Alqamah and al-Aswad said: A man came to Ibn Mas'ud. He said: I recite the mufassal surahs in one rak'ah. You might recite it quickly as one recites verse (poetry) quickly, or as the dried dates fall down (from the tree).

But the Prophet (saws) used to recite two equal surahs in one rak'ah; he would recite (for instance) surahs an-Najm (53) and ar-Rahman (55) in one rak'ah, surahs Iqtarabat (54) and al-Haqqah (69) in one rak'ah, surahs at-Tur (52) and adh-Dhariyat (51) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Waqi'ah (56) and Nun (68) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Ma'arij (70) and an-Nazi'at (79) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Mutaffifin (83) and Abasa (80) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Muddaththir (74) and al-Muzzammil (73) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Insan (76) and al-Qiyamah (75) in one rak'ah, surahs an-Naba' (78) and al-Mursalat (77) in one rak'ah, and surahs ad-Dukhan (44) and at-Takwir (81) in one rak'ah.

Abu Dawud said: This is the arrangement of Ibn Mas'ud himself

A man who was beautiful came to the Prophet (saws). He said: Messenger of Allah, I am a man who likes beauty, and I have been given some of it, as you see. And I do not like that anyone excels me (in respect of beauty). Perhaps he said: "even to the extent of thong of my sandal (shirak na'li)", or he he said: "to the extent of strap of my sandal (shis'i na'li)". Is it pride? He replied: No, pride is disdaining what is true and despising people.

Sa`d used to teach his sons the following words as a teacher teaches his students the skill of writing and used to say that Allah's Apostle used to seek Refuge with Allah from them (i.e. the evils) at the end of every prayer. The words are: 'O Allah! I seek refuge with You from cowardice, and seek refuge with You from being brought back to a bad stage of old life and seek refuge with You from the afflictions of the world, and seek refuge with You from the punishments in the grave.'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that Dhakwan Abu Amr (a slave belonging to A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was freed by her after her death) used to stand in prayer and recite for her in Ramadan.

Malik said, "The imam does not come down and prostrate when he recites a piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration while he is on the mimbar."

Malik said, "The position with us is that there are eleven prescribed prostrations in the Qur'an, none of which are in the mufassal."

Malik said, "No-one should recite any of the pieces of Qur'an that require a prostration after the prayers of subh and asr. This is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade prayer after subh until after the sun had risen, and after asr until the sun had set, and prostration is part of the prayer. So no-one should recite any piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration during these two periods of time."

Malik was asked whether a menstruating woman could prostrate if she heard some-one reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration, and he said, "Neither a man nor a woman should prostrate unless they are ritually pure."

Malik was asked whether a man in the company of a woman who was reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration should prostrate with her, and he said, "He does not have to prostrate with her. The prostration is only obligatory for people who are with a man who is leading them. He recites the piece and they prostrate with him. Some one who hears a piece of Qur'an that requires a prostration being recited by a man who is not leading him in prayer does not have to do the prostration."

We were in the city of Al-Ahwaz on the bank of a river which had dried up. Then Abu Barza Al- Aslami came riding a horse and he started praying and let his horse loose. The horse ran away, so Abu Barza interrupted his prayer and went after the horse till he caught it and brought it, and then he offered his prayer. There was a man amongst us who was (from the Khawari) having a different opinion. He came saying. "Look at this old man! He left his prayer because of a horse." On that Abu Barza came to us and said, "Since the time I left Allah's Apostle, nobody has admonished me; My house is very far from this place, and if I had carried on praying and left my horse, I could not have reached my house till night." Then Abu Barza mentioned that he had been in the company of the Prophet, and that he had seen his leniency.

Abu Dawud said: This woman was the wife of Abu Dharr.

AbuBakr said: May my parents be sacrificed for you, if you allow, I shall interpret it.

He said: Interpret it. He said: The piece of cloud is the cloud of Islam; the ghee and honey that were dropping from it are the Qur'an, which contains softness and sweetness. Those who received much or little of it are those who learn much or little of the Qur'an. The rope hanging from Heaven to Earth is the truth which you are following. You catch hold of it and then Allah will raise you to Him. Then another man will catch hold of it and ascend it, Then another man will catch hold of it and it will break. But it will be joined and he will ascend it. Tell me. Messenger of Allah, whether I am right or wrong.

He said: You are partly right and partly wrong. He said: I adjure you by Allah, you should tell me where I am wrong.

The Prophet (saws) said: Do not take an oath.

A man kissed a woman and then came to Allah's Apostle and told him of that, so this Divine Inspiration was revealed to the Prophet 'And offer Prayers perfectly at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night; (i.e. (five) compulsory prayers). Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (small sins) That is a reminder for the mindful.' (11.114) The man said, Is this instruction for me only?' The Prophet said, "It is for all those of my followers who encounter a similar situation."

A man came to the Prophet (saws) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you.

A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Worship Allah, and worship none along with Him, offer the (five) prescribed compulsory prayers perfectly, pay the compulsory Zakat, and fast the month of Ramadan." The Bedouin said, "By Him, in Whose Hands my life is, I will not do more than this." When he (the Bedouin) left, the Prophet said, "Whoever likes to see a man of Paradise, then he may look at this man."

Narrated Abu Zur'a:

From the Prophet the same as above.

Abu Musa and Abii Mas`ud went to `Ammar when `Ali had sent him to Kufa to exhort them to fight (on `Ali's side). They said to him, "Since you have become a Muslim, we have never seen you doing a deed more criticizable to us than your haste in this matter." `Ammar said, "Since you (both) became Muslims, I have never seen you doing a deed more criticizable to me than your keeping away from this matter." Then Abu Mas`ud provided `Ammar and Abu Musa with two-piece outfits to wear, and one of them went to the mosque (of Kufa).

I heard `Aisha saying, "When the news of the martyrdom of Ibn Haritha, Ja`far bin Abi Talib and `Abdullah bin Rawaka reached, Allah's Apostle sat with sorrow explicit on his face." `Aisha added, "I was then peeping through a chink in the door. A man came to him and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The women of Ja`far are crying.' Thereupon the Prophet told him to forbid them to do so. So the man went away and returned saying, "I forbade them but they did not listen to me." The Prophet ordered him again to go (and forbid them). He went again and came saying, 'By Allah, they overpowered me (i.e. did not listen to me)." `Aisha said that Allah's Apostle said (to him), "Go and throw dust into their mouths." Aisha added, "I said, May Allah put your nose in the dust! By Allah, neither have you done what you have been ordered, nor have you relieved Allah's Apostle from trouble."

Once I went with `Umar bin Al-Khattab to the market. A young woman followed `Umar and said, "O chief of the believers! My husband has died, leaving little children. By Allah, they have not even a sheep's trotter to cook; they have no farms or animals. I am afraid that they may die because of hunger, and I am the daughter of Khufaf bin Ima Al-Ghafari, and my father witnessed the Pledge of allegiance) of Al-Hudaibiya with the Prophet.' `Umar stopped and did not proceed, and said, "I welcome my near relative." Then he went towards a strong camel which was tied in the house, and carried on to it, two sacks he had loaded with food grains and put between them money and clothes and gave her its rope to hold and said, "Lead it, and this provision will not finish till Allah gives you a good supply." A man said, "O chief of the believers! You have given her too much." "`Umar said disapprovingly. "May your mother be bereaved of you! By Allah, I have seen her father and brother besieging a fort for a long time and conquering it, and then we were discussing what their shares they would have from that war booty."

The Prophet said, "Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will save all the parts of his body from the (Hell) Fire as he has freed the body-parts of the slave." Sa`id bin Marjana said that he narrated that Hadith to `Ali bin Al-Husain and he freed his slave for whom `Abdullah bin Ja`far had offered him ten thousand Dirhams or one-thousand Dinars.

The Prophet used to stand by a tree or a date-palm on Friday. Then an Ansari woman or man said. "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we make a pulpit for you?" He replied, "If you wish." So they made a pulpit for him and when it was Friday, he proceeded towards the pulpit (for delivering the sermon). The datepalm cried like a child! The Prophet descended (the pulpit) and embraced it while it continued moaning like a child being quietened. The Prophet said, "It was crying for (missing) what it used to hear of religious knowledge given near to it."

Sahl bin Sa`d said that a woman brought a Burda (sheet) to the Prophet. Sahl asked the people, "Do you know what is a Burda?" The people replied, "It is a 'Shamla', a sheet with a fringe." That woman said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have brought it so that you may wear it." So the Prophet took it because he was in need of it and wore it. A man among his companions, seeing him wearing it, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Please give it to me to wear." The Prophet said, "Yes." (and gave him that sheet). When the Prophet left, the man was blamed by his companions who said, "It was not nice on your part to ask the Prophet for it while you know that he took it because he was in need of it, and you also know that he (the Prophet) never turns down anybody's request that he might be asked for." That man said, "I just wanted to have its blessings as the Prophet had put it on, so l hoped that I might be shrouded in it."

The Prophet said, "An Israeli man asked another Israeli to lend him one thousand Dinars. The second man required witnesses. The former replied, 'Allah is sufficient as a witness.' The second said, 'I want a surety.' The former replied, 'Allah is sufficient as a surety.' The second said, 'You are right,' and lent him the money for a certain period. The debtor went across the sea. When he finished his job, he searched for a conveyance so that he might reach in time for the repayment of the debt, but he could not find any. So, he took a piece of wood and made a hole in it, inserted in it one thousand Dinars and a letter to the lender and then closed (i.e. sealed) the hole tightly. He took the piece of wood to the sea and said. 'O Allah! You know well that I took a loan of one thousand Dinars from so-and-so. He demanded a surety from me but I told him that Allah's Guarantee was sufficient and he accepted Your guarantee. He then asked for a witness and I told him that Allah was sufficient as a Witness, and he accepted You as a Witness. No doubt, I tried hard to find a conveyance so that I could pay his money but could not find, so I hand over this money to You.' Saying that, he threw the piece of wood into the sea till it went out far into it, and then he went away. Meanwhile he started searching for a conveyance in order to reach the creditor's country.

One day the lender came out of his house to see whether a ship had arrived bringing his money, and all of a sudden he saw the piece of wood in which his money had been deposited. He took it home to use for fire. When he sawed it, he found his money and the letter inside it. Shortly after that, the debtor came bringing one thousand Dinars to him and said, 'By Allah, I had been trying hard to get a boat so that I could bring you your money, but failed to get one before the one I have come by.' The lender asked, 'Have you sent something to me?' The debtor replied, 'I have told you I could not get a boat other than the one I have come by.' The lender said, 'Allah has delivered on your behalf the money you sent in the piece of wood. So, you may keep your one thousand Dinars and depart guided on the right path.' "

A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Men (only) benefit by your teachings, so please devote to us from (some of) your time, a day on which we may come to you so that you may teach us of what Allah has taught you." Allah's Apostle said, "Gather on such-and-such a day at suchand- such a place." They gathered and Allah's Apostle came to them and taught them of what Allah had taught him. He then said, "No woman among you who has lost her three children (died) but that they will screen her from the Fire." A woman among them said, "O Allah's Apostle! If she lost two children?" She repeated her question twice, whereupon the Prophet said, "Even two, even two, even two!" (See Hadith No. 341, Vol. 2)

Once I went to him (the Prophet ) and he said, "By Allah in Whose Hands my life is (or probably said, 'By Allah, except Whom none has the right to be worshipped) whoever had camels or cows or sheep and did not pay their Zakat, those animals will be brought on the Day of Resurrection far bigger and fatter than before and they will tread him under their hooves, and will butt him with their horns, and (those animals will come in circle): When the last does its turn, the first will start again, and this punishment will go on till Allah has finished the judgments amongst the people."

Allah's Apostle said, "Once Solomon, son of David said, '(By Allah) Tonight I will have sexual intercourse with one hundred (or ninety-nine) women each of whom will give birth to a knight who will fight in Allah's Cause.' On that a (i.e. if Allah wills) but he did not say, 'Allah willing.' Therefore only one of those women conceived and gave birth to a half-man. By Him in Whose Hands Muhammad's life is, if he had said, "Allah willing', (he would have begotten sons) all of whom would have been knights striving in Allah's Cause."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Zayd ibn Thabit asked whether it was halal for a man who married a woman and then separated from her before he had cohabited with her, to marry her mother. Zayd ibn Thabit said, "No. The mother is prohibited unconditionally. There are conditions, however about foster-mothers."

(whose narrations attest each other) Allah's Apostle set out at the time of Al-Hudaibiya (treaty), and when they proceeded for a distance, he said, "Khalid bin Al-Walid leading the cavalry of Quraish constituting the front of the army, is at a place called Al-Ghamim, so take the way on the right." By Allah, Khalid did not perceive the arrival of the Muslims till the dust arising from the march of the Muslim army reached him, and then he turned back hurriedly to inform Quraish. The Prophet went on advancing till he reached the Thaniya (i.e. a mountainous way) through which one would go to them (i.e. people of Quraish). The she-camel of the Prophet sat down. The people tried their best to cause the she-camel to get up but in vain, so they said, "Al-Qaswa' (i.e. the she-camel's name) has become stubborn! Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The Prophet said, "Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not her habit, but she was stopped by Him Who stopped the elephant." Then he said, "By the Name of Him in Whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraish infidels) ask me anything which will respect the ordinances of Allah, I will grant it to them." The Prophet then rebuked the she-camel and she got up. The Prophet changed his way till he dismounted at the farthest end of Al-Hudaibiya at a pit (i.e. well) containing a little water which the people used in small amounts, and in a short while the people used up all its water and complained to Allah's Apostle; of thirst. The Prophet took an arrow out of his arrow-case and ordered them to put the arrow in that pit. By Allah, the water started and continued sprouting out till all the people quenched their thirst and returned with satisfaction. While they were still in that state, Budail bin Warqa-al- Khuza`i came with some persons from his tribe Khuza`a and they were the advisers of Allah's Apostle who would keep no secret from him and were from the people of Tihama. Budail said, "I left Ka`b bin Luai and 'Amir bin Luai residing at the profuse water of Al-Hudaibiya and they had milch camels (or their women and children) with them, and will wage war against you, and will prevent you from visiting the Ka`ba." Allah's Apostle said, "We have not come to fight anyone, but to perform the `Umra. No doubt, the war has weakened Quraish and they have suffered great losses, so if they wish, I will conclude a truce with them, during which they should ...

A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to give you myself in marriage (without Mahr)." Allah's Apostle looked at her. He looked at her carefully and fixed his glance on her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not say anything, she sat down. A man from his companions got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! If you are not in need of her, then marry her to me." The Prophet said, "Have you got anything to offer?" The man said, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said (to him), "Go to your family and see if you have something." The man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, I have not found anything." Allah's Apostle said, "(Go again) and look for something, even if it is an iron ring." He went again and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Apostle! I could not find even an iron ring, but this is my Izar (waist sheet)." He had no rida. He added, "I give half of it to her." Allah's Apostle said, "What will she do with your Izar? If you wear it, she will be naked, and if she wears it, you will be naked." So that man sat down for a long while and then got up (to depart). When Allah's Apostle saw him going, he ordered that he be called back. When he came, the Prophet said, "How much of the Qur'an do you know?" He said, "I know such Sura and such Sura," counting them. The Prophet said, "Do you know them by heart?" He replied, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Go, I marry her to you for that much of the Qur'an which you have."

Allah's Apostle very often used to ask his companions, "Did anyone of you see a dream?" So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah wished to tell. One morning the Prophet said, "Last night two persons came to me (in a dream) and woke me up and said to me, 'Proceed!' I set out with them and we came across a man lying down, and behold, another man was standing over his head, holding a big rock. Behold, he was throwing the rock at the man's head, injuring it. The rock rolled away and the thrower followed it and took it back. By the time he reached the man, his head returned to the normal state. The thrower then did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions, 'Subhan Allah! Who are these two persons?' They said, 'Proceed!' So we proceeded and came to a man lying flat on his back and another man standing over his head with an iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eye from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he had done with the other side. He hardly completed this side when the other side returned to its normal state. Then he returned to it to repeat what he had done before. I said to my two companions, 'Subhan Allah! Who are these two persons?' They said to me, 'Proceed!' So we proceeded and came across something like a Tannur (a kind of baking oven, a pit usually clay-lined for baking bread)." I think the Prophet said, "In that oven there was much noise and voices." The Prophet added, "We looked into it and found naked men and women, and behold, a flame of fire was reaching to them from underneath, and when it reached them, they cried loudly. I asked them, 'Who are these?' They said to me, 'Proceed!' And so we proceeded and came across a river." I think he said, ".... red like blood." The Prophet added, "And behold, in the river there was a man swimming, and on the bank there was a man who had collected many stones. Behold, while the other man was swimming, he went near him. The former opened his mouth and the latter (on the bank) threw a stone into his mouth whereupon he went swimming again. He returned and every time the performance was repeated. I asked my two companions, 'Who are these (two) persons?' They replied, 'Proceed! Proceed!' And we proceeded till we came to a ...

Ali ibn Rabi'ah said: I was present with Ali while a beast was brought to him to ride. When he put his foot in the stirrup, he said: "In the name of Allah." Then when he sat on its back, he said: "Praise be to Allah." He then said: "Glory be to Him Who has made this subservient to us, for we had not the strength, and to our Lord do we return." He then said: "Praise be to Allah (thrice); Allah is Most Great (thrice): glory be to Thee, I have wronged myself, so forgive me, for only Thou forgivest sins." He then laughed. He was asked: At what did you laugh? He replied: I saw the Messenger of Allah (saws) do as I have done, and laugh after that. I asked: Messenger of Allah , at what are you laughing? He replied: Your Lord, Most High, is pleased with His servant when he says: "Forgive me my sins." He know that no one forgives sins except Him.

A man came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! My mother died and she ought to have fasted one month (for her missed Ramadan). Shall I fast on her behalf?" The Prophet replied in the affirmative and said, "Allah's debts have more right to be paid." In another narration a woman is reported to have said, "My sister died..." Narrated Ibn `Abbas: A woman said to the Prophet "My mother died and she had vowed to fast but she didn't fast." In another narration Ibn `Abbas is reported to have said, "A woman said to the Prophet, "My mother died while she ought to have fasted for fifteen days."

That he heard the Prophet saying, "It is not permissible for a man to be alone with a woman, and no lady should travel except with a Muhram (i.e. her husband or a person whom she cannot marry in any case for ever; e.g. her father, brother, etc.)." Then a man got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have enlisted in the army for such-and-such Ghazwa and my wife is proceeding for Hajj." Allah's Apostle said, "Go, and perform the Hajj with your wife."

Thy Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "A time will come upon the people when a person will wander about with gold as Zakat and will not find anybody to accept it, and one man will be seen followed by forty women to be their guardian because of scarcity of men and great number of women. "

Once I came riding a she-ass and had (just) attained the age of puberty. Allah's Apostle was offering the prayer at Mina. There was no wall in front of him and I passed in front of some of the row while they were offering their prayers. There I let the she-ass loose to graze and entered the row, and nobody objected to it.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) recited the supplication (Qunut) daily for a month at the noon, afternoon, sunset, night and morning prayers. When he said: "Allah listens to him who praises Him" in the last rak'ah, invoking a curse on some clans of Banu Sulaym, Ri'l, Dhakwan and Usayyah, and those who were standing behind him said: Amen.

Umm Aban, daughter of al-Wazi' ibn Zari', quoting his grandfather, who was a member of the deputation of AbdulQays, said: When we came to Medina, we raced to be first to dismount and kiss the hand and foot of the Messenger of Allah (saws). But al-Mundhir al-Ashajj waited until he came to the bundle of his clothes. He put on his two garments and then he went to the Prophet (saws).

He said to him: You have two characteristics which Allah likes: gentleness and deliberation.

He asked: Have I acquired them or has Allah has created (them) my nature? He replied: No, Allah has created (them) in your nature.

He then said: Praise be to Allah Who has created in my nature two characteristics which Allah and His Apostle like.

The Prophet said, "While three persons were walking, rain began to fall and they had to enter a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled over and blocked the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, 'Invoke Allah with the best deed you have performed (so Allah might remove the rock)'. One of them said, 'O Allah! My parents were old and I used to go out for grazing (my animals). On my return I would milk (the animals) and take the milk in a vessel to my parents to drink. After they had drunk from it, I would give it to my children, family and wife. One day I was delayed and on my return I found my parents sleeping, and I disliked to wake them up. The children were crying at my feet (because of hunger). That state of affairs continued till it was dawn. O Allah! If You regard that I did it for Your sake, then please remove this rock so that we may see the sky.' So, the rock was moved a bit. The second said, 'O Allah! You know that I was in love with a cousin of mine, like the deepest love a man may have for a woman, and she told me that I would not get my desire fulfilled unless I paid her one-hundred Dinars (gold pieces). So, I struggled for it till I gathered the desired amount, and when I sat in between her legs, she told me to be afraid of Allah, and asked me not to deflower her except rightfully (by marriage). So, I got up and left her. O Allah! If You regard that I did if for Your sake, kindly remove this rock.' So, two-thirds of the rock was removed. Then the third man said, 'O Allah! No doubt You know that once I employed a worker for one Faraq (three Sa's) of millet, and when I wanted to pay him, he refused to take it, so I sowed it and from its yield I bought cows and a shepherd. After a time that man came and demanded his money. I said to him: Go to those cows and the shepherd and take them for they are for you. He asked me whether I was joking with him. I told him that I was not joking with him, and all that belonged to him. O Allah! If You regard that I did it sincerely for Your sake, then please remove the rock.' So, the rock was removed completely from the mouth of the cave."