Allah's Apostle said, "The believers will be assembled on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us look for someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' So they will go to Adam and say, 'You are Adam, the father of mankind, and Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered the Angels to prostrate before you, and He taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us.' Adam will say, to them, 'I am not fit for that,' and then he will mention to them his mistake which he has committed.' "

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

I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, and I listened to his recitation and noticed that he recited it in several ways which Allah's Apostle had not taught me. So I was on the point of attacking him in the prayer, but I waited till he finished his prayer, and then I seized him by the collar and said, "Who taught you this Surah which I have heard you reciting?" He replied, "Allah's Apostle taught it to me." I said, "You are telling a lie; By Allah! Allah's Apostle taught me (in a different way) this very Surah which I have heard you reciting." So I took him, leading him to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I heard this person reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way that you did not teach me, and you have taught me Surat-al-Furqan." The Prophet said, "O Hisham, recite!" So he recited in the same way as I heard him recite it before. On that Allah's Apostle said, "It was revealed to be recited in this way." Then Allah's Apostle said, "Recite, O `Umar!" So I recited it as he had taught me. Allah's Apostle then said, "It was revealed to be recited in this way." Allah" Apostle added, "The Qur'an has been revealed to be recited in several different ways, so recite of it that which is easier for you."

Malik related to me from Hilal ibn Usama from Ata ibn Yasar that Umar ibn al-Hakam said, "I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, a slave girl of mine was tending my sheep. I came to her and one of the sheep was lost. I asked her about it and she said that a wolf had eaten it, so I became angry and I am one of the children of Adam, so I struck her on the face. As it happens, I have to set a slave free, shall I free her?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, 'Where is Allah?' She said, 'In heaven.' He said, 'Who am I?' She said, 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Free her.' "

Some (cooked) meat was brought to Allah Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, "I will be the chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, 'Don't you see to what state you have reached? Won't you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord' Some people will say to some others, 'Go to Adam.' So they will go to Adam and say to him. 'You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are? Don't you see what condition we have reached?' Adam will say, 'Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him . Myself! Myself! Myself! (I am preoccuied with my own problems). Go to someone else; go to Noah.' So they will go to Noah and say (to him), 'O Noah! You are the first (of Allah's Messengers) to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say.' Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.' They will go to Abraham and say, 'O Abraham! You are Allah's Apostle and His Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say to them, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the Hadith) Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.' The people will then go to Moses and say, 'O Moses! You art Allah's Apostle and Allah gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord Don't you see in what state we are?' Moses will say, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.' So they will go to Jesus and say, 'O Jesus! You are Allah's Apostle and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' Jesus will say. 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.' So they will come to me and say, 'O Muhammad ! You are Allah's Apostle and the last of the prophets, and Allah forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?" The Prophet added, "Then I will go beneath Allah's Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me. Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede and It (your intercession) will be accepted.' So I will raise my head and Say, 'My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord'. It will be said, 'O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people." The Prophet further said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham).

Once the Prophet went out and offered the funeral prayers for the martyrs of Uhud, and then went to the pulpit and said, "I am a predecessor for you and I am a witness for you: and by Allah, I am looking at my Fount just now, and the keys of the treasures of the earth (or the keys of the earth) have been given to me: and by Allah, I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah after me, but I am afraid that you will strive and struggle against each other over these treasures of the world."

Allah's Apostle said, "Plague was a means of torture sent on a group of Israelis (or on some people before you). So if you hear of its spread in a land, don't approach it, and if a plague should appear in a land where you are present, then don't leave that land in order to run away from it (i.e. plague).

My uncle Anas bin An-Nadr was absent from the Battle of Badr. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the pagans. (By Allah) if Allah gives me a chance to fight the pagans, no doubt. Allah will see how (bravely) I will fight." On the day of Uhud when the Muslims turned their backs and fled, he said, "O Allah! I apologize to You for what these (i.e. his companions) have done, and I denounce what these (i.e. the pagans) have done." Then he advanced and Sa`d bin Mu`adh met him. He said "O Sa`d bin Mu`adh ! By the Lord of An-Nadr, Paradise! I am smelling its aroma coming from before (the mountain of) Uhud," Later on Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! I cannot achieve or do what he (i.e. Anas bin An-Nadr) did. We found more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows on his body. We found him dead and his body was mutilated so badly that none except his sister could recognize him by his fingers." We used to think that the following Verse was revealed concerning him and other men of his sort: "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah.........." (33.23) His sister Ar-Rubbaya' broke a front tooth of a woman and Allah's Apostle ordered for retaliation. On that Anas (bin An-Nadr) said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, my sister's tooth shall not be broken." Then the opponents of Anas's sister accepted the compensation and gave up the claim of retaliation. So Allah's Apostle said, "There are some people amongst Allah's slaves whose oaths are fulfilled by Allah when they take them."

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.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salama ibn Abdar-Rahman ibn Awf that Abu Hurayra used to lead them in prayer and would say "Allah is greater" whenever he lowered himself and raised himself. When he had finished he would say, "By Allah, I am the person whose prayer most resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

Al-Bara' was asked while I was listening, "Did you flee (before the enemy) along with the Prophet on the day of (the battle of) Hunain?" He replied, "As for the Prophet, he did not (flee). The enemy were good archers and the Prophet was saying, "I am the Prophet undoubtedly; I am the son of `Abdul Muttalib."

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."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I never once saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, doing the voluntary prayer of duha, but I myself do it. Sometimes the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would refrain from a practice that he loved to do, fearing that people would do the same and it would become fard for them ."

The Prophet went out to one of the gardens of Medina for some business and I went out to follow him. When he entered the garden, I sat at its gate and said to myself, "To day I will be the gatekeeper of the Prophet though he has not ordered me." The Prophet went and finished his need and went to sit on the constructed edge of the well and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. In the meantime Abu Bakr came and asked permission to enter. I said (to him), "Wait till I get you permission." Abu Bakr waited outside and I went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Abu Bakr asks your permission to enter." He said, "Admit him, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." So Abu Bakr entered and sat on the right side of the Prophet and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. Then `Umar came and I said (to him), "Wait till I get you permission." The Prophet said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." So `Umar entered and sat on the left side of the Prophet and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well so that one side of the well became fully occupied and there remained no place for any-one to sit. Then `Uthman came and I said (to him), "Wait till I get permission for you." The Prophet said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise with a calamity which will befall him." When he entered, he could not find any place to sit with them so he went to the other edge of the well opposite them and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. I wished that a brother of mine would come, so I invoked Allah for his coming. (Ibn Al-Musaiyab said, "I interpreted that (narration) as indicating their graves. The first three are together and the grave of `Uthman is separate from theirs.")

My father said, "Allah's Apostle was proceeding at night on one of his journeys and `Umar bin Al- Khattab was going along with him. `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked him (about something) but Allah's Apostle did not answer him. `Umar asked him again, but he did not answer him. He asked him again (for the third time) but he did not answer him. On that `Umar bin Al-Khattab addressed himself saying, "May your mother be bereaved of you, O `Umar, for you have asked Allah's Apostle thrice, yet he has not answered you." `Umar said, "Then I made my camel run fast and took it in front of the other Muslims, and I was afraid that something might be revealed in my connection. I had hardly waited for a moment when I heard somebody calling me. I said, 'I was afraid that something might have been revealed about me.' Then I came to Allah's Apostle and greeted him. He (i.e. the Prophet) said, 'Tonight there has been revealed to me, a Sura which is dearer to me than (all the world) on which the sun rises,' and then he recited: 'Verily! We have granted you (O Muhammad) A manifest victory." (48.1)

Hamnah said my menstruation was great in quantity and severe. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) for a decision and told him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh.

I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who menstruates in great quantity and it is severe, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting.

He said: I suggest that you should use cotton, for it absorbs the blood. She replied: It is too copious for that. He said: Then take a cloth. She replied: It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, that will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them.

He added: This is a stroke of the Devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, Allah alone knows which it should be; then wash. And when you see that you are purified and quite clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification.

But if you are strong enough to delay the noon (Zuhr) prayer and advance the afternoon ('Asr) prayer, to wash, and then combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, to wash, and then combine the two prayers, do so: and to wash at dawn, do so: and fast if you are able to do so if possible.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Of the two commands this is more to my liking.¹

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit narrated from Ibn 'Aqil: Hamnah said: Of the two commands this is the one which is more to my liking.² In this version these words were not quoted as the statement of the Prophet (saws); it gives it as a statement of Hamnah.

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit was a Rafidi. This has been said by Yahya b. Ma'in.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (b. Hanbal) say: I am doubtful about the tradition transmitted by Ibn 'Aqil.

The people used to send presents to the Prophet on the day of `Aisha's turn. `Aisha said, "My companions (i.e. the other wives of the Prophet) gathered in the house of Um Salama and said, "O Um Salama! By Allah, the people choose to send presents on the day of `Aisha's turn and we too, love the good (i.e. presents etc.) as `Aisha does. You should tell Allah's Apostle to tell the people to send their presents to him wherever he may be, or wherever his turn may be." Um Salama said that to the Prophet and he turned away from her, and when the Prophet returned to her (i.e. Um Salama), she repeated the same, and the Prophet again turned away, and when she told him the same for the third time, the Prophet said, "O Um Salama! Don't trouble me by harming `Aisha, for by Allah, the Divine Inspiration never came to me while I was under the blanket of any woman amongst you except her."

That Al-Miswar bin Makhrama and `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin 'Abu Yaghuth had said to him, "What prevents you from speaking to your uncle `Uthman regarding his brother Al-Walid bin `Uqba?" The people were speaking against the latter for what he had done. 'Ubaidullah said, "So I kept waiting for `Uthman, and when he went out for the prayer, I said to him, 'I have got something to say to you as a piece of advice.' `Uthman said, 'O man! I seek Refuge with Allah from you. So I went away. When I finished my prayer, I sat with Al-Miswar and Ibn 'Abu Yaghutb and talked to both of them of what I had said to `Uthman and what he had said to me. They said, 'You have done your duty.' So while I was sitting with them. `Uthman's Messenger came to me. They said, 'Allah has put you to trial." I set out and when I reached `Uthman, he said, 'What is your advice which you mentioned a while ago?' I recited Tashahhud and added, 'Allah has sent Muhammad and has revealed the Holy Book (i.e. Qur'an) to him. You (O `Uthman!) were amongst those who responded to the call of Allah and His Apostle and had faith in him. And you took part in the first two migrations (to Ethiopia and to Medina), and you enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle and learned his traditions and advice. Now the people are talking much about Al-Walid bin `Uqba and so it is your duty to impose on him the legal punishment.' `Uthman then said to me, 'O my nephew! Did you ever meet Allah's Apostle ?' I said, 'No, but his knowledge has reached me as it has reached the virgin in her seclusion.' `Uthman then recited Tashahhud and said, 'No doubt, Allah has sent Muhammad with the Truth and has revealed to him His Holy Book (i.e. Qur'an) and I was amongst those who responded to the call of Allah and His Apostle and I had faith in Muhammad's Mission, and I had performed the first two migrations as you have said, and I enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle and gave the pledge of allegiance to him. By Allah, I never disobeyed him and never cheated him till Allah caused him to die. Then Allah made Abu Bakr Caliph, and by Allah, I was never disobedient to him, nor did I cheat him. Then `Umar became Caliph, and by Allah, I was never disobedient to him, nor did I cheat him. Then I became Caliph. Have I not then the same rights over you as they had over me?' I replied in the affirmative. `Uthman further said, 'The what are these talks which are reaching me from you? As for what you ha mentioned about Al-Walid bin 'Uqb; Allah willing, I shall give him the leg; punishment justly. Then `Uthman ordered that Al-Walid be flogged fort lashes. He ordered `Ali to flog him an he himself flogged him as well."

From his father, that he sought permission from the Prophet (saws) to take the wages for cupping and he (saws) forbade him from it. He continued asking him and seeking his permission until he said: "Use it to give fodder to your water-carrying camels, and to feed your slaves."

[He said:] There are narrations on this topic from Rafi' bin Khadij, Abu Juhaifah, Jabir, and As-Sa'ib bin Yazid.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Muhayyisah is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. This is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge. Ahmad said: "If I am asked for something by cupper then I deny him, acting upon this Hadith."

When the time of his death came, he called for new clothes and put on them. He then said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: A deceased will be raised in the clothes in which he died.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone takes an oath and says: I am free from Islam; now if he is a liar (in his oath), he will not return to Islam with soundness.

The Prophet said, "Whoever slaughtered (his sacrifice) before the `Id prayer, should slaughter again." A man stood up and said, "This is the day on which one has desire for meat," and he mentioned something about his neighbors. It seemed that the Prophet I believed him. Then the same man added, "I have a young she-goat which is dearer to me than the meat of two sheep." The Prophet permitted him to slaughter it as a sacrifice. I do not know whether that permission was valid only for him or for others as well.