I saw Allah's Apostle at the 'time when the `Asr prayer was due. Then the people were searching for water for ablution but they could not find any. Then some water was brought to Allah's Apostle and he placed his hand in the pot and ordered the people to perform the ablution with the water. I saw water flowing from underneath his fingers and the people started performing the ablution till all of them did it.

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said to me, "I notice that you like sheep and you keep them; so take care of them and their food, for I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'A time will come upon the people when the best of a Muslim's property will be sheep, which he will take to the tops of mountains and to the places of rain-falls to run away with his religion in order to save it from afflictions.' "

While some people were offering Fajr prayer at Quba mosque, someone came to them and said, "Qur'anic literature" has been revealed to Allah's Apostle tonight, and he has been ordered to face the Ka`ba (of Mecca) so you too, should turn your faces towards it. Their faces were then towards Sham (Jerusalem), so they turned towards the Qibla (i.e. Ka`ba of Mecca).

Malik related to me from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Sulayman ibn Yasar from Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya that a woman's husband died, and she did the idda of four months and ten days. Then she married when she was free to marry. She stayed with her husband for four and a half months, then gave birth to a fully developed child. Her husband went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him, so Umar called some of the old women of the Jahiliyya and asked them about that. One of the women said, "I will tell you what happened with this woman. When her husband died, she was pregnant by him, but then the blood flowed from her because of his death and the child became dry in her womb. When her new husband had intercourse with her and the water reached the child, the child moved in the womb and grew." Umar ibn al-Khattab believed her and separated them (until she had completed her idda). Umar said, "Only good has reached me about you two," and he connected the child to the first husband.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf told him that once a poor woman fell ill and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told of her illness, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to visit poor people frequently and ask after them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let me know if she dies." Her bier was brought out at night- time and they did not want to wake up the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. In the morning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told what had happened to her and he said, "Didn't I tell you to let me know if she died?" They replied, "Messenger of Allah, we did not want to wake you up and make you come out in the night." Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out and formed everyone into rows by her grave and said "Allah is greater" four times.

When `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul died, Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) was called upon to offer his funeral prayer. When Allah's Apostle stood up to offer the prayer, I got up quickly and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Are you going to pray for Ibn Ubai and he said so and so on such and such occasions?" And started mentioning all that he had said. Allah's Apostle smiled and said, "O `Umar! Go away from me." When I talked too much he said, "I have been given the choice and so I have chosen (to offer the prayer). Had I known that he would be forgiven by asking for Allah's forgiveness for more than seventy times, surely I would have done so." (`Umar added): Allah's Apostle offered his funeral prayer and returned and after a short while the two verses of Surat Bara' were revealed: i.e. "And never (O Muhammad) pray for any of them who dies . . . (to the end of the verse) rebellion (9.84)" -- (`Umar added), "Later I astonished at my daring before Allah's Apostle on that day. And Allah and His Apostle know better."

About the Qur'anic verse: "It is not lawful for you forcibly to inherit the woman (of your deceased kinsmen), nor (that) ye should put constraint upon them. When a man died, his relatives had more right to his wife then her own guardian. If any one of them wanted to marry her, he did so; or they married her (to some other person), and if they did not want to marry her, they did so. So this verse was revealed about the matter.

The Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the day of Uhud and said: We have been afflicted with wound and fatigue. What do you command us?

He said: Dig graves, make them wide, bury two or three in a single grave.

He was asked: Which of them should be put first?

He replied: The one who knew the Qur'an most.

He (Hisham) said: My father Amir died on the day and was buried with two or one.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whenever a man sells wares and then the buyer becomes bankrupt and the seller has not taken any of the price and he finds some of his property intact with the buyer, he is more entitled to it than anyone else. If the buyer dies, then the seller is the same as other creditors with respect to it."

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that a man said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "My mother died suddenly, and I think that had she spoken, she would have given sadaqa. Shall I give sadaqa for her?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that death came to a man in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. A man said, "He was fortunate," as he had died without being tried by illness. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Alas for you, what will let you know that if Allah had tried him with illness, He would have wiped out his wrong actions."

The Prophet said, "There is no believer but I, of all the people, I am the closest to him both in this world and in the Hereafter. Recite if you wish: 'The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves.' (33.6) so if a believer (dies) leaves some property then his relatives will inherit that property; but if he is in debt or he leaves poor children, let those (creditors and children) come to me (that I may pay the debt and provide for the children), for them I am his sponsor (surely).

Regarding the Qur'anic Verse: 'O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will.' (4.19) The custom (in the Pre-lslamic Period) was that if a man died, his relatives used to have the right to inherit his wife, and if one of them wished, he could marry her, or they could marry her to somebody else, or prevent her from marrying if they wished, for they had more right to dispose of her than her own relatives. Therefore this Verse was revealed concerning this matter.

A woman came to the Prophet and said, "My mother vowed to perform the Hajj but she died before performing it. Should I perform the Hajj on her behalf?" He said, "Yes! Perform the Hajj on her behalf. See, if your mother had been in debt, would you have paid her debt?" She said, "Yes." He said, "So you should pay what is for Him as Allah has more right that one should fulfill one's obligations to Him. "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abd ar- Rahman ibn Abi Bakr was visiting A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may AIIah bless him and grant him peace, on the day that Sad ibn Abi Waqqas died, and he asked for some water to do wudu. A'isha said to him, ''Abd ar-Rahman! Perform your wudu fully, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Woe to the heels in the fire.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from Abbad ibn Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him that she had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say before he died, while he was leaning on her breast and she was listening to him, "O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me and join me with the highest company."

When the Prophet became ill, some of his wives talked about a church which they had seen in Ethiopia and it was called Mariya. Um Salma and Um Habiba had been to Ethiopia, and both of them narrated its (the Church's) beauty and the pictures it contained. The Prophet raised his head and said, "Those are the people who, whenever a pious man dies amongst them, make a place of worship at his grave and then they make those pictures in it. Those are the worst creatures in the Sight of Allah."

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) gave judgment in case of the abortion of a woman of Banu Lihyan (that the offender and near relative should give compensation in the form of) good quality of a slave or a slave-girl. And the woman about whom the judgment was given for compensation died and thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) gave judgment that her inheritance goes to her sons and her husband, and the payment of the blood-wit lies with the family of (one who struck her).

That the Prophet (saws), "There is no person who dies having good (prepared for him) with Allah, who wishes to return to the world, and to have the world and all it contains, except for the martyr because of what he knows about the virtue of martyrdom. For, indeed he loves to return to the world so that he may be killed another time."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

Ibn 'Umar said: "Sufyan bin 'Uyainah said: "Amr bin Dinar was older than Az-Zuhri.'"

The Prophet called Fatima during his fatal illness and told her something secretly and she wept. Then he called her again and told her something secretly, and she started laughing. When we asked her about that, she said, "The Prophet first told me secretly that he would expire in that disease in which he died, so I wept; then he told me secretly that I would be the first of his family to follow him, so I laughed ( at that time).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) wrote a letter about sadaqah (zakat) but he died before he could send it to his governors. He had kept it with his sword. So AbuBakr acted upon it till he died, and then Umar acted upon it till he died.

It contained: "For five camels one goat is to be given; for ten camels two goats are to be given; for fifteen camels three goats are to be given; for twenty camels four goats are to be given; for twenty-five to thirty-five camels a she-camel in her second year is to be given. If the number exceeds by one up to seventy camels, a she-camel in her fourth year is to be given; if they exceed by one up to seventy-five camels, a she-camel in her fifth year is to be given; if they exceed by one up to ninety camels, two she-camels in their third year are to be given; if they exceed by one up to one hundred and twenty, two she-camels in their fourth year are to be given. If the camels are more than this, a she-camel in her fourth year is to be given for every fifty camels, and a she-camel in her third year is to be given for every forty camels.

For forty to one hundred and twenty goats one goat is to be given; if they exceed by one up to two hundred, two goats are to be given. If they exceed by one up to three hundred, three goats are to be given; if the goats are more than this, one goat for every hundred goats is to be given. Nothing is payable until they reach one hundred. Those which are in one flock are not to be separated, and those which are in separate flocks are not be brought together from fear of sadaqah (zakat). Regarding that which belongs to two partners, they can make claims for restitution from each other with equity. An old goat and a defective one are not to be accepted as sadaqah (zakat)."

Az-Zuhri said: When the collector comes, the goats will be apportioned into three flocks: one containing bad, the second good, and the third moderate. The collector will take zakat from the moderate. Az-Zuhri did not mention the cows (to be apportioned in three flocks).

Malik related to me that Ibn Shihab informed him that a man confessed that he had committed adultery in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he testified against himself four times, so the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the order and he was stoned.

Ibn Shihab said, "Because of this a man is to be taken for his own confession against himself."

(The Caliph `Uthman ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Sa`id bin Al-As, `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair and `Abdur- Rahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham to write the Qur'an in the form of a book (Mushafs) and said to them. "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit (Al-Ansari) regarding any dialectic Arabic utterance of the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, for the Qur'an was revealed in this dialect." So they did it.

While the Prophet was delivering a sermon, he saw a man standing, so he asked about that man. They (the people) said, "It is Abu Israil who has vowed that he will stand and never sit down, and he will never come in the shade, nor speak to anybody, and will fast.'' The Prophet said, "Order him to speak and let him come in the shade, and make him sit down, but let him complete his fast."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

One night the Prophet delayed the `Isha' prayer whereupon `Umar went to him and said, "The prayer, O Allah's Apostle! The women and children had slept." The Prophet came out with water dropping from his head, and said, "Were I not afraid that it would be hard for my followers (or for the people), I would order them to pray `Isha prayer at this time." (Various versions of this Hadith are given by the narrators with slight differences in expression but not in content).

Allah's Apostle said, "The (call for prayer) Adhan of Bilal should not stop anyone of you from taking his Suhur for he pronounces the Adhan in order that whoever among you is praying the night prayer, may return (to eat his Suhur) and whoever among you is sleeping, may get up, for it is not yet dawn (when it is like this)." (Yahya, the sub-narrator stretched his two index fingers side ways).

While we were in the company of the Prophet in a cave at Mina, when Surat-wal-Mursalat were revealed and he recited it and I heard it (directly) from his mouth as soon as he recited its revelation. Suddenly a snake sprang at us and the Prophet said (ordered us): "Kill it." We ran to kill it but it escaped quickly. The Prophet said, "It has escaped your evil and you too have escaped its evil."

The Prophet visited her (Juwairiya) on a Friday and she was fasting. He asked her, "Did you fast yesterday?" She said, "No." He said, "Do you intend to fast tomorrow?" She said, "No." He said, "Then break your fast." Through another series of narrators, Abu Aiyub is reported to have said, "He ordered her and she broke her fast."

Allah's Apostle forbade the selling of things by a town dweller on behalf of a desert dweller; and similarly Najsh was forbidden. And one should not urge somebody to return the goods to the seller so as to sell him his own goods; nor should one demand the hand of a girl who has already been engaged to someone else; and a woman should not try to cause some other woman to be divorced in order to take her place.

Allah's Apostle sent horsemen to Najd and they arrested and brought a man called Thumama bin Uthal, the chief of Yamama, and they fastened him to one of the pillars of the Mosque. When Allah's Apostle came up to him; he asked, "What have you to say, O Thumama?" He replied, "I have good news, O Muhammad!" Abu Huraira narrated the whole narration which ended with the order of the Prophet "Release him!"

While some people were offering Fajr prayer at Quba' (mosque), some-one came to them and said, "Tonight some Qur'anic Verses have been revealed to the Prophet and he has been ordered to face the Ka`ba (at Mecca) (during prayers), so you too should turn your faces towards it." At that time their faces were towards Sham (Jerusalem) so they turned towards the Ka`ba (at Mecca).

One day we were praying behind the Prophet. When he raised his head from bowing, he said, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah." A man behind him said, "Rabbana wa laka l-hamdu, hamdan kathiran taiyiban mubarakan fihi" (O our Lord! All the praises are for You, many good and blessed praises). When the Prophet completed the prayer, he asked, "Who has said these words?" The man replied, "I." The Prophet said, "I saw over thirty angels competing to write it first." Prophet rose (from bowing) and stood straight till all the vertebrae of his spinal column came to a natural position.

Yahya said that Malik related from Muhammad ibn Umara from Abu Bakr ibn Hazm that Uthman ibn Affan said, "When boundaries are fixed in land, there is no pre-emption in it. There is no pre-emption in a well or in male palm trees. "

Malik said, "This is what is done in our community."

Malik said, "There is no pre-emption in a road, whether or not it is practical to divide it."

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that there is no pre- emption in the courtyard of a house, whether or not it is practical to divide it."

Malik spoke about a man who bought into a shared property provided that he had the option of withdrawal and the partners of the seller wanted to take what their partner was selling by pre-emption before the buyer had exercised his option. Malik said, "They cannot do that until the buyer has taken possession and the sale is confirmed for him. When the sale is confirmed, they have the right of pre-emption."

Malik spoke about a man who bought land and it remained in his hands for some time. Then a man came and saw that he had a share of the land by inheritance. Malik said, "If the man's right of inheritance is established, he also has a right of preemption. If the land has produced a crop, the crop belongs to the buyer until the day when the right of the other is established, because he has tended what was planted against being destroyed or being carried away by a flood."

Malik continued, "If the time has been long, or the witnesses are dead or the seller has died, or the buyer has died, or they are both alive and the basis of the sale and purchase has been forgotten because of the length of time, pre- emption is discontinued. A man only takes his right by inheritance which has been established for him. If his situation differs from this, because the sale transaction is recent and he sees that the seller has concealed the price in order to sever his right of pre- emption, the value of the land is estimated, and he buys the land for that price by his right of pre-emption. Then the buildings, plants, or structures which are extra to the land are looked at, so he is in the position of some one who bought the land for a known price, and then after that built on it and planted. The owner of pre-emption takes possession after that is included."

Malik said, "Pre-emption is applied to the property of the deceased as it is applied to the property of the living. If the family of the deceased fear to break up the property of the deceased, then they share it and sell it, and they have no pre-emption in it."

Malik said, "There is no pre- emption among us in a slave or a slave-girl or a camel, a cow, sheep, or any animal, nor in clothes or a well which does not have any uncultivated land around it. Pre-emption is in what can be usefully divided, and in land in which boundaries occur. As for what cannot be usefully divided, there is no pre-emption in it."

Malik said, "Some one who buys land in which people who are present have a right of pre-emption, refers them to the Sultan and either they claim their right or the Sultan surrenders it to him. If he were to leave them, and not refer their situation to the Sultan and they knew about his purchase, and then they left it until a long time had passed and then came demanding their pre-emption, I do not think that they would have it."

Ibn `Abbas said, "Thursday! What (great thing) took place on Thursday!" Then he started weeping till his tears wetted the gravels of the ground . Then he said, "On Thursday the illness of Allah's Apostle was aggravated and he said, "Fetch me writing materials so that I may have something written to you after which you will never go astray." The people (present there) differed in this matter and people should not differ before a prophet. They said, "Allah's Apostle is seriously sick.' The Prophet said, "Let me alone, as the state in which I am now, is better than what you are calling me for." The Prophet on his death-bed, gave three orders saying, "Expel the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, respect and give gifts to the foreign delegates as you have seen me dealing with them." I forgot the third (order)" (Ya'qub bin Muhammad said, "I asked Al-Mughira bin `Abdur-Rahman about the Arabian Peninsula and he said, 'It comprises Mecca, Medina, Al-Yama-ma and Yemen." Ya'qub added, "And Al-Arj, the beginning of Tihama.")

that he heard Ibn `Abbas saying, "Thursday! And you know not what Thursday is? After that Ibn `Abbas wept till the stones on the ground were soaked with his tears. On that I asked Ibn `Abbas, "What is (about) Thursday?" He said, "When the condition (i.e. health) of Allah's Apostle deteriorated, he said, 'Bring me a bone of scapula, so that I may write something for you after which you will never go astray.'The people differed in their opinions although it was improper to differ in front of a prophet, They said, 'What is wrong with him? Do you think he is delirious? Ask him (to understand). The Prophet replied, 'Leave me as I am in a better state than what you are asking me to do.' Then the Prophet ordered them to do three things saying, 'Turn out all the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.' " The sub-narrator added, "The third order was something beneficial which either Ibn `Abbas did not mention or he mentioned but I forgot.'

Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "Allah's Apostle sent troops to the sea coast and appointed Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah as their commander, and they were 300 (men). We set out, and we had covered some distance on the way, when our journey food ran short. So Abu 'Ubaida ordered that all the food present with the troops be collected, and it was collected. Our journey food was dates, and Abu Ubaida kept on giving us our daily ration from it little by little (piecemeal) till it decreased to such an extent that we did not receive except a date each." I asked (Jabir), "How could one date benefit you?" He said, "We came to know its value when even that finished." Jabir added, "Then we reached the sea (coast) where we found a fish like a small mountain. The people (i.e. troops) ate of it for 18 nights (i.e. days). Then Abu 'Ubaida ordered that two of its ribs be fixed on the ground (in the form of an arch) and that a she-camel be ridden and passed under them. So it passed under them without touching them."

Abu Dawud said: And this is an authority for a man to take a thing if it is due to him.