The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: An oath or a vow about something over which a human being has no control, and to disobey Allah, and to break ties of relationship is not binding. If anyone takes an oath and then considers something else better than it, he should give it up, and do what is better, for leaving it is its atonement.

Abu Dawud said: All sound traditions from the Prophet (saws) say: "He should make atonement for his oath," except those versions which are not reliable.

Abu Dawud said: I said to Ahmad: Yahya b. Sa'id (al-Qattan) has transmitted this tradition from Yahya b. 'Ubaid Allah. He (Ahmad b. Hanbal) said: But he gave it up after that, and he was competent for doing it. Ahmad said: His (Yahya b. 'Ubaid Allah's) tradition are munkar (rejected) and his father is not known.

Malik said, "The position with us concerning the dividing up of zakat is that it is up to the individual judgement of the man in charge (wali). Whichever categories of people are in most need and are most numerous are given preference, according to how the man in charge sees fit. It is possible that that may change after one year, or two, or more, but it is always those who are in need and are most numerous that are given preference, whatever category they may belong to. This is what I have seen done by people of knowledge with which I am satisifed."

Malik said, "There is no fixed share for the collector of the zakat, except according to what the imam sees fit."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Jamil ibn Abd ar-Rahman the Muadhdhin say to Said ibn al-Musayyab, "I am a man who buys whatever Allah wills of the receipts for the provisions which people are offered at al-Jar. I want to take payment for goods that I guarantee to deliver at a future date." Said said to him, "Do you intend to settle these things with receipts for provisions you have bought?" He said, "Yes." So he forbade that.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us in which there is no dispute, about buying food - wheat, barley, durra-sorghum, pearl millet, or any pulse or anything resembling pulses on which zakat is obliged, or condiments of any sort - oil, ghee, honey, vinegar, cheese, sesame oil, milk and so on, is that the buyer should not re- sell any of that until he has taken possession and complete delivery of it.

An Ansari man quarreled with Az-Zubair about a canal in the Harra which was used for irrigating date-palms. Allah's Apostle, ordering Zubair to be moderate, said, "O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) first and then leave the water for your neighbor." The Ansari said, "Is it because he is your aunt's son?" On that the color of the face of Allah's Apostle changed and he said, "O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and withhold the water till it reaches the walls that are between the pits around the trees." So, Allah's Apostle gave Zubair his full right. Zubair said, "By Allah, the following verse was revealed in that connection": "But no, by your Lord They can have No faith Until they make you judge In all disputes between them." (4.65) (The sub-narrator,) Ibn Shihab said to Juraij (another sub-narrator), "The Ansar and the other people interpreted the saying of the Prophet, 'Irrigate (your land) and withhold the water till it reaches the walls between the pits around the trees,' as meaning up to the ankles."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Sad al- Jari, the mawla of Umar ibn al-Khattab asked Abdullah ibn Umar about fish which had killed each other or which had died from severe cold . He said, "There is no harm in eating them.'' Sad said,' 'I then asked Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al As and he said the same."

"Abdul Majid bin Wahb narrated to us, he said: 'Al-'Adda' bin Khalid bin Hawdhah said to me: "Shall I not read to you a letter that was written for me from the Messenger of Allah (saws) ?'" He said: 'I said: "Of course." So he took out a letter for me: "This is what Al-'Adda' bin Khalid bin Hawdhah purchased from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (saws): He purchased from him a slave' - or - 'a female slave, having no ailments, nor being a runaway, nor having any malicious behavior. Sold by a Muslim to a Muslim.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib, we do not know of it except from 'Abbad bin Laith. More than one of the people of Hadith have reported this Hadith from him.

that he asked `Aisha about the Statement of Allah: 'If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (the captives) that your right hands possess. That will be nearer to prevent you from doing injustice.' (4.3) `Aisha said, "O my nephew! (This Verse has been revealed in connection with) an orphan girl under the guardianship of her guardian who is attracted by her wealth and beauty and intends to marry her with a Mahr less than what other women of her standard deserve. So they (such guardians) have been forbidden to marry them unless they do justice to them and give them their full Mahr, and they are ordered to marry other women instead of them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade muzabana and muhaqala. Muzabana was selling fresh dates for dried dates. Muhaqala was buying unharvested wheat in exchange for threshed wheat and renting land in exchange for wheat.

Ibn Shihab added that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab about renting land for gold and silver. He said, "There is no harm in it."

Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade muzabana. The explanation of muzabana is that it is buying something whose number, weight and measure is not known with something whose number, weight or measure is known, for instance, if a man has a stack of food whose measure is not known, either of wheat, dates, or whatever food, or the man has goods of wheat, date kernels, herbs, safflower, cotton, flax, silk, and does not know its measure or weight or number and then a buyer approaches him and proposes that he weigh or measure or count the goods, but, before he does, he specifies a certain weight, or measure, or number and guarantees to pay the price for that amount, agreeing that whatever falls short of that amount is a loss against him and whatever is in excess of that amount is a gain for him. That is not a sale. It is taking risks and it is an uncertain transaction. It falls into the category of gambling because he is not buying something from him for something definite which he pays. Everything which resembles this is also forbidden."

Malik said that another example of that was, for instance, a man proposing to another man, "You have cloth. I will guarantee you from this cloth of yours so many hooded cloaks, the measureof each cloak to be such-and-such, (naming a measurement). Whatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill you the specified amount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhaps the man proposed, "I will guarantee you from this cloth of yours so many shirts, the measurement of each shirt to be such-and-such, and whatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill the specified amount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhaps a man proposed to a man who had cattle or camel hides, "I will cut up these hides of yours into sandals on a pattern I will show you. Whatever falls short of a hundred pairs, I will make up its loss and whatever is over is mine because I guaranteed you." Another ...

The people used to say that Ibn `Umar had embraced Islam before `Umar. This is not true. What happened is that `Umar sent `Abdullah to bring his horse from an Ansari man so as to fight on it. At that time the people were giving the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle near the Tree, and `Umar was not aware of that. So `Abdullah (bin `Umar) gave the Pledge of Allegiance (to the Prophet) and went to take the horse and brought it to `Umar. While `Umar was putting on the armor to get ready for fighting, `Abdullah informed him that the people were giving the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle beneath the Tree. So `Umar set out and `Abdullah accompanied him till he gave the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle, and it was this event that made people say that Ibn `Umar had embraced Islam before `Umar.

The people used to say, "Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations." In fact I used to keep close to Allah's Apostle and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. I ate no leavened bread and dressed no decorated striped clothes, and never did a man or a woman serve me, and I often used to press my belly against gravel because of hunger, and I used to ask a man to recite a Qur'anic Verse to me although I knew it, so that he would take me to his home and feed me. And the most generous of all the people to the poor was Ja`far bin Abi Talib. He used to take us to his home and offer us what was available therein. He would even offer us an empty folded leather container (of butter) which we would split and lick whatever was in it.

Malik related to me from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman from Yazid, the mawla of al-Munbaith that Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him about finds. He said, 'Memorize the characteristics of the object found, then publicise it for a year. If the owner comes, give it to him. If not, then it is your business.' He said, 'What about lost sheep, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'They are yours, your brother's or the wolf's.' He said, 'And the lost camel?' He said, 'It's none of your concern. It has its water and its feet. It will reach water and eat trees until its owner finds it.' "

I used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard Abu Qatada saying, "I too, used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard the Prophet saying, "A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he saw a dream which he disliked, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of Satan, and spit three times (on his left) and should not tell it to anybody, for it will not harm him. "

A man came to Allah's Apostle and asked about Al-Luqata (a fallen thing). The Prophet said, "Recognize its container and its tying material and then make a public announcement about it for one year and if its owner shows up, give it to him; otherwise use it as you like." The man said, "What about a lost sheep?" The Prophet said, "It is for you, your brother or the wolf." The man said "What about a lost camel?" The Prophet said, "Why should you take it as it has got its water-container (its stomach) and its hooves and it can reach the places of water and can eat the trees till its owner finds it?"

A bedouin asked the Prophet about the Luqata. The Prophet said, "Make public announcement about it for one year and if then somebody comes and describes the container of the Luqata and the string it was tied with, (give it to him); otherwise, spend it." He then asked the Prophet about a lost camel. The face of the Prophet become red and he said, "You have o concern with it as it has its water reservoir and feet and it will reach water and drink and eat trees. Leave it till its owner finds it." He then asked the Prophet about a lost sheep. The Prophet said, "It is for you, for your brother, or for the wolf."

The Prophet said, "None will have the sweetness (delight) of Faith (a) till he loves a person and loves him only for Allah's sake, (b) and till it becomes dearer to him to be thrown in the fire than to revert to disbelief (Heathenism) after Allah has brought him out of it, (c) and till Allah and His Apostle become dearer to him than anything else."

I went along with some men from the Ash-ariyin to Allah's Apostle and it happened that I met him while he was in an angry mood. We asked him to provide us with mounts, but he swore that he would not give us any. Later on he said, "By Allah, Allah willing, if ever I take an oath (to do something) and later on I find something else better than the first, then I do the better one and give expiation for the dissolution of my oath."

We poured medicine into the mouth of the Prophet during his ailment. He said, "Don't pour medicine into my mouth." (We thought he said that) out of the aversion a patient usually has for medicines. When he improved and felt better he said, "There is none of you but will be forced to drink medicine, except Al-`Abbas, for he did not witness your deed."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say in the tashahhud, "Greetings, good words, prayers, pure actions belong to Allah. I testify that there is no god except Allah, alone without partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. Peace be on you, Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be on us and on the slaves of Allah who are salihun. Peace be upon you."

"At-tahiyatu, at- tayibatu, as-salawatu, az-zakiyatu lillah. Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa'llah, wahdahu la sharika lah wa anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu. As-salamu alayka ayyuha-n-nabiyyu wa rahmatu-llahi wa barakatuhu. As-salamu alayna wa ala ibadi-llahi's-salihin. As-salamu alaykum."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar ibn Muhammed ibn AIi from his father from Jabir ibn Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "Allah is greater" three times when he stopped on Safa, and "There is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner. To Him belong the Kingdom and praise, and He has power over everything" three times, and make dua. He would then do the same on Marwa.

Allah's Apostle said, "The angels keep on asking for Allah's Blessing and Forgiveness for anyone of you as long as he is at his Musalla (praying place) and does not do Hadath (passes wind). The angels say, 'O Allah! Forgive him and be Merciful to him.' Each one of you is in the prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer and nothing but the prayer detains him from going to his family."

Allah's Apostle used to fast till one would say that he would never stop fasting, and he would abandon fasting till one would say that he would never fast. I never saw Allah's Apostle fasting for a whole month except the month of Ramadan, and did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban.

That he heard Anas bin Malik when he went with him to Al-Walid, saying, "Once the Prophet called the Ansar in order to give them the territory of Bahrain they said, 'No, unless you give to our emigrant brethren a similar share.' On that he said 'If you do not agree to it, then be patient till you meet me, for after me others will be given preference to you."'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm from Ibn

Abi Mulayka that Umar ibn al-Khattab passed a leprous woman doing tawaf of the House, and he said to her, "Slave of Allah, do not make people uneasy. Better that you stay in your house," so she did so. A man passed by her after that and said to her, "The one who forbade you has died, so come out," and she replied, "I am not going to obey him when he is alive and disobey him when he is dead."

Allah's Apostle said, "Amongst the trees, there is a tree, the leaves of which do not fall and is like a Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree." Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I thought of the date-palm tree but felt shy to answer the others then asked, "What is that tree, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "It is the date-palm tree."

The Prophet (saws) said, "No prayer is heavier upon the hypocrites than the Fajr and the `Isha' prayers and if they knew what is in them (in reward), they would have attended them, even if (it was) crawling. Certainly, I felt the urge to order the Mu'adh-dhin (call-maker) so that he would pronounce Iqama, then order a man to lead the people (in prayer), then take a flame of fire so that I burn (the houses) upon those who had not left for the prayer yet."

People say that I narrate too many narrations of the Prophet; once I met a man (during the lifetime of the Prophet) and asked him, "Which Sura did Allah's Apostle s recite yesterday in the `Isha' prayer?" He said, "I do not know." I said, "Did you not attend the prayer?" He said, "Yes, (I did)." I said, "I know. He recited such and such Sura."

The Prophet (saws) said: whoever performs ablution, and performs his ablution perfectly, and then goes to the mosque and finds that the people had finished the prayer (in congregation), Allah will give him a reward like one who prayed in congregation and attended it; The reward of those who prayed in congregation will not be curtailed.

The Prophet said, "The poor person is not the one for whom a date or two or a morsel or two (of food is sufficient but the poor person is he who does not (beg or) ask the people (for something) or show his poverty at all. Recite if you wish, (Allah's Statement): "They do not beg of people at all." (2.273)

That a bedouin told him that he brought a milch she-camel in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He alighted with Talhah ibn Ubaydullah (and wanted to sell his milch animal to him). He said: The Prophet (saws) forbade a townsman to sell for a man from the desert. But go to the market and see who buys from you. consult me thereafter, and then I shall ask you (to sell) or forbid you.

The Prophet said, "Allah has appointed an angel in the womb, and the angel says, 'O Lord! A drop of discharge (i.e. of semen), O Lord! a clot, O Lord! a piece of flesh.' And then, if Allah wishes to complete the child's creation, the angel will say. 'O Lord! A male or a female? O Lord! wretched or blessed (in religion)? What will his livelihood be? What will his age be?' The angel writes all this while the child is in the womb of its mother."