Allah's Apostle said, "O `Abdur-Rahman bin Samura! Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand, you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking for it, then you will be helped (by Allah) in it. If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then do what is better and make expiation for your oath."

The Prophet said, "Allah created His creation, and when He had finished it, the womb, got up and caught hold of Allah whereupon Allah said, "What is the matter?' On that, it said, 'I seek refuge with you from those who sever the ties of Kith and kin.' On that Allah said, 'Will you be satisfied if I bestow My favors on him who keeps your ties, and withhold My favors from him who severs your ties?' On that it said, 'Yes, O my Lord!' Then Allah said, 'That is for you.' " Abu Huraira added: If you wish, you can recite: "Would you then if you were given the authority. do mischief in the land and sever your ties of kinship. (47. 22)

That he asked Sa`id bin Jubair regarding (the statement of Allah). 'Move not your tongue concerning (the Qur'an) to make haste therewith.' He said, "Ibn `Abbas said that the Prophet used to move his lips when the Divine Inspiration was being revealed to him. So the Prophet was ordered not to move his tongue, which he used to do, lest some words should escape his memory. 'It is for Us to collect it' means, We will collect it in your chest;' and its recitation' means, We will make you recite it. 'But when We recite it (i.e. when it is revealed to you), follow its recital; it is for Us to explain it and make it clear,' (i.e. We will explain it through your tongue).

Two person of Bani Thaqif and one from Quarish (or two persons from Quraish and one from Bani Thaqif) who had fat bellies but little wisdom, met near the Ka`ba. One of them said, "Did you see that Allah hears what we say? " The other said, "He hears us if we speak aloud, but He does not hear if we speak in stealthy quietness (softly)." The third fellow said, "If He hears when we speak aloud, then He surely hears us if we speak in stealthy quietness (softly)." So Allah revealed the Verse:-- 'And you have not been screening against yourselves, lest your ears, and your eyes and your skins should testify against you..." (41.22)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that Nufay, a mukatab of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, divorced his free wife twice, so he asked Uthman ibn Affan for an opinion, and he said, "She is haram for you."

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

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Nufay, a mukatab of Umm Salama the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or her slave, had a free woman as a wife. He divorced her twice, and then he wanted to return to her. The wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to go to Uthman ibn Affan to ask him about it. He found him at ad-Daraj with Zayd ibn Thabit. He asked them, and they both anticipated him and said, "She is haram for you. She is haram for you."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he had heard al-Qasim ibn Muhammad say that Zayd ibn Abd al-Malik separated some men and their wives who were slave-girls who had borne children to men who had died, because they had married them after one or two menstrual periods. He separated them until they had done an idda of four months and ten days. Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "Glory be to Allah! Allah says in His Book, 'Those of you who die, leaving wives, they are not wives.' "

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that he had heard that in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, women were becoming muslim in their own lands and they did not do hijra while their husbands were still kafirun although they themselves had become muslim. Among them was the daughter of al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and she was the wife of Safwan ibn Umayya. She became muslim on the day of the conquest (of Makka), and her husband, Safwan ibn Umayya fled from Islam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent Safwan's paternal cousin, Wahb ibn Umayr with the cloak of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a safe-conduct for Safwan ibn Umayya, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him to Islam and asked for him to come to him and if he was pleased with the matter to accept it. If not he would have a respite for two months.

When Safwan came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his cloak, he called out to him over the heads of the people, "Muhammad! Wahb ibn Umayr brought me your cloak and claimed that you had summoned me to come to you and if I was pleased with the matter, I should accept it and if not, you would give me a respite for two months. "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Come down, Abu Wahb." He said, "No, by Allah! I will not come down until you make it clear to me." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You have a respite of four months." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out toward Hawazin at Hunayn. He sent to Safwan ibn Umayya to borrow some equipment and arms that he had. Safwan said, "Willingly or unwillingly?" He said, "Willingly." Therefore he lent him the equipment and arms which he had. Then Safwan went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was still a kafir. He was present at the battles of Hunayn and at-Ta'if while he was still a kafir and his wife was a muslim. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not separate Safwan and his wife until he had become muslim, and his wife was settled with him by that marriage.

This Verse:--"Whether you show what is in your minds or conceal it.." (2.284) was abrogated.

"A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my `Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. `Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. `Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about `Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and the Sa`i between Safa and Marwa). "

The wife of Sa'd b. al-Rabi said: Messenger of Allah, Sa'd died and left two daughters. He then narrated the rest of the tradition in a similar way.

Abu Dawud said: This is the most correct tradition.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted through another chain of narrators.

An onager was presented to Allah's Apostle at the place called Al-Abwa' or Waddan, but Allah's Apostle rejected it. When the Prophet noticed the signs of sorrow on the giver's face he said, "We have not rejected your gift, but we are in the state of Ihram." (i.e. if we were not in a state of Ihram we would have accepted your gift, Fath-ul-Bari page 130, Vol. 6)

Whenever the Prophet finished his meals (or when his dining sheet was taken away), he used to say. "Praise be to Allah Who has satisfied our needs and quenched our thirst. Your favor cannot by compensated or denied." Once he said, upraise be to You, O our Lord! Your favor cannot be compensated, nor can be left, nor can be dispensed with, O our Lord!"

I asked Allah's Apostle, "We hunt with these hounds." He said, "If you send your trained hounds after a game and mention Allah's Name on sending, you can eat of what they catch for you. But if the hound eats of the game, then you must not eat of it, for I am afraid that the hound caught it for itself, and if another hound joins your hounds (during the hunt), you should not eat of the game."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar divorced one of his wives in the house of Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was on the way to the mosque. He went another route from behind the houses being averse to ask permission to enter until he returned to her.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Umar and Abu Hurayra were asked about a man who gave his wife power over herself, and she returned it to him without doing anything with it. They said that there was no divorce. (i.e. The man's giving his wife power over herself was not interpreted as a desire for divorce on his part.)

Abu Dawud said: This tradition is sounder than that of Ibn Juraij that Rukanah divorced his wife by three pronouncements, for they are the members of his family and they are more aware for him. The tradition of Ibn Juraij has been narrated by some children of Abu Rafi' from 'Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas.