Ibn Umar was sent with a detachment of the Messenger of Allah (saws). The people wheeled round in flight. He said: I was one of those who wheeled round in flight. When we stopped, we said (i.e. thought): How should we do? We have run away from the battlefield and deserve Allah's wrath. Then we said (thought): Let us enter Medina, stay there, and go there while no one sees us. So we entered (Medina) and thought: If we present ourselves before the Messenger of Allah (saws), and if there is a change of repentance for us, we shall stay; if there is something else, we shall go away. So we sat down (waiting) for the Messenger of Allah (saws) before the dawn prayer. When he came out, we stood up to him and said: We are the ones who have fled. He turned to us and said: No, you are the ones who return to fight after wheeling away. We then approached and kissed his hand, and he said; I am the main body of the Muslims.

Allah's Apostle said, "My example and the example o the people is like that of a person who lit a fire and let the moths, butterflies and these insects fall in it." He also said, "There were two women, each of whom had a child with her. A wolf came and took away the child of one of them, whereupon the other said, 'It has taken your child.' The first said, 'But it has taken your child.' So they both carried the case before David who judged that the living child be given to the elder lady. So both of them went to Solomon bin David and informed him (of the case). He said, 'Bring me a knife so as to cut the child into two pieces and distribute it between them.' The younger lady said, 'May Allah be merciful to you! Don't do that, for it is her (i.e. the other lady's) child.' So he gave the child to the younger lady."

An Ansari woman said to Allah's Apostle, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I make something for you to sit on, as I have a slave who is a carpenter?" He replied, "If you wish." So, she got a pulpit made for him. When it was Friday the Prophet sat on that pulpit. The date-palm stem near which the Prophet used to deliver his sermons cried so much so that it was about to burst. The Prophet came down from the pulpit to the stem and embraced it and it started groaning like a child being persuaded to stop crying and then it stopped crying. The Prophet said,"It has cried because of (missing) what it use to hear of the religions knowledge."

Two men from my tribe and I entered upon the Prophet. One of the two men said to the Prophet, "O Allah's Apostle! Appoint me as a governor," and so did the second. The Prophet said, "We do not assign the authority of ruling to those who ask for it, nor to those who are keen to have it."

(the wife of the Prophet) The commencement (of the Divine Inspiration) to Allah's Apostle was in the form of true dreams in his sleep, for he never had a dream but it turned out to be true and clear as the bright daylight. Then he began to like seclusions, so he used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship Allah continuously for many nights before going back to his family to take the necessary provision (of food) for the stay. He come back to (his wife) Khadija again to take his provision (of food) likewise, till one day he received the Guidance while he was in the cave of Hira. An Angel came to him and asked him to read. Allah's Apostle replied, "I do not know how to read." The Prophet added, "Then the Angel held me (forcibly) and pressed me so hard that I felt distressed. Then he released me and again asked me to read, and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he held me again and pressed me for the second time till I felt distressed. He then released me and asked me to read, but again I replied. 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he held me for the third time and pressed me till I got distressed, and then he released me and said, 'Read, in the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists), has created man out of a clot, Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen, has taught man that which he knew not." (96.1-5). Then Allah's Apostle returned with that experience; and the muscles between his neck and shoulders were trembling till he came upon Khadija (his wife) and said, "Cover me!" They covered him, and when the state of fear was over, he said to Khadija, "O Khadija! What is wrong with me? I was afraid that something bad might happen to me." Then he told her the story. Khadija said, "Nay! But receive the good tidings! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you, for by Allah, you keep good relations with your Kith and kin, speak the truth, help the poor and the destitute, entertain your guests generously and assist those who are stricken with calamities." Khadija then took him to Waraqa bin Naufil, the son of Khadija's paternal uncle. Waraqa had been converted to Christianity in the Pre-lslamic Period and used to write Arabic and write of the Gospel in Arabic as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said (to Waraqa), "O my cousin! Listen to what your nephew is going to say." Waraqa said, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" The Prophet then described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, "This is the same Angel (Gabriel) who was sent to Moses. I wish I were young." He added some other statement. Allah's Apostle asked, "Will these people drive me out?" Waraqa said, "Yes, for nobody brought the like of what you have brought, but was treated with hostility. If I were to remain alive till your day (when you start preaching). then I would support you strongly." But a short while later Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was paused (stopped) for a while so that Allah's Apostle was very much grieved.

That the Prophet sent his uncle, the brother of Um Sulaim at the head of seventy riders. The chief of the pagans, 'Amir bin at-Tufail proposed three suggestions (to the Prophet ) saying, "Choose one of three alternatives: (1) that the bedouins will be under your command and the townspeople will be under my command; (2) or that I will be your successor, (3) or otherwise I will attack you with two thousand from Bani Ghatafan." But 'Amir was infected with plague in the House of Um so-and-so. He said, "Shall I stay in the house of a lady from the family of so-and-so after having a (swelled) gland like that she-camel? Get me my horse." So he died on the back of his horse. Then Haram, the brother of Um Sulaim and a lame man along with another man from so-and-so (tribe) went towards the pagans (i.e. the tribe of 'Amir). Haram said (to his companions), "Stay near to me, for I will go to them. If they (i.e. infidels) should give me protection, you will be near to me, and if they should kill me, then you should go back to your companions. Then Haram went to them and said, "Will you give me protection so as to convey the message of Allah's Apostle ?" So, he started talking to them' but they signalled to a man (to kill him) and he went behind him and stabbed him (with a spear). He (i.e. Haram) said, "Allahu Akbar! I have succeeded, by the Lord of the Ka`ba!" The companion of Haram was pursued by the infidels, and then they (i.e. Haram's companions) were all killed except the lame man who was at the top of a mountain. Then Allah revealed to us a verse that was among the cancelled ones later on. It was: 'We have met our Lord and He is pleased with us and has made us pleased.' (After this event) the Prophet invoked evil on the infidels every morning for 30 days. He invoked evil upon the (tribes of) Ril, Dhakwan, Bani Lihyan and Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and His Apostle.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) heard a man saying: O Allah, I ask Thee, I bear witness that there is no god but Thou, the One, He to Whom men repair, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal, and he said: You have supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers.

The Prophet said to me, "Recite Qur'an to me." I said to him. "Shall I recite (it) to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "I like to hear it from another person."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili from Abu'l-Ghayth Salim, the mawla of ibn Muti that Abu Hurayra said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the yearof Khaybar. We did not capture any gold or silver except for personal effects, clothes, and baggage. Rifaa ibn Zayd presented a black slave boy to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, whose name was Midam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made for Wadi'l-Qura, and when he arrived there, Midam was unsaddling the camel of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when a stray arrow struck and killed him. The people said, 'Good luck to him! The Garden!' The Messenger of Allah said, 'No! By He in whose hand my self is! The cloak which he took from the spoils on the Day of Khaybar before they were distributed will blaze with fire on him.' When the people heard that, a man brought a sandal-strap or two sandal-straps to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'A sandal-strap or two sandal-straps of fire!' "

Al-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib brought AbuSufyan ibn Harb to the Messenger of Allah (saws) in the year of the conquest (of Mecca). So he embraced Islam at Marr az-Zahran. Al-Abbas said to him: Messenger of Allah, AbuSufyan is a man who likes taking this pride, if you may do something for him. He said: Yes, he who enters the house of AbuSufyan is safe, and he who closes his door is safe.

Two men had a dispute in the presence of Allah's Apostle. One of them said, "O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." The other who was wiser, said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Laws and allow me to speak. The Prophet said, "Speak." He said, "My son was a laborer serving this (person) and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife, The people said that my son is to be stoned to death, but I ransomed him with one-hundred sheep and a slave girl. Then I asked the learned people, who informed me that my son should receive one hundred lashes and will be exiled for one year, and stoning will be the lot for the man's wife." Allah's Apostle said, "Indeed, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, I will judge between you according to Allah's Laws: As for your sheep and slave girl, they are to be returned to you." Then he scourged his son one hundred lashes and exiled him for one year. Then Unais Al- Aslami was ordered to go to the wife of the second man, and if she confessed (the crime), then stone her to death. She did confess, so he stoned her to death.

While the Prophet was performing Tawaf of the Ka`ba, he passed by a person who had tied his hands to another person with a rope or string or something like that. The Prophet cut it with his own hands and said, "Lead him by the hand."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

that Allah's Apostle was affected by magic, so much that he used to think that he had done something which in fact, he did not do, and he invoked his Lord (for a remedy). Then (one day) he said, "O `Aisha!) Do you know that Allah has advised me as to the problem I consulted Him about?" `Aisha said, "O Allah's Apostle! What's that?" He said, "Two men came to me and one of them sat at my head and the other at my feet, and one of them asked his companion, 'What is wrong with this man?' The latter replied, 'He is under the effect of magic.' The former asked, 'Who has worked magic on him?' The latter replied, 'Labid bin Al-A'sam.' The former asked, 'With what did he work the magic?' The latter replied, 'With a comb and the hair, which are stuck to the comb, and the skin of pollen of a date-palm tree.' The former asked, 'Where is that?' The latter replied, 'It is in Dharwan.' Dharwan was a well in the dwelling place of the (tribe of) Bani Zuraiq. Allah's Apostle went to that well and returned to `Aisha, saying, 'By Allah, the water (of the well) was as red as the infusion of Hinna, (1) and the date-palm trees look like the heads of devils.' `Aisha added, Allah's Apostle came to me and informed me about the well. I asked the Prophet, 'O Allah's Apostle, why didn't you take out the skin of pollen?' He said, 'As for me, Allah has cured me and I hated to draw the attention of the people to such evil (which they might learn and harm others with).' " Narrated Hisham's father: `Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle was bewitched, so he invoked Allah repeatedly requesting Him to cure him from that magic)." Hisham then narrated the above narration. (See Hadith No. 658, Vol. 7)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata al-Khurasani that he heard Said ibn al Musayyab say, "A traveller who has decided to remain somewhere for four nights does the prayer in full."

Malik said, "That is what I prefer most out of what I have heard."

Malik when asked about the prayer of a prisoner, said, "It is the same as the prayer of a person who remains in one place, except if he is travelling."

That he went with Allah's Apostle to the house of Maimuna, who was his and Ibn `Abbas' aunt. He found with her a roasted mastigure which her sister Hufaida bint Al-Harith had brought from Najd. Maimuna presented the mastigure before Allah's Apostle who rarely started eating any (unfamiliar) food before it was described and named for him. (But that time) Allah's Apostle stretched his hand towards the (meat of the) mastigure whereupon a lady from among those who were present, said, "You should inform Allah's Apostle of what you have presented to him. O Allah's Apostle! It is the meat of a mastigure." (On learning that) Allah's Apostle withdrew his hand from the meat of the mastigure. Khalid bin Al-Walid said, "O Allah's Apostle! Is this unlawful to eat?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but it is not found in the land of my people, so I do not like it." Khalid said, "Then I pulled the mastigure (meat) towards me and ate it while Allah's Apostle was looking at me.

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 heard the Prophet saying, "If there is any healing in your medicines, then it is in cupping, a gulp of honey or branding with fire (cauterization) that suits the ailment, but I don't like to be (cauterized) branded with fire."

Allah's Apostle forbade Al-Wisal. The people said (to him), "But you practice it?" He said, "I am not like you, for I am given food and drink by Allah."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf said, ''Amir ibn Rabia saw Sahl ibn Hunayf doing a ghusl and said, 'I have not seen the like of what I see today, not even the skin of a maiden who has never been out of doors.' Sahl fell to the ground. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was approached and it was said, 'Messenger of Allah, can you do anything about Sahl ibn Hunayf? By Allah, he can not raise his head.' He said, 'Do you suspect anyone of it?' They said, 'We suspect Amir ibn Rabia.' "

He continued, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, summoned Amir and was furious with him and said, 'Why does one of you kill his brother? Why did you not say, "May Allah bless you?" Do ghusl for it.' Amir washed his face, hands, elbows, knees, the end of his feet, and inside his lower garment in a vessel. Then he poured it over him, and Sahl went off with the people, and there was nothing wrong with him."

The Prophet said, "Allah has cursed the lady who artificially lengthens (her or someone else's) hair and the one who gets her hair lengthened and the One who tattoos (herself or someone else) and the one who gets herself tattooed"

The Prophet (saws) said: Allah Most High says: Pride is my cloak and majesty is my lower garment, and I shall throw him who view with me regarding one of them into Hell.

A hadith like this has been narrated on the authority of Qatada with the same chain of transmitters by different narrators (except this difference) that in the hadith transmitted by Taimi and Umar b. Amir and Hisham (the date of setting out is) 18th, and in the hadith transmitted by Sa'id it is the 12th, and in the one transmitted by Shu'ba it is the 17th or 19th.

Allah Apostle prayed while I was lying like a dead body on his family bed between him and his Qibla.

Allah's Apostle allowed one of the Ansar families to treat persons who have taken poison and also who are suffering from ear ailment with Ruqya. Anas added: I got myself branded cauterized) for pleurisy, when Allah's Apostle was still alive. Abu Talha, Anas bin An-Nadr and Zaid bin Thabit witnessed that, and it was Abu Talha who branded (cauterized) me.

The Prophet said, "My example and the example of what I have been sent with is that of a man who came to some people and said, 'O people! I have seen the enemy's army with my own eyes, and I am the naked warner; so protect yourselves!' Then a group of his people obeyed him and fled at night proceeding stealthily till they were safe, while another group of them disbelieved him and stayed at their places till morning when the army came upon them, and killed and ruined them completely So this is the example of that person who obeys me and follows what I have brought (the Qur'an and the Sunna), and the example of the one who disobeys me and disbelieves the truth I have brought."

"Regarding sheep, for every forty sheep up to one hundred and twenty, one sheep is due. But if you possess only thirty-nine, nothing is payable on them." He further narrated the tradition about the sadaqah (zakat) on sheep like that of az-Zuhri.

"Regarding cattle, a yearling bull calf is payable for every thirty, and a cow in her third year for forty, and nothing is payable on working animals.

Regarding (the zakat on) camels, he mentioned the rates that az-Zuhri mentioned in his tradition. He said: "For twenty-five camels, five sheep are to be paid. If they exceed by one, a she-camel in her second year is to be given. If there is no she-camel in her second year, a male camel in its third year is to be given, up to thirty-five. If they exceed by one a she-camel in her third year is to be given, up to forty-five. If they exceed by one, a she-camel in her fourth year which is ready to be covered by a bull-camel is to be given." He then transmitted the rest of the tradition like that of az-Zuhri.

He continued: If they exceed by one, i.e. they are ninety-one to hundred and twenty, two she-camels in their fourth year, which are ready to be covered by a bull-camel, are to be given. If there are more camels than that, a she-camel in her fourth year is to be given for every fifty. Those which are in one flock are not to be separated, and those which are separate are not to be brought together. An old sheep, one with a defect in the eye, or a billy goat is not to be accepted as a sadaqah unless the collector is willing.

As regards agricultural produce, a tenth is payable on that which is watered by rivers or rain, and a twentieth on that which is watered by draught camels."

The version of Asim and al-Harith says: "Sadaqah (zakat) is payable every year." Zuhayr said: I think he said "Once a year".

The version of Asim has the words: "If a she-camel in her second year is not available among the camels, nor is there a bull-camel in its third year, ten dirhams or two goats are to be given."

"A man from the Muslims and a man from the Jews quarrelled, and the Muslim said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Muhammad over all the people!" The Jew said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Moses over all the people!' On that the Muslim lifted his hand and slapped the Jew. The Jew went to Allah's Apostle and informed him of all that had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over Moses, for the people will fall unconscious on the Day of Resurrection, I will be the first to regain consciousness and behold, Moses will be standing there, holding the side of the Throne. I will not know whether he has been one of those who have fallen unconscious and then regained consciousness before me, or if he has been one of those exempted by Allah (from falling unconscious)." (See Hadith No. 524, Vol. 8)

AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah said: Mu'awiyah stood among the people at Dayr Mustahill lying at the gate of Hims. He said: O people, we sighted the moon on such-and-such day. We shall fast in advance. Anyone who likes to do so may do it. Malik ibn Hubayrah as-Saba'i stood up and asked: Mu'awiyah, did you hear the Messenger of Allah (saws) say something (about this matter), or is this something on the basis of your opinion? He replied: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: Fast the month (in the beginning) and in the last.

A woman met him and he found the odour of perfume in her. Her clothes were fluttering in the air. He said: O maid-servant of the Almighty, are you coming from the mosque? She replied: Yes. He said: For it did you use perfume? She replied: Yes. He said: I heard my beloved AbulQasim (saws) say: The prayer of a woman who uses perfume for this mosque is not accepted until she returns and takes a bath like that of sexual defilement (perfectly).

Abu Dawud said: Al-i'sar means dust.

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. They worked till midday and they said, 'We are not in need of your reward.' So the man employed another batch and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed (for the first batch). They worked until the time of the `Asr prayer and said, 'Whatever we have done is for you.' He employed another batch. They worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches."

The news of the migration of the Prophet (from Mecca to Medina) reached us while we were in Yemen. So we set out as emigrants towards him. We were (three) I and my two brothers. I was the youngest of them, and one of the two was Abu Burda, and the other, Abu Ruhm, and our total number was either 53 or 52 men from my people. We got on board a boat and our boat took us to Negus in Ethiopia. There we met Ja`far bin Abi Talib and stayed with him. Then we all came (to Medina) and met the Prophet at the time of the conquest of Khaibar. Some of the people used to say to us, namely the people of the ship, "We have migrated before you." Asma' bint 'Umais who was one of those who had come with us, came as a visitor to Hafsa, the wife the Prophet . She had migrated along with those other Muslims who migrated to Negus. `Umar came to Hafsa while Asma' bint 'Umais was with her. `Umar, on seeing Asma,' said, "Who is this?" She said, "Asma' bint 'Umais," `Umar said, "Is she the Ethiopian? Is she the sea-faring lady?" Asma' replied, "Yes." `Umar said, "We have migrated before you (people of the boat), so we have got more right than you over Allah's Apostle " On that Asma' became angry and said, "No, by Allah, while you were with Allah's Apostle who was feeding the hungry ones amongst you, and advised the ignorant ones amongst you, we were in the far-off hated land of Ethiopia, and all that was for the sake of Allah's Apostle . By Allah, I will neither eat any food nor drink anything till I inform Allah's Apostle of all that you have said. There we were harmed and frightened. I will mention this to the Prophet and will not tell a lie or curtail your saying or add something to it."

The Prophet cursed the lady who practices tattooing and the one who gets herself tattooed, and one who eats (takes) Riba' (usury) and the one who gives it. And he prohibited taking the price of a dog, and the money earned by prostitution, and cursed the makers of pictures.

[Muslim]. The narration in At-Tirmidhi adds: And the one who records it, and the two persons who stand witness to it.

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to attach the children of the Jahiliyya to whoever claimed them in Islam. Two men came and each of them claimed a woman's child. Umar ibn al-Khattab summoned a person who scrutinized features and he looked at them. The scrutinizer said, "They both share in him." Umar ibn al-Khattab hit him with a whip. Then he summoned the woman, and said, "Tell me your tale." She said, "It was this one (indicating one of the two men) who used to come to me while I was with my people's camels. He did not leave me until he thought and I thought that I was pregnant. Then he left me, and blood flowed from me, and this other one took his place. I do not know from which of them the child is." The scrutinizer said, "Allah is greater." Umar said to the child, "Go to whichever of them you wish."

Hamnah said my menstruation was great in quantity and severe. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) for a decision and told him. I found him in the house of my sister, Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh.

I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who menstruates in great quantity and it is severe, so what do you think about it? It has prevented me from praying and fasting.

He said: I suggest that you should use cotton, for it absorbs the blood. She replied: It is too copious for that. He said: Then take a cloth. She replied: It is too copious for that, for my blood keeps flowing. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I shall give you two commands; whichever of them you follow, that will be sufficient for you without the other, but you know best whether you are strong enough to follow both of them.

He added: This is a stroke of the Devil, so observe your menses for six or seven days, Allah alone knows which it should be; then wash. And when you see that you are purified and quite clean, pray during twenty-three or twenty-four days and nights and fast, for that will be enough for you, and do so every month, just as women menstruate and are purified at the time of their menstruation and their purification.

But if you are strong enough to delay the noon (Zuhr) prayer and advance the afternoon ('Asr) prayer, to wash, and then combine the noon and the afternoon prayer; to delay the sunset prayer and advance the night prayer, to wash, and then combine the two prayers, do so: and to wash at dawn, do so: and fast if you are able to do so if possible.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Of the two commands this is more to my liking.¹

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit narrated from Ibn 'Aqil: Hamnah said: Of the two commands this is the one which is more to my liking.² In this version these words were not quoted as the statement of the Prophet (saws); it gives it as a statement of Hamnah.

Abu Dawud said: 'Amr b. Thabit was a Rafidi. This has been said by Yahya b. Ma'in.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (b. Hanbal) say: I am doubtful about the tradition transmitted by Ibn 'Aqil.

When (the dead body of) `Umar was put on his deathbed, the people gathered around him and invoked (Allah) and prayed for him before the body was taken away, and I was amongst them. Suddenly I felt somebody taking hold of my shoulder and found out that he was `Ali bin Abi Talib. `Ali invoked Allah's Mercy for `Umar and said, "O `Umar! You have not left behind you a person whose deeds I like to imitate and meet Allah with more than I like your deeds. By Allah! I always thought that Allah would keep you with your two companions, for very often I used to hear the Prophet saying, 'I, Abu Bakr and `Umar went (somewhere); I, Abu Bakr and `Umar entered (somewhere); and I, Abu Bakr and `Umar went out."'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar sold one of his slaves for eight hundred dirhams with the stipulation that he was not responsible for defects. The person who bought the slave complained to Abdullah ibn Umar that the slave had a disease which he had not told him about. They argued and went to Uthman ibn Affan for a decision . The man said, "He sold me a slave with a disease which he did not tell me about." Abdullah said, "I sold to him with the stipulation that I was not responsible." Uthman ibn Affan decided that Abdullah ibn Umar should take an oath that he had sold the slave without knowing that he had any disease. Abdullah ibn Umar refused to take the oath, so the slave was returned to him and recovered his health in his possession. Abdullah sold him afterwards for 1500 dirhams.

Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us about a man who buys a female slave and she becomes pregnant, or who buys a slave and then frees him, or if there is any other such matter which has already happened so that he cannot return his purchase, and a clear proof is established that there was a fault in that purchase when it was in the hands of the seller or the fault is admitted by the seller or someone else, is that the slave or slave-girl is assessed for its value with the fault it is found to have had on the day of purchase and the buyer is refunded,from what he paid,the difference between the price of a slave who is sound and a slave with such a defect.

Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us regarding a man who buys a slave and then finds out that the slave has a defect for which he can be returned and meanwhile another defect has happened to the slave whilst in his possession, is that if the defect which occurred to the slave in his possession has harmed him, like loss of a limb, loss of an eye, or something similar, then he has a choice. If he wants, he can have the price of the slave reduced commensurate with the defect (he bought him with ) according to the prices on the day he bought him, or if he likes, he can pay compensation for the defect which the slave has suffered in his possession and return him. The choice is up to him. If the slave dies in his possession, the slave is valued with the defect which he had on the day of his purchase. It is seen what his price would really have been. If the price of the slave on the day of purchase without fault was 100 dinars, and his price on the day of purchase with fault would have been 80 dinars, the price is reduced by the difference. These prices are assessed according to the market value on the day the slave was purchased . "

Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us is that if a man returns a slave girl in whom he has found a defect and he has already had intercourse with her, he must pay what he has reduced of her price if she was a virgin. If she was not a virgin, there is nothing against his having had intercourse with her because he had charge of her."

Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us regarding a person, whether he is an inheritor or not, who sells a slave, slave-girl, or animal without a liability agreement is that he is not responsible for any defect in what he sold unless he knew about the fault and concealed it. If he knew that there was a fault and concealed it, his declaration that he was free of responsibility does not absolve him, and what he sold is returned to him."

Malik spoke about a situation where a slave-girl was bartered for two other slave-girls and then one of the slave-girls was found to have a defect for which she could be returned. He said, "The slave-girl worth two other slave- girls is valued for her price. Then the other two slave-girls are valued, ignoring the defect which the one of them has. Then the price of the slave-girl sold for two slave-girls is divided between them according to their prices so that the proportion of each of them in her price is arrived at - to the higher priced one according to her higher price, and to the other according to her value. Then one looks at the one with the defect, and the buyer is refunded according to the amount her share is affected by the defect, be it little or great. The price of the two slave-girls is based on their market value on the day that they were bought."

Malik spoke about a man who bought a slave and hired him out on a long-term or short-term basis and then found out that the slave had a defect which necessitated his return. He said that if the man returned the slave because of the defect, he kept the hire and revenue. "This is the way in which things are done in our city. That is because, had the man bought a slave who then built a house for him, and the value of the house was many times the price of the slave, and he then found that the slave had a defect for which he could be returned, and he was returned, he would not have to make payment for the work the slave had done for him. Similarly, he would keep any revenue from hiring him out, because he had charge of him. This is the way of doing things among us."

Malik said, "The way of doing things among us when someone buys several slaves in one lot and then finds that one of them has been stolen, or has a defect, is that he looks at the one he finds has been stolen or the one in which he finds a defect. If he is the pick of those slaves, or the most expensive, or it was for his sake that he bought them, or he is the one in whom people see the most excellence, then the whole sale is returned. If the one who is found to be stolen or to have a defect is not the pick of the slaves, and he did not buy them for his sake, and there is no special virtue which people see in him, the one who is found to have a defect or to have been stolen is returned as he is, and the buyer is refunded his portion of the total price."