I asked `Aisha about the option: She said, "The Prophet gave us the option. Do you think that option was considered as a divorce?" I said, "It matters little to me if I give my wife the option once or a hundred times after she has chosen me."

I asked `Abdullah bin Abi `Aufa about the Rajam (stoning somebody to death for committing illegal sexual intercourse). He replied, "The Prophet carried out the penalty of Rajam," I asked, "Was that before or after the revelation of Surat-an-Nur?" He replied, "I do not know."

Allah's Apostle said, "O `Abdullah! Have I not been formed that you fast all the day and stand in prayer all night?" I said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave them (the fast) at other times; stand up for the prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibrahim ibn Abi Abla from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that he gave a slave-girl to a friend of his, and later asked him about her. He said, "I intended to give her to my son to do such-and-such with her." Abd al-Malik said, "Marwan was more scrupulous than you. He gave a slave-girl to his son, and then he said, 'Do not go near her, for I have seen her leg uncovered .' "

Safinah said: I was a slave of Umm Salamah, and she said: I shall emancipate you, but I stipulate that you must serve the Messenger of Allah (saws) as long as you live. I said: Even if you do not make a stipulation, I shall not leave the Messenger of Allah (saws). She then emancipated me and made the stipulation with me.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Sulayman ibn Yasar that the people of Syria said to Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, "Take zakat from our horses and slaves," and he refused. Then he wrote to Umar ibn al-Khattab and he (also) refused. Again they talked to him and again he wrote to Umar, and Umar wrote back to him saying, "If they want, take it from them and (then) give it back to them and give their slaves provision."

Malik said, "What he means, may Allah have mercy upon him, by the words 'and give it back to them' is, 'to their poor.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, umm al-muminin, said, "I do not mind whether I pray in the Hijr or in the House." (i.e. praying in the Hijr is the same as praying in the House).

While we were with Allah's Apostle who was distributing (i.e. some property), there came Dhu-l- Khuwaisira, a man from the tribe of Bani Tamim and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do Justice." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Who could do justice if I did not? I would be a desperate loser if I did not do justice." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet said, "Leave him, for he has companions who pray and fast in such a way that you will consider your fasting negligible in comparison to theirs. They recite Qur'an but it does not go beyond their throats (i.e. they do not act on it) and they will desert Islam as an arrow goes through a victim's body, so that the hunter, on looking at the arrow's blade, would see nothing on it; he would look at its Risaf and see nothing: he would look at its Na,di and see nothing, and he would look at its Qudhadh ( 1 ) and see nothing (neither meat nor blood), for the arrow has been too fast even for the blood and excretions to smear. The sign by which they will be recognized is that among them there will be a black man, one of whose arms will resemble a woman's breast or a lump of meat moving loosely. Those people will appear when there will be differences amongst the people." I testify that I heard this narration from Allah's Apostle and I testify that `Ali bin Abi Talib fought with such people, and I was in his company. He ordered that the man (described by the Prophet ) should be looked for. The man was brought and I looked at him and noticed that he looked exactly as the Prophet had described him.

Once I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have no property except what has been given to me by Az-Zubair (i.e. her husband). May I give in charity?" The Prophet said, "Give in charity and do not withhold it; otherwise Allah will withhold it back from you . "

Ibn `Umar intended to perform Hajj in the year of the Hajj of Al-Harawriya during the rule of Ibn Az- Zubair. Some people said to him, "It is very likely that there will be a fight among the people, and we are afraid that they might prevent you (from performing Hajj)." He replied, "Verily, in Allah's Apostle there is a good example for you (to follow). In this case I would do the same as he had done. I make you witness that I have intended to perform `Umra." When he reached Al-Baida', he said, "The conditions for both Hajj and `Umra are the same. I make you witness that I have intended to perform Hajj along with `Umra." After that he took a garlanded Hadi (to Mecca) which he bought (on the way). When he reached (Mecca), he performed Tawaf of the Ka`ba and of Safa (and Marwa) and did not do more than that. He did not make legal for himself the things which were illegal for a Muhrim till it was the Day of Nahr (sacrifice), when he had his head shaved and slaughtered (the sacrifice) and considered sufficient his first Tawaf (between Safa and Marwa), as a (Sa`i) for his Hajj and `Umra both. He then said, "The Prophet used to do like that."

A woman came to the Prophet (saws) while we were with him.

She said: Messenger of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn prayer until the sun rises.

He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had said. He replied: Messenger of Allah, as for her statement "he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs (during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so).

He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during prayer), that is sufficient for the people.

(Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes me break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I cannot restrain myself.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said on that day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of her husband.

(Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is already known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer.

I saw Abu Dhar wearing a Burd (garment) and his slave too was wearing a Burd, so I said (to Abu Dhar), "If you take this (Burda of your slave) and wear it (along with yours), you will have a nice suit (costume) and you may give him another garment." Abu Dhar said, "There was a quarrel between me and another man whose mother was a non-Arab and I called her bad names. The man mentioned (complained about) me to the Prophet. The Prophet said, "Did you abuse so-and-so?" I said, "Yes" He said, "Did you call his mother bad names?" I said, "Yes". He said, "You still have the traits of (the Pre-lslamic period of) ignorance." I said. "(Do I still have ignorance) even now in my old age?" He said, "Yes, they (slaves or servants) are your brothers, and Allah has put them under your command. So the one under whose hand Allah has put his brother, should feed him of what he eats, and give him dresses of what he wears, and should not ask him to do a thing beyond his capacity. And if at all he asks him to do a hard task, he should help him therein."

The Prophet said Allah will not look, on the Day of Resurrection at the person who drags his garment (behind him) out of conceit. On that Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! One side of my Izar hangs low if I do not take care of it." The Prophet said, 'You are not one of those who do that out of conceit."

I saw that whenever Allah's Apostle stood for the prayer, he used to raise both his hands up to the shoulders, and used to do the same on saying the Takbir for bowing and on raising his head from it and used to say, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah". But he did not do that (i.e. raising his hands) in prostrations.

I asked Anas bin Malik while we were proceeding from Mina to `Arafat, "What do you use to do on this day when you were with Allah's Apostle ?" Anas said, "Some of us used to recite Talbiya and nobody objected to that, and others used to recite Takbir and nobody objected to that."

Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, told that Abdullah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: spells, charms and love-potions are polytheism.

I asked: Why do you say this? I swear by Allah, when my eye was discharging I used to go to so-and-so, the Jew, who applied a spell to me. When he applied the spell to me, it calmed down. Abdullah said:

That was just the work of the Devil who was picking it with his hand, and when he uttered the spell on it, he desisted. All you need to do is to say as the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to say: Remove the harm, O Lord of men, and heal. Thou art the Healer. There is no remedy but Thine which leaves no disease behind.

`Amr bin Taghlib said, "Some property was given to the Prophet and he gave it to some people and withheld it from some others. Then he came to know that they (the latter) were dissatisfied. So the Prophet said, 'I give to one man and leave (do not give) another, and the one to whom I do not give is dearer to me than the one to whom I give. I give to some people because of the impatience and discontent present in their hearts, and leave other people because of the content and goodness Allah has bestowed on them, and one of them is `Amr bin Taghlib." `Amr bin Taghlib said, "The sentence which Allah's Apostle said in my favor is dearer to me than the possession of nice red camels."

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."

I heard Muhammad saying, "Whoever makes a picture in this world will be asked to put life into it on the Day of Resurrection, but he will not be able to do so."

We entered upon Ibn `Abbas and he said "Are you not astonished at Ibn Az-Zubair's assuming the caliphate?" I said (to myself), "I will support him and speak of his good traits as I did not do even for Abu Bakr and `Umar though they were more entitled to receive al I good than he was." I said "He (i.e Ibn Az-Zubair) is the son of the aunt of the Prophet and the son of AzZubair, and the grandson of Abu Bakr and the son of Khadija's brother, and the son of `Aisha's sister." Nevertheless, he considers himself to be superior to me and does not want me to be one of his friends. So I said, "I never expected that he would refuse my offer to support him, and I don't think he intends to do me any good, therefore, if my cousins should inevitably be my rulers, it will be better for me to be ruled by them than by some others."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban mentioning that a certain man passed Abu Dharr at ar-Rabadha (which was about 30 miles from Madina) and Abu Dharr asked him, "Where are you heading to?" and he replied, "I am intending to do hajj." Abu Dharr questioned, "Has anything else brought you out?" and he said, "No," so Abu Dharr said "Resume what you are doing wholeheartedly."

The man related, "I went on till I came to Makka and I stayed as long as Allah willed. Suddenly, one time, I was with a crowd of people thronging about a man and I pushed through the people to him and it was the old man that I had come across at ar- Rabadha. When he saw me, he recognized me and said, 'Ah, you have done what I told you.' "

Malik was asked whether someone who went into a mosque to do itikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan and stayed there for a day or two but then became ill and left the mosque, had to do itikaf for the number of days that were left from the ten, or not, and if he did have to do so, then what month should he do it in, and he replied, "He should make up whatever he has to do of the itikaf when he recovers, whether in Ramadan or otherwise. I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once wanted to do itikaf in Ramadan, but then came back without having done so, and then when Ramadan had gone, he did itikaf for ten days in Shawwal.

Some one who does itikaf voluntarily in Ramadan and some one who has to do itikaf are in the same position regarding what is halal for them and what is haram. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever did itikaf other than voluntarily."

Malik said, that if a woman did itikaf and then menstruated during her itikaf, she went back to her house, and, when she was pure again she returned to the mosque, at whatever time it was that she became pure. She then continued her itikaf from where she left off. This was the same situation as with a woman who had to fast two consecutive months, and who menstruated and then became pure. She then continued the fast from where she had left off and did not delay doing so.

`Umar used to make me sit with the elderly men who had fought in the Battle of Badr. Some of them felt it (did not like that) and said to `Umar "Why do you bring in this boy to sit with us while we have sons like him?" `Umar replied, "Because of what you know of his position (i.e. his religious knowledge.)" One day `Umar called me and made me sit in the gathering of those people; and I think that he called me just to show them. (my religious knowledge). `Umar then asked them (in my presence). "What do you say about the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: 'When comes Help of Allah (to you O, Muhammad against your enemies) and the conquest (of Mecca).' (110.1) Some of them said, "We are ordered to praise Allah and ask for His forgiveness when Allah's Help and the conquest (of Mecca) comes to us." Some others kept quiet and did not say anything. On that, `Umar asked me, "Do you say the same, O Ibn `Abbas?" I replied, "No." He said, 'What do you say then?" I replied, "That is the sign of the death of Allah's Apostle which Allah informed him of. Allah said:-- '(O Muhammad) When comes the Help of Allah (to you against your enemies) and the conquest (of Mecca) (which is the sign of your death). You should celebrate the praises of your Lord and ask for His Forgiveness, and He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives.' (110.3) On that `Umar said, "I do not know anything about it other than what you have said."