the mother of the faithful believers: Allah's Apostle in his last illness said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." I said, "If Abu Bakr stood in your place, he would not be able to make the people hear him owing to his weeping. So please order `Umar to lead the prayer." He said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." I said to Hafsa, "Say to him, 'Abu Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stood in your place he would not be able to make the people hear him owing to his weeping. So order `Umar to lead the people in the prayer.' " Hafsa did so but Allah's Apostle said, "Keep quiet. Verily you are the companions of (Prophet) Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." Hafsa said to me, "I never got any good from you."

On his father's authority, said that his grandfather told that a A man came to the Prophet (saws) crying for help. He said: His slave-girl, Messenger of Allah! He said: Woe to you, what happened with you ? He said that it was an evil one. He saw the slave-girl of his master; he became jealous of him, and cut off his penis. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Bring the man to me. The man was called, but people could not get control over him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Go away, you are free. He asked: Messenger of Allah! upon whom does my help lie? He replied: On every believer, or he said: On every Muslim.

Abu Dawud said: The name of the man who was emancipated was Rawh b. Dinar

Abu Dawud said: The man who cut off the penis was Zinba'

Abu Dawud said: The Zinba' Abu Rawh was master of the slave.

Ya`la used to say, "I wish I could see Allah's Apostle at the time he is being inspired Divinely." When the Prophet was at Al-Ja'rana and was shaded by a garment hanging over him and some of his companions were with him, a man perfumed with scent came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is your opinion regarding a man who assumes Ihram and puts on a cloak after perfuming his body with scent?" The Prophet waited for a while, and then the Divine Inspiration descended upon him. `Umar pointed out to Ya`la, telling him to come. Ya`la came and pushed his head (underneath the screen which was covering the Prophet ) and behold! The Prophet's face was red and he kept on breathing heavily for a while and then he was relieved. Thereupon he said, "Where is the questioner who asked me about `Umra a while ago?" The man was sought and then was brought before the Prophet who said (to him), "As regards the scent which you perfumed your body with, you must wash it off thrice, and as for your cloak, you must take it off; and then perform in your `Umra all those things which you perform in Hajj."

I went out of Medina towards Al-Ghaba. When I reached the mountain path of Al-Ghaba, a slave of `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf met me. I said to him, "Woe to you! What brought you here?" He replied, "The she-camels of the Prophet have been taken away." I said, "Who took them?" He said, "Ghatafan and Fazara." So, I sent three cries, "O Sabaha-h ! O Sabahah !" so loudly that made the people in between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains hear me. Then I rushed till I met them after they had taken the camels away. I started throwing arrows at them saying, "I am the son of Al-Akwa`"; and today perish the mean people!" So, I saved the she-camels from them before they (i.e. the robbers) could drink water. When I returned driving the camels, the Prophet met me, I said, "O Allah's Apostle Those people are thirsty and I have prevented them from drinking water, so send some people to chase them." The Prophet said, "O son of Al-Akwa`, you have gained power (over your enemy), so forgive (them). (Besides) those people are now being entertained by their folk."

When Allah's Apostle became seriously ill, Bilal came to him for the prayer. He said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Abu Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stands in your place, he would not be able to make the people hear him. Will you order `Umar (to lead the prayer)?" The Prophet said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." Then I said to Hafsa, "Tell him, Abu i Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stands in his place, he would not be able to make the people hear him. Would you order `Umar to lead the prayer?' " Hafsa did so. The Prophet said, "Verily you are the companions of Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." So Abu- Bakr stood for the prayer. In the meantime Allah's Apostle felt better and came out with the help of two persons and both of his legs were dragging on the ground till he entered the mosque. When Abu Bakr heard him coming, he tried to retreat but Allah's Apostle beckoned him to carry on. The Prophet sat on his left side. Abu Bakr was praying while standing and Allah's Apostle was leading the prayer while sitting. Abu Bakr was following the Prophet and the people were following Abu Bakr (in the prayer).

While we were with Allah's Apostle who was distributing (i.e. some property), there came Dhu-l- Khuwaisira, a man from the tribe of Bani Tamim and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do Justice." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Who could do justice if I did not? I would be a desperate loser if I did not do justice." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet said, "Leave him, for he has companions who pray and fast in such a way that you will consider your fasting negligible in comparison to theirs. They recite Qur'an but it does not go beyond their throats (i.e. they do not act on it) and they will desert Islam as an arrow goes through a victim's body, so that the hunter, on looking at the arrow's blade, would see nothing on it; he would look at its Risaf and see nothing: he would look at its Na,di and see nothing, and he would look at its Qudhadh ( 1 ) and see nothing (neither meat nor blood), for the arrow has been too fast even for the blood and excretions to smear. The sign by which they will be recognized is that among them there will be a black man, one of whose arms will resemble a woman's breast or a lump of meat moving loosely. Those people will appear when there will be differences amongst the people." I testify that I heard this narration from Allah's Apostle and I testify that `Ali bin Abi Talib fought with such people, and I was in his company. He ordered that the man (described by the Prophet ) should be looked for. The man was brought and I looked at him and noticed that he looked exactly as the Prophet had described him.

We were talking about Hajjat-ul-Wada`, while the Prophet was amongst us. We did not know what Hajjat-ul-Wada` signified. The Prophet praised Allah and then mentioned Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal and described him extensively, saying, "Allah did not send any prophet but that prophet warned his nation of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal. Noah and the prophets following him warned (their people) of him. He will appear amongst you (O Muhammad's followers), and if it happens that some of his qualities may be hidden from you, but your Lord's State is clear to you and not hidden from you. The Prophet said it thrice. Verily, your Lord is not blind in one eye, while he (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) is blind in the right eye which looks like a grape bulging out (of its cluster). No doubt,! Allah has made your blood and your properties sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this town of yours, in this month of yours." The Prophet added: No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's Message to you? " They replied, "Yes," The Prophet said thrice, "O Allah! Be witness for it." The Prophet added, "Woe to you!" (or said), "May Allah be merciful to you! Do not become infidels after me (i.e. my death) by cutting the necks (throats) of one another."

The Prophet started ascending a high place or hill. A man (amongst his companions) ascended it and shouted in a loud voice, "La ilaha illal-lahu wallahu Akbar." (At that time) Allah's Apostle was riding his mule. Allah's Apostle said, "You are not calling upon a deaf or an absent one." and added, "O Abu Musa (or, O `Abdullah)! Shall I tell you a sentence from the treasure of Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "La haul a wala quwwata illa billah,"

The Prophet said, "When Allah has ordained some affair in the Heaven, the angels beat with their wings in obedience to His statement, which sounds like a chain dragged over a rock." (`Ali and other sub-narrators said, "The sound reaches them.") "Until when fear is banished from their (angels) hearts, they (angels) say, 'What was it that your Lord said? They say, 'The truth; And He is the Most High, the Most Great.' (34.23) Then those who gain a hearing by stealing (i.e. devils) will hear Allah's Statement:-- 'Those who gain a hearing by stealing, (stand one over the other like this). (Sufyan, to illustrate this, spread the fingers of his right hand and placed them one over the other horizontally.) A flame may overtake and burn the eavesdropper before conveying the news to the one below him; or it may not overtake him till he has conveyed it to the one below him, who in his turn, conveys it to the one below him, and so on till they convey the news to the earth. (Or probably Sufyan said, "Till the news reaches the earth.") Then the news is inspired to a sorcerer who would add a hundred lies to it. His prophecy will prove true (as far as the heavenly news is concerned). The people will say. 'Didn't he tell us that on such-and-such a day, such-and-such a thing will happen? We have found that is true because of the true news heard from heaven."

The above hadith is also narrated by Abu Huraira, starting: 'When Allah has ordained some affair...') In this narration the word foreteller is added to the word wizard.

I saw the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the morning of the conquest of Mecca when I was a young boy. He was walking among the people, seeking the camp of Khalid ibn al-Walid. A man who had drunk wine was brought (before him) and he ordered them (to beat him). So they beat him with what they had in their hands. Some struck him with whips, some with sticks and some with sandals. The Messenger of Allah (saws) threw some dust on his face.

When a man who had drunk wine was brought before AbuBakr, he asked them (i.e. the people) about the number of beatings which they gave him. They numbered it forty. So AbuBakr gave him forty lashes.

When Umar came to power, Khalid ibn al-Walid wrote to him: The people have become addicted to drinking wine and they look down upon the prescribed punishment and its penalty.

He said: They are with you, ask them. The immigrants who embraced Islam in the beginning were with him. He asked them and they agreed on the fact that (a drunkard) should be given eighty lashes.

Ali said: When a man drinks wine, he tells lies. I, therefore, think that he should be prescribed punishment that is prescribed for telling lies..

Abu Dawud said: 'Uqail b. Khalid included in the chain of this tradition: "Abd Allah b. Abd al-Rahman b. al-Azhar from his father" between al-Zuhri and Ibn al-Azhar.

The Prophet said: Abraham did not tell lies except three. (One of them was) when Abraham passed by a tyrant and (his wife) Sara was accompanying him (Abu Huraira then mentioned the whole narration and said:) (The tyrant) gave her Hajar. Sara said, "Allah saved me from the hands of the Kafir (i.e. infidel) and gave me Hajar to serve me." (Abu Huraira added:) That (Hajar) is your mother, O Banu Ma'-As-Sama' (i.e., the Arabs).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man driving forward a camel which he was going to sacrifice, and he told him to ride it. The man said, "Messenger of Allah, it is an animal that I am going to sacrifice," and he replied, "Ride it, woe on you," either the second or the third time.

Here (i.e. in Mecca) there was a man called Nawwas and he had camels suffering from the disease of excessive and unquenchable thirst. Ibn `Umar went to the partner of Nawwas and bought those camels. The man returned to Nawwas and told him that he had sold those camels. Nawwas asked him, "To whom have you sold them?" He replied, "To such and such Sheikh." Nawwas said, "Woe to you; By Allah, that Sheikh was Ibn `Umar." Nawwas then went to Ibn `Umar and said to him, "My partner sold you camels suffering from the disease of excessive thirst and he had not known you." Ibn `Umar told him to take them back. When Nawwas went to take them, Ibn `Umar said to him, "Leave them there as I am happy with the decision of Allah's Apostle that there is no oppression . "