he drew lots when he wanted to carry out a Ghazwa, and the lot came upon me. So I proceeded with Allah's Apostle after Allah's order of veiling (the women) had been revealed and thus I was carried in my howdah (on a camel) and dismounted while still in it. We carried on our journey, and when Allah's Apostle had finished his Ghazwa and returned and we approached Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered to proceed at night. When the army was ordered to resume the homeward journey, I got up and walked on till I left the army (camp) behind. When I had answered the call of nature, I went towards my howdah, but behold ! A necklace of mine made of Jaz Azfar (a kind of black bead) was broken and I looked for it and my search for it detained me. The group of people who used to carry me, came and carried my howdah on to the back of my camel on which I was riding, considering that I was therein. At that time women were light in weight and were not fleshy for they used to eat little (food), so those people did not feel the lightness of the howdah while raising it up, and I was still a young lady. They drove away the camel and proceeded. Then I found my necklace after the army had gone. I came to their camp but found nobody therein so I went to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and come back in my search. While I was sitting at my place, I felt sleepy and slept. Safwan bin Al-Mu'attil As-Sulami Adh- Dhakw-ani was behind the army. He had started in the last part of the night and reached my stationing place in the morning and saw the figure of a sleeping person. He came to me and recognized me on seeing me for he used to see me before veiling. I got up because of his saying: "Inna Li l-lahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun," which he uttered on recognizing me. I covered my face with my garment, and by Allah, he did not say to me a single word except, "Inna Li l-lahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun," till he made his shecamel kneel down whereupon he trod on its forelegs and I mounted it. Then Safwan set out, leading the she-camel that was carrying me, till we met the army while they were resting during the hot midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell in destruction, and the leader of the Ifk (forged statement) was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. After this we arrived at Medina and I became ill for one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the people of the Ifk, and I was not aware of anything thereof. But what aroused my doubt while I was sick, was that I was no longer receiving from Allah's Apostle the same kindness as I used to receive when I fell sick. Allah's Apostle would enter upon me, say a greeting and add, "How is that (lady)?" and then depart. That aroused my suspicion but I was not aware of the propagated evil till I recovered from my ailment. I went out with Um Mistah to answer the call of nature towards Al-Manasi, the place where we used to relieve ourselves, and used not to go out for this purpose except from night to night, and that was before we had lavatories close to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to the habit of the old 'Arabs (in the deserts or in the tents) concerning the evacuation of the bowels, for we considered it troublesome and harmful to take lavatories in the houses. So I went out with Um Mistah who was the daughter of Abi Ruhm bin `Abd Manaf, and her mother was daughter of Sakhr bin Amir who was the aunt of Abi Bakr As-Siddiq, and her son was Mistah bin Uthatha. When we had finished our affair, Um Mistah and I came back towards my house. Um Mistah stumbled over her robe whereupon she said, "Let Mistah be ruined ! " I said to her, "What a bad word you have said! Do you abuse a man who has taken part in the Battle of Badr?' She said, "O you there! Didn't you hear what he has said?" I said, "And what did he say?" She then told me the statement of the people of the Ifk (forged statement) which added to my ailment. When I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting, he said, "How is that (lady)?" I said, "Will you allow me to go to my parents?" At that time I intended to be sure of the news through them. Allah's Apostle allowed me and I went to my parents and asked my mother, "O my mother! What are the people talking about?" My mother said, "O my daughter! Take it easy, for by Allah, there is no charming lady who is loved by her husband who has other wives as well, but that those wives would find fault with her." I said, "Subhan Allah! Did the people really talk about that?" That night I kept on weeping the whole night till the morning. My tears never stopped, nor did I sleep, and morning broke while I was still weeping, Allah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usama bin Zaid when the Divine Inspiration delayed, in order to consult them as to the idea of divorcing his wife. Usama bin Zaid told Allah's Apostle of what he knew about the innocence of his wife and of his affection he kept for her. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! She is your wife, and we do not know anything about her except good." But `Ali bin Abi Talib said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not impose restrictions on you; and there are plenty of women other than her. If you however, ask (her) slave girl, she will tell you the truth." `Aisha added: So Allah's Apostle called for Barira and said, "O Barira! Did you ever see anything which might have aroused your suspicion? (as regards Aisha). Barira said, "By Allah Who has sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything regarding Aisha which I would blame her for except that she is a girl of immature age who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough of her family unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it." So Allah's Apostle got up (and addressed) the people an asked for somebody who would take revenge on `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul then. Allah's Apostle, while on the pulpit, said, "O Muslims! Who will help me against a man who has hurt me by slandering my family? By Allah, I know nothing except good about my family, and people have blamed a man of whom I know nothing except good, and he never used to visit my family except with me," Sa`d bin Mu`adh Al-Ansari got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, I will relieve you from him. If he be from the tribe of (Bani) Al-Aus, then I will chop his head off; and if he be from our brethren, the Khazraj, then you give us your order and we will obey it." On that, Sa`d bin 'Ubada got up, and he was the chief of the Khazraj, and before this incident he had been a pious man but he was incited by his zeal for his tribe. He said to Sa`d (bin Mu`adh), "By Allah the Eternal, you have told a lie! You shall not kill him and you will never be able to kill him!" On that, Usaid bin Hudair, the cousin of Sa`d (bin Mu`adh) got up and said to Sa`d bin 'Ubada, "You are a liar! By Allah the Eternal, we will surely kill him; and you are a hypocrite defending the hypocrites!" So the two tribes of Al-Aus and Al-Khazraj got excited till they were on the point of fighting with each other while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. Allah's Apostle continued quietening them till they became silent whereupon he became silent too. On that day I kept on weeping so much that neither did my tears stop, nor could I sleep. In the morning my parents were with me, and I had wept for two nights and a day without sleeping and with incessant tears till they thought that my liver would burst with weeping. While they were with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked permission to see me. I admitted her and she sat and started weeping with me. While I was in that state, Allah's Apostle came to us, greeted, and sat down,. He had never sat with me since the day what was said, was said. He had stayed a month without receiving any Divine Inspiration concerning my case. Allah's Apostle recited the Tashahhud after he had sat down, and then said, "Thereafter, O `Aisha! I have been informed such and-such a thing about you; and if you are innocent, Allah will reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then ask for Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him, for when a slave confesses his sin and then repents to Allah, Allah accepts his repentance." When Allah's Apostle had finished his speech, my tears ceased completely so that I no longer felt even a drop thereof. Then I said to my father, "Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf as to what he said." He said, "By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle." Then I said to my mother, "Reply to Allah's Apostle." She said, "I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle." Still a young girl as I was and though I had little knowledge of Qur'an, I said, "By Allah, I know that you heard this story (of the Ifk) so much so that it has been planted in your minds and you have believed it. So now, if I tell you that I am innocent, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you will not believe me; and if I confess something, and Allah knows that I am innocent of it, you will believe me. By Allah, I cannot find of you an example except that of Joseph's father: "So (for me) patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought. Then I turned away and lay on my bed, and at that time I knew that I was innocent and that Allah would reveal my innocence. But by Allah, I never thought that Allah would sent down about my affair, Divine Inspiration that would be recited (forever), as I considered myself too unworthy to be talked of by Allah with something that was to be recited: but I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a vision in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah's Apostle had not left his seat and nobody had left the house when the Divine Inspiration came to Allah's Apostle . So there overtook him the same hard condition which used to overtake him (when he was Divinely Inspired) so that the drops of his sweat were running down, like pearls, though it was a (cold) winter day, and that was because of the heaviness of the Statement which was revealed to him. When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, and he was smiling when he was relieved, the first word he said was, "Aisha, Allah has declared your innocence." My mother said to me, "Get up and go to him." I said, "By Allah, I will not go to him and I will not thank anybody but Allah." So Allah revealed: "Verily! They who spread the Slander are a gang among you. Think it not...." (24.11-20). When Allah revealed this to confirm my innocence, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha because of the latter's kinship to him and his poverty, said, "By Allah, I will never provide for Mistah anything after what he has said about Aisha". So Allah revealed: (continued...) (continuing... 1): -6.274:... ... "Let not those among you who are good and are wealthy swear not to give (help) to their kinsmen, those in need, and those who have left their homes for Allah's Cause. Let them Pardon and forgive (i.e. do not punish them). Do you not love that should forgive you? Verily Allah is Oft-forgiving. Most Merciful." (24.22) Abu Bakr said, "Yes, by Allah, I wish that Allah should forgive me." So he resumed giving Mistah the aid he used to give him before and said, "By Allah, I will never withold it from him at all." Aisha further said: Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh about my case. He said, "O Zainab! What have you seen?" She replied, "O Allah's Apostle! I protect my hearing and my sight (by refraining from telling lies). I know nothing but good (about Aisha)." Of all the wives of Allah's Apostle, it was Zainab who aspired to receive from him the same favor as I used to receive, yet, Allah saved her (from telling lies) because of her piety. But her sister, Hamna, kept on fighting on her behalf so she was destroyed as were those who invented and spread the slander.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili from a son of Abdullah ibn Sufyan ath-Thaqafi from his grandfather Sufyan ibn Abdullah that Umar ibn al-Khattab once sent him to collect zakat. He used to include sakhlas (when assessing zakat), and they said, "Do you include sakhlas even though you do not take them (as payment)?" He returned to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him and Umar said, "Yes, you include a sakhla which the shepherd is carrying, but you do not take it. Neither do you take an akula, or a rubba, or a makhid, or male sheep and goats in their second and third years, and this is a just compromise between the young of sheep and goats and the best of them."

Malik said, "A sakhla is a newborn lamb or kid. A rubba is a mother that is looking after her offspring, a makhid is a pregnant ewe or goat, and an akula is a sheep or goat that is being fattened for meat."

Malik said, about a man who had sheep and goats on which he did not have to pay any zakat, but which increased by birth to a zakatable amount on the day before the zakat collector came to them, "If the number of sheep and goats along with their (newborn) offspring reaches a zakatable amount then the man has to pay zakat on them. That is because the offspring of the sheep are part of the flock itself. It is not the same situation as when some one acquires sheep by buying them, or is given them, or inherits them. Rather, it is like when merchandise whose value does not come to a zakatable amount is sold, and with the profit that accrues it then comes to a zakatable amount. The owner must then pay zakat on both his profit and his original capital, taken together. If his profit had been a chance acquisition or an inheritance he would not have had to pay zakat on it until one year had elapsed over it from the day he had acquired it or inherited it."

Malik said, "The young of sheep and goats are part of the flock, in the same way that profit from wealth is part of that wealth. There is, however, one difference, in that when a man has a zakatable amount of gold and silver, and then acquires an additional amount of wealth, he leaves aside the wealth he has acquired and does not pay zakat on it when he pays the zakat on his original wealth but waits until a year has elapsed over what he has acquired from the day he acquired it. Whereas a man who has a zakatable amount of sheep and goats, or cattle, or camels, and then acquires another camel, cow, sheep or goat, pays zakat on it at the same time that he pays the zakat on the others of its kind, if he already has a zakatable amount of livestock of that particular kind."

Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about this. "

Abu Huraira used to say Takbir in all the prayers, compulsory and optional -- in the month of Ramadan or other months. He used to say Takbir on standing for prayer and on bowing; then he would say, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah," and before prostrating he would say "Rabbana wa laka lhamd." Then he would say Takbir on prostrating and on raising his head from the prostration, then another Takbir on prostrating (for the second time), and on raising his head from the prostration. He also would say the Takbir on standing from the second rak`a. He used to do the same in every rak`a till he completed the prayer. On completion of the prayer, he would say, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is! No doubt my prayer is closer to that of Allah's Apostle than yours, and this was His prayer till he left this world."

Once Allah's Apostle rode a horse and fell down and the right side (of his body) was injured. He offered one of the prayers while sitting and we also prayed behind him sitting. When he completed the prayer, he said, "The Imam is to be followed. Pray standing if he prays standing and bow when he bows; rise when he rises; and if he says, 'Sami`a l-lahu-liman hamidah, say then, 'Rabbana wa laka lhamd' and pray standing if he prays standing and pray sitting (all of you) if he prays sitting." Humaid said: The saying of the Prophet "Pray sitting, if he (Imam) prays sitting" was said in his former illness (during his early life) but the Prophet prayed sitting afterwards (in the last illness) and the people were praying standing behind him and the Prophet did not order them to sit. We should follow the latest actions of the Prophet.

If he was a child of a slave-woman whom the father did not possess or of a free woman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he was not joined to the heirs and did not inherit even if the one to whom he was attributed is the one who claimed paternity, since he was a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave.

When Allah's Apostle married Zainab bint Jahsh, he made the people eat meat and bread to their fill (by giving a Walima banquet). Then he went out to the dwelling places of the mothers of the believers (his wives), as he used to do in the morning of his marriage. He would greet them and invoke good on them, and they (too) would return his greeting and invoke good on him. When he returned to his house, he found two men talking to each other; and when he saw them, he went out of his house again. When those two men saw Allah's Apostle: going out of his house, they quickly got up (and departed). I do not remember whether I informed him of their departure, or he was informed (by somebody else). So he returned, and when he entered the house, he lowered the curtain between me and him. Then the Verse of Al-Hijab was revealed.

Um (the mother of) Haritha came to Allah's Apostle after Haritha had been martyred on the Day (of the battle) of Badr by an arrow thrown by an unknown person. She said, "O Allah's Apostle! You know the position of Haritha in my heart (i.e. how dear to me he was), so if he is in Paradise, I will not weep for him, or otherwise, you will see what I will do." The Prophet said, "Are you mad? Is there only one Paradise? There are many Paradises, and he is in the highest Paradise of Firdaus." The Prophet added, "A forenoon journey or an after noon journey in Allah's Cause is better than the whole world and whatever is in it; and a place equal to an arrow bow of anyone of you, or a place equal to a foot in Paradise is better than the whole world and whatever is in it; and if one of the women of Paradise looked at the earth, she would fill the whole space between them (the earth and the heaven) with light, and would fill whatever is in between them, with perfume, and the veil of her face is better than the whole world and whatever is in it."

Yahya related to me from Malik, from AIqama ibn Abi AIqama, from his mother, that A'isha, umm al-muminin, used to camp on the plain of Arafa at a place called Namira, and then later she changed to another place called al-Arak.

She said, ''A'isha, and those who were with her, would say the talbiya while she was at the place where they were camping, and then, when she had mounted and set out towards the place of standing, she would stop doing so."

She continued, ''A'isha used to do umra when she was in Makka after the hajj was over, in the month of Dhu'l-Hijja.Then she stopped doing that, and instead would set out before the new moon of Muharram for al-J uhfa, where she would stay until she saw the new moon, and then, when she had seen the new moon, she would go into ihram to do umra."

When Allah's Apostle fought the battle of Khaibar, or when Allah's Apostle went towards it, (whenever) the people, (passed over a high place overlooking a valley, they raised their voices saying, "Allahu-Akbar! Allahu-Akbar! None has the right to be worshipped except Allah." On that Allah's Apostle said (to them), "Lower your voices, for you are not calling a deaf or an absent one, but you are calling a Hearer Who is near and is with you." I was behind the riding animal of Allah's Apostle and he heard me saying. "There Is neither might, nor power but with Allah," On that he said to me, "O `Abdullah bin Qais!" I said, "Labbaik. O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Shall I tell you a sentence which is one of the treasures of Paradise" I said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! Let my father and mother be sacrificed for your sake." He said, "It is: There is neither might nor power but with Allah."

(At the battle of Badr) Utbah ibn Rabi'ah came forward followed by his son and his brother and cried out: Who will be engaged in single combat? Some young men of the Helpers responded to his call. He asked: Who are you? They told him. He said: We do not want you; we, in fact, want only our cousins. The Prophet (saws) said: Get up Hamzah get up Ali; get up Ubaydah ibn al-Harith. Hamzah went forward to Utbah, I went forward to Shaybah; and after two blows had been exchanged between Ubaydah and al-Walid, they wounded one another severely; so we turned against al-Walid and killed him, and we carried Ubaydah away.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Return to them (Hawazin) their women and their sons. If any of you withholds anything from this booty, we have six camels for him from the first booty which Allah gives us. The Prophet (saws) then approached a camel, and taking a hair from its hump said: O people, I get nothing of this booty, not even this (meanwhile raising his two fingers) but the fifth, and the fifth is returned to you, so hand over threads and needles. A man got up with a ball of hair in his hand and said: I took this to repair the cloth under a pack-saddle. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: You can have what belongs to me and to the Banu al-Muttalib. He said: If it produces the result that I now realise, I have no desire for it.

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.

The Prophet (saws) said: No (Muslim) man will desert a man who is a Muslim in a place where his respect may be violated and his honour aspersed without Allah deserting him in a place here he wishes his help; and no (Muslim) man who will help a Muslim in a place where his honour may be aspersed and his respect violated without Allah helping him in a place where he wishes his help.

Yahya said: 'Ubaid Allah b. 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar and 'Uqbah b. Shaddad transmitted it to me.

Abu Dawud said: This yahya b. Sulaim is the son of Zaid, the freed slave of the Prophet (saws), and Isma'il b. Bashir is the freed slave of Banu Maghalah. Sometimes the name of 'Utbah b. Shaddad is mentioned instead of 'Uqbah.

Allah's Apostle got up when the Verse:--'And warn your tribe of near kindred...." (26.214) was revealed and said, "O Quraish people! (or he said a similar word) Buy yourselves! I cannot save you from Allah (if you disobey Him) O Bani Abu Manaf! I cannot save you from Allah (if you disobey Him). O `Abbas! The son of `Abdul Muttalib! I cannot save you from Allah (if you disobey Him) O Safiya, (the aunt of Allah's Apostle) I cannot save you from Allah (if you disobey Him). O Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad ! Ask what you wish from my property, but I cannot save you from Allah (if you disobey Him).

A man asked permission to enter upon the Prophet. When the Prophet saw him, he said, "What an evil brother of his tribe! And what an evil son of his tribe!" When that man sat down, the Prophet behaved with him in a nice and polite manner and was completely at ease with him. When that person had left, 'Aisha said (to the Prophet). "O Allah's Apostle! When you saw that man, you said so-and-so about him, then you showed him a kind and polite behavior, and you enjoyed his company?" Allah's Apostle said, "O 'Aisha! Have you ever seen me speaking a bad and dirty language? (Remember that) the worst people in Allah's sight on the Day of Resurrection will be those whom the people leave (undisturbed) to be away from their evil (deeds)."

Allah's Apostle said, "I saw myself (in a dream) near the Ka`ba last night, and I saw a man with whitish red complexion, the best you may see amongst men of that complexion having long hair reaching his earlobes which was the best hair of its sort, and he had combed his hair and water was dropping from it, and he was performing the Tawaf around the Ka`ba while he was leaning on two men or on the shoulders of two men. I asked, 'Who is this man?' Somebody replied, '(He is) Messiah, son of Mary.' Then I saw another man with very curly hair, blind in the right eye which looked like a protruding out grape. I asked, 'Who is this?' Somebody replied, '(He is) Messiah, Ad-Dajjal.'"

`Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "O Allah's Apostle! I vowed to observe I`tikaf for one day during the Prelslamic period." The Prophet ordered him to fulfill his vow. `Umar gained two lady captives from the war prisoners of Hunain and he left them in some of the houses at Mecca. When Allah's Apostle freed the captives of Hunain without ransom, they came out walking in the streets. `Umar said (to his son), "O `Abdullah! See what is the matter." `Abdullah replied, "Allah's Apostle has freed the captives without ransom." He said (to him), "Go and set free those two slave girls." (Nafi` added:) Allah's Apostle did not perform the `Umra from Al-Jarana, and if he had performed the `Umra, it would not have been hidden from `Abdullah.

No, By Allah, the Prophet did not tell that Jesus was of red complexion but said, "While I was asleep circumambulating the Ka`ba (in my dream), suddenly I saw a man of brown complexion and lank hair walking between two men, and water was dropping from his head. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people said, 'He is the son of Mary.' Then I looked behind and I saw a red-complexioned, fat, curly-haired man, blind in the right eye which looked like a bulging out grape. I asked, 'Who is this?' They replied, 'He is Ad-Dajjal.' The one who resembled to him among the people, was Ibn Qatar." (Az-Zuhri said, "He (i.e. Ibn Qatan) was a man from the tribe Khuza`a who died in the pre-lslamic period.")

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (saws) and came to a woman of the Ansar in al-Aswaf. The woman brought her two daughters, and said: Messenger of Allah, these are the daughters of Thabit ibn Qays who was killed as a martyr when he was with you at the battle of Uhud, their paternal uncle has taken all their property and inheritance, and he has not left anything for them. What do you think, Messenger of Allah? They cannot be married unless they have some property. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Allah will decide regarding the matter. Then the verse of Surat an-Nisa was revealed: "Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance)." Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Call to me the woman and her husband's brother. He then said to their paternal uncle: Give them two-thirds and their mother an eighth, and what remains is yours.

Abu Dawud said: The narrator Bishr made a mistake. They were the daughters of Sa'd b. al-Rabi' for Thabit b. Qais was killed in the battle of Yamamah.

My mother, Um Sulaim, took a Mudd of barley grain, ground it and made porridge from it, and pressed (over it), a butter skin she had with her. Then she sent me to the Prophet, and I reached him while he was sitting with his companions. I invited him, whereupon he said, "And those who are with me?' I returned and said, "He says, 'And those who are with me?" Abu Talha went out to him and said, "O Allah's Apostle! It is just a meal prepared by Um Sulaim." The Prophet entered and the food was brought to him. He said, "Let ten persons enter upon me." Those ten entered and ate their fill. Again he said, 'Let ten (more) enter upon me." Those ten entered and ate their fill. Then he said, "Let ten (more) enter upon me." He called forty persons in all Then Allah's Apostle ate and got up. I started looking (at the food) to see if it decreased or not.

Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (i.e. the new creature's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him. So, a man amongst you may do (good deeds till there is only a cubit between him and Paradise and then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire. And similarly a man amongst you may do (evil) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and the (Hell) Fire, and then what has been written for him decides his behavior, and he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise."

Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(as regards your creation), every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of flesh for another forty days. Then Allah sends an angel to write four items: He writes his deeds, time of his death, means of his livelihood, and whether he will be wretched or blessed (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into his body. So a man may do deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses, and so he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise and enters Paradise. Similarly, a person may do deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise, so much so that there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it, and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses, and he starts doing deeds of the people of the (Hell) Fire and enters the (Hell) Fire."

Abu Musa said, "I was with the Prophet when he was encamping at Al-Jarana (a place) between Mecca and Medina and Bilal was with him. A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Won't you fulfill what you have promised me?" The Prophet said, 'Rejoice (at what I will do for you).' The bedouin said, "(You have said to me) rejoice too often." Then the Prophet turned to me (i.e. Abu Musa) and Bilal in an angry mood and said, 'The bedouin has refused the good tidings, so you both accept them.' Bilal and I said, 'We accept them.' Then the Prophet asked for a drinking bowl containing water and washed his hands and face in it, and then took a mouthful of water and threw it therein saying (to us), "Drink (some of) it and pour (some) over your faces and chests and be happy at the good tidings." So they both took the drinking bowl and did as instructed. Um Salama called from behind a screen, "Keep something (of the water for your mother." So they left some of it for her.

When `Abdullah bin Salam heard the arrival of the Prophet at Medina, he came to him and said, "I am going to ask you about three things which nobody knows except a prophet: What is the first portent of the Hour? What will be the first meal taken by the people of Paradise? Why does a child resemble its father, and why does it resemble its maternal uncle" Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel has just now told me of their answers." `Abdullah said, "He (i.e. Gabriel), from amongst all the angels, is the enemy of the Jews." Allah's Apostle said, "The first portent of the Hour will be a fire that will bring together the people from the east to the west; the first meal of the people of Paradise will be Extra-lobe (caudate lobe) of fish-liver. As for the resemblance of the child to its parents: If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble the father, and if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her." On that `Abdullah bin Salam said, "I testify that you are the Apostle of Allah." `Abdullah bin Salam further said, "O Allah's Apostle! The Jews are liars, and if they should come to know about my conversion to Islam before you ask them (about me), they would tell a lie about me." The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and `Abdullah went inside the house. Allah's Apostle asked (the Jews), "What kind of man is `Abdullah bin Salam amongst you?" They replied, "He is the most learned person amongst us, and the best amongst us, and the son of the best amongst us." Allah's Apostle said, "What do you think if he embraces Islam (will you do as he does)?" The Jews said, "May Allah save him from it." Then `Abdullah bin Salam came out in front of them saying, "I testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah." Thereupon they said, "He is the evilest among us, and the son of the evilest amongst us," and continued talking badly of him.

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Amr ibn Shuayb that a man of the Banu Mudlij called Qatada threw a sword at his son and it struck his thigh. The wound bled profusely and he died. Suraqa ibn Jusham came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him Umar said to him, "At the watering place of Qudayd count one hundred and twenty camels and wait until I come to you." When Umar ibn al-Khattab came to him, he took thirty four-year-old camels, thirty five-year-old camels, and forty pregnant camels from them. Then he said, "Where is the brother of the slain man?" He said, "Here." He said, "Take them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The killer gets nothing.' "

The wife of the Prophet that she went to Allah's Apostle while he was in I`tikaf (staying in the mosque) during the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. She spoke to him for an hour (a while) at night and then she got up to return home. The Prophet got up to accompany her, and when they reached the gate of the mosque opposite the dwelling place of Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet, two Ansari men passed by, and greeting Allah's Apostle , they quickly went ahead. Allah's Apostle said to them, "Do not be in a hurry She is Safiya, the daughter of Huyai." They said, "Subhan Allah! O Allah's Apostle (how dare we suspect you)." That was a great thing for both of them. The Prophet then said, "Satan runs in the body of Adam's son (i.e. man) as his blood circulates in it, and I was afraid that he (Satan) might insert an evil thought in your hearts."

A son of one of the daughters of the Prophet was dying, so she sent a person to call the Prophet. He sent (her a message), "What ever Allah takes is for Him, and whatever He gives is for Him, and everything has a limited fixed term (in this world) so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward." She then sent for him again, swearing that he should come. Allah's Apostle got up, and so did Mu`adh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka`b and 'Ubada bin As-Samit. When he entered (the house), they gave the child to Allah's Apostle while its breath was disturbed in his chest. (The sub-narrator said: I think he said, "...as if it was a water skin.") Allah's Apostle started weeping whereupon Sa`d bin 'Ubada said, "Do you weep?" The Prophet said, "Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha from Humayda bint Abi Ubayda ibn Farwa that her maternal aunt Kabsha bint Kab ibn Malik, who was the wife of the son of Abu Qatada al-Ansari, told her that once Abu Qatada was visiting her and she poured out some water for him to do wudu with. Just then a cat came to drink from it, so he tilted the vessel towards it to let it drink. Kabsha continued, "He saw me looking at him and said, 'Are you surprised, daughter of my brother?' I said, 'Yes.' He replied that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, cats are not impure. They intermingle with you .' "

Yahya said that Malik said, "There is no harm in that unless one sees impurities on the cat's mouth."

(the freed slave of Um Hani) Um Hani, the daughter of Abi Talib said, "I went to Allah's Apostle in the year of the conquest of Mecca and found him taking a bath and his daughter Fatima was screening him. I greeted him. He asked, 'Who is she?' I replied, 'I am Um Hani bint Abi Talib.' He said, 'Welcome! O Um Hani.' When he finished his bath he stood up and prayed eight rak`at while wearing a single garment wrapped round his body and when he finished I said, 'O Allah's Apostle ! My brother has told me that he will kill a person whom I gave shelter and that person is so and so the son of Hubaira.' The Prophet said, 'We shelter the person whom you have sheltered.' " Um Hani added, "And that was before noon (Duha).

`Abdullah bin `Abdullah bin `Umar and his riding animal entered the house of Ibn `Umar. He (the son of Ibn `Umar) said, "I fear that this year a battle might take place between the people and you might be prevented from going to the Ka`ba. I suggest that you should stay here." Ibn `Umar said, "Once Allah's Apostle set out for the pilgrimage, and the pagans of Quraish intervened between him and the Ka`ba. So, if the people intervened between me and the Ka`ba, I would do the same as Allah's Apostle had done . . . "Verily, in Allah's Apostle you have a good example." Then he added, "I make you a witness that I have intended to perform Hajj along with `Umra." After arriving at Mecca, Ibn `Umar performed one Tawaf only (between Safa and Marwa).

An Ansari man quarreled with Az-Zubair in the presence of the Prophet about the Harra Canals which were used for irrigating the date-palms. The Ansari man said to Az-Zubair, "Let the water pass' but Az-Zubair refused to do so. So, the case was brought before the Prophet who said to Az-Zubair, "O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and then let the water pass to your neighbor." On that the Ansari got angry and said to the Prophet, "Is it because he (i.e. Zubair) is your aunt's son?" On that the color of the face of Allah's Apostle changed (because of anger) and he said, "O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and then withhold the water till it reaches the walls between the pits round the trees." Zubair said, "By Allah, I think that the following verse was revealed on this occasion": "But no, by your Lord They can have No faith Until they make you judge In all disputes between them." (4.65)

I heard from Sa`d, the first man who has thrown an arrow in Allah's Cause, and from Abu Bakra who jumped over the wall of the Ta'if Fort along with a few persons and came to the Prophet. They both said, "We heard the Prophet saying, " If somebody claims to be the son of somebody other than his father knowingly, he will be denied Paradise (i.e. he will not enter Paradise).' " Narrated Ma`mar from `Asim from Abu Al-`Aliya or Abu `Uthman An-Nahdi who said. "I heard Sa`d and Abu Bakra narrating from the Prophet." `Asim said, "I said (to him), 'Very trustworthy persons have narrated to you.' He said, 'Yes, one of them was the first to throw an arrow in Allah's Cause and the other came to the Prophet in a group of thirty-three persons from Ta'if.'