I taught some persons of the people of Suffah writing and the Qur'an. A man of them presented to me a bow. I said: It cannot be reckoned property; may I shoot with it in Allah's path? I must come to the Apostle of of Allah (saws) and ask him (about it). So I came to him and said : Messenger of Allah (saws), one of those whom I have been teaching writing and the Qur'an has presented me a bow, and as it cannot be reckoned property, may I shoot with it in Allah's path? He said: If you want to have a necklace of fire on you, accept it.

I asked Allah's Apostle to teach me an invocation so that I may invoke Allah with it in my prayer. He told me to say, "Allahumma inni zalumtu nafsi zulman kathiran, Wala yaghfiru dh-dhunuba illa anta, fa ghfir li maghfiratan min `indika, wa r-hamni, innaka anta l-ghafuru r-rahim (O Allah! I have done great injustice to myself and none except You forgives sins, so bestow on me a forgiveness from You, and Have Mercy on me, You are the Forgiver, the Merciful).

The Prophet said, "The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it."

Allah's Apostle said, "You will be resurrected (and assembled) bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised." The Prophet then recited the Divine Verse:-- "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: A promise We have undertaken. Truly we shall do it." (21.104) He added, "The first to be dressed will be Abraham. Then some of my companions will take to the right and to the left. I will say: 'My companions! 'It will be said, 'They had been renegades since you left them.' I will then say what the Pious Slave Jesus, the son of Mary said: 'And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them; when You did take me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if you forgive them, You, only You are the All-Mighty the All-Wise.' " (5.117-118) Narrated Quaggas, "Those were the apostates who renegade from Islam during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr who fought them".

The Prophet said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, 'We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.' The man said to them, 'Don't quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.' But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.' So, they worked till the time of `Asr prayer. Then they said, "Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.' The man said to them, 'Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,' but they refused. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly.

The Prophet embraced me and said, "O Allah! Teach him (the knowledge of) the Book (Qur'an)."

I was a guest of Abu Huraira for seven days. Abu Huraira, his wife and his slave used to get up and remain awake for one-third of the night by turns. Each would offer the night prayer and then awaken the other. I heard Abu Huraira saying, "Allah's Apostle distributed dates among his companions and my share was seven dates, one of which was a Hashafa (a date which dried on the tree before it was fully ripe).

Yahya said that Malik had said from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn that he heard Abu Ghatafan ibn Tarif al-Muriyi say, "Zayd ibn Thabit al-Ansari and Ibn Muti had a dispute about a house which they shared. They went to Marwan ibn al-Hakam who was the Amir of Madina. Marwan decided that Zayd ibn Thabit must take an oath on the mimbar. Zayd ibn Thabit said, 'I swear to it where I am.' Marwan said, 'No, by Allah! only in the place of sorting out claims (i.e. the mimbar).' Zayd ibn Thabit began to take an oath that his right was true, and he refused to take an oath near the mimbar. Marwan ibn al-Hakam began to wonder at that."

Malik said, "I do not think that anyone should be made to take an oath near the mimbar for less than a fourth of a dinar, and that is three dirhams."

`Affan told us: Shu`bah told us: `Alqamah bin Marthad told me... and he said in it: “Whoever learns the Qur`an or teaches it.”

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sued to teach them the following words in the case of alarm: I seek refuge in Allah's perfect words from His anger, the evil of His servants, the evil suggestions of the devils and their presence. Abdullah ibn Amr used to teach them to those of his children who had reached puberty, and he wrote them down (on some material) and hung on the child who had not reached puberty.

The Prophet said, "The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it."

108 Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited Umm Salama while she was in mourning for Abu Salama and she had put aloes on her eyes. He said, "What is this, Umm Salama?" She said, "It is only aloes, Messenger of Allah." He said, "Put it on at night and wipe it off in the daytime."

Malik said, "The mourning of a young girl who has not yet had a menstrual period takes the same form as the mourning of one who has had a period. She avoids what a mature woman avoids if her husband dies."

Malik said, "A slave-girl mourns her husband when he dies for two months and five nights like her idda.''

Malik said, "An umm walad does not have to mourn when her master dies, and a slave-girl does not have to mourn when her master dies. Mourning is for those with husbands."

The Prophet said, "Had only ten Jews (amongst their chiefs) believe me, all the Jews would definitely have believed me."

Malik related to me from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Sulayman ibn Yasar from Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya that a woman's husband died, and she did the idda of four months and ten days. Then she married when she was free to marry. She stayed with her husband for four and a half months, then gave birth to a fully developed child. Her husband went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him, so Umar called some of the old women of the Jahiliyya and asked them about that. One of the women said, "I will tell you what happened with this woman. When her husband died, she was pregnant by him, but then the blood flowed from her because of his death and the child became dry in her womb. When her new husband had intercourse with her and the water reached the child, the child moved in the womb and grew." Umar ibn al-Khattab believed her and separated them (until she had completed her idda). Umar said, "Only good has reached me about you two," and he connected the child to the first husband.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad that Said ibn al- Musayyab said, "People used to be given bonuses from the Khumus."

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard on the matter."

Malik was asked about bonuses and whether they were taken from the first of the spoils, and he said, "That is only decided according to the ijtihad of the Imam. We do not have a known reliable command about that other than it is up to the ijtihad of the Sultan. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave bonuses in all his raids. I have only heard that he gave bonuses in one of them, namely the day of Hunayn. It depends on the ijtihad of the Imam whether they are taken from the first of the spoils or what is after it."

Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly periods. Nor is it lawful for them to hide what Allah hath created in their wombs. This means that if a man divorced his wife he had the right to take her back in marriage though he had divorced her by three pronouncements. This was then repealed (by a Qur'anic verse). Divorce is only permissible twice.

Allah's Apostle said, "If one give in charity what equals one date-fruit from the honestly earned money and Allah accepts only the honestly earned money --Allah takes it in His right (hand) and then enlarges its reward for that person (who has given it), as anyone of you brings up his baby horse, so much s that it becomes as big as a mountain

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abd ar- Rahman ibn Abi Bakr was visiting A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may AIIah bless him and grant him peace, on the day that Sad ibn Abi Waqqas died, and he asked for some water to do wudu. A'isha said to him, ''Abd ar-Rahman! Perform your wudu fully, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Woe to the heels in the fire.' "

The Prophet (saws) sent Mu`adh to Yemen and said, "Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah's Apostle, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours), and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor."

Yahya said that Malik spoke about an investor who made a qirad loan to a man.

He said, "When the investment is large, the travelling expenses of the agent are taken from it. He can use it to eat and clothe himself in an acceptable fashion according to the size of the investment. If it saves him trouble, he can take a wage from some of the capital, if it is large, and he cannot support himself. There are certain jobs which an agent or his like are not responsible for, amongst them are collecting debts, transporting the goods, loading up and so forth. He can hire from the capital someone to do that for him. The agent should not spend from the capital nor clothe himself from it while he resides with his family. It is only permitted for him to have expenses when he travels for the investment. The expenses are taken from the capital. If he is only trading with the property in the city in which he resides, he has no expenses from the capital and no clothing."

Malik spoke about an investor who paid qirad money to a man, and the agent went out with it and with his own capital. He said, "The expenses come from the qirad and from his own capital according to their proportions."

While `Umar (bin Al-Khattab) was delivering the Khutba on a Friday, a man entered (the mosque). `Umar asked him, "What has detained you from the prayer?" The man said, "It was only that when I heard the Adhan I performed ablution (for the prayer)." On that `Umar said, "Did you not hear the Prophet saying: 'Anyone of you going out for the Jumua prayer should take a bath'?".

Allah's Apostle sent me along with AzZubair and Al-Miqdad and said, "Proceed till you reach a place called Raudat-Khakh where there is a lady travelling in a howda on a camel. She has a letter. Take the letter from her." So we set out, and our horses ran at full pace till we reached Raudat Khakh, and behold, we saw the lady and said (to her), "Take out the letter!" She said, "I have no letter with me." We said, "Either you take out the letter or we will strip you of your clothes." So she took the letter out of her hair braid. We brought the letter to the Prophet and behold, it was addressed by Hatib bin Abi Balta'a to some pagans at Mecca, informing them of some of the affairs of the Prophet. The Prophet said, "What is this, O Hatib?" Hatib replied, "Do not be hasty with me, O Allah's Apostle! I am an Ansari man and do not belong to them (Quraish infidels) while the emigrants who were with you had their relatives who used to protect their families and properties at Mecca. So, to compensate for not having blood relation with them.' I intended to do them some favor so that they might protect my relatives (at Mecca), and I did not do this out of disbelief or an inclination to desert my religion." The Prophet then said (to his companions), "He (Hatib) has told you the truth." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off?" The Apostle said, "He is one of those who witnessed (fought in) the Battle of Badr, and what do you know, perhaps Allah looked upon the people of Badr (Badr warriors) and said, 'Do what you want as I have forgiven you.' " (`Amr, a sub-narrator, said,: This Verse was revealed about him (Hatib): 'O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends or protectors.' (60.1) Narrated `Ali: Sufyan was asked whether (the Verse): 'Take not My enemies and your enemies...' was revealed in connection with Hatib. Sufyan replied, "This occurs only in the narration of the people. I memorized the Hadith from `Amr, not overlooking even a single letter thereof, and I do not know of anybody who remembered it by heart other than myself."

Malik related to me that he heard that Abu Salama ibn Abd ar- Rahman and Sulayman ibn Yasar were both asked, "Does one pronounce judgement on the basis of an oath with one witness?" They both said, "Yes."

Malik said, "The precedent of the sunna in judging by an oath with one witness is that if the plaintiff takes an oath with his witness, he is confirmed in his right. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the defendant is made to take an oath. If he takes an oath, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claim is confirmed against him."

Malik said, "This procedure pertains to property cases in particular. It does not occur in any of the hadd-punishments, nor in marriage, divorce, freeing slaves, theft or slander. If some one says, 'Freeing slaves comes under property,' he has erred. It is not as he said. Had it been as he said, a slave could take an oath with one witness, if he could find one, that his master had freed him.

"However, when a slave lays claim to a piece of property, he can take an oath with one witness and demand his right as the freeman demands his right."

Malik said, "The sunna with us is that when a slave brings somebody who witnesses that he has been set free, his master is made to take an oath that he has not freed him, and the slave's claim is dropped."

Malik said, "The sunna about divorce is also like that with us. When a woman brings somebody who witnesses that her husband has divorced her, the husband is made to take an oath that he has not divorced her. If he takes the oath, the divorce does not proceed . "

Malik said, "There is only one sunna of bringing a witness in cases of divorce and freeing a slave. The right to make an oath only belongs to the husband of the woman, and the master of the slave. Freeing is a hadd matter, and the testimony of women is not permitted in it because when a slave is freed, his inviolability is affirmed and the hadd punishments are applied for and against him. If he commits fornication and he is a muhsan, he is stoned. If he kills a slave, he is killed for it. Inheritance is established for him, between him and whoever inherits from him. If somebody disputes this, arguing that if a man frees his slave and then a man comes to demand from the master of the slave payment of a debt, and a man and two women testify to his right, that establishes the right against the master of the slave so that his freeing him is cancelled if he only has the slave as property, inferring by this case that the testimony of women is permitted in cases of setting free. The case is not as he suggests (i.e. it is a case of property not freeing). It is like a man who frees his slave, and then the claimant of a debt comes to the master and takes an oath with one witness, demanding his right. By that, the freeing of the slave would be cancelled. Or else a man comes who has frequent dealings and transactions with the master of the slave. He claims that he is owed money by the master of the slave. Someone says to the master of the slave, 'Take an oath that you don't owe what he claims'. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the one making the claim takes an oath and his right against the master of the slave is confirmed. That would cancel the freeing of the slave if it is confirmed that property is owed by the master."

Malik said, "It is the same case with a man who marries a slave-girl and then the master of the slave-girl comes to the man who has married her and claims, 'You and so-and-so have bought my slave-girl from me for such an amount of dinars. The husband of the slave-girl denies that. The master of the slave-girl brings a man and two women and they testify to what he has said. The sale is confirmed and his claim is considered true. So the slave-girl is haram for her husband and they have to separate, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in divorce."

Malik said, "It is also the same case with a man who accuses a free man, so the hadd falls on him. A man and two women come and testify that the one accused is a slave. That would remove the hadd from the accused after it had befallen him, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in accusations involving hadd punishments."

Malik said, "Another similar case in which judgement appears to go against the precedent of the sunna is that two women testify that a child is born alive and so it is necessary for him to inherit if a situation arises where he is entitled to inherit, and the child's property goes to those who inherit from him, if he dies, and it is not necessary that the two women witnesses should be accompanied by a man or an oath even though it may involve vast properties of gold, silver, live-stock, gardens and slaves and other properties. However, had two women testified to one dirham or more or less than that in a property case, their testimony would not affect anything and would not be permitted unless there was a witness or an oath with them."

Malik said, "There are people who say that an oath is not acceptable with only one witness and they argue by the word of Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, and His word is the Truth, 'And call in to witness two witnesses, men; or if the two be not men, then one man and two women, such witnesses as you approve of.' (Sura 2 ayat 282). Such people argue that if he does not bring one man and two women, he has no claim and he is not allowed to take an oath with one witness."

Malik said, "Part of the proof against those who argue this, is to reply to them, 'Do you think that if a man claimed property from a man, the one claimed from would not swear that the claim was false?' If he swears, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claimant is made to take an oath that his claim is true, and his right against his companion is established. There is no dispute about this with any of the people nor in any country. By what does he take this? In what place in the Book of Allah does he find it? So if he confirms this, let him confirm the oath with one witness, even if it is not in the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic! It is enough that this is the precedent of the sunna. However, man wants to recognise the proper course of action and the location of the proof. In this there is a clarification for what is obscure about that, if Allah ta'ala wills."

Yahya said that Malik spoke about a man who made a qirad loan to a man and he bought wares with it and transported them to a commercial centre. It was not profitable to sell them and the agent feared a loss if he sold them, so he hired transport to take them to another city, and he sold them there and made a loss, and the cost of the hire was greater than the principal.

Malik said, "If the agent can pay the cost of the hire from what the capital realized, his way is that. Whatever portion of the hire is not covered by the principal, the agent must pay it. The investor is not answerable for any of it. That is because the investor only ordered him to trade with the principal. The investor is not answerable for other than the principal. Had the investor been liable, it would have been an additional loss to him on top of the principal which he invested. The agent cannot put that on to the investor."

"Once a delegation of `Abdul Qais came to Allah's Apostle and said, "We belong to such and such branch of the tribe of Rabi'ah and we can only come to you in the sacred months. Order us to do something good so that we may take it from you and also invite to it those whom we have left behind (at home)." So he said, "I order you to do four things and forbid you from four things: To believe in Allah" - and then he explained it to them "to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am Allah's Apostle, to establish the prayers (at the stated times), to pay the Zakat (obligatory charity), to hand me the Khumus (fifth) if you acquire spoils of war. And I forbid from (using) Dubba, Hantam, Muqaiyyar, and Naqir (all these were utensils used for the preparation of alcoholic drinks).

The same but said, "O Allah, teach him (Ibn Abbas) the Book (i.e. the understanding of the knowledge of Qur'an)."

Narrated Khalid: As above.

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.'

The Prophet said, "While three men were walking, It started raining and they took shelter (refuge) in a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled down from the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, "Think of good deeds which you did for Allah's sake only, and invoke Allah by giving reference to those deeds so that He may remove this rock from you." One of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and small children and I used to graze the sheep for them. On my return to them in the evening, I used to milk (the sheep) and start providing my parents first of all before my children. One day I was delayed and came late at night and found my parents sleeping. I milked (the sheep) as usual and stood by their heads. I hated to wake them up and disliked to give milk to my children before them, although my children were weeping (because of hunger) at my feet till the day dawned. O Allah! If I did this for Your sake only, kindly remove the rock so that we could see the sky through it.' So, Allah removed the rock a little and they saw the sky. The second man said, 'O Allah! I was in love with a cousin of mine like the deepest love a man may have for a woman. I wanted to outrage her chastity but she refused unless I gave her one hundred Dinars. So, I struggled to collect that amount. And when I sat between her legs, she said, 'O Allah's slave! Be afraid of Allah and do not deflower me except rightfully (by marriage).' So, I got up. O Allah! If I did it for Your sake only, please remove the rock.' The rock shifted a little more. Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed a laborer for a Faraq of rice and when he finished his job and demanded his right, I presented it to him, but he refused to take it. So, I sowed the rice many time till I gathered cows and their shepherd (from the yield). (Then after some time) He came and said to me, 'Fear Allah (and give me my right)." I said, 'Go and take those cows and the shepherd.' He said, 'Be afraid of Allah! Don't mock at me.' I said, 'I am not mocking at you. Take (all that).' So, he took all that. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please remove the rest of the rock.' So, Allah removed the rock."

Whenever Allah's Apostle was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful to do so, he would not approach it. Allah's Apostle never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah's Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah's Sake.

Lian was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, `Asim bin Adi said a statement about it, and when he left, a man from his tribe came to him complaining that he had seen a man with his wife. `Asim said, "I have been put to trial only because of my statement." So he took the man to the Prophet and the man told him about the incident. The man (husband) was of yellow complexion, thin, and of lank hair, while the man whom he had accused of having been with his wife, was reddish brown with fat thick legs and fat body. The Prophet said, "O Allah! Reveal the truth." Later on the lady delivered a child resembling the man whom the husband had accused of having been with her. So the Prophet made them take the oath of Lian. A man said to Ibn `Abbas in the gathering, "Was that the same lady about whom the Prophet said, "If I were to stone any lady (for committing illegal sexual intercourse) to death without witnesses, I would have stoned that lade to death?" Ibn `Abbas said, "No, that was another lady who used to behave in such a suspicious way among the Muslims that one might accuse her of committing illegal sexual intercourse."

We came to the Prophet and stayed with him for twenty days and nights. We were all young and of about the same age. The Prophet was very kind and merciful. When he realized our longing for our families, he asked about our homes and the people there and we told him. Then he asked us to go back to our families and stay with them and teach them (the religion) and to order them to do good things. He also mentioned some other things which I have (remembered or [??] ) forgotten. The Prophet then added, "Pray as you have seen me praying and when it is the time for the prayer one of you should pronounce the Adhan and the oldest of you should lead the prayer.

Mujja'ah went to the Prophet (saws) asking him for the blood-money of his brother whom Banu Sadus from Banu Dhuhl had killed.

The Prophet (saws) said: Had I appointed blood-money for a polytheist, I should have appointed it for your brother. But I shall give you compensation for him. So the Prophet (saws) wrote (a document) for him that he should be given a hundred camels which were to be acquired from the fifth taken from the polytheists of Banu Dhuhl. So he took a part of them, for Banu Dhuhl embraced Islam.

He then asked AbuBakr for them later on, and brought to him the document of the Prophet (saws). So AbuBakr wrote for him that he should be given one thousand two hundred sa's from the sadaqah of al-Yamamah; four thousand (sa's) of wheat, four thousand (sa's) of barley, and four thousand (sa's) of dates.

The text of the document written by the Prophet (saws) for Mujja'ah was as follows: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This document is from Muhammad, the Prophet, to Mujja'ah ibn Mirarah of Banu Sulma. I have given him one hundred camels from the first fifth acquired from the polytheist of Banu Dhuhl as a compensation for his brother."

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr that Sufyan ibn Abi Zuhayr said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Yemen will be conquered and the people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known. Ash-Sham will be conquered and people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known. Iraq will be conquered and people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known.' "