When Allah's Apostle died and Abu Bakr became the caliph some Arabs renegade (reverted to disbelief) (Abu Bakr decided to declare war against them), `Umar, said to Abu Bakr, "How can you fight with these people although Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight the people till they say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever said it then he will save his life and property from me except on trespassing the law (rights and conditions for which he will be punished justly), and his accounts will be with Allah.' " Abu Bakr said, "By Allah! I will fight those who differentiate between the prayer and the Zakat as Zakat is the compulsory right to be taken from the property (according to Allah's orders) By Allah! If they refuse to pay me even a she-kid which they used to pay at the time of Allah's Apostle . I would fight with them for withholding it" Then `Umar said, "By Allah, it was nothing, but Allah opened Abu Bakr's chest towards the decision (to fight) and I came to know that his decision was right."

Allah's Apostle said, "(I saw in a dream that) while I was standing at a well and drawing water therefrom, suddenly Abu Bakr and `Umar came to me. Abu Bakr took the bucket and drew one or two buckets (full of water), but there was weakness in his pulling, but Allah forgave him. Then Ibn Al- Khattab took the bucket from Abu Bakr's hand and the bucket turned into a very large one in his hand. I have never seen any strong man among the people doing such a hard job as `Umar did, till (the people drank to their satisfaction) and water their camels to their fill and they sat near the water."

Al-Mustawrid heard the Prophet (saws) say: He who acts as an employee for us must get a wife; if he has not a servant, he must get one, and if he has not a dwelling, he must get one.

He said that Abu Bakr reported: I was told that the Prophet (saws) said: He who takes anything else he is unfaithful or thief.

who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra' were killed). `Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, `Umar has come to me and said, The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra' (those who know the Qur'an by heart) at other battle-fields, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur'an." Abu Bakr added, "I said to `Umar, 'How can I do something which Allah's Apostle has not done?' `Umar said (to me), 'By Allah, it is (really) a good thing.' So `Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as `Umar." (Zaid bin Thabit added:) `Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking. me). "You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness): and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript). " By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur'an. I said to both of them, "How dare you do a thing which the Prophet has not done?" Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, it is (really) a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and `Umar. So I started locating Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuza`ima two Verses of Surat-at-Tauba which I had not found with anybody else, (and they were):-- "Verily there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty He (Muhammad) is ardently anxious over you (to be rightly guided)" (9.128) The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with `Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, `Umar's daughter.

Anas bin Malik Al-Ansari, told me, "Abu Bakr used to lead the people in prayer during the fatal illness of the Prophet till it was Monday. When the people aligned (in rows) for the prayer the Prophet lifted the curtain of his house and started looking at us and was standing at that time. His face was (glittering) like a page of the Qur'an and he smiled cheerfully. We were about to be put to trial for the pleasure of seeing the Prophet, Abu Bakr retreated to join the row as he thought that the Prophet would lead the prayer. The Prophet beckoned us to complete the prayer and he let the curtain fall. On the same day he died."

I narrated it to Abu Bakr bin Hazm and he said: "This is what Abu Salamah narrated to me from Abu Hurairah.

Al-Mughira bin Hakim said that his father said, "Four persons killed a boy, and 'Umar said (as above)."

Abu Bakr, Ibn Az-Zubair, 'Ali and Suwaid bin Muqarrin gave the judgement of Al-Qisas (equality in punishment) in cases of slapping. And 'Umar carried out Al-Qisas for a strike with a stick. And 'Ali carried out Al-Qisas for three lashes with a whip. And Shuraih carried out for one last and for scratching.

Salim b. 'Abdullah (b. 'Umar) reported on the authority of his father that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) observed the prayer of a traveller, i. e. two rak'ahs in Mina, and other places; so did Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and 'Uthman too observed two rak'ahs at the beginning of his caliphate, but he then completed four.

about the Prophet's dream in which he has seen Abu Bakr and `Umar: The Prophet said, "I saw (in a dream) that the people had gathered. Then Abu Bakr stood up and pulled out one or two buckets full of water (from a well) and there was weakness in his pulling -- may Allah forgive him. Then Ibn Al- Khattab stood up, and the bucket turned into a very large one and I have never seen any strong man among the people doing such a hard job. He pulled out so much water that the people (drank to their satisfaction) and watered their camels to their fill, (and then after quenching their thirst) they sat beside the water."

The two righteous persons were about to be ruined. They were Abu Bakr and `Umar who raised their voices in the presence of the Prophet when a mission from Bani Tamim came to him. One of the two recommended Al-Aqra' bin Habeas, the brother of Bani Mujashi (to be their governor) while the other recommended somebody else. (Nafi`, the sub-narrator said, I do not remember his name). Abu Bakr said to `Umar, "You wanted nothing but to oppose me!" `Umar said, "I did not intend to oppose you." Their voices grew loud in that argument, so Allah revealed: 'O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet.' (49.2) Ibn Az-Zubair said, "Since the revelation of this Verse, `Umar used to speak in such a low tone that the Prophet had to ask him to repeat his statements." But Ibn Az-Zubair did not mention the same about his (maternal) grandfather (i.e. Abu Bakr).

The word aqdha' (sing. qadhan) means specks, hudnah means truce and dakhan means malice.

I sat with Shaiba in this Mosque (Al-Masjid-Al-Haram), and he said, "`Umar once sat beside me here as you are now sitting, and said, 'I feel like distributing all the gold and silver that are in it (i.e., the Ka`ba) among the Muslims'. I said, 'You cannot do that.' `Umar said, 'Why?' I said, 'Your two (previous) companions (the Prophet and Abu Bakr) did not do it. `Umar said, 'They are the two persons whom one must follow.'" (See Hadith No. 664, Vol. 2)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said al-Musayyab and Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman said about a man who made a vow to abstain from intercourse with his wife, "If four months pass it is a divorce. The husband can go back to his wife as long as she is in her idda."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to exhort people to watch the night in prayer in Ramadan but never ordered it definitely. He used to say, "Whoever watches the night in prayer in Ramadan with trust and expectancy, will be forgiven all his previous wrong actions."

Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died while that was still the custom, and it continued to be the custom in the caliphate of Abu Bakr and at the beginning of the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab."

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."

Az-Zubair said, "I met Ubaida bin Sa`id bin Al-As on the day (of the battle) of Badr and he was covered with armor; so much that only his eyes were visible. He was surnamed Abu Dhat-al-Karish. He said (proudly), 'I am Abu-al-Karish.' I attacked him with the spear and pierced his eye and he died. I put my foot over his body to pull (that spear) out, but even then I had to use a great force to take it out as its both ends were bent." `Urwa said, "Later on Allah's Apostle asked Az-Zubair for the spear and he gave it to him. When Allah's Apostle died, Az-Zubair took it back. After that Abu Bakr demanded it and he gave it to him, and when Abu Bakr died, Az-Zubair took it back. `Umar then demanded it from him and he gave it to him. When `Umar died, Az-Zubair took it back, and then `Uthman demanded it from him and he gave it to him. When `Uthman was martyred, the spear remained with `Ali's offspring. Then `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair demanded it back, and it remained with him till he was martyred.

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."

Fatima the daughter of the Prophet sent someone to Abu Bakr (when he was a caliph), asking for her inheritance of what Allah's Apostle had left of the property bestowed on him by Allah from the Fai (i.e. booty gained without fighting) in Medina, and Fadak, and what remained of the Khumus of the Khaibar booty. On that, Abu Bakr said, "Allah's Apostle said, "Our property is not inherited. Whatever we leave, is Sadaqa, but the family of (the Prophet) Muhammad can eat of this property.' By Allah, I will not make any change in the state of the Sadaqa of Allah's Apostle and will leave it as it was during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, and will dispose of it as Allah's Apostle used to do." So Abu Bakr refused to give anything of that to Fatima. So she became angry with Abu Bakr and kept away from him, and did not task to him till she died. She remained alive for six months after the death of the Prophet. When she died, her husband `Ali, buried her at night without informing Abu Bakr and he said the funeral prayer by himself. When Fatima was alive, the people used to respect `Ali much, but after her death, `Ali noticed a change in the people's attitude towards him. So `Ali sought reconciliation with Abu Bakr and gave him an oath of allegiance. `Ali had not given the oath of allegiance during those months (i.e. the period between the Prophet's death and Fatima's death). `Ali sent someone to Abu Bakr saying, "Come to us, but let nobody come with you," as he disliked that `Umar should come, `Umar said (to Abu Bakr), "No, by Allah, you shall not enter upon them alone " Abu Bakr said, "What do you think they will do to me? By Allah, I will go to them' So Abu Bakr entered upon them, and then `Ali uttered Tashah-hud and said (to Abu Bakr), "We know well your superiority and what Allah has given you, and we are not jealous of the good what Allah has bestowed upon you, but you did not consult us in the question of the rule and we thought that we have got a right in it because of our near relationship to Allah's Apostle ." Thereupon Abu Bakr's eyes flowed with tears. And when Abu Bakr spoke, he said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is to keep good relations with the relatives of Allah's Apostle is dearer to me than to keep good relations with my own relatives. But as for the trouble which arose between me and you about his property, I will do my best to spend it according to what is good, and will not leave any rule or regulation which I saw Allah's Apostle following, in disposing of it, but I will follow." On that `Ali said to Abu Bakr, "I promise to give you the oath of allegiance in this after noon." So when Abu Bakr had offered the Zuhr prayer, he ascended the pulpit and uttered the Tashah-hud and then mentioned the story of `Ali and his failure to give the oath of allegiance, and excused him, accepting what excuses he had offered; Then `Ali (got up) and praying (to Allah) for forgiveness, he uttered Tashah-hud, praised Abu Bakr's right, and said, that he had not done what he had done because of jealousy of Abu Bakr or as a protest of that Allah had favored him with. `Ali added, "But we used to consider that we too had some right in this affair (of rulership) and that he (i.e. Abu Bakr) did not consult us in this matter, and therefore caused us to feel sorry." On that all the Muslims became happy and said, "You have done the right thing." The Muslims then became friendly with `Ali as he returned to what the people had done (i.e. giving the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman that al-Qaqa ibn Hakim and Zayd ibn Aslam sent him to Said ibn al-Musayyab to ask how a woman who was bleeding as if menstruating should do ghusl. Said said, "She does a ghusl to cover from the end of one period to the end of the next, and does wudu for every prayer, and if bleeding overtakes her she should bind her private parts."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "When Hafsa bint `Umar became a widow after the death of (her husband) Khunais bin Hudhafa As-Sahmi who had been one of the companions of the Prophet, and he died at Medina. I went to `Uthman bin `Affan and presented Hafsa (for marriage) to him. He said, "I will think it over.' I waited for a few days, then he met me and said, 'It seems that it is not possible for me to marry at present.' " `Umar further said, "I met Abu Bakr As-Siddique and said to him, 'If you wish, I will marry my daughter Hafsa to you." Abu Bakr kept quiet and did not say anything to me in reply. I became more angry with him than with `Uthman. I waited for a few days and then Allah's Apostle asked for her hand, and I gave her in marriage to him. Afterwards I met Abu Bakr who said, 'Perhaps you became angry with me when you presented Hafsa to me and I did not give you a reply?' I said, 'Yes.' Abu Bakr said, 'Nothing stopped me to respond to your offer except that I knew that Allah's Apostle had mentioned her, and I never wanted to let out the secret of Allah's Apostle. And if Allah's Apostle had refused her, I would have accepted her.' "

Allah's Apostle sent `Amr bin Al As as the commander of the troops of Dhat-us-Salasil. `Amr bin Al- `As said, "(On my return) I came to the Prophet and said, 'Which people do you love most?' He replied, `Aisha.' I said, 'From amongst the men?' He replied, 'Her father (Abu Bakr)'. I said, 'Whom (do you love) next?' He replied, "`Umar.' Then he counted the names of many men, and I became silent for fear that he might regard me as the last of them."

Muhammad or `Abdullah bin Abu Al-Mujalid said, "Abdullah bin Shaddad and Abu Burda differed regarding As-Salam, so they sent me to Ibn Abi `Aufa and I asked him about it. He replied, 'In the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, Abu Bakr and `Umar, we used to pay in advance the prices of wheat, barley, dried grapes and dates to be delivered later. I also asked Ibn Abza and he, too, replied as above.' "

`Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer during his illness and so he led them in prayer." `Urwa, a sub narrator, added, "Allah's Apostle felt a bit relieved and came out and Abu Bakr was leading the people. When Abu Bakr saw the Prophet he retreated but the Prophet beckoned him to remain there. Allah's Apostle sat beside Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was following the prayer of Allah's Apostle and the people were following the prayer of Abu Bakr."

I asked my father (`Ali bin Abi Talib), "Who are the best people after Allah's Apostle ?" He said, "Abu Bakr." I asked, "Who then?" He said, "Then `Umar. " I was afraid he would say "Uthman, so I said, "Then you?" He said, "I am only an ordinary person.

We were in Siffin and Sahl bin Hunaif got up and said, "O people! Blame yourselves! We were with the Prophet on the day of Hudaibiya, and if we had been called to fight, we would have fought. But `Umar bin Al Khatab came and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Aren't we in the right and our opponents in the wrongs' Allah's Apostle said, 'Yes.' `Umar said, 'Aren't our killed persons in Paradise and their's in Hell?' He said, 'Yes.' `Umar said, 'Then why should we accept hard terms in matters concerning our religion? Shall we return before Allah judges between us and them?' Allah's Apostle said, 'O Ibn Al- Khattab! I am the Apostle of Allah and Allah will never degrade me. Then `Umar went to Abu Bakr and told him the same as he had told the Prophet. On that Abu Bakr said (to `Umar). 'He is the Apostle of Allah and Allah will never degrade him.' Then Surat-al-Fath (i.e. Victory) was revealed and Allah's Apostle recited it to the end in front of `Umar. On that `Umar asked, 'O Allah's Apostle! Was it (i.e. the Hudaibiya Treaty) a victory?' Allah's Apostle said, "Yes".

The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade us to eat horse-flesh, the flesh of mules and of asses. The narrator Haywah added: Every beast of prey with a fang.

Abu Dawud said: This view is held by Malik.

Abu Dawud said: There is no harm in (eating) horse-flesh and this tradition is not practised.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been abrogated. A body of Companions of the Prophet (saws) had eaten horse-flesh. OF them are: Ibn al-Zubair, Fudalah bin 'Ubaid, Anas bin Malik, Asma' daughter of Abu Bakr, Suwaid bin Ghaflah, 'Alqamah; the Quraish used to slaughter them (horses) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws).