I divorced my wife. I then came to Medina to sell my land that was there so that I could buy arms and fight in battle. I met a group of the Companions of the Prophet (saws). They said: Six persons of us intended to do so (i.e. divorce their wives and purchase weapons), but the Prophet (saws) prohibited them. He said: For you in the Messenger of Allah there is an excellent model. I then came to Ibn 'Abbas and asked him about the witr observed by the Prophet (saws). He said: I point to you a person who is most familiar with the witr observed by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Go to 'Aishah. While going to her I asked Hakim b. Aflah to accompany me. He refused, but I adjured him. He, therefore, went along with me. We sought permission to enter upon 'Aishah. She said: Who is this ? He said: Hakim b. Aflah. She asked: Who is with you ? He replied: Sa'd b. Hisham. She said: Hisham son of 'Amir who was killed in the Battle of Uhud. I said: Yes. She said: What a good man 'Amir was! I said: Mother of faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (saws). She asked: Do you not recite the Quran ? The character of Messenger of Allah (saws) was the Qur'an. I asked: Tell me about his vigil and prayer at night. She replied: Do you not recite: "O thou folded in garments" (73:1). I said: Why not ?

When the opening of this Surah was revealed, the Companions stood praying (most of the night) until their fett swelled, and the concluding verses were not revealed for twelve months from heaven. At last the concluding verses were revealed and the prayer at night became voluntary after it was obligatory. I said: Tell me about the witr of the Prophet (saws). She replied: He used to pray eight rak'ahs, sitting only during the eighth of them. Then he would stand up and pray another rak'ahs. He would sit only after the eighth and the ninth rak'ahs. He would utter salutation only after the ninth rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting and that made eleven rak'ahs, O my son. But when he grew old and became fleshy he observed a witr of seven, sitting only in sixth and seventh rak'ahs, and would utter salutation only after the seventh rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting, and that made nine rak'ahs, O my son. The Messenger of Allah (saws) would not pray through a whole night, or recite the whole Qur'an in a night or fast a complete month except in Ramadan. When he offered prayer, he would do that regularly. When he was overtaken by sleep at night, he would pray twelve rak'ahs.

The narrator said: I came to Ibn 'Abbas and narrated all this to him. By Allah, this is really a tradition. Has I been on speaking terms with her, I would have come to her and heard it from her mouth. I said: If I knew that you were not on speaking terms with her, I would have never narrated it to you.

A man came to the Prophet (saws) and made acknowledgment before him that he had committed fornication with a woman whom he named. The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent someone to the woman and he asked her about it. She denied that she had committed fornication. So he gave him the prescribed punishment of lashes and left her.

The Prophet (saws) said: I and a woman whose cheeks have become black shall on the Day of Resurrection be like these two (pointing to the middle and forefinger), i.e. a woman of rank and beauty who has been bereft of her husband and devotes herself to her fatherless children till they go their separate ways or die.

I bought Barira (a female slave). The Prophet said (to me), "Buy her as the Wala' is for the manumitted." Once she was given a sheep (in charity). The Prophet said, "It (the sheep) is a charitable gift for her (Barira) and a gift for us." Al-Hakam said, "Barira's husband was a free man." Ibn `Abbas said, 'When I saw him, he was a slave."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to look after the orphaned daughters of her brother in her house. They had jewellery (which they wore) and she did not take zakat from this jewellery of theirs.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that Fatima bint al-Mundhir told him that she used to see Asma bint Abi Bakrat Muzdalifa telling whoever led the subh prayer for her and her companions to pray it as soon as the dawn broke, after which she would mount and go to Mina without stopping at all.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There are narrations on this topic from Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurairah. This Hadith is Hasan Sahih, and this is acted upon according to the people of knowledge.

Abu Dawud said: This is the view held by Malik b. Anas.

Um Ruman, the mother of `Aisha said that while `Aisha and she were sitting, an Ansari woman came and said, "May Allah harm such and-such a person!" Um Ruman said to her, What is the matter?" She replied, "My son was amongst those who talked of the story (of the Slander)." Um Ruman said, "What is that?" She said, "So-and-so...." and narrated the whole story. On that `Aisha said, "Did Allah's Apostle hear about that?" She replies, "yes." `Aisha further said, "And Abu Bakr too?" She replied, "Yes." On that, `Aisha fell down fainting, and when she came to her senses, she had got fever with rigors. I put her clothes over her and covered her. The Prophet came and asked, "What is wrong with this (lady)?" Um Ruman replied, "O Allah's Apostle! She (i.e. `Aisha) has got temperature with rigors." He said, "Perhaps it is because of the story that has been talked about?" She said, "Yes." `Aisha sat up and said, "By Allah, if I took an oath (that I am innocent), you would not believe me, and if I said (that I am not innocent), you would not excuse me. My and your example is like that of Jacob and his sons (as Jacob said ): 'It is Allah (Alone) Whose Help can be sought against that you assert.' Um Ruman said, "The Prophet then went out saying nothing. Then Allah declared her innocence. On that, `Aisha said (to the Prophet), "I thank Allah only; thank neither anybody else nor you."

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited selling the spoils of war until it has been distributed."

There is something on this topic from Abu Hurairah.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib.

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.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that a beggar asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for something while she was fasting and there was only a loaf of bread in her house. She said to her female mawla, "Give it to him." The mawla protested, "You will not have anything to break your fast with." A'isha repeated, "Give it to him," so she did so. When evening came, the people of a house or a man who did not usually give to them, gave them a sheep and some food to go with it. A'isha, umm al-muminin, called her mawla and said, "Eat from this. This is better than your loaf of bread."

I heard `Urwa bin Az-Zubair, Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Alqama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah narrating from `Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, the story about the liars who said what they said about her and how Allah revealed her innocence afterwards. Each one of the above four narrators narrated to me a portion of her narration. (It was said in it), "The Prophet stood up, saying, 'Is there anyone who can relieve me from `Abdullah bin Ubai?' On that, Usaid bin Hudair got up and said to Sa`d bin 'Ubada, La`Amrullahi (By the Eternity of Allah), we will kill him!' "

I witnessed the case of Lian (the case of a man who charged his wife for committing illegal sexual intercourse when I was fifteen years old. The Prophet ordered that they be divorced, and the husband said, "If I kept her, I would be a liar." I remember that Az-Zubair also said, "(It was said) that if that woman brought forth the child with such-and-such description, her husband would prove truthful, but if she brought it with such-and-such description looking like a Wahra (a red insect), he would prove untruthful." I heard Az-Zubair also saying, "Finally she gave birth to a child of description which her husband disliked .

We gave the Pledge of allegiance to the Prophet and he recited to me the verse (60.12). That they will not associate anything in worship with Allah (60.12). And he also prevented us from wailing and lamenting over the dead. A woman from us held her hand out and said, "Such-and-such a woman cried over a dead person belonging to my family and I want to compensate her for that crying" The Prophet did not say anything in reply and she left and returned. None of those women abided by her pledge except Um Sulaim, Um Al-`Ala', and the daughter of Abi Sabra, the wife of Al-Mu`adh or the daughter of Abi Sabra, and the wife of Mu`adh.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that the daughter of Ubaydullah ibn Umar whose mother was the daughter of Zayd ibn al- Khattab, married the son of Abdullah ibn Umar. He died and had not yet consummated the marriage or specified her bride-price. Her mother wanted the bride-price, and Abdullah ibn Umar said, "She is not entitled to a bride-price. Had she been entitled to a bride-price, we would not have kept it and we would not do her an injustice. "The mother refused to accept that. Zayd ibn Thabit was brought to adjudicate between them and he decided that she had no bride-price, but that she did inherit.

Um 'Atiyya (an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet ) came to Basra to visit her son, but she could not find him. She narrated to us, "The Prophet came to us while we were giving bath to his (dead) daughter, he said: 'Wash her three times, five times or more, if you think it necessary, with water and Sidr, and last of all put camphor, and when you finish, notify me.' " Um 'Atiyya added, "After finishing, we informed him and he gave us his waist sheet and told us to shroud her in it and did not say more than that."

A hadith like this has been transmitted on the authority of 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from Fatima bint al Mundhir that Asma bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiq said, "I went to A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during an eclipse of the sun, and everybody was standing in prayer, and she too was standing praying. I said, 'What is everybody doing?' She pointed towards the sky with her hand and said, 'Glory be to Allah.' I said, 'A sign?' She nodded 'Yes' with her head."

She continued, "I stood until I had almost fainted, and I began to pour water over my head. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praised Allah and spoke well of Him, and then said, 'There is nothing which I had previously not seen beforehand that I have not now seen while standing - even the Garden and the Fire. It has been revealed to me that you will be tried in your graves with a trial, like, or near to, the trial of the Dajjal (I do not know which one Asma said). Every one of you will have someone who comes to him and asks him, 'What do you know about this man?' A mumin, or one who has certainty (muqin) (I do not know which one Asma said), will say, 'He is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who came to us with clear proofs and guidance, and we answered and believed and followed.' He will then be told, 'Sleep in a good state. We know now that you were a mumin.' A hypocrite, however, or one who has doubts (l do not know which one Asma said), will say, 'I do not know, I heard everybody saying something and I said it.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Uthman ibn Affan would sometimes never get down from the animal he was riding on when he was doing umra, until he had returned .

Malik said, ''Umra is a sunna, and we do not know of any muslim who has ever said that it is permissible not to do it."

Malik said, "I do not think that anyone can do more than one umra in any one year."

Malik said that someone doing umra who had sexual intercourse with his wife had to sacrifice an animal and do a second umra, which he had to begin when he had finished the one that he had spoiled. He should go into ihram at the same place where he went into ihram for the umra which he had spoiled, except if he had entered into ihram at a place further away than his miqat. This was because he only had to go into ihram from his miqat.

Malik said, "Someone who entered Makka to do umra, and does tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa while he is junub, or not in wudu, and afterwards has intercourse with his wife, and then remembers, should do ghusl, or wudu, and then go back and do tawaf around the House and say between Safa and Marwa and do another umra and sacrifice an animal. A woman should do the same if her husband has intercourse with her while she is in ihram. "

Malik said, "As for beginning umra at at-Tanim, (it is not the only alternative). It is permissible if Allah wills for some one to leave the Haram and go into ihram if he wishes, but the best way is for him to go into ihram at the miqat which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used (i.e. at-Tanim), or one which is further away."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah! I have given myself to you." She stood for a long time, and then a man got up and said, "Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you have anything to give her as a bride-price?" He said, "I possess only this lower garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you give it to her you will not have a garment to wear so look for something else." He said, "I have nothing else." He said, "Look for something else, even if it is only an iron ring." He looked, and found that he had nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know any of the Qur'an?" He said, "Yes. I know such-and-such a sura and such-and-such a sura," which he named. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an."

Ibn Shihab: I do not know whether he (the Prophet) said it is a third or a fourth time.

The Prophet forbade that a woman should be married to a man along with her paternal aunt or with her maternal aunt (at the same time). Az-Zuhri (the sub-narrator) said: There is a similar order for the paternal aunt of the father of one's wife, for 'Urwa told me that `Aisha said, "What is unlawful because of blood relations, is also unlawful because of the corresponding foster suckling relations."

Um Habiba said to Allah's Apostle "We have heard that you want to marry Durra bint Abu-Salama." Allah's Apostle said, "Can she be married along with Um Salama (her mother)? Even if I have not married Um Salama, she would not be lawful for me to marry, for her father is my foster brother."

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) forbade the (people) meeting the caravan (for entering into business transaction with them), and the selling of goods by a townsman on behalf of a man of the desert, and seeking by a woman the divorce of her sister (from her husband), and outbidding (against one another), and tying up the udders (of animals), and buying of (things) in opposition to one's brother.

A woman asked the Prophet about the bath which is taken after finishing from the menses. The Prophet told her what to do and said, "Purify yourself with a piece of cloth scented with musk." The woman asked, "How shall I purify myself with it" He said, "Subhan Allah! Purify yourself (with it)." I pulled her to myself and said, "Rub the place soiled with blood with it."