The Prophet prayed the eclipse prayer, and then said, "Hell was displayed so close that I said, 'O my Lord ! Am I going to be one of its inhabitants?"' Suddenly he saw a woman. I think he said, who was being scratched by a cat. He said, "What is wrong with her?" He was told, "She had imprisoned it (i.e. the cat) till it died of hunger."

Allah's Apostle said, "A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger." Allah's Apostle further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), 'You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the vermin of the earth.' "

Allah's Apostle said, "The (Hell) Fire complained to its Lord saying, 'O my Lord! My different parts eat up each other.' So, He allowed it to take two breaths, one in the winter and the other in summer, and this is the reason for the severe heat and the bitter cold you find (in weather).

The Prophet said, "Allah will say to that person of the (Hell) Fire who will receive the least punishment, 'If you had everything on the earth, would you give it as a ransom to free yourself (i.e. save yourself from this Fire)?' He will say, 'Yes.' Then Allah will say, 'While you were in the backbone of Adam, I asked you much less than this, i.e. not to worship others besides Me, but you insisted on worshipping others besides me.' "

The Prophet said, "If somebody claims to be the son of any other than his real father knowingly, he but disbelieves in Allah, and if somebody claims to belong to some folk to whom he does not belong, let such a person take his place in the (Hell) Fire."

Al-Bahira was an animal whose milk was spared for the idols and other dieties, and so nobody was allowed to milk it. As-Saiba was an animal which they (i.e infidels) used to set free in the names of their gods so that it would not be used for carrying anything. Abu Huraira said, "The Prophet said, 'I saw `Amr bin 'Amir bin Luhai Al-Khuza`i dragging his intestines in the (Hell) Fire, for he was the first man who started the custom of releasing animals (for the sake of false gods).' "

The Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: He who has in his heart as much pride as much pride as grain of mustard-seed will not enter paradise. And he who has in his heart as much faith as grain of mustard-seed will not enter Hell.

Abu Dawud said: Al-Qasmali has transmitted it from Al-A'mash in a similar way.

Some Muslim men emigrated to Ethiopia whereupon Abu Bakr also prepared himself for the emigration, but the Prophet said (to him), "Wait, for I hope that Allah will allow me also to emigrate." Abu Bakr said, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Do you hope that (emigration)?" The Prophet said, 'Yes." So Abu Bakr waited to accompany the Prophet and fed two she-camels he had on the leaves of As-Samur tree regularly for four months One day while we were sitting in our house at midday, someone said to Abu Bakr, "Here is Allah's Apostle, coming with his head and a part of his face covered with a cloth-covering at an hour he never used to come to us." Abu Bakr said, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you, (O Prophet)! An urgent matter must have brought you here at this hour." The Prophet came and asked the permission to enter, and he was allowed. The Prophet entered and said to Abu Bakr, "Let those who are with you, go out." Abu Bakr replied, "(There is no stranger); they are your family. Let my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "I have been allowed to leave (Mecca)." Abu Bakr said, " I shall accompany you, O Allah's Apostle, Let my father be sacrificed for you!" The Prophet said, "Yes," Abu Bakr said, 'O Allah's Apostles! Let my father be sacrificed for you. Take one of these two shecamels of mine" The Prophet said. I will take it only after paying its price." So we prepared their baggage and put their journey food In a leather bag. And Asma' bint Abu Bakr cut a piece of her girdle and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it. That is why she was called Dhatan- Nitaqaln. Then the Prophet and Abu Bakr went to a cave in a mountain called Thour and remained there for three nights. `Abdullah bin Abu Bakr. who was a young intelligent man. used to stay with them at night and leave before dawn so that in the morning, he would he with the Quraish at Mecca as if he had spent the night among them. If he heard of any plot contrived by the Quraish against the Prophet and Abu Bakr, he would understand it and (return to) inform them of it when it became dark. 'Amir bin Fuhaira, the freed slave of Abu Bakr used to graze a flock of milch sheep for them and he used to take those sheep to them when an hour had passed after the `Isha prayer. They would sleep soundly till 'Amir bin Fuhaira awakened them when it was still dark. He used to do that in each of those three nights.

Hamnah said my menstruation was great in quantity and severe. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) for a decision and told him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh.

I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who menstruates in great quantity and it is severe, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting.

He said: I suggest that you should use cotton, for it absorbs the blood. She replied: It is too copious for that. He said: Then take a cloth. She replied: It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, that will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them.

He added: This is a stroke of the Devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, Allah alone knows which it should be; then wash. And when you see that you are purified and quite clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification.

But if you are strong enough to delay the noon (Zuhr) prayer and advance the afternoon ('Asr) prayer, to wash, and then combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, to wash, and then combine the two prayers, do so: and to wash at dawn, do so: and fast if you are able to do so if possible.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Of the two commands this is more to my liking.¹

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit narrated from Ibn 'Aqil: Hamnah said: Of the two commands this is the one which is more to my liking.² In this version these words were not quoted as the statement of the Prophet (saws); it gives it as a statement of Hamnah.

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit was a Rafidi. This has been said by Yahya b. Ma'in.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (b. Hanbal) say: I am doubtful about the tradition transmitted by Ibn 'Aqil.

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 ...

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the one whom Allah created with His Own Hands, and breathed in you of His soul, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you; so please intercede for us with our Lord.' Adam will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, and will remember his sin, and will say, 'Go to Noah, the first Apostle sent by Allah' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking', and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Abraham whom Allah took as a Khalil. They will go to him (and request similarly). He will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Moses to whom Allah spoke directly.' They will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Jesus.' They will go to him, and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad as Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.' They will come to me and I will ask my Lord's permission, and when I see Him, I will fall down in prostration to Him, and He will leave me in that state as long as (He) Allah will, and then I will be addressed. 'Raise up your head (O Muhammad)! Ask, and your request will be granted, and say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' Then I will raise my head, and I will glorify and praise my Lord with a saying(i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede, Allah will fix a limit for me (i.e., certain type of people for whom I may intercede), and I will take them out of the (Hell) Fire and let them enter Paradise. Then I will come back (to Allah) and fall in prostration, and will do the same for the third and fourth times till no-one remains in the (Hell) Fire except those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned therein." (The sub-narrator, Qatada used to say at that point, "...those upon whom eternity (in Hell) has been imposed.") (See Hadith No. 3, Vol 6).

I said to Ibn `Abbas, "Nauf Al-Bikali claims that Moses, the companion of Al-Khadir was not the Moses of the children of Israel" Ibn `Abbas said, "The enemy of Allah (Nauf) told a lie." Narrated Ubai bin Ka`b that he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Moses got up to deliver a speech before the children of Israel and he was asked, Who is the most learned person among the people?' Moses replied, 'I (am the most learned).' Allah admonished him for he did not ascribe knowledge to Allah alone. So Allah revealed to him: 'At the junction of the two seas there is a slave of Ours who is more learned than you.' Moses asked, 'O my Lord, how can I meet him?' Allah said, 'Take a fish and put it in a basket (and set out), and where you, will lose the fish, you will find him.' So Moses (took a fish and put it in a basket and) set out, along with his boy-servant Yusha` bin Noon, till they reached a rock (on which) they both lay their heads and slept. The fish moved vigorously in the basket and got out of it and fell into the sea and there it took its way through the sea (straight) as in a tunnel). (18.61) Allah stopped the current of water on both sides of the way created by the fish, and so that way was like a tunnel. When Moses got up, his companion forgot to tell him about the fish, and so they carried on their journey during the rest of the day and the whole night. The next morning Moses asked his boy-servant 'Bring us our early meal; no doubt, we have suffered much fatigue in this journey of ours.' (18.62) Moses did not get tired till he had passed the place which Allah had ordered him to seek after. His boy-servant then said to him,' 'Do you remember when we be-took ourselves to the rock I indeed forgot the fish, none but Satan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a marvelous way.' (18.63) There was a tunnel for the fish and for Moses and his boy-servant there was astonishment. Moses said, 'That is what we have been seeking'. So they went back retracing their footsteps. (18.64) They both returned, retracing their steps till they reached the rock. Behold ! There they found a man covered with a garment. Moses greeted him. Al-Khadir said astonishingly. 'Is there such a greeting in your land?' Moses said, 'I am Moses.' He said, 'Are you the Moses of the children of Israel?' Moses said, 'I have come to you so that you may teach me of what you have been taught. Al-Khadir said, 'You will not ...

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) went to his bed, he would say: Praise be to Allah Who has given me sufficiency, has guarded me, given me food and drink, been most gracious to me, and given to me most lavishly. Praise be to Allah in every circumstance. O Allah! Lord and King of everything, God of everything, I seek refuge in Thee from Hell.

The Prophet said, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet said, "Whoever possesses the following three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith:

1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle become dearer than anything else.

2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake.

3. Who hates to revert to disbelief (Atheism) after Allah has brought (saved) him out from it, as he hates to be thrown in fire."

Some women requested the Prophet to fix a day for them as the men were taking all his time. On that he promised them one day for religious lessons and commandments. Once during such a lesson the Prophet said, "A woman whose three children die will be shielded by them from the Hell fire." On that a woman asked, "If only two die?" He replied, "Even two (will shield her from the Hell-fire).

AbuSalih reported on the authority of some Companions of the Prophet (saws): The Prophet (saws) said to a person: what do you say in prayer?

He replied: I first recite tashahhud (supplication recited in sitting position), and then I say: O Allah, I ask Thee for Paradise, and I seek refuge in Thee from Hell-Fire, but I do not understand your sound and the sound of Mu'adh (what you say or he says in prayer). The Prophet (saws) said: We too go around it (paradise and Hell-fire).

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone keeps on praying regularly four rak'ahs before and four after the noon prayer, he will not enter the Hell-fire.

Abu Dawud said: Al-'Ala' bin Al-Harith and Sulaiman bin Musa reported it from Makhul with his chain, similarly.

The Prophet said, "A woman entered the (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she had tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth. "

When there was said about me what was said which I myself was unaware of, Allah's Apostle got up and addressed the people. He recited Tashah-hud, and after glorifying and praising Allah as He deserved, he said, "To proceed: O people Give me your opinion regarding those people who made a forged story against my wife. By Allah, I do not know anything bad about her. By Allah, they accused her of being with a man about whom I have never known anything bad, and he never entered my house unless I was present there, and whenever I went on a journey, he went with me." Sa`d bin Mu`adh got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle Allow me to chop their heads off". Then a man from the Al-Khazraj (Sa`d bin 'Ubada) to whom the mother of (the poet) Hassan bin Thabit was a relative, got up and said (to Sa`d bin Mu`adh), "You have told a lie! By Allah, if those persons were from the Aus Tribe, you would not like to chop their heads off." It was probable that some evil would take place between the Aus and the Khazraj in the mosque, and I was unaware of all that. In the evening of that day, I went out for some of my needs (i.e. to relieve myself), and Um Mistah was accompanying me. On our return, Um Mistah stumbled and said, "Let Mistah. be ruined" I said to her, "O mother Why do you abuse your Son" On that Um Mistah became silent for a while, and stumbling again, she said, "Let Mistah be ruined" I said to her, "Why do you abuse your son?" She stumbled for the third time and said, "Let Mistah be ruined" whereupon I rebuked her for that. She said, "By Allah, I do not abuse him except because of you." I asked her, "Concerning what of my affairs?" So she disclosed the whole story to me. I said, "Has this really happened?" She replied, "Yes, by Allah." I returned to my house, astonished (and distressed) that I did not know for what purpose I had gone out. Then I became sick (fever) and said to Allah's Apostle "Send me to my father's house." So he sent a slave with me, and when I entered the house, I found Um Rum-an (my mother) downstairs while (my father) Abu Bakr was reciting something upstairs. My mother asked, "What has brought you, O (my) daughter?" I informed her and mentioned to her the whole story, but she did not feel it as I did. She said, "O my daughter! Take it easy, for there is never a charming lady loved by her husband who has other wives but that they feel jealous of her and speak badly of her." But ...

I said: My father has sent me to you to collect zakat from you. He asked: What kind of animals will you take, my nephew? I replied: We shall select the sheep and examine their udders. He said: My nephew, I shall narrate a tradition to you. I lived on one of these steppes during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) along with my sheep. Two people riding a camel came to me.

They said to me: We are messengers of the Messenger of Allah (saws), sent to you so that you may pay the sadaqah (zakat) on your sheep.

I asked: What is due from me for them?

They said: One goat. I went to a goat which I knew was full of milk and fat, and I brought it to them.

They said: This is a pregnant goat. The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited us to accept a pregnant goat.

I asked: What will you take then? They said: A goat in its second year or a goat in its third year. I then went to a goat which had not given birth to any kid, but it was going to do so. I brought it to them.

They said: Give it to us. They took it on the camel and went away.

Abu Dawud said: Abu 'Asim transmitted this tradition from Zakariyya. He said: Muslim bin Shu'bah is a narrator in the chain of this tradition as reported by the narrator Rawh.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to prostrate and sleep (in prostration) and produce puffing sounds (during sleep). Then he would stand and pray and would not perform ablution. I said to him: you prayed but did not perform ablution though you slept (in prostration). He replied: Ablution is necessary for one who sleeps while he is lying down. Uthman and Hannad added: For when he lies down, his joints are relaxed.

Abu Dawud said: The statement "ablution is necessary for one who sleeps while one is lying down" is a munkar (rejected) tradition. It has been narrated only by Yazid Abu Khalid al-Dalani, on the authority of Qatadah. And its earlier part has been narrated by a group (of narrators) from Ibn 'Abbas; they did not mention anything about it. He (Ibn 'Abbas) said: The Prophet (saws) was protected (during his sleep). 'Aishah reported: The Prophet (saws) said: My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep. Shu'bah said: Qatadah heard from Abu'l-'Aliyah only four traditions: the tradition about Jonah son of Matthew, the tradition reported by Ibn 'Umar about prayer, the tradition stating that the judges are three, and the tradition narrated by Ibn 'Abbas saying: (This tradition) has been narrated to me by reliable persons ; 'Umar is one of them, and the most reliable of them in my opinion is 'Umar. Abu Dawud said: I asked Ahmad b. Hanbal about the tradition narrated by Yazid al-Dalani. He rebuked me out of respect for him. Then he said: Yazid al-Dalani does not add anything to what has been narrated by the teachers of Qatadah. He did not care of this tradition (due to its weakness).

When the delegates of the tribe of Hawazin came to the Prophet and they requested him to return their properties and captives. The Prophet stood up and said to them, "I have other people with me in this matter (as you see) and the most beloved statement to me is the true one; you may choose either the properties or the prisoners as I have delayed their distribution." The Prophet had waited for them for more than ten days since his arrival from Ta'if. So, when it became evident to them that the Prophet was not going to return them except one of the two, they said, "We choose our prisoners." The Prophet got up amongst the people and glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and said, "Then after, these brethren of yours have come to us with repentance, and I see it logical to return them the captives. So, whoever amongst you likes to do that as a favor, then he can do it, and whoever of you likes to stick to his share till we recompense him from the very first war booty which Allah will give us, then he can do so (i.e. give up the present captives)." The people unanimously said, "We do that (return the captives) willingly." The Prophet said, "We do not know which of you has agreed to it and which have not, so go back and let your leaders forward us your decision." So, all the people then went back and discussed the matter with their leaders who returned and informed the Prophet that all the people had willingly given their consent to return the captives. This is what has reached us about the captives of Hawazin. Narrated Anas that `Abbas said to the Prophet, "I paid for my ransom and `Aqil's ransom."

When the delegates of the tribe of Hawazin came to the Prophet they requested him to return their property and their captives. He said to them, "This concerns also other people along with me as you see, and the best statement to me is the true one, so you may choose one of two alternatives; either the captives or the property and (I have not distributed the booty for) I have been waiting for you." When the Prophet had returned from Ta'if, he waited for them for more than ten nights. When they came to know that the Prophet would not return except one of the two, they chose their captives. The Prophet then stood up amongst the Muslims, Glorified and Praised Allah as He deserved, and then said, "Then after: These brothers of yours have come to you with repentance and I see it proper to return their captives, so whoever amongst you likes to do that as a favor, then he can do it, and whoever of you wants to stick to his share till we pay him from the very first Fai (i.e. war booty) which Allah will give us, then he can do so." The people said, "We return (the captives) to them willingly as a favor, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "I do not know who of you has given his consent and who has not; so go back and your leaders may present your decision to me." The people went away, and their leaders discussed the matter with them, and then came to the Prophet to tell him that all of them had given their consent (to return the captives) willingly. (Az-Zuhn, the sub-narrator said, "This is what we know about the captives, of Hawazin.")

While we were sitting with the Prophet a man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have been ruined." Allah's Apostle asked what was the matter with him. He replied "I had sexual intercourse with my wife while I was fasting." Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He replied in the negative. Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet asked him, "Can you afford to feed sixty poor persons?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet kept silent and while we were in that state, a big basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet . He asked, "Where is the questioner?" He replied, "I (am here)." The Prophet said (to him), "Take this (basket of dates) and give it in charity." The man said, "Should I give it to a person poorer than I? By Allah; there is no family between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains who are poorer than I." The Prophet smiled till his premolar teeth became visible and then said, 'Feed your family with it."

A man from the immigrants of the Companions of the Prophet (saws) said: I participated in battle three times along with the Prophet (saws). I heard him say: Muslims have common share in three (things). grass, water and fire.