The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone sits at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah; and if he lies at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah.

Abu Bakr came to my house while two small Ansari girls were singing beside me the stories of the Ansar concerning the Day of Buath. And they were not singers. Abu Bakr said protestingly, "Musical instruments of Satan in the house of Allah's Apostle !" It happened on the `Id day and Allah's Apostle said, "O Abu Bakr! There is an `Id for every nation and this is our `Id."

Once the Prophet offered the `Asr prayer and then he walked quickly and entered his house.

A man of Banu Amir told that he asked the Prophet (saws) for permission (to enter the house) when he was in the house, saying: May I enter ? The Prophet (saws) said to his servant: Go out to this (man) and teach him how to ask permission to enter the house, and say to him: "Say : Peace be upon you. May I enter?" The man heard it and said: Peace be upon you! May I enter ? The Prophet (saws) permitted him and he entered.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "No-one should leave the hajj until he has done tawaf of the House, and tawaf of the House is the final rite."

Malik said, commenting about Umar ibn al-Khattab's saying 'tawaf of the House is the final rite,' "In our opinion, and Allah knows best, that is because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says, 'Whoever exalts the rituals of Allah - that is from the taqwa of the hearts' (Sura 22 ayat 32), and He says, 'Then their halal place (of sacrifice) is at the Ancient House,' and the place of all the rituals and where they end is therefore at the Ancient House."

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone lies on his side where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him on the Day of Resurrection; and if anyone sits in a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him on the Day of Resurrection.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'l-Aswad Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Nawfal from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from Zaynab bint Abi Salama that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I once complained to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that I was ill and he said, 'Do tawaf riding behind the people.' So I did tawaf riding my camel, while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was praying by the side of the House, reciting Surat at-Tur."

On Fridays the Prophet used to recite Alif Lam Mim Tanzil-As-Sajda (in the first rak`a) and Hal ata `alal-insani i.e. Surat ad-Dahr (LXXVI) (in the second rak`a), in the Fajr prayer.

The wives of the Prophet were with him in the mosque (while he was in I`tikaf) and then they departed and the Prophet said to Safiya bint Huyai, "Don't hurry up, for I shall accompany you," (and her dwelling was in the house of Usama). The Prophet went out and in the meantime two Ansari men met him and they looked at the Prophet and passed by. The Prophet said to them, "Come here. She is (my wife) Safiya bint Huyai." They replied, "Subhan Allah, (How dare we think of evil) O Allah's Apostle! (we never expect anything bad from you)." The Prophet replied, "Satan circulates in the human being as blood circulates in the body, and I was afraid lest Satan might insert an evil thought in your minds."

Zaid bin Thabit said, "When the Qur'an was compiled from various written manuscripts, one of the Verses of Surat Al-Ahzab was missing which I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting. I could not find it except with Khuza`ima bin Thabjt Al-Ansari, whose witness Allah's Apostle regarded as equal to the witness of two men. And the Verse was:-- "Among the believers are men who have been true to what they covenanted with Allah." (33.23)

I asked Ibn `Abbas about Surat Al-Hashr. He replied, "Say Surat An-Nadir."

The Prophet said, "The prayer offered in congregation is twenty five times more superior (in reward) to the prayer offered alone in one's house or in a business center, because if one performs ablution and does it perfectly, and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of praying, then for each step which he takes towards the mosque, Allah upgrades him a degree in reward and (forgives) crosses out one sin till he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque he is considered in prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer and the angels keep on asking for Allah's forgiveness for him and they keep on saying: 'O Allah! Be Merciful to him, O Allah! Forgive him, as long as he keeps on sitting at his praying place and does not pass wind. (See Hadith No. 620).

The Prophet said, "The example of him (a believer) who recites the Qur'an is like that of a citron which tastes good and smells good. And he (a believer) who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which is good in taste but has no smell. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who recites the Qur'an is like the Raihana (sweet basil) which smells good but tastes bitter. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who does not recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth which tastes bitter and has no smell.

I asked: Messenger of Allah! tell me if someone enters my house and extends his hands to kill me (what should I do?) The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: Be like the two sons of Adam. The narrator Yazid (ibn Khalid) then recited the verse: "If thou dost stretch they hand against me to slay me." [5:28]

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayr from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, "I was racing a friend on horseback towards a narrow mountain trail and we killed a gazelle accidently and we were in ihram. What is your opinion?" Umar said to a man by his side, "Come, so that you and I may make an assessment." They decided on a female goat for him, and the man turned away saying, "This amir al-muminin cannot even make an assessment in the case of a gazelle until he calls a man to decide with him." Umar overheard the man's words and called him and asked him, "Do you recite surat al-Ma'ida?" and he said, "No." He said, "Then do you recognize this man who has taken the decision with me?" and he said, "No." He said, "If you had told me that you did recite surat al-Ma'ida, I would have dealt you a blow." Then he said, "Allah the Blessed, the Exalted says in His Book, 'as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal to reach the Kaba' (Sura 5 ayat 95), and this is Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf."

AbulMalih said: Some women of Syria came to Aisha. She asked them: From whom are you? They replied: From the people of Syria. She said: Perhaps you belong to the place where women enter hot baths (for washing ). The said: Yes. She said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If a woman puts off her clothes in a place other than her house, she tears the veil between her and Allah, the Exalted.

Abu Dawud said: This is the tradition narrated by Jarir, and it is more perfect. Jarir did not mention Abu al-Malih. He said (on the authority of 'A'ishah) that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said.

The Prophet said, "None of you should point out towards his Muslim brother with a weapon, for he does not know, Satan may tempt him to hit him and thus he would fall into a pit of fire (Hell)"

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab whether someone doing itikaf could go into a house to relieve himself, and he said, "Yes, there is no harm in that."

Malik said, "The situation that we are all agreed upon here is that there is no disapproval of anyone doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is held. The only reason I see for disapproving of doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held is that the man doing itikaf would have to leave the mosque where he was doing itikaf in order to go to jumua, or else not go there at all. If, however, he is doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held, and he does not have to go to jumua in any other mosque, then I see no harm in him doing itikaf there, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says, 'While you are doing itikaf in mosques,' and refers to all mosques in general, without specifying any particular kind."

Malik continued, "Accordingly, it is permissiblefor a man to do itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held if he does not have to leave it to go to a mosque where jumua is held."

Malik said, "A person doing itikaf should spend the night only in the mosque where he is doing itikaf, except if his tent is in one of the courtyards of the mosque. I have never heard that someone doing itikaf can put up a shelter anywhere except in the mosque itself or in one of the courtyards of the mosque.

Part of what shows that he must spend the night in the mosque is the saying of A'isha, 'When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was doing itikaf, he would only go into the house to relieve himself.' Nor should he do itikaf on the roof of the mosque or in the minaret."

Malik said, "The person who is going to do itikaf should enter the place where he wishes to do itikaf before the sun sets on the night when he wishes to begin his itikaf, so that he is ready to begin the itikaf at the beginning of the night when he is going to start his itikaf. A person doing itikaf should be occupied with his itikaf, and not turn his attention to other things which might occupy him, such as trading or whatever. There is no harm, however, if some one doing itikaf tells some one to do something for him regarding his estate, or the affairs of his family, or tells someone to sell some property of his, or something else that does not occupy him directly. There is no harm in him arranging for someone else to do that for him if it is a simple matter."

Malik said, "I have never heard any of the people of knowledge mentioning any modification as far as how to do itikaf is concerned. Itikaf is an act of ibada like the prayer, fasting, the hajj, and such like acts, whether they are obligatory or voluntary. Anyone who begins doing any of these acts should do them according to what has come down in the sunna. He should not start doing anything in them that the muslims have not done, whether it is a modification that he imposes on others, or one that he begins doing himself. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, practised itikaf, and the muslims know what the sunna of itikaf is."

Malik said, "Itikaf and jiwar are the same, and Itikaf is the same for a village-dweller as it is for a nomad."

I asked Ibn `Abbas, "Should we perform a prostration on reciting Surat-Sa`d?" He recited (the Sura) including: 'And among his progeny, David, Solomon..(up to)...so follow their guidance (6.84-91) And then he said, "Your Prophet is amongst those people who have been ordered to follow them (i.e. the preceding apostles).

l entered a house in Medina with Abu Huraira, and he saw a man making pictures at the top of the house. Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying that Allah said, 'Who would be more unjust than the one who tries to create the like of My creatures? Let them create a grain: let them create a gnat.' "Abu Huraira then asked for a water container and washed his arms up to his armpits. I said, "0 Abu i Huraira! Is this something you have heard I from Allah's Apostle?" He said, "The limit for ablution is up to the place where the ornaments will reach on the Day of Resurrection.'

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'z-Zinad informed him that a governor of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz took some people in battle and had not killed any of them. He wanted to cut off their hands or kill them, so he wrote to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz about that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to him, "Better to take less than that."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What is done among us about a person who steals the goods of people which are placed under guard in the markets, and their owners put them in their containers and store them together is that if anyone steals any of that from where it is kept, and its value reaches that for which cutting off the hand is obliged, his hand must be cut off, whether or not the owner of the goods is with his goods and whether it is night or day."

Malik said about some one who stole something for which cutting off the hand was obliged and then what he stole was found with him and he returned it to its owner, "His hand is cut off."

Malik said, "If someon says, 'How can his hand be cut off when the goods have been taken from him and returned to their owner?', it is because he is in the same position as the wine drinker when the smell of the wine is found on his breath and he is not drunk. He is flogged with the hadd.

"The hadd is imposed for drinking wine even if it does not make the man intoxicated. That is because he drank it to become intoxicated. It is the same as that with cutting off the hand of the thief for theft when it is taken from him, even if he has not profited from it and it was returned to its owner. When he stole it, he stole it to take it away."

Malik said that if some people came to a house and robbed it together, and then they left with a sack or box or a board or basket or the like of that which they carried together, and when they took it out of its guarded place, they carried it together, and the price of what they took reached that for which cutting off the hand was obliged, and that was three dirhams and upwards, each of them had his hand cut off.

"If each of them takes out something by himself, whoever of them takes out something whose value reaches three dirhams and upwards must have his hand cut off. If any of them takes out something whose value does not reach three dirhams, he does not have his hand cut off."

Yahya said that Malik said, "What is done among us is that when a man's house is locked and he is the only one living in it, cutting off the hand is not obliged against the one who steals something from it until he takes it out of the house completely. That is because all of the house is a place of custody. If someone other than him lives in the house and each of them locks his door, and it is a place of custody for each of them, whoever steals anything from the apartments of that house must have his hand cut off when he leaves the apartment and goes into the main house. He has removed it from its place of custody to another place and he must have his hand cut off."

Malik said, "What is done in our community about a slave who steals from the property of his master is that if he is not in service and among those trusted in the house and he enters secretly and steals from his master something that for which cutting off the hand is obliged, his hand is not cut off. It is like that with a slave-girl when she steals from her master's property. Her hand is not cut off."

Malik then spoke about a slave who was not in service and not one of those trusted in the house, and he entered secretly and stole from the property of his master's wife that for which cutting off the hand was obliged. He said, "His hand is cut off."

"It is like that with the wife's slave-girl when she does not serve her or her husband nor is she trusted in the house and she enters secretly and steals from her mistress's property that for which cutting off the hand is obliged. Her hand is not cut off."

"It is like that with the wife's slave-girl who is not in her service and is not trusted in the house and she enters secretly and steals from the property of her mistress's husband something for which cutting off the hand is obliged. Her hand is cut off."

It is like that with the man who steals from his wife's goods or the wife who steals from her husband's goods something for which cutting off the hand is obliged. If the thing which one of them steals from his spouse's property is in a room other than the room which they both lock for themselves, or it is in a place of custody in a room other than the room which they are in, whichever of them steals something for which cutting off the hand is obliged, their hand should be cut off."

Malik spoke about a small child and a foreigner who does not speak clearly. He said, "If they are robbed of something from its place of custody or from under a lock, the one who stole it has his hand cut off. If the property is outside of its place of custody or locked room(when it is stolen), the one who robbed them does not have his hand cut off. It is then in the position of sheep stolen from the mountain and uncut fruit hanging on the trees "

Malik said, "What is done among us about a person who robs graves is that if what he takes from the grave reaches what cutting off the hand is obliged for, his hand is cut off . That is because the grave is a place of custody for what is in it just as houses are a place of custody for what is in them. "

Malik added, "Cutting off the hand is not obliged for him until he takes it out of the grave."

That he asked Ibn `Abbas, "Is there a prostration Surat-al-Sa`d?" (38.24) Ibn `Abbas said, "Yes," and then recited: "We gave...So follow their guidance." (6.85,90) Then he said, "He (David ) is one them (i.e. those prophets)." Mujahid narrated: I asked Ibn `Abbas (regarding the above Verse). He said, "Your Prophet (Muhammad) was one of those who were ordered to follow them."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab asked the permission of Allah's Apostle to see him while some Quraishi women were sitting with him, talking to him and asking him for more expenses, raising their voices above the voice of Allah's Apostle. When `Umar asked for the permission to enter, the women quickly put on their veils. Allah'sf Apostle allowed him to enter and `Umar came in while Allah's Apostle was smiling, `Umar said "O Allah's Apostle! May Allah always keep you smiling." The Prophet said, "These women who have been here, roused my wonder, for as soon as they heard your voice, they quickly put on their veils. "`Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! You have more right to be feared by them than I." Then `Umar addressed the women saying, "O enemies of yourselves! You fear me more than you do Allah's Apostle ?" They said, "Yes, for you are harsher and sterner than Allah's Apostle." Then Allah's Apostle said, "O Ibn Al-Khattab! By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Never does Satan find you going on a way, but he takes another way other than yours."

When the Prophet recited Surat As-Sajda and we were with him, he would prostrate and we also would prostrate with him and some of us (because of the heavy rush) would not find a place (for our foreheads) to prostrate on.

Once we were in the company of Allah's Apostle in a cave. Surat-al-Mursalat (77) was revealed there, and we were learning it from Allah's Apostle . Suddenly a snake came out of its hole and we rushed towards it to kill it, but it hastened and entered its hole before we were able to catch it. Allah's Apostle said," It has been saved from your evil and you have been saved from its evil."

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever does not recite Al-Fatiha in his prayer, his prayer is invalid."

The Prophet recited Surat-an-Najm and then prostrated himself, and all who were with him prostrated too. But an old man took a handful of dust and touched his forehead with it saying, "This is sufficient for me." Later on I saw him killed as an infidel.

That heard Allah's Apostle saying, "We are the last but will be the foremost to enter Paradise)." The Prophet added, "He who obeys me, obeys Allah, and he who disobeys me, disobeys Allah. He who obeys the chief, obeys me, and he who disobeys the chief, disobeys me. The Imam is like a shelter for whose safety the Muslims should fight and where they should seek protection. If the Imam orders people with righteousness and rules justly, then he will be rewarded for that, and if he does the opposite, he will be responsible for that."

While I was a youngster, I asked `Aisha the wife of the Prophet. "What about the meaning of the Statement of Allah; "Verily! (the mountains) As-Safa and Al Marwa, are among the symbols of Allah. So, it is not harmful if those who perform Hajj or `Umra of the House (Ka`ba at Mecca) to perform the going (Tawaf) between them? (2.158) I understand (from that) that there is no harm if somebody does not perform the Tawaf between them." `Aisha replied, "No, for if it were as you are saying, then the recitation would have been like this: 'It is not harmful not to perform Tawaf between them.' This verse was revealed in connection with the Ansar who used to assume the Ihram for the idol Manat which was put beside a place called Qudaid and those people thought it not right to perform the Tawaf of As- Safa and Al-Marwa. When Islam came, they asked Allah's Apostle about that, and Allah revealed:-- "Verily! (the mountains) As-Safa and Al-Marwa Are among the symbols of Allah. So, it is not harmful of those who perform Hajj or `Umra of the House (Ka`ba at Mecca) to perform the going (Tawaf) between them." (2.158) Sufyan and Abu Muawiya added from Hisham (from `Aisha): "The Hajj or `Umra of the person who does not perform the going (Tawaf) between As-Safa and Al-Marwa is incomplete in Allah's sight.

(the wife of the Prophet) I informed Allah's Apostle that I was ill. So he said, "Perform the Tawaf while riding behind the people." I did so, and at that time the Prophet was praying beside the Ka`ba and reciting Surat-at-Tur.

The Prophet recited Surat An-Najam and prostrated, and there was nobody who did not prostrate then except a man whom I saw taking a handful of pebbles, lifting it, and prostrating on it. He then said, "This is sufficient for me." No doubt I saw him killed as a disbeliever afterwards.

While we were with the Prophet in a cave, Surat wal-Mursalat was revealed to him and he recited it, and I heard it directly from his mouth as soon as he recited its revelation. Suddenly a snake sprang at us, and the Prophet said, "Kill it!" We ran to kill it but it escaped quickly. The Prophet said. "It has escaped your evil, and you too have escaped its evil."

Some of the companions of the Prophet came across a tribe amongst the tribes of the Arabs, and that tribe did not entertain them. While they were in that state, the chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion). They said, (to the companions of the Prophet ), "Have you got any medicine with you or anybody who can treat with Ruqya?" The Prophet's companions said, "You refuse to entertain us, so we will not treat (your chief) unless you pay us for it." So they agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them (the Prophet's companions) started reciting Surat-al-Fatiha and gathering his saliva and spitting it (at the snake-bite). The patient got cured and his people presented the sheep to them, but they said, "We will not take it unless we ask the Prophet (whether it is lawful)." When they asked him, he smiled and said, "How do you know that Surat-al-Fatiha is a Ruqya? Take it (flock of sheep) and assign a share for me."

While I was sitting in the company of the Prophet, two men abused each other and the face of one of them became red with anger, and his jugular veins swelled (i.e. he became furious). On that the Prophet said, "I know a word, the saying of which will cause him to relax, if he does say it. If he says: 'I seek Refuge with Allah from Satan.' then all is anger will go away." Some body said to him, "The Prophet has said, 'Seek refuge with Allah from Satan."' The angry man said, "Am I mad?"

When we wrote the Holy Qur'an, I missed one of the Verses of Surat-al-Ahzab which I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting. Then we searched for it and found it with Khuza`ima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. The Verse was:-- 'Among the Believers are men Who have been true to Their Covenant with Allah, Of them, some have fulfilled Their obligations to Allah (i.e. they have been Killed in Allah's Cause), And some of them are (still) waiting" (33.23) So we wrote this in its place in the Qur'an.

The Prophet said to me, "Recite (the Qur'an) to me." I said, "O Allah's Apostle Shall I recite (the Qur'an) to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "Yes." So I recited Surat-An-Nisa' (The Women), but when I recited the Verse: 'How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people.' (4.41) He said, "Enough for the present," I looked at him and behold! His eyes were overflowing with tears

The Prophet (saws) said: He who recites the Qur'an in a period less than three days does not understand it.

I informed Allah's Apostle that I was sick. He said, "Perform Tawaf (of the Ka`ba) while riding behind the people." So, I performed the Tawaf while Allah's Apostle was offering the prayer beside the Ka`ba and was reciting Surat-at-Tur.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said, "Allah has completed the hajj of anyone who does the tawaf al-ifada. It is fitting that tawaf of the House be the last of his contract, as long as nothing prevents him, and if something prevents him, or an obstacle arises, then Allah has completed his hajj."

Malik said, "I do not think that a man who does not know that the last of his contract is tawaf of the House until he has left owes anything, unless he is nearby and can return, do tawaf, and then leave having done the tawaf al-ifada."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf had told him that Surat al-Ikhlas (Sura 112) was equal to a third of the Qur'an, and that Surat al-Mulk (Sura 67) pleaded for its owner.

The people of Kufa differed as regards the killing of a believer so I entered upon Ibn `Abbas (and asked him) about that. Ibn `Abbas said, "The Verse (in Surat-An-Nisa', 4:93) was the last thing revealed in this respect and nothing cancelled its validity."

Allah's Apostle pointed with his hand towards Yemen and said, "(True) Belief is Yemenite, towards here (i.e. the Yemenite, had True Belief and embraced Islam readily). Certainly sternness and mercilessness are the qualities of those who are loud and at the base of the tails of camels, where the two horns of Satan will appear. Such qualities belong to the tribes of Rabi`a and Mudar."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to pray dhuhr, asr, maghrib and isha at al-Muhassab, and then enter Makka at night and do tawaf of the House.

Allah's Apostle sent a group of the Ansar to Abu Rafi`. `Abdullah bin Atik entered his house at night and killed him while he was sleeping.

Allah's Apostle sent a group of persons to Abu Rafi`. `Abdullah bin Atik entered his house at night, while he was sleeping, and killed him.