Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "Someone who eats or drinks out of neglect or forgetfulness during a voluntary fast does not have to repeat his fast, but he should continue fasting for the rest of the day in which he eats or drinks while voluntarily fasting, and not stop fasting. Someone to whom something unexpected happens which causes him to break his fast while he is fasting voluntarily does not have to repeat his fast if he has broken it for a reason, and not simply because he decided to break his fast. Just as I do not think that someone has to repeat a voluntary prayer if he has had to stop it because of some discharge which he could prevent and which meant that he had to repeat his wudu."

Malik said, "Once a man has begun doing any of the right actions (al-amal as-saliha) such as the prayer, the fast and the hajj, or similar right actions of a voluntary nature, he should not stop until he has completed it according to what the sunna for that action is. If he says the takbir he should not stop until he has prayed two rakas. If he is fasting he should not break his fast until he has completed that day's fast. If he goes into ihram he should not return until he has completed his hajj, and if he begins doing tawaf he should not stop doing so until he has gone around the Kaba seven times. He should not stop doing any of these actions once he has started them until he has completed them, except if something happens such as illness or some other matter by which a man is excused. This is because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'And eat and drink until the white thread becomes clear to you from the black thread of dawn, (and) then complete the fast until night-time,' (Sura 2 ayat 187), and so he must complete his fast as Allah has said. Allah, the Exalted, (also) says, 'And complete the hajj and the umra for Allah,' and so if a man were to go into ihram for a voluntary hajj having done his one obligatory hajj (on a previous occasion), he could not then stop doing his hajj having once begun it and leave ihram while in the middle of his hajj. Anyone that begins a voluntary act must complete it once he has begun doing it, just as an obligatory act must be completed . This is the best of what I have heard."

The companions of Suffa were poor people. The Prophet once said, "Whoever has food enough for two persons, should take a third one (from among them), and whoever has food enough for four persons, should take a fifth or a sixth (or said something similar)." Abu Bakr brought three persons while the Prophet took ten. And Abu Bakr with his three family member (who were I, my father and my mother) (the sub-narrator is in doubt whether `Abdur-Rahman said, "My wife and my servant who was common for both my house and Abu Bakr's house.") Abu Bakr took his supper with the Prophet and stayed there till he offered the `Isha' prayers. He returned and stayed till Allah's Apostle took his supper. After a part of the night had passed, he returned to his house. His wife said to him, "What has detained you from your guests?" He said, "Have you served supper to them?" She said, "They refused to take supper until you come. They (i.e. some members of the household) presented the meal to them but they refused (to eat)" I went to hide myself and he said, "O Ghunthar!" He invoked Allah to cause my ears to be cut and he rebuked me. He then said (to them): Please eat!" and added, I will never eat the meal." By Allah, whenever we took a handful of the meal, the meal grew from underneath more than that handful till everybody ate to his satisfaction; yet the remaining food was more than the original meal. Abu Bakr saw that the food was as much or more than the original amount. He called his wife, "O sister of Bani Firas!" She said, "O pleasure of my eyes. The food has been tripled in quantity." Abu Bakr then started eating thereof and said, "It (i.e. my oath not to eat) was because of Sa all." He took a handful from it, and carried the rest to the Prophet. So that food was with the Prophet . There was a treaty between us and some people, and when the period of that treaty had elapsed, he divided US into twelve groups, each being headed by a man. Allah knows how many men were under the command of each leader. Anyhow, the Prophet surely sent a leader with each group. Then all of them ate of that meal.

the mother of believers: Allah enjoined the prayer when He enjoined it, it was two rak`at only (in every prayer) both when in residence or on journey. Then the prayers offered on journey remained the same, but (the rak`at of) the prayers for non-travelers were increased.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed maghrib and isha together at Muzdalifa.

When Abu Huraira led us in prayer he used to say Takbir on each bowing and rising. On the completion of the prayer he used to say, "My prayer is more similar to the prayer of Allah's Apostle than that of anyone of you."

Some of the companions of the Prophet went on a journey till they reached some of the 'Arab tribes (at night). They asked the latter to treat them as their guests but they refused. The chief of that tribe was then bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and they tried their best to cure him but in vain. Some of them said (to the others), "Nothing has benefited him, will you go to the people who resided here at night, it may be that some of them might possess something (as treatment)," They went to the group of the companions (of the Prophet ) and said, "Our chief has been bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and we have tried everything but he has not benefited. Have you got anything (useful)?" One of them replied, "Yes, by Allah! I can recite a Ruqya, but as you have refused to accept us as your guests, I will not recite the Ruqya for you unless you fix for us some wages for it." They agrees to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them then went and recited (Surat-ul-Fatiha): 'All the praises are for the Lord of the Worlds' and puffed over the chief who became all right as if he was released from a chain, and got up and started walking, showing no signs of sickness. They paid them what they agreed to pay. Some of them (i.e. the companions) then suggested to divide their earnings among themselves, but the one who performed the recitation said, "Do not divide them till we go to the Prophet and narrate the whole story to him, and wait for his order." So, they went to Allah's Apostle and narrated the story. Allah's Apostle asked, "How did you come to know that Suratul- Fatiha was recited as Ruqya?" Then he added, "You have done the right thing. Divide (what you have earned) and assign a share for me as well." The Prophet smiled thereupon.

Uthman offered complete prayer at Mina for the sake of bedouins who attended (hajj) in large numbers that year. He led the people four rak'ahs in prayer in order to teach them that the prayer (i.e. noon or afternoon prayer) essentially contained four rak'ahs.

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever could get one rak`a (of the Fajr prayer) before sunrise, he has got the (morning) prayer and whoever could get one rak`a of the `Asr prayer before sunset, he has got the (`Asr) prayer."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Gabriel (saws) came to me and said: I came to you last night and was prevented from entering simply because there were images at the door, for there was a decorated curtain with images on it in the house, and there was a dog in the house. So order the head of the image which is in the house to be cut off so that it resembles the form of a tree; order the curtain to be cut up and made into two cushions spread out on which people may tread; and order the dog to be turned out.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then did so. The dog belonged to al-Hasan or al-Husayn and was under their couch. So he ordered it to be turned out.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Nadd means a thing on which clothes are placed like a couch.

I went to Sham with a group of the companions of `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud). Abu Ad-Darda' heard of our arrival so he came to us and said, "Is there anybody among you who can recite (Qur'an)" We replied in the affirmative. Then he asked, "Who is the best reciter?" They pointed at me. Then he told me to recite, so I recited the verse:-- 'By the night as it envelops 'By the day as it appears in brightness; By (Him Who created) male and the female.' (92.1-3) Abu Ad-Darda' then said to me, "Did you hear it (like this) from the mouth of your friend (`Abdullah bin Mas`ud)?" I said, "Yes." He said, "I too, heard it (like this) from the mouth of the Prophet, but these people do not consider this recitation as the correct one."

We were with Allah's Apostle on a journey, and when the sun set, he said to a man, "Get down and prepare a drink of Sawiq for me." The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Will you wait till it is evening?" Allah's Apostle again said, "Get down and prepare a drink of Sawiq." The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Will you wait till it is evening, for it is still daytime. " The Prophet again said, "Get down and prepare a drink of Sawiq." So the third time the man got down and prepared a drink of sawiq for him. Allah's Apostle drank thereof and pointed with his hand towards the East, saying, "When you see the night falling from this side, then a fasting person should break his fast."

Allah's Apostle forbade two ways of wearing clothes and two kinds of dealings. (A) He forbade the dealings of the Mulamasa and the Munabadha. In the Mulamasa transaction the buyer just touches the garment he wants to buy at night or by daytime, and that touch would oblige him to buy it. In the Munabadha, one man throws his garment at another and the latter throws his at the former and the barter is complete and valid without examining the two objects or being satisfied with them (B) The two ways of wearing clothes were Ishtimal-as-Samma, i e., to cover one's shoulder with one's garment and leave the other bare: and the other way was to wrap oneself with a garment while one was sitting in such a way that nothing of that garment would cover one's private part.

My ears heard and my eyes saw the Prophet when he spoke, "Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day, should serve his neighbor generously, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should serve his guest generously by giving him his reward." It was asked. "What is his reward, O Allah's Apostle?" He said, "(To be entertained generously) for a day and a night with high quality of food and the guest has the right to be entertained for three days (with ordinary food) and if he stays longer, what he will be provided with will be regarded as Sadaqa (a charitable gift). And anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet (i.e. abstain from all kinds of dirty and evil talks).

(Al-Ahnaf said:) I went out carrying my arms during the nights of the affliction (i.e. the war between `Ali and `Aisha) and Abu Bakra met me and asked, "Where are you going?" I replied, "I intend to help the cousin of Allah's Apostle (i.e.,`Ali)." Abu Bakra said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'If two Muslims take out their swords to fight each other, then both of them will be from amongst the people of the Hell- Fire.' It was said to the Prophet, 'It is alright for the killer but what about the killed one?' He replied, 'The killed one had the intention to kill his opponent.'" (See Hadith No. 30, Vol. 1)

Narrated Al-Ahnaf:

Abu Bakra said: The Prophet said (as above, 204).

The Prophet said, "My example and the example of what I have been sent with is that of a man who came to some people and said, 'O people! I have seen the enemy's army with my own eyes, and I am the naked warner; so protect yourselves!' Then a group of his people obeyed him and fled at night proceeding stealthily till they were safe, while another group of them disbelieved him and stayed at their places till morning when the army came upon them, and killed and ruined them completely So this is the example of that person who obeys me and follows what I have brought (the Qur'an and the Sunna), and the example of the one who disobeys me and disbelieves the truth I have brought."

Allah's Apostle said, "O so-and-so, whenever you go to your bed (for sleeping) say, 'O Allah! I have surrendered myself over to you and have turned my face towards You, and leave all my affairs to You and depend on You and put my trust in You expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment. There is neither fleeing from You nor refuge but with You. I believe in the Book (Qur'an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (Muhammad) whom You have sent.' If you then die on that night, then you will die as a Muslim, and if you wake alive in the morning then you will receive the reward." (See Hadith No. 323, Vol. 8)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Sulayman ibn Yasarfrom Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that a certain woman in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to bleed profusely, so Umm Salama consulted the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for her, and he said, "She should calculate the number of nights and days a month that she used to menstruate before it started happening, and she should leave off from prayerfor that much of the month. When she has completed that she should do ghusl, bind her private parts with a cloth, and then pray."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say the following dua, "O Allah, it is You who makes the dawn break and makes the night a time for rest and appoints the sun and moon to reckon by. Relieve me of debt and enrich me from poverty and let me enjoy my hearing, my sight and my strength in Your way."

Allahumma faliqa'l isbah, wa ja ila'l-layli sakana, wa 'sh-shamsi wa'l-qamari husbana. Iqda anniy addayna, wa'ghnaniy mina'l faqr. Na'mti aniy bi samiy wa basariy, wa quwwatiy fi sabilik.

Malik related to me from AIqama ibn Abi Alqama that his mother said that she had heard A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, rose one night and put on his clothes and then went out. I ordered my slave-girl, Barira, to follow him, and she followed him until he got to al-Baqi. He stood near it as long as Allah willed and then he left. Barira arrived back before him and told me and I did not say anything to him until morning, and then I mentioned it to him and he explained, 'I was sent out to the people of al-Baqi to pray for them.' "

We practiced I`tikaf with Allah's Apostle in the middle ten days (of Ramadan). In the morning of the twentieth (of Ramadan) we shifted our baggage, but Allah's Apostle came to us and said, "Whoever was m I`tikaf should return to his place of I`tikaf, for I saw (i.e. was informed about the date of) this Night (of Qadr) and saw myself prostrating in mud and water." When I returned to my place the sky was overcast with clouds and it rained. By Him Who sent Muhammad with the Truth, the sky was covered with clouds from the end of that day, and the mosque which was roofed with leafstalks of date palm trees (leaked with rain) and I saw the trace of mud and water over the nose of the Prophet and its tip.

Allah's Apostle said, "On the night of my Ascension to Heaven, I saw (the prophet) Moses who was a thin person with lank hair, looking like one of the men of the tribe of Shanua; and I saw Jesus who was of average height with red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom. And I resemble prophet Abraham more than any of his offspring does. Then I was given two cups, one containing milk and the other wine. Gabriel said, 'Drink whichever you like.' I took the milk and drank it. Gabriel said, 'You have accepted what is natural, (True Religion i.e. Islam) and if you had taken the wine, your followers would have gone astray.' "

Prayer in congregation is equivalent to twenty-five prayers (offered alone). If he prays in a jungle, and performs its bowing and prostrations perfectly, it becomes equivalent to fifty prayers (in respect of reward).

Abu Dawud said: 'Abd al-Walid b. Ziyad narrated in his version of this tradition: "Prayer said by a single person in a jungle is more excellent by multiplied degrees than prayer said in congregation."

The Prophet used to offer the prayer earlier if it was very cold; and if it was very hot he used to delay the prayer, i.e. the Jumua prayer.

Allah's Apostle said, "If anyone of you can get one rak`a of the `Asr prayer before sunset, he should complete his prayer. If any of you can get one rak`a of the Fajr prayer before sunrise, he should complete his prayer."

Some people performed Tawaf (of the Ka`ba) after the morning prayer and then sat to listen to a preacher till sunrise, and then they stood up for the prayer. Then Aisha commented, "Those people kept on sitting till it was the time in which the prayer is disliked and after that they stood up for the prayer."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Malik said, "If the imam stops off on a journey in a town where jumua is obligatory and he gives a khutba and takes the jumua prayer for them, then the people of the town and any other people present do the jumua prayer with him."

Malik said, "If the imam gathers people for prayer while he is travelling in a town where the jumua prayer is not obligatory, then there is no jumua for him, nor for the people of the town, nor for anyone else who joins them for the prayer in congregation, and the people of the town and anyone else who is not travelling should complete the prayer."

Malik added, "A traveller does not have to do jumua "

The Messenger of Allah (saws) taught me and what he taught me is this: Observe the five prayers regularly. He said: I told (him): I have many works at these times; so give me a comprehensive advice which, if I follow, should be enough for me. He said: Observe the two afternoon prayers (al-asrayn). But the term al-asrayn (two afternoon prayers) was not used in our language. Hence I said: What is al-asrayn? He said: A prayer before the sunrise and a prayer before the sunset (i.e. the dawn and the afternoon prayers).

The Prophet saw expectoration in the direction of the Qibla of the mosque while he was leading the prayer, and scratched it off. After finishing the prayer, he said, "Whenever any of you is in prayer he should know that Allah is in front of him. So none should spit in front of him in the prayer."

Once we were traveling with the Prophet and we carried on traveling till the last part of the night and then we (halted at a place) and slept (deeply). There is nothing sweeter than sleep for a traveler in the last part of the night. So it was only the heat of the sun that made us to wake up and the first to wake up was so and so, then so and so and then so and so (the narrator `Auf said that Abu Raja' had told him their names but he had forgotten them) and the fourth person to wake up was `Umar bin Al- Khattab. And whenever the Prophet used to sleep, nobody would wake up him till he himself used to get up as we did not know what was happening (being revealed) to him in his sleep. So, `Umar got up and saw the condition of the people, and he was a strict man, so he said, "Allahu Akbar" and raised his voice with Takbir, and kept on saying loudly till the Prophet got up because of it. When he got up, the people informed him about what had happened to them. He said, "There is no harm (or it will not be harmful). Depart!" So they departed from that place, and after covering some distance the Prophet stopped and asked for some water to perform the ablution. So he performed the ablution and the call for the prayer was pronounced and he led the people in prayer. After he finished from the prayer, he saw a man sitting aloof who had not prayed with the people. He asked, "O so and so! What has prevented you from praying with us?" He replied, "I am Junub and there is no water. " The Prophet said, "Perform Tayammum with (clean) earth and that is sufficient for you." Then the Prophet proceeded on and the people complained to him of thirst. Thereupon he got down and called a person (the narrator `Auf added that Abu Raja' had named him but he had forgotten) and `Ali, and ordered them to go and bring water. So they went in search of water and met a woman who was sitting on her camel between two bags of water. They asked, "Where can we find water?" She replied, "I was there (at the place of water) this hour yesterday and my people are behind me." They requested her to accompany them. She asked, "Where?" They said, "To Allah's Apostle ." She said, "Do you mean the man who is called the Sabi, (with a new religion)?" They replied, "Yes, the same person. So come along." They brought her to the Prophet and narrated the whole story. He said, "Help her to dismount." The Prophet asked for a pot, then he opened the mouths of the bags and poured some water into the pot. Then he closed the big openings of the bags and opened the small ones and the people were called upon to drink and water their animals. So they all watered their animals and they (too) all quenched their thirst and also gave water to others and last of all the Prophet gave a pot full of water to the person who was Junub and told him to pour it over his body. The woman was standing and watching all that which they were doing with her water. By Allah, when her water bags were returned the looked like as if they were more full (of water) than they had been before (Miracle of Allah's Apostle) Then the Prophet ordered us to collect something for her; so dates, flour and Sawiq were collected which amounted to a good meal that was put in a piece of cloth. She was helped to ride on her camel and that cloth full of foodstuff was also placed in front of her and then the Prophet said to her, "We have not taken your water but Allah has given water to us." She returned home late. Her relatives asked her: "O so and so what has delayed you?" She said, "A strange thing! Two men met me and took me to the man who is called the Sabi' and he did such and such a thing. By Allah, he is either the greatest magician between this and this (gesturing with her index and middle fingers raising them towards the sky indicating the heaven and the earth) or he is Allah's true Apostle." Afterwards the Muslims used to attack the pagans around her abode but never touched her village. One day she said to her people, "I think that these people leave you purposely. Have you got any inclination to Islam?" They obeyed her and all of them embraced Islam. Abu `Abdullah said: The word Saba'a means "The one who has deserted his old religion and embraced a new religion." Abul 'Ailya [??] said, "The S`Abis are a sect of people of the Scripture who recite the Book of Psalms."

Allah's Apostle forbade the offering of two prayers: -1. after the morning prayer till the sunrises. -2. after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets.

The Prophet (saws) said: The prayer a man offers in his house is more excellent than his prayer in this mosque of mine except obligatory prayer.