Abu bin Zam`a and Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas carried the case of their claim of the (ownership) of the son of a slave-girl of Zam`a before the Prophet. Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! My brother, before his death, told me that when I would return (to Mecca), I should search for the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a and take him into my custody as he was his son." 'Abu bin Zam`a said, 'the is my brother and the son of the slave-girl of my father, and was born or my father's bed." The Prophet noticed a resemblance between `Utba and the boy but he said, "O 'Abu bin Zam`a! You will get this boy, as the son goes to the owner of the bed. You, Sauda, screen yourself from the boy."

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159) (See Fath-ul-Bari, Page 302 Vol 7)

The Prophet said, "Amongst the people preceding your age, there was a man whom Allah had given a lot of money. While he was in his death-bed, he called his sons and said, 'What type of father have I been to you? They replied, 'You have been a good father.' He said, 'I have never done a single good deed; so when I die, burn me, crush my body, and scatter the resulting ashes on a windy day.' His sons did accordingly, but Allah gathered his particles and asked (him), 'What made you do so?' He replied, "Fear of you.' So Allah bestowed His Mercy upon him. (forgave him).

[Muslim].

The narrator Humaid added: When any of you comes for praying, he should walk as usual (i.e. he should not hasten and run quickly); then he should pray as much as he finds it (along with the imam), and should offer the part of the prayer himself (when the prayer is finished) which the Imam had offered before him.

The Prophet sent a Sariya of spies and appointed `Asim bin Thabit, the grandfather of `Asim bin `Umar bin Al-Khattab, as their leader. So they set out, and when they reached (a place) between 'Usfan and Mecca, they were mentioned to one of the branch tribes of Bani Hudhail called Lihyan. So, about one-hundred archers followed their traces till they (i.e. the archers) came to a journey station where they (i.e. `Asim and his companions) had encamped and found stones of dates they had brought as journey food from Medina. The archers said, "These are the dates of Medina," and followed their traces till they took them over. When `Asim and his companions were not able to go ahead, they went up a high place, and their pursuers encircled them and said, "You have a covenant and a promise that if you come down to us, we will not kill anyone of you." `Asim said, "As for me, I will never come down on the security of an infidel. O Allah! Inform Your Prophet about us." So they fought with them till they killed `Asim along with seven of his companions with arrows, and there remained Khubaib, Zaid and another man to whom they gave a promise and a covenant. So when the infidels gave them the covenant and promise, they came down. When they captured them, they opened the strings of their arrow bows and tied them with it. The third man who was with them said, "This is the first breach in the covenant," and refused to accompany them. They dragged him and tried to make him accompany them, but he refused, and they killed him. Then they proceeded on taking Khubaib and Zaid till they sold them in Mecca. The sons of Al-Harith bin `Amr bin Naufal bought Khubaib. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin `Amr on the day of Badr. Khubaib stayed with them for a while as a captive till they decided unanimously to kill him. (At that time) Khubaib borrowed a razor from one of the daughters of Al- Harith to shave his pubic hair. She gave it to him. She said later on, "I was heedless of a little baby of mine, who moved towards Khubaib, and when it reached him, he put it on his thigh. When I saw it, I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed my distress while he was carrying the razor in his hand. He said 'Are you afraid that I will kill it? Allah willing, I will never do that,' " Later on she used to say, "I have never seen a captive better than Khubaib Once I saw him eating from a bunch of grapes although at that time no fruits were available at Mecca, and he was fettered with iron chains, and in fact, it was nothing but food bestowed upon him by Allah." So they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him. He said, "Allow me to offer a two-rak`at prayer." Then he went to them and said, "Had I not been afraid that you would think I was afraid of death, I would have prayed for a longer time." So it was Khubaib who first set the tradition of praying two rak`at before being executed. He then said, "O Allah! Count them one by one," and added, 'When I am being martyred as a Muslim, I do not care in what way I receive my death for Allah's Sake, because this death is in Allah's Cause. If He wishes, He will bless the cut limbs." Then `Uqba bin Al-Harith got up and martyred him. The narrator added: The Quraish (infidels) sent some people to `Asim in order to bring a part of his body so that his death might be known for certain, for `Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day of Badr. But Allah sent a cloud of wasps which protected his body from their messengers who could not harm his body consequently.

I came to Utbah ibn AbdusSulami and said: AbulWalid, I went out seeking sacrificial animals. I did not find anything which attracted me except an animal whose teeth have fallen. So I abominated it. What do you say (about it)? He said: Why did you not bring it to me? He said: Glory be to Allah: Is if lawful for you and not lawful for me? He said: Yes, you doubt and I do not doubt. The Messenger of Allah (saws) has forbidden an animal whose ear has been uprooted so much so that its hole appears (outwardly), and an animal whose horn has broken from the root, and an animal which has totally lost the sight of its eye, and an animal which is so thin and weak that it cannot go with the herd, and an animal with a broken leg.

There gathered near the House (i.e. the Ka`ba) two Quraishi persons and a person from Thaqif (or two persons from Thaqif and one from Quraish), and all of them with very fat bellies but very little intelligence. One of them said, "Do you think that Allah hears what we say?" Another said, "He hears us when we talk in a loud voice, but He doesn't hear us when we talk in a low tone." The third said, "If He can hear when we talk in a loud tone, then He can also hear when we speak in a low tone." Then Allah, the Honorable, the Majestic revealed: 'And you have not been screening against yourself lest your ears, and eyes and your skins should testify against you....' (41.22-23)

This hadith has been narrated through another chain as well.

This Verse: 'Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner.' (48.8) which is in the Qur'an, appears in the Torah thus: 'Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner, and as a protector for the illiterates (i.e., the Arabs.) You are my slave and My Apostle, and I have named you Al-Mutawakkil (one who depends upon Allah). You are neither hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. You do not return evil for evil, but excuse and forgive. Allah will not take you unto Him till He guides through you a crocked (curved) nation on the right path by causing them to say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah." With such a statement He will cause to open blind eyes, deaf ears and hardened hearts.'

A group of people from `Ukl (or `Uraina) tribe ----but I think he said that they were from `Ukl came to Medina and (they became ill, so) the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) she-camels and told them to go out and drink the camels' urine and milk (as a medicine). So they went and drank it, and when they became healthy, they killed the shepherd and drove away the camels. This news reached the Prophet early in the morning, so he sent (some) men in their pursuit and they were captured and brought to the Prophet before midday. He ordered to cut off their hands and legs and their eyes to be branded with heated iron pieces and they were thrown at Al-Harra, and when they asked for water to drink, they were not given water. (Abu Qilaba said, "Those were the people who committed theft and murder and reverted to disbelief after being believers (Muslims), and fought against Allah and His Apostle").

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that he asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was like during Ramadan. She said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not go above eleven rakas in Ramadan or at any other time. He prayed four - do not ask me about their beauty or length. Then he prayed another four - do not ask me about their beauty and length. Then he prayed three."

A'isha continued, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, are you sleeping before you do the witr?' He said, A'isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.' "

The Prophet said, "Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears."

We did not know what we should say when we sat during prayer. The Messenger of Allah (saws) was taught (by Allah). He then narrated the tradition to the same effect. Sharik reported from Jami', from AbuWa'il on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud something similar.

He said: He used to teach us also some other words, but he did not teach them as he taught us the tashahhud: O Allah, join our hearts, mend our social relationship, guide us to the path of peace, bring us from darkness to light, save us from obscenities, outward or inward, and bless our ears, our eyes, our hearts, our wives, our children, and relent toward us; Thou art the Relenting, the Merciful. And make us grateful for Thy blessing and make us praise it while accepting it and give it to us in full.

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir ibn Atik that Atik ibn al-Harith, the grandfather of Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir on his mother's side, told him that Jabir ibn Atik had told him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to visit Abdullah ibn Thabit and found him in his death-throes. He called to him but he did not reply. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "We belong to Allah, and to Him we are returning," and added, "You are being taken from us, Abur-Rabi`." The women cried out and wept, and Jabir began to silence them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Leave them, and when the necessary time comes, none of the women should cry." They said, "Messenger of Allah, what is the necessary time?" and he replied, "When he dies." The dying man's daughter said, "By Allah, I hope that you will be a martyr, for you have completed your preparations for battle," and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah has made his reward fall according to his intention. What do you consider dying a martyr to be?" They said, "Death in the way of Allah." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are seven kinds of martyr other than those killed in the way of Allah. Someone who is killed by the plague is a martyr, someone who drowns is a martyr, someone who dies of pleurisy is a martyr, someone who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr, someone who dies by fire is a martyr, someone who dies under a falling building is a martyr and a woman who dies in childbirth is a martyr."

We set out in the company of Allah's Apostle on the day (of the battle) of Hunain. When we faced the enemy, the Muslims retreated and I saw a pagan throwing himself over a Muslim. I turned around and came upon him from behind and hit him on the shoulder with the sword He (i.e. the pagan) came towards me and seized me so violently that I felt as if it were death itself, but death overtook him and he released me. I followed `Umar bin Al Khattab and asked (him), "What is wrong with the people (fleeing)?" He replied, "This is the Will of Allah," After the people returned, the Prophet sat and said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has a proof of that, will posses his spoils." I got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and then sat down. The Prophet again said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has proof of that, will possess his spoils." I (again) got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and sat down. Then the Prophet said the same for the third time. I again got up, and Allah's Apostle said, "O Abu Qatada! What is your story?" Then I narrated the whole story to him. A man (got up and) said, "O Allah's Apostle! He is speaking the truth, and the spoils of the killed man are with me. So please compensate him on my behalf." On that Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, "No, by Allah, he (i.e. Allah's Apostle ) will not agree to give you the spoils gained by one of Allah's Lions who fights on the behalf of Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Abu Bakr has spoken the truth." So, Allah's Apostle gave the spoils to me. I sold that armor (i.e. the spoils) and with its price I bought a garden at Bani Salima, and this was my first property which I gained after my conversion to Islam.

Kathir ibn Qays said: I was sitting with AbudDarda' in the mosque of Damascus.

A man came to him and said: AbudDarda, I have come to you from the town of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for a tradition that I have heard you relate from the Messenger of Allah (saws). I have come for no other purpose.

He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.

I and Ashtar went to Ali and said to him: Did the Messenger of Allah (saws) give you any instruction about anything for which he did not give any instruction to the people in general?

He said: No, except what is contained in this document of mine. Musaddad said: He then took out a document. Ahmad said: A document from the sheath of his sword.

It contained: The lives of all Muslims are equal; they are one hand against others; the lowliest of them can guarantee their protection. Beware, a Muslim must not be killed for an infidel, nor must one who has been given a covenant be killed while his covenant holds. If anyone introduces an innovation, he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in religion), he is cursed by Allah, by His angels, and by all the people.

Musaddad said: Ibn AbuUrubah's version has: He took out a document.

Malik related to me from Nafi from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that she bought a cushion which had pictures on it. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw it, he stopped at the door and did not enter. She recognised disapproval on his face and said, "Messenger of Allah, I turn in repentance to Allah and His Messenger. What have I done wrong?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "What is the meaning of this cushion?" She said, "I bought it for you to sit and recline on." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those who make such pictures will be punished on the Day of Rising. It will be said to them, 'Bring to life what you have created'. Then he said, 'The angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures.' "

Allah's Apostle delivered a sermon and said, "O people! You will be gathered before Allah barefooted, naked and not circumcised." Then (quoting Qur'an) he said:-- "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. A promise We have undertaken: Truly we shall do it.." (21.104) The Prophet then said, "The first of the human beings to be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham. Lo! Some men from my followers will be brought and then (the angels) will drive them to the left side (Hell-Fire). I will say. 'O my Lord! (They are) my companions!' Then a reply will come (from Almighty), 'You do not know what they did after you.' I will say as the pious slave (the Prophet Jesus) said: And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them. When You took me up. You were the Watcher over them and You are a Witness to all things.' (5.117) Then it will be said, "These people have continued to be apostates since you left them."

¹ i.e. he has not been ostentatious in his obedience. It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Majah). Its chain of authorities is sound.

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud that one of the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a black slave- girl of his. He said, "Messenger of Allah, I must set a slave free who is a mumina. If you think that she is mumina, I will free her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, "Do you testify that there is no god but Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Are you certain about the rising after death?" She said, "Yes." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Free her."

I asked the Prophet about the game killed by a Mi'rad (i.e. a sharp-edged piece of wood or a piece of wood provided with a sharp piece of iron used for hunting). He said, "If the game is killed with its sharp edge, eat of it, but if it is killed with its shaft, with a hit by its broad side then the game is (unlawful to eat) for it has been beaten to death." I asked him about the game killed by a trained hound. He said, "If the hound catches the game for you, eat of it, for killing the game by the hound, is like its slaughtering. But if you see with your hound or hounds another dog, and you are afraid that it might have shared in hunting the game with your hound and killed it, then you should not eat of it, because you have mentioned Allah's name on (sending) your hound only, but you have not mentioned it on some other hound.

When Allah's Apostle was on his death-bed and in the house there were some people among whom was `Umar bin Al-Khattab, the Prophet said, "Come, let me write for you a statement after which you will not go astray." `Umar said, "The Prophet is seriously ill and you have the Qur'an; so the Book of Allah is enough for us." The people present in the house differed and quarrelled. Some said "Go near so that the Prophet may write for you a statement after which you will not go astray," while the others said as `Umar said. When they caused a hue and cry before the Prophet, Allah's Apostle said, "Go away!" Narrated 'Ubaidullah: Ibn `Abbas used to say, "It was very unfortunate that Allah's Apostle was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise."

Allah's Apostle sent ten persons to bring the enemy's secrets and Khubaib Al-Ansari was one of them. 'Ubaidullah bin 'Iyad told me that the daughter of Al-Harith told him that when they gathered (to kill Khubaib Al Ansari) he asked for a razor to clean his pubic region, and when they had taken him outside the sanctuary of Mecca in order to kill him, he said in verse, "I don't care if I am killed as a Muslim, on any side (of my body) I may be killed in Allah's Cause; for that is for the sake of Allah's very Self; and if He will, He will bestow His Blessings upon the torn pieces of my body." Then Ibn Al-Harith killed him, and the Prophet informed his companions of the death of those (ten men) on the very day they were killed.

I was sitting with Jabir bin Zaid and `Amr bin Aus, and Bjalla was narrating to them in 70 A.H. the year when Mus`ab bin Az-Zubair was the leader of the pilgrims of Basra. We were sitting at the steps of Zamzam well and Bajala said, "I was the clerk of Juz bin Muawiya, Al-Ahnaf's paternal uncle. A letter came from `Umar bin Al-Khattab one year before his death; and it was read:-- "Cancel every marriage contracted among the Magians between relatives of close kinship (marriages that are regarded illegal in Islam: a relative of this sort being called Dhu-Mahram.)" `Umar did not take the Jizya from the Magian infidels till `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf testified that Allah's Apostle had taken the Jizya from the Magians of Hajar.

On the day of a solar eclipse, Allah's Apostle stood up (to offer the eclipse prayer). He recited Takbir, recited a long recitation (of Holy Verses), bowed a long bowing, and then he raised h is head saying. "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him." Then he stayed standing, recited a long recitation again, but shorter than the former, bowed a long bowing, but shorter than the first, performed a long prostration and then performed the second rak`a in the same way as he had done the first. By the time he had finished his prayer with Taslim, the solar eclipse had been over. Then he addressed the people referring to the solar and lunar eclipses saying, "These are two signs amongst the Signs of Allah, and they do not eclipse because of anyone's death or life. So, if you see them, hasten for the Prayer."

Allah's Apostle sent `Abdullah bin 'Atik and `Abdullah bin `Utba with a group of men to Abu Rafi` (to kill him). They proceeded till they approached his castle, whereupon `Abdullah bin Atik said to them, "Wait (here), and in the meantime I will go and see." `Abdullah said later on, "I played a trick in order to enter the castle. By chance, they lost a donkey of theirs and came out carrying a flaming light to search for it. I was afraid that they would recognize me, so I covered my head and legs and pretended to answer the call to nature. The gatekeeper called, 'Whoever wants to come in, should come in before I close the gate.' So I went in and hid myself in a stall of a donkey near the gate of the castle. They took their supper with Abu Rafi` and had a chat till late at night. Then they went back to their homes. When the voices vanished and I no longer detected any movement, I came out. I had seen where the gate-keeper had kept the key of the castle in a hole in the wall. I took it and unlocked the gate of the castle, saying to myself, 'If these people should notice me, I will run away easily.' Then I locked all the doors of their houses from outside while they were inside, and ascended to Abu Rafi` by a staircase. I saw the house in complete darkness with its light off, and I could not know where the man was. So I called, 'O Abu Rafi`!' He replied, 'Who is it?' I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He cried loudly but my blow was futile. Then I came to him, pretending to help him, saying with a different tone of my voice, ' What is wrong with you, O Abu Rafi`?' He said, 'Are you not surprised? Woe on your mother! A man has come to me and hit me with a sword!' So again I aimed at him and hit him, but the blow proved futile again, and on that Abu Rafi` cried loudly and his wife got up. I came again and changed my voice as if I were a helper, and found Abu Rafi` lying straight on his back, so I drove the sword into his belly and bent on it till I heard the sound of a bone break. Then I came out, filled with astonishment and went to the staircase to descend, but I fell down from it and got my leg dislocated. I bandaged it and went to my companions limping. I said (to them), 'Go and tell Allah's Apostle of this good news, but I will not leave (this place) till I hear the news of his (i.e. Abu Rafi`'s) death.' When dawn broke, an announcer of death got over the wall and announced, 'I convey to you the news of Abu Rafi`'s death.' I got up and proceeded without feeling any pain till I caught up with my companions before they reached the Prophet to whom I conveyed the good news."

Once `Umar bin `Abdul `Aziz sat on his throne in the courtyard of his house so that the people might gather before him. Then he admitted them and (when they came in), he said, "What do you think of Al-Qasama?" They said, "We say that it is lawful to depend on Al-Qasama in Qisas, as the previous Muslim Caliphs carried out Qisas depending on it." Then he said to me, "O Abu Qilaba! What do you say about it?" He let me appear before the people and I said, "O Chief of the Believers! You have the chiefs of the army staff and the nobles of the Arabs. If fifty of them testified that a married man had committed illegal sexual intercourse in Damascus but they had not seen him (doing so), would you stone him?" He said, "No." I said, "If fifty of them testified that a man had committed theft in Hums, would you cut off his hand though they did not see him?" He replied, "No." I said, "By Allah, Allah's Apostle never killed anyone except in one of the following three situations: (1) A person who killed somebody unjustly, was killed (in Qisas,) (2) a married person who committed illegal sexual intercourse and (3) a man who fought against Allah and His Apostle and deserted Islam and became an apostate." Then the people said, "Didn't Anas bin Malik narrate that Allah's Apostle cut off the hands of the thieves, branded their eyes and then, threw them in the sun?" I said, "I shall tell you the narration of Anas. Anas said: "Eight persons from the tribe of `Ukl came to Allah's Apostle and gave the Pledge of allegiance for Islam (became Muslim). The climate of the place (Medina) did not suit them, so they became sick and complained about that to Allah's Apostle. He said (to them ), "Won't you go out with the shepherd of our camels and drink of the camels' milk and urine (as medicine)?" They said, "Yes." So they went out and drank the camels' milk and urine, and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of Allah's Apostle and took away all the camels. This news reached Allah's Apostle , so he sent (men) to follow their traces and they were captured and brought (to the Prophet). He then ordered to cut their hands and feet, and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron, and then he threw them in the sun till they died." I said, "What can be worse than what those people did? They deserted Islam, committed murder and theft." Then 'Anbasa bin Sa`id said, "By Allah, I never heard a narration like this of today." I said, "O 'Anbasa! You deny my narration?" 'Anbasa said, "No, but you have related the narration in the way it should be related. By Allah, these people are in welfare as long as this Sheikh (Abu Qilaba) is among them." I added, "Indeed in this event there has been a tradition set by Allah's Apostle. The narrator added: Some Ansari people came to the Prophet and discussed some matters with him, a man from amongst them went out and was murdered. Those people went out after him, and behold, their companion was swimming in blood. They returned to Allah's Apostle and said to him, "O Allah's Apostle, we have found our companion who had talked with us and gone out before us, swimming in blood (killed)." Allah's Apostle went out and asked them, "Whom do you suspect or whom do you think has killed him?" They said, "We think that the Jews have killed him." The Prophet sent for the Jews and asked them, "Did you kill this (person)?" They replied, "No." He asked the Al-Ansars, "Do you agree that I let fifty Jews take an oath that they have not killed him?" They said, "It matters little for the Jews to kill us all and then take false oaths." He said, "Then would you like to receive the Diya after fifty of you have taken an oath (that the Jews have killed your man)?" They said, "We will not take the oath." Then the Prophet himself paid them the Diya (Blood-money)." The narrator added, "The tribe of Hudhail repudiated one of their men (for his evil conduct) in the Pre-lslamic period of Ignorance. Then, at a place called Al-Batha' (near Mecca), the man attacked a Yemenite family at night to steal from them, but a. man from the family noticed him and struck him with his sword and killed him. The tribe of Hudhail came and captured the Yemenite and brought him to `Umar during the Hajj season and said, "He has killed our companion." The Yemenite said, "But these people had repudiated him (i.e., their companion)." `Umar said, "Let fifty persons of Hudhail swear that they had not repudiated him." So forty-nine of them took the oath and then a person belonging to them, came from Sham and they requested him to swear similarly, but he paid one-thousand Dirhams instead of taking the oath. They called another man instead of him and the new man shook hands with the brother of the deceased. Some people said, "We and those fifty men who had taken false oaths (Al-Qasama) set out, and when they reached a place called Nakhlah, it started raining so they entered a cave in the mountain, and the cave collapsed on those fifty men who took the false oath, and all of them died except the two persons who had shaken hands with each other. They escaped death but a stone fell on the leg of the brother of the deceased and broke it, whereupon he survived for one year and then died." I further said, "`Abdul Malik bin Marwan sentenced a man to death in Qisas (equality in punishment) for murder, basing his judgment on Al-Qasama, but later on he regretted that judgment and ordered that the names of the fifty persons who had taken the oath (Al-Qasama), be erased from the register, and he exiled them in Sham."