In Surat al-Muzzammil (73), the verse: "Keep vigil at night but a little, a half thereof" (2-3) has been abrogated by the following verse: "He knoweth that ye count it not, and turneth unto you in mercy. Recite then of the Qur'an that which is easy for you" (v.20). The phrase "the vigil of the night" (nashi'at al-layl) means the early hours of the night. They (the companions) would pray (the tahajjud prayer) in the early hours of the night.

He (Ibn Abbas) says: It is advisable to offer the prayer at night (tahajjud), prescribed by Allah for you (in the early hours of the night). This is because when a person sleeps, he does not know when he will awake. The words "speech more certain" (aqwamu qilan) means that this time is more suitable for the understanding of the Qur'an. He says: The verse: "Lo, thou hast by day a chain of business" (v.7) means engagement for long periods (in the day's work).

The Prophet used to talk so clearly that if somebody wanted to count the number of his words, he could do so. Narrated `Urwa bin Az-Zubair: `Aisha said (to me), "Don't you wonder at Abu so-and-so who came and sat by my dwelling and started relating the traditions of Allah's Apostle intending to let me hear that, while I was performing an optional prayer. He left before I finished my optional prayer. Had I found him still there. I would have said to him, 'Allah's Apostle never talked so quickly and vaguely as you do.' "

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Salama with another chain of transmitters.

On the expedition to Tabuk if the sun had passed the meridian before the apostle of Allah (saws) moved off, he combined the noon and the afternoon prayers; but if he moved off before the sun had passed the meridian, he delayed the noon prayer till he halted for the afternoon prayer. He acted similarly for the sunset prayer; if the sun set before he moved off, he combined the sunset and the night prayers, but if he moved off before sunset, he delayed the sunset prayer till he halted for the night prayer and then combined them.

Abu Dawud said: Hisham b. 'Urwah narrated this tradition from Husain b. 'Abd Allah, from Kuraib on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas from the Prophet (saws) like the tradition narrated by Mufaddal and al-Laith.

"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! We come across a people and they do not host us, and they do not give us our rights, and we do not take anything from them. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'If they refuse such that you can only take by force, then take.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan. It has been reported by Al-Laith bin Sa'd from Yazid bin Abi Habib as well.

This Hadith only means that they would go out for battles and they would pass a people among whom they would not find any food to buy for a price. So the Prophet (saws) told them: If they refuse to sell you, such that you have to take it forcefully, then take it. This is how the explanation has been related in some of the Ahadith. And it has been related that 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be please with him, would order similarly.

Malik related to me that he had asked Ibn Shihab about a slave who was released. He said, "He gives his wala' to whomever he likes. If he dies and has not given his wala' to anyone, his inheritance goes to the muslims and his blood-money is paid by them."

Malik said, "The best of what has been heard about a slave who is released is that no one gets his wala', and his inheritance goes to the muslims, and they pay his blood-money."

Malik said that when the slave of a jew or christian became muslim and he was freed before being sold, the wala' of the freed slave went to the muslims. If the jew or christian became muslim afterwards, the wala' did not revert to him. "

He said, "However, if a jew or christian frees a slave from their own deen, and then the freed one becomes muslim before the jew or christian who freed him becomes muslim and then the one who freed him has become muslim, his wala' reverts to him because the wala' was confirmed for him on the day he freed him."

Malik said that the muslim child of a jew or christian inherited the mawali of his jewish or christian father when the freed mawla became muslim before the one who freed him became muslim. If the freed one was already muslim when he was freed, the muslim children of the christian or jew had nothing of the wala' of a muslim slave because the jew and the christian did not have the wala'. The wala' of a muslim slave went to the community of muslims.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Sulayman ibn Yasar mention that a face wound in which the bone was bared was like a head wound in which the bone was bared, unless the face was scarred by the wound. Then the blood-money is increased by one half of the blood-money of the head wound in which the skin was bared so that seventy five dinars are payable for it.

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that the head wound with splinters has fifteen camels." He explained, "The head wound with splinters is that from which pieces of bone fly off and which does not reach the brain. It can be in the head or the face."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things in our community, is that there is no retaliation for a wound to the brain or a belly wound, and Ibn Shihab has said, 'There is no retaliation for a wound to the brain.' "

Malik explained, "The wound to the brain is what pierces the bones to the brain. This type of wound only occurs in the head. It is that which reaches the brain when the bones are pierced."

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that there is no blood-money paid on any head wound less than one which lays bare the skull. Blood-money is payable only for the head wound that bares the bone and what is worse than that. That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped at the head wound which bared the bone in his letter to Amr ibn Hazm. He made it five camels. The imams, past and present, have not made any blood- money payable for injuries less than the head wound which bares the bone."

There was a man who fought most bravely of all the Muslims on behalf of the Muslims in a battle (Ghazwa) in the company of the Prophet. The Prophet looked at him and said. "If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, let him look at this (brave man)." On that, a man from the People (Muslims) followed him, and he was in that state i.e., fighting fiercely against the pagans till he was wounded, and then he hastened to end his life by placing his sword between his breasts (and pressed it with great force) till it came out between his shoulders. Then the man (who was watching that person) went quickly to the Prophet and said, "I testify that you are Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet asked him, "Why do you say that?" He said, "You said about so-and-so, 'If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, he should look at him.' He fought most bravely of all of us on behalf of the Muslims and I knew that he would not die as a Muslim (Martyr). So when he got wounded, he hastened to die and committed suicide." There-upon the Prophet said, "A man may do the deeds of the people of the Fire while in fact he is one of the people of Paradise, and he may do the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact he belongs to the people of Fire, and verily, (the rewards of) the deeds are decided by the last actions (deeds)".

That the Prophet (saws) ransomed two men for the Muslims with a man from the idolaters.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

The paternal uncle of Abu Al-Muhallab's name is 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Amr, and they also say it was Muhawiyah bin 'Amr. And Abu Qilabah's name is 'Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Jarmi (narrator in the chain)

This is acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet(saws) and others. It is for the Imam to decide to be generous with whom he wills among the captives, or to kill whom he wills among them, or to ransom whom he wills among them. Some of the people of knowledge preferred killing over ransoming.

Al-Awzai' said: "It has been conveyed to me. that this Ayah is abrogated: Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (to free them without ranson) or ransom (47:4). It was abrogated by: Kill them wherever you find them (2:191). This was narrated to us by Hannad (who said): "Ibn Al-Mubarak narrated to us, from Al-Awza'i."

Ishaq bin Mansur said: "I said to Ahmad: 'When the captives are captured' is killing or ransoming better to you?' He said: 'If they are able to ransom' then there is no harm in it. And if they kill, then I do not know of any harm in it.'" Ishaq said: "Wiping them out is better to me, unless it is someone well-known, so that it is hoped that a large amount will be obtained for him."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Masud used to relate that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When two parties dispute about a business transaction, the seller's word is taken, or they make an agreement among themselves.

Malik spoke about someone who sold goods to a man, and said at the contracting of the sale, 'I will sell to you provided I consult so-and-so. If he is satisfied, the sale is permitted. If he dislikes it, there is no sale between us.' They made the transaction on that basis. Then the buyer regretted before the seller consulted the person.

Malik said, "That sale is binding on them according to what they described. The buyer has no right of withdrawal, and it is binding on him, if the person whom the seller stipulated to him, permits it."

Malik said, "The way of doing things among us about a man who buys goods from another and they differ about the price, and the seller says, 'I sold them to you for ten dinars,' and the buyer says, 'I bought them from you for five dinars,' is that it is said to the seller, 'If you like, give them to the buyer for what he said. If you like, swear by Allah that you only sold your goods for what you said.' If he swears it is said to the buyer, 'Either you take the goods for what the seller said, or you swear by Allah that you bought them only for what you said.' If he swears, he is free to return the goods. That is when each of them testifies against the other."

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab used to say, "When a man makes his slave-girl mudabbara, he can have intercourse with her. He cannot sell her or give her away and her children are in the same position as her."

The same ,Hadith above: A man called Khidam married a daughter of his (to somebody) against her consent. 'If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls then marry (other) women of your choice.' (4.3) And if somebody says to the guardian (of a woman), "Marry me to soand- so," and the guardian remained silent or said to him, "What have you got?" And the other said, "I have so much and so much (Mahr)," or kept quiet, and then the guardian said, "I have married her to you," then the marriage is valid (legal). This narration was told by Sahl on the authority of the Prophet.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Salim ibn Abdullah and Sulayman ibn Yasar said about the virgin given by her father in marriage without her permission, "That is binding on her."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade 'selling and lending.'

Malik said, "The explanation of what that meant is that one man says to another, 'I will take your goods for such-and-such if you lend me such-and-such.' If they agree to a transaction in this manner, it is not permitted. If the one who stipulates the loan abandons his stipulation, then the sale is permitted."

Malik said, "There is no harm in exchanging linen from Shata, for garments from Itribi, or Qass, or Ziqa. Or the cloth of Herat or Merv for Yemeni cloaks and shawls and such like as one for two or three, from hand to hand or with delayed terms. If the goods are of the same kind, and deferment enters into the transaction, there is no good in it."

Malik said, "It is not good unless they are different, and the difference between them is clear. When they resemble each other, even if the names are different, do not take two for one with delayed terms, for instance two garments of Herat for one from Merv or Quhy with delayed terms, ortwo garments of Furqub for one from Shata. All these sorts are of the same description, so do not buy two for one, on delayed terms."

Malik said, "There is no harm in selling what you buy of things of this nature, before you complete the deal, to some one other than the person from whom you purchased them if the price was paid in cash."

We were in the company of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari and there were friendly relations between us and this tribe of Jarm. Abu Musa was presented with a dish containing chicken. Among the people there was sitting a red-faced man who did not come near the food. Abu Musa said (to him), "Come on (and eat), for I have seen Allah's Apostle eating of it (i.e. chicken)." He said, "I have seen it eating something (dirty) and since then I have disliked it, and have taken an oath that I shall not eat it ' Abu Musa said, "Come on, I will tell you (or narrate to you). Once I went to Allah s Apostle with a group of Al-Ash`ariyin, and met him while he was angry, distributing some camels of rak`at. We asked for mounts but he took an oath that he would not give us any mounts, and added, 'I have nothing to mount you on' In the meantime some camels of booty were brought to Allah's Apostle and he asked twice, 'Where are Al-Ash`ariyin?" So he gave us five white camels with big humps. We stayed for a short while (after we had covered a little distance), and then I said to my companions, "Allah's Apostle has forgotten his oath. By Allah, if we do not remind Allah's Apostle of his oath, we will never be successful." So we returned to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We asked you for mounts, but you took an oath that you would not give us any mounts; we think that you have forgotten your oath.' He said, 'It is Allah Who has given you mounts. By Allah, and Allah willing, if I take an oath and later find something else better than that. then I do what is better and expiate my oath.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped for a rest one night on the way to Makka and appointed Bilal to wake them up for the prayer. Bilal slept and everyone else slept and none of them woke up until the sun had risen. When they did wake up they were all alarmed. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to ride out of the valley, saying that there was a shaytan in it. So they rode out of the valley and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to dismount and do wudu and he told Bilal either to call the prayer or to give the iqama. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then led them in the prayer. Noticing their uneasiness, he went to them and said, 'O people! Allah seized our spirits (arwah) and if He had wished He would have returned them to us at a time other than this. So if you sleep through the time for a prayer or forget it and then are anxious about it, pray it as if you were praying it in its time.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned to Abu Bakr and said, 'Shaytan came to Bilal when he was standing in prayer and made him lie down and lulled him to sleep like a small boy.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then called Bilal and told him the same as he had told Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr declared, 'I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah.' "

I swear by Allah, I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: The happy man is he who avoids dissensions: happy is the man who avoids dissensions; happy is the man who avoids dissensions: but how fine is the man who is afflicted and shows endurance.

The Prophet (saws) said: If a relative of anyone is killed, or if he suffers khabl, which means a wound, he may choose one of the three things: he may retaliate, or forgive, or receive compensation. But if he wishes a fourth (i.e. something more), hold his hands. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from Abu Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about a slave-girl who committed fornication and was not muhsana. He said, "If she commits fornication, then flog her. If she commits fornication again, then flog her, and if she commits fornication again, then sell her, if only for a rope."

Ibn Shihab added, "I don't know whether it was three or four times."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that some men from Iraq said to him, "Abu Abd ar-Rahman, we buy the fruit of the palm and grapes and we squeeze them into wine and we sell it." Abdullah ibn Umar said, "I call on Allah and His angels and whoever hears of jinn and men to testify to you that I order you not to buy it nor sell it nor to press it nor to drink it nor to give it to people to drink. It is something impure from the work of Shaytan."

Malik related to me from al-Walid ibn Abdullah ibn Sayyad that al-Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Hantab al-Makhzumi informed him that a man asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "What is backbiting?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is to mention about a man what he does not want to hear." He said, "Messenger of Allah! Even if it is true?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you utter something false, then it is slander."

(as regards the Verse): 'And about what is recited unto you in the Book, concerning orphan girls to whom you give not the prescribed portions and yet, whom you desire to marry.' (4.127) This Verse is about the female orphan who is under the guardianship of a man with whom she shares her property and he has more right over her (than anybody else) but does not like to marry her, so he prevents her, from marrying somebody else, lest he should share the property with him.

that once he was not present (at the time of `Id-al-Adha) and when he came. some meat was presented to him. and the people said (to him), 'This is the meat of our sacrifices" He said. 'Take it away; I shall not taste it. (In his narration) Abu Sa`id added: I got up and went to my brother, Abu Qatada (who was his maternal brother and was one of the warriors of the battle of Badr) and mentioned that to him He Sa`d. 'A new verdict was given in your absence (i.e., meat of sacrifices was allowed to be stored and eaten later on).

Allah's Apostle was cupped on the middle of his head at Lahl Jamal on his way to Mecca while he was in a state of Ihram. Narrated Ibn `Abbas: Allah's Apostle was cupped on his head.

A lady came to Allah's Apostle and she talked to him about something, and he gave her some order. She said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I should not find you?" He said, "If you should not find me, then go to Abu Bakr." Ibrahim bin Sa`d said, "As if she meant the death (of the Prophet).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Abdullah ibn Kab, the mawla of Uthman ibn Affan that Mahmud ibn Labid al-Ansari asked Zayd ibn Thabit about a man who penetrated his wife but became listless and did not ejaculate. Zayd ibn Thabit said, "He does ghusl." Mahmud said to him, "Ubayy ibn Kab used not to think that ghusl was necessary," but Zayd ibn Thabit said, "Ubayy ibn Kab drew away from that before he died."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim that Abdullah ibn Umar told him that he used to see Abdullah ibn Umar cross his legs in the sitting position of the prayer.He said, "So I did the same, and I was young at the time. Abdullah ibn Umar forbade me and said, 'The sunna of the prayer is that you keep your right foot vertical and lay your left foot down.' I said to him, 'But you do the same (as I did).' He said, 'My feet do not support me.' "

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

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

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm from whoever related it to him that Abu Hurayra used to say, "It is better for a man to pray on the surface of al Harra (a rocky area in Madina) than for him to wait until the imam stands to give the khutba and then come and step over people's necks."

Malik said, "The sunna with us is that the people face the imam on the day of jumua when he intends to give the khutba, whether they are near the qibla or elsewhere."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Harmala, the mawla of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Huwaytib, that Zaynab bint Abi Salama died during the time that Tariq was amir of Madina and her bier was brought out after subh and put in al-Baqi. He said that Tariq used to pray subh right at the beginning of its time. He added, "I heard Abdullah ibn Umar say to the family, 'You can either pray over your dead now or you can wait until the sun comes up.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "When people in military expeditions divided the spoils, they made a camel equal to ten sheep."

Malik said about the paid labourer in military expeditions, "If he is present at the battle and is with the people in the battle and he is a free man, he has his share. If he is not present, he has no share."

Malik summed up, "I think that the booty is only divided among free men who have been present at the battle. "

ahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Bushayr ibn Yasar that Abu Burda ibn Niyar sacrificed an animal before the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sacrificed on the Day of Sacrifice. He asserted that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to sacrifice another animal, and he, Abu Burda, said, "What if I can only find an animal less than one year old, Messenger of Allah?" He had said, "If you can only find a young animal, then sacrifice it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man came to Abdullah ibn Masud and said, "I have divorced my wife by saying I divorce you eight times." Ibn Masud said to him, "What have people told you?" He replied, "I have been told that I have to part absolutely from her." Ibn Masud said, "They have spoken the truth. A person who divorces as Allah has commanded, Allah makes it clear for him, and a person who obscures himself in error, we make stay by his error. So do not confuse yourselves and pull us into your confusion. It is as they have said."

Abdullah (b. Umar) (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) having forbidden Mazabana, and it implies that one should sell the fresh fruits of his orchard (for dry fruits) or, if it is fresh dates, for dry dates with a measure, or if it is grapes for raisins or if it is corn in the field for dry corn with a measure He (the Holy Prophet) in fact forbade all such transactions. Qutaiba has narrated it with a slight variation of words.

Whenever Allah's Apostle finished his prayers with Taslim, the women would get up and he would stay on for a while in his place before getting up. Ibn Shihab said, "I think (and Allah knows better), that the purpose of his stay was that the women might leave before the men who had finished their prayer. "

Allah's Apostle was asked about the slave-girl, if she was a virgin and committed illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet said, "If she committed illegal sexual intercourse, lash her, and if she did it a second time, then lash her again, and if she repeated the third time, then sell her even for a hair rope." Ibn Shihab said, "I don't know whether to sell her after the third or fourth offense."

I asked the Prophet, "What is the greatest sin in the Sight of Allah?" He said, "That you set up a rival unto Allah though He Alone created you." I said, "That is indeed a great sin." Then asked, "What is next?" He said, "To kill your son lest he should share your food with you." I asked, "What is next?" He said, "To commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor."