The Prophet (saws) said: He who leaves the Friday prayer (continuously) for three Friday on account of slackness, Allah will print a stamp on his heart.

Do not give up prayer at night, for the Messenger of Allah (saws) would not leave it. Whenever he fell ill or lethargic, he would offer it sitting.

The marriage of Zainab bint Jahash was mentioned in the presence of Anas and he said, "I did not see the Prophet giving a better banquet on marrying any of his wives than the one he gave on marrying Zainab. He then gave a banquet with one sheep."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Urwa ibn az-Zubayr said about the child of lian and the child of fornication, that if they died, the mother inherited her right from them according to the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic! The siblings by the mother had their rights. The rest was inherited by the former masters of the mother if she was a freed slave. If she was a free woman by origin, she inherited her due and the siblings by the mother inherited their due, and the rest went to the Muslims.

Malik said, "I heard the same as that from Sulayman ibn Yasar."

Malik said, "That is what I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing."

Malik said, I still hear that when a person in ihram kills an ostrich, a camel is due."

Malik said, "I think that for an ostrich egg, one tenth of the price of a camel is due in the same way that there is a newly-born male or female slave for the unborn child of a free woman. The value of the newly-born slave is fifty dinars, and that is one-tenth of what the blood-money for the mother would be.

"Birds from the eagle family, eagles or falcons or vultures count as game for which a price is paid just as a price is paid for any game which a person in ihram kills. For everything for which a penalty is paid, the assessment is the same, whether the animal is old or young. The analogy of that is that the blood-money for the young and the old freeman, are considered to be the same."

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) finished a prayer in which he had recited (the Qur'an) loudly, he asked: Did any of you recite along with me just now? A man replied: Yes, Messenger of Allah. He said: I am wondering what is the matter with me that I have been contended with reciting the Qur'an. He said: When the people heard that from the Messenger of Allah (saws) they ceased reciting (the Qur'an) along with him at the prayers in which he recited aloud.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition reported by Ibn Ukaimah has also been narrated by Ma'mar, Yunus, and Usamah b. Zaid on the authority of al-Zuhri similar to the tradition of Malik.

Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is the duty of a muslim man who has something to be given as a bequest not to spend two nights without writing a will about it."

Malik said, "The generally agreed-on way of doing things in our community is that when the testator writes something in health or illness as a bequest, and it has freeing slaves or things other than that in it, he can alter it in any way he chooses, until he is on his deathbed. If he prefers to abandon a bequest or change it, he can do so unless he has made a slave mudabbar (to be freed after his death). If he has made him mudabbar, there is no way to change what he has made mudabbar. He is allowed to change his testament because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is the duty of a muslim man who has something to be given as a bequest not to spend two nights without writing a will about it."

Malik explained, "Had the testator not been able to change his will nor what was mentioned in it about freeing slaves, each testator might withhold making bequests from his property, whether in freeing slaves or other than it. A man gives a bequest in his health and in his travelling." (i.e. he does not wait till his death bed ) .

Malik summed up, "The way of doing things in our community about which there is no dispute is that he can change whatever he likes of that except for the mudabbar."

Malik related to me from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Qari that his father said, "A man came to Umar ibn al- Khattab from Abu Musa al-Ashari. Umar asked after various people, and he informed him. Then Umar inquired, 'Do you have any recent news?' He said, 'Yes. A man has become a kafir after his Islam.' Umar asked, 'What have you done with him?' He said, 'We let him approach and struck off his head.' Umar said, 'Didn't you imprison him for three days and feed him a loaf of bread every day and call on him to tawba that he might turn in tawba and return to the command of Allah?' Then Umar said, 'O Allah! I was not present and I did not order it and I am not pleased since it has come to me!' "

(a man from the Ansar) that a number of people from his tribe went to Khaibar and dispersed, and then they found one of them murdered. They said to the people with whom the corpse had been found, "You have killed our companion!" Those people said, "Neither have we killed him, nor do we know his killer." The bereaved group went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We went to Khaibar and found one of us murdered." The Prophet said, "Let the older among you come forward and speak." Then the Prophet said, to them, "Bring your proof against the killer." They said "We have no proof." The Prophet said, "Then they (the defendants) will take an oath." They said, "We do not accept the oaths of the Jews." Allah's Apostle did not like that the Blood-money of the killed one be lost without compensation, so he paid one-hundred camels out of the camels of Zakat (to the relatives of the deceased) as Diya (Blood-money).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said that statements like "I cut myself off from you",or"You are abandoned", were considered as three pronouncements of divorce.

Malik said that any strong statements such as these or others were considered as three pronouncements of divorce for a woman whose marriage had been consummated. In the case of a woman whose marriage had not been consummated, the man was asked to make an oath on his deen, as to whether he had intended one or three pronouncements of divorce. If he had intended one pronouncement, he was asked to make an oath by Allah to confirm it, and he became a suitor among other suitors, because a woman whose marriage had been consummated, required three pronouncements of divorce to make her inaccessible for the husband, whilst only one pronouncement was needed to make a woman whose marriage had not been consummated inaccessible.

Malik added, "That is the best of what I have heard about the matter."

But for the other Muslims (i.e. coming generations) I would divide (the land of) whatever villages the Muslims might conquer (among the fighters), as the Prophet divided (the land of) Khaibar.

reported the Prophet (saws) as saying: There are people from the servants of Allah who are neither prophets nor martyrs; the prophets and martyrs will envy them on the Day of Resurrection for their rank from Allah, the Most High.

They (the people) asked: Tell us, Messenger of Allah, who are they? He replied: They are people who love one another for the spirit of Allah (i.e. the Qur'an), without having any mutual kinship and giving property to one. I swear by Allah, their faces will glow and they will be (sitting) in (pulpits of) light. They will have no fear (on the Day) when the people will have fear, and they will not grieve when the people will grieve.

He then recited the following Qur'anic verse: "Behold! Verily for the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve."

A bedouin came to Allah's Apostle and said, "My wife has delivered a black boy, and I suspect that he is not my child." Allah's Apostle said to him, "Have you got camels?" The bedouin said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "What color are they?" The bedouin said, "They are red." The Prophet said, "Are any of them Grey?" He said, "There are Grey ones among them." The Prophet said, "Whence do you think this color came to them?" The bedouin said, "O Allah's Apostle! It resulted from hereditary disposition." The Prophet said, "And this (i.e., your child) has inherited his color from his ancestors." The Prophet did not allow him to deny his paternity of the child.

Abu Dawud said : Ibn Juraij did not hear these two traditions from Abu al-Zubair, I have been informed by Ahmad. B. Hanbal saving : Ibn Juraij heard them from Yasin al-Zayyat.

Aby Dawud said: Al-Mughirah b. Muslim has transmitted it from Abu al-Zubair from Jabir From the prophet(saws).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah! I have given myself to you." She stood for a long time, and then a man got up and said, "Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you have anything to give her as a bride-price?" He said, "I possess only this lower garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you give it to her you will not have a garment to wear so look for something else." He said, "I have nothing else." He said, "Look for something else, even if it is only an iron ring." He looked, and found that he had nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know any of the Qur'an?" He said, "Yes. I know such-and-such a sura and such-and-such a sura," which he named. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an."

In the time of the Prophet (saws) a man took a vow to slaughter a camel at Buwanah. So he came to the Prophet (saws) and said: I have taken a vow to sacrifice a camel at Buwanah.

The Prophet (saws) asked: Did the place contain any idol worshipped in pre-Islamic times?

They (the people) said: No.

He asked: Was any pre-Islamic festival observed there?

They replied: No.

The Prophet (saws) said: Fulfil your vow, for a vow to do an act of disobedience to Allah must not be fulfilled, neither must one do something over which a human being has no control.

"A man behaved in a rude manner while trying to collect a debt from the Messenger of Allah (saws). So his Companions were about to harm him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Leave him, for indeed the owner of the the right has the right to speak.' Then he said: 'Purchase a camel for him and give it to him.' So they searched out but they did not find a camel but of a better ager than his camel. So he said: 'Buy it and give it to him. For indeed the best of you is the best in repaying.'"

We were one-thousand-and-four-hundred persons on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (Treaty), and (at) Al- Hudaibiya (there) was a well. We drew out its water not leaving even a single drop. The Prophet sat at the edge of the well and asked for some water with which he rinsed his mouth and then he threw it out into the well. We stayed for a short while and then drew water from the well and quenched our thirst, and even our riding animals drank water to their satisfaction.

Jarir said "Allah's Apostle said to me, "Won't you relieve me from Dhul-Khalasa?" I replied, "Yes, (I will relieve you)." So I proceeded along with one-hundred and fifty cavalry from Ahmas tribe who were skillful in riding horses. I used not to sit firm over horses, so I informed the Prophet of that, and he stroke my chest with his hand till I saw the marks of his hand over my chest and he said, O Allah! Make him firm and one who guides others and is guided (on the right path).' Since then I have never fallen from a horse. Dhul-l--Khulasa was a house in Yemen belonging to the tribe of Khatham and Bajaila, and in it there were idols which were worshipped, and it was called Al-Ka`ba." Jarir went there, burnt it with fire and dismantled it. When Jarir reached Yemen, there was a man who used to foretell and give good omens by casting arrows of divination. Someone said to him. "The messenger of Allah's Apostle is present here and if he should get hold of you, he would chop off your neck." One day while he was using them (i.e. arrows of divination), Jarir stopped there and said to him, "Break them (i.e. the arrows) and testify that None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, or else I will chop off your neck." So the man broke those arrows and testified that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. Then Jarir sent a man called Abu Artata from the tribe of Ahmas to the Prophet to convey the good news (of destroying Dhu-l-Khalasa). So when the messenger reached the Prophet, he said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I did not leave it till it was like a scabby camel." Then the Prophet blessed the horses of Ahmas and their men five times.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that Mujahid said, "I was with Abdullah ibn Umar and an artisan came to him and said, 'Abu Abd ar-Rahman - I fashion gold and then sell what I have made for more than its weight. I take an amount equivalent to the work of my hand.' Abdullah forbade him to do that, so the artisan repeated the question to him, and Abdullah continued to forbid him until he came to the door of the mosque or to an animal that he intended to mount. Then Abdullah ibn Umar said, 'A dinar for a dinar, and a dirham for a dirham. There is no increase between them. This is the command of ourProphet to us and our advice to you.' "

I swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (saws) promising to hear and obey, and behave sincerely towards every Muslim. AbuZur'ah said: Whenever he sold and bought anything, he would say: What we took from you is dearer to us than what we gave you. So choose (as you like).

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."

The Prophet stayed for three days at a place between Khaibar and Medina, and there he consummated his marriage with Safiyya bint Huyay. I invited the Muslims to a banquet which included neither meat nor bread. The Prophet ordered for the leather dining sheets to be spread, and then dates, dried yogurt and butter were provided over it, and that was the Walima (banquet) of the Prophet. The Muslims asked whether Safiyya would be considered as his wife or as a slave girl of what his right hands possessed. Then they said, "If the Prophet screens her from the people, then she Is the Prophet's wife but if he does not screen her, then she is a slave girl." So when the Prophet proceeded, he made a place for her (on the camel) behind him and screened her from people.

The Prophet (saws) saw a boy with part of his head shaved and part left unshaven. He forbade them to do that, saying: Shave it all or leave it all.

The people were ordered to perform the Tawaf of the Ka`ba (Tawaf-al-Wada`) as the lastly thing, before leaving (Mecca), except the menstruating women who were excused.

'Amr reported on the authority of Jabir that in the expedition of Khabat (leaves) a person slaughtered three camels, then three, then three, then Abu 'Ubaida forbade him (to do so fearing that the rides may become short).

The Prophet did not leave anything (after his death) except his arms, a white mule, and a (piece of) land which he had given as Sadaqa.

Bilal said to Abu Bakr, "If you have bought me for yourself then keep me (for yourself), but if you have bought me for Allah's Sake, then leave me for Allah's Work."

Yahya related to mefrom Malikthat Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "I saw Abdullah ibn Umar urinating while standing."

Yahya said that Malik was asked if any hadith had come down about washing the private parts of urine and faeces and he said, "I have heard that some of those who have passed away used to wash themselves of faeces. I like to wash my private parts of urine."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "Someone who is held back from going to the House by illness can only come out of ihram after he has done tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa. If it is absolutely necessary for him to wear any ordinary clothes, or undergo medical treatment, he should do that and pay compensation for it."

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited that a man should put on sandals while he is standing."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib. 'Ubaidullah bin 'Amr Ar-Raqqi reported this Hadith from Ma'mar, from Qatadah, from Anas. Both of the Ahadith are not correct according to the people of Hadith. Al-Harith bin Nabhan is not a Hafiz according to them, and we do not know any basis for the narration of Qatadah from Anas.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Halhala that Humayd ibn Malik ibn Khu'haym said, "I was sitting with Abu Hurayra on his land at al-Aqiq. Some people rode out from Madina to call upon Abu Hurayra. He told me to go to his mother, sending his greetings and asking her to prepare some food." Humayd continued, "She set down three loaves on a plate and some oil and salt. Then she put it on my head and I carried it to them. When I set it before them, Abu Hurayra said, 'Allah is greater' and added, 'Praise be to Allah who has filled us with bread after our food had previously been only water and dates,' as the people did not touch any of the food.

When they left, he said, 'O son of my brother, be good to your sheep and wipe the mucus from them and clean their pen. Pray in their quarter for they are among the animals of the Garden. By He in Whose Hand my self is, a time is about to come upon people when a small group of sheep will be more beloved to their owner than the house of Marwan . ' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd arRahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that A'isha umm al-muminin said, "We went out on a journey with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and, when we came to Bayda' or Dhat al-Jaysh, a necklace of mine broke. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped to look for it and the people stopped with him. There was no water nearby and the people were not carrying any with them, so they came to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and said, 'Don't you see what A'isha has done? She has made the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the people stop when there is no water nearby and they are not carrying any with them.' "

A'isha continued, "Abu Bakr came and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had fallen asleep with his head on my thigh . Abu Bakr said, 'You have made the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the people stop when there is no water nearby and they are not carrying any with them ' "

She continued, "Abu Bakr remonstrated with me and said whatever Allah willed him to say, and began to poke me in the waist. The only thing that stopped me from moving was that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had his head on my thigh. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, slept until morning found him with no water. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent down the ayat of tayammum and so they did tayammum. Usayd ibn Hudayr said, 'This is not the first baraka from you, O family of Abu Bakr.'"

A'isha added, "We roused the camel I had been on and found the necklace under it."

Malik was asked whether a man who did tayammum for one prayer should do tayammum when the time of the next prayer came or whether the first tayammum was enough. He said, "No, he does tayammum for every prayer, because he has to look for water for every prayer. If he looks for it and does not find it then he does tayammum."

Malik was asked whether a man who did tayammum could lead others in prayer if they were in wudu. He said, "I prefer that someone else should lead them. However, I see no harm in it if he does lead them in prayer."

Yahya said that Malik said that a man who did tayammum because he could not find any water, and then stood and said the takbir and entered into the prayer, and then someone came with some water, did not stop his prayer but completed it with tayammum and did wudu for future prayers.

Yahya said that Malik said, "Whoever rises for prayer and does not find water and so does what Allah has ordered him to do of tayammum has obeyed Allah. Someone who does find water is neither purer than him nor more perfect in prayer, because both have been commanded and each does as Allah has commanded. What Allah has commanded as far as wudu is concerned is for the one who finds water, and tayammum is for the one who does not find water before he enters into the prayer."

Malik said that a man who was in a state of major ritual impurity could do tayammum and read his portion of Qur'an and do voluntary prayers as long as he did not find any water. This applied only to circumstances in which it was allowable to pray with tayammum.

The Prophet continued for such-and-such period imagining that he has slept (had sexual relations) with his wives, and in fact he did not. One day he said, to me, "O `Aisha! Allah has instructed me regarding a matter about which I had asked Him. There came to me two men, one of them sat near my feet and the other near my head. The one near my feet, asked the one near my head (pointing at me), 'What is wrong with this man? The latter replied, 'He is under the effect of magic.' The first one asked, 'Who had worked magic on him?' The other replied, 'Lubaid bin Asam.' The first one asked, 'What material (did he use)?' The other replied, 'The skin of the pollen of a male date tree with a comb and the hair stuck to it, kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan."' Then the Prophet went to that well and said, "This is the same well which was shown to me in the dream. The tops of its date-palm trees look like the heads of the devils, and its water looks like the Henna infusion." Then the Prophet ordered that those things be taken out. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Won't you disclose (the magic object)?" The Prophet said, "Allah has cured me and I hate to circulate the evil among the people." `Aisha added, "(The magician) Lubaid bin Asam was a man from Bani Zuraiq, an ally of the Jews."

AbuNadrah reported: An old man of Tufawah said to me: I was a guest of AbuHurayrah at Medina. I did not find any one of the companions of the Prophet (saws) more devoted to worship and more hospitable than AbuHurayrah.

One day I was with him when he was sitting on his bed. He had a purse which contained pebbles or kernels. A black slave-girl of his was sitting below. Counting them he was glorifying Allah. When the pebbles or the kernels in the purse were finished, she gathered them and put them again in the purse, and gave it to him. He said: Should I not tell you about me and about the Messenger of Allah (saws)?

I said: Yes. He said: Once when I was laid up with fever in the mosque, the Messenger of Allah (saws) came and entered the mosque, and said: Who saw the youth of ad-Daws. He said this three times.

A man said: Messenger of Allah, there he is, laid up with fever on one side of the mosque. He moved, walking forward till he reached me. He placed his hand on me. He had a kind talk with me, and I rose. He then began to walk till he reached the place where he used to offer his prayer. He paid his attention to the people. There were two rows of men and one row of women, or two rows of women and one row of men (the narrator is doubtful).

He then said: If Satan makes me forget anything during the prayer, the men should glorify Allah, and the women should clap their hands. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then prayed and he did not forget anything during the prayer.

He said: Be seated in your places, be seated in your places. The narrator, Musa, added the word "here". He then praised Allah and exalted Him, and said: Now to our topic.

The agreed version begins: He then said: Is there any man among you who approaches his wife, closes the door, covers himself with a curtain, and he is concealed with the curtain of Allah?

They replied: Yes. He said: later he sits and says: I did so-and-so; I did so-and-so. The people kept silence. He then turned to the women and said (to them): Is there any woman among you who narrates it? They kept silence. Then a girl fell on one of her knees. The narrator, Mu'ammil, said in his version: a buxom girl. She raised her head before the Messenger of Allah (saws) so that he could see her and listen to her.

She said: Messenger of Allah, they (the men) describe the secrets (of intercourse) and they (the women) also describe the secrets (of intercourse) to the people.

He said: Do you know what the similitude is? He said: The likeness of this act is the likeness of a female Satan who meets the male Satan on the roadside; he fulfils his desire with her while the people are looking at him. Beware! The perfume of men is that whose smell becomes visible and its colour does not appear. Beware! The perfume of women is that whose colour becomes visible and whose smell is not obvious.

AbuDawud said: From here I remembered this tradition from Mu'ammil and Musa: Beware! No man should lie with another man, no woman should lie with another woman except with one's child or father. He also mentioned a third which I have forgotten. This has been mentioned in the version of Musaddad, but I do not remember it as precisely as I like.

The narrator, Musa, said: Hammad narrated this tradition from al-Jarir from AbuNadrah from at-Tufawi.

We alighted with the Prophet (saws) at Khaybar, and he had his companions with him. The chief of Khaybar was a defiant and abominable man.

He came to the Prophet (saws) and said: Is it proper for you, Muhammad, that you slaughter our donkeys, eat our fruit, and beat our women?

The Prophet (saws) became angry and said: Ibn Awf, ride your horse, and call loudly: Beware, Paradise is lawful only for a believer, and that they (the people) should gather for prayer.

They gathered and the Prophet (saws) led them in prayer, stood up and said: Does any of you, while reclining on his couch, imagine that Allah has prohibited only that which is to be found in this Qur'an? By Allah, I have preached, commanded and prohibited various matters as numerous as that which is found in the Qur'an, or more numerous. Allah has not permitted you to enter the houses of the people of the Book without permission, or beat their women, or eat their fruits when they give you that which is imposed on them.

I fell ill, Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr came to visit me on foot. The Prophet came to me while I was unconscious. Allah's Apostle performed ablution and poured the Remaining water of his ablution over me whereupon I became conscious and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! How should I spend my wealth? Or how should I deal with my wealth?" But the Prophet did not give me any reply till the Verse of the laws of inheritance was revealed.

Yahya said that Malik said, "The person who puts up the principal must not stipulate that he has something of the profit alone without the agent sharing in it, nor must the agent stipulate that he has something of the profit alone without the investor sharing. In qirad, there is no sale, no rent, no work, no advance, and no convenience which one party specifies to himself without the other party sharing unless one party allows it to the other unconditionally as a favour and that is alright to both. Neither of the parties should make a condition over the other which increases him in gold or silver or food over the other party."

He said, "If any of that enters the qirad, it becomes hire, and hire is only good with known and fixed terms. The agent should not stipulate when he takes the principal that he repay or commission anyone with the goods, nor that he take any of them for himself. When there is a profit, and it is time to separate the capital, then they divide the profit according to the terms of the contract. If the principal does not increase or there is a loss, the agent does not have to make up for what he spent on himself or for the loss. That falls to the investor from the principal. Qirad is permitted upon whatever terms the investor and the agent make a mutual agreement, of half the profit, or a third or a fourth or whatever."

Malik said, "It is not permitted for the agent to stipulate that he use the qirad money for a certain number of years and that it not be taken from him during that time."

He said, "It is not good for the investor to stipulate that the qirad money should not be returned for a certain number of years which are specified, because the qirad is not for a term. The investor loans it to an agent to use for him. If it seems proper to either of them to abandon the project and the money is coin, and nothing has been bought with it, it can be abandoned, and the investor takes his money back. If it seems proper to the investor to take the qirad loan back after goods have been purchased with it, he cannot do so until the buyer has sold the goods and they have become money. If it seems proper to the agent to return the loan, and it has been turned to goods he cannot do so until he has sold them. He returns the loan in cash as he took it."

Malik said, "It is not good for the investor to stipulate that the agent pay any zakat due from his portion of the profit in particular, because the investor by stipulating that, stipulates fixed increase for himself from the profit because the portion of zakat he would be liable for by his portion of the profit, is removed from him.

"It is not permitted for the investor to stipulate to the agent to only buy from so-and-so, referring to a specific man. That is not permitted because by doing so he would become his hireling for a wage."

Malik spoke about an investor in qirad who stipulated a guarantee for an amount of money from the agent, "The investor is not permitted to stipulate conditions about his principal other than the conditions on which qirad is based or according to the precedent of the sunna of the Muslims. If the principal is increased by the condition of guarantee, the investor has increased his share of the profit because of the position of the guarantee. But the profit is only to be divided according to what it would have been had the loan been given without the guarantee. If the principal is destroyed, I do not think that the agent has a guarantee held against him because the stipulation of guarantees in qirad is null and void."

Malik spoke about an investor who gave qirad money to a man and the man stipulated that he would only buy palms or animals with it because he sought to eat the dates or the offspring of the animals and he kept them for some time to use for himself. He said, "That is not permitted. It is not the sunna of the Muslims in qirad unless he buys it and then sells it as other goods are sold."

Malik said, "There is no harm in the agent stipulating on the investor a slave to help him provided that the slave stands to gain along with him out of the investment, and when the slave only helps him with the investment, not with anything else."

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara (Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a deed), in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Qur'an. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer a two rak`at prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the prayer): -- 'Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa as'alaka min fadlika Al-`azlm Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta'lamu Wala a'lamu, Wa anta 'allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta'lam anna hadha-lamra Khairun li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati `Amri (or 'ajili `Amri wa'ajilihi) Faqdirhu wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati `Amri (or fi'ajili `Amri wa ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi.' (O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter--(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)--Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me satisfied with it). The Prophet added that then the person should name (mention) his need.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "If a man gives his slave permission to marry, the divorce is in the hand of the slave, and nobody else has any power over his divorce. Nothing is held against a man who takes the slave-girl of his male slave or the slave-girl of his female-slave."