I witnessed the `Id-al-Fitr prayer with Allah's Apostle , Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman; and all of them offered it before delivering the sermon... and then delivered the sermon. Once the Prophet (after completing the prayer and the sermon) came down, as if I am now looking at him waving at the men with his hand to sit down, and walked through them till he, along with Bilal, reached (the rows of) the women. Then he recited: 'O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance that they will not worship anything other than Allah, will not steal, will not commit illegal sexual intercourse, will not kill their children, and will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood (by making illegal children belonging to their husbands)'....(60.12) Having finished, he said, 'Do you agree to that?" One lady, other than whom none replied the Prophet said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle!" (The, sub-narrator, Al-Hasan did not know who the lady was.) Then the Prophet said to them: "Will you give alms?" Thereupon Bilal spread out his garment and the women started throwing big rings and small rings into Bilal's garment. (See Hadith No. 95 vol.2)

An Arab lady was mentioned to the Prophet so he asked Abu Usaid As-Sa`idi to send for her, and he sent for her and she came and stayed in the castle of Bani Sa`ida. The Prophet came out and went to her and entered upon her. Behold, it was a lady sitting with a drooping head. When the Prophet spoke to her, she said, "I seek refuge with Allah from you." He said, "I grant you refuge from me." They said to her, "Do you know who this is?" She said, "No." They said, "This is Allah's Apostle who has come to command your hand in marriage." She said, "I am very unlucky to lose this chance." Then the Prophet and his companions went towards the shed of Bani Sa`ida and sat there. Then he said, "Give us water, O Sahl!" So I took out this drinking bowl and gave them water in it. The sub-narrator added: Sahl took out for us that very drinking bowl and we all drank from it. Later on `Umar bin `Abdul `Aziz requested Sahl to give it to him as a present, and he gave it to him as a present.

The Prophet led us in the Zuhr prayer, offering only two rak`at and then (finished it) with Taslim, and went to a piece of wood in front of the mosque and put his hand over it. Abu Bakr and `Umar were also present among the people on that day but dared not talk to him (about his unfinished prayer). And the hasty people went away, wondering. "Has the prayer been shortened" Among the people there was a man whom the Prophet used to call Dhul-Yadain (the longarmed). He said, "O Allah's Prophet! Have you forgotten or has the prayer been shortened?" The Prophet said, "Neither have I forgotten, nor has it been shortened." They (the people) said, "Surely, you have forgotten, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, Dhul-Yadain has told the truth." So the Prophet got up and offered other two rak`at and finished his prayer with Taslim. Then he said Takbir, performed a prostration of ordinary duration or longer, then he raised his head and said Takbir and performed another prostration of ordinary duration or longer and then raised his head and said Takbir (i.e. he performed the two prostrations of Sahu, i.e., forgetfulness).

Once the people started asking Allah's Apostle questions, and they asked so many questions that he became angry and ascended the pulpit and said, "I will answer whatever questions you may ask me today." I looked right and left and saw everyone covering his face with his garment and weeping. Behold ! There was a man who, on quarreling with the people, used to be called as a son of a person other than h is father. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is my father?" The Prophet replied, "Your father is Hudhaifa." And then `Umar got up and said, "We accept Allah as our Lord, and Islam as (our) religion, and Muhammad as (our) Apostle; and we seek refuge with Allah from the afflictions." Allah's Apostle said, " I have never seen a day like today in its good and its evil for Paradise and the Hell Fire were displayed in front of me, till I saw them just beyond this wall." Qatada, when relating this Hadith, used to mention the following Verse:-- 'O you who believe! Ask not questions about things which, If made plain to you, May cause you trouble. (5.101)

For one year I wanted to ask `Umar about the two women who helped each other against the Prophet but I was afraid of him. One day he dismounted his riding animal and went among the trees of Arak to answer the call of nature, and when he returned, I asked him and he said, "(They were) `Aisha and Hafsa." Then he added, "We never used to give significance to ladies in the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, but when Islam came and Allah mentioned their rights, we used to give them their rights but did not allow them to interfere in our affairs. Once there was some dispute between me and my wife and she answered me back in a loud voice. I said to her, 'Strange! You can retort in this way?' She said, 'Yes. Do you say this to me while your daughter troubles Allah's Apostle?' So I went to Hafsa and said to her, 'I warn you not to disobey Allah and His Apostle.' I first went to Hafsa and then to Um Salama and told her the same. She said to me, 'O `Umar! It surprises me that you interfere in our affairs so much that you would poke your nose even into the affairs of Allah's Apostle and his wives.' So she rejected my advice. There was an Ansari man; whenever he was absent from Allah's Apostle and I was present there, I used to convey to him what had happened (on that day), and when I was absent and he was present there, he used to convey to me what had happened as regards news from Allah's Apostle . During that time all the rulers of the nearby lands had surrendered to Allah's Apostle except the king of Ghassan in Sham, and we were afraid that he might attack us. All of a sudden the Ansari came and said, 'A great event has happened!' I asked him, 'What is it? Has the Ghassani (king) come?' He said, 'Greater than that! Allah's Apostle has divorced his wives! I went to them and found all of them weeping in their dwellings, and the Prophet had ascended to an upper room of his. At the door of the room there was a slave to whom I went and said, "Ask the permission for me to enter." He admitted me and I entered to see the Prophet lying on a mat that had left its imprint on his side. Under his head there was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fires. Behold! There were some hides hanging there and some grass for tanning. Then I mentioned what I had said to Hafsa and Um Salama and what reply Um Salama had given me. Allah's Apostle smiled and stayed there for twenty nine days and then came down." (See Hadith No. 648, Vol. 3 for details)

Ibn `Umar intended to perform Hajj in the year of the Hajj of Al-Harawriya during the rule of Ibn Az- Zubair. Some people said to him, "It is very likely that there will be a fight among the people, and we are afraid that they might prevent you (from performing Hajj)." He replied, "Verily, in Allah's Apostle there is a good example for you (to follow). In this case I would do the same as he had done. I make you witness that I have intended to perform `Umra." When he reached Al-Baida', he said, "The conditions for both Hajj and `Umra are the same. I make you witness that I have intended to perform Hajj along with `Umra." After that he took a garlanded Hadi (to Mecca) which he bought (on the way). When he reached (Mecca), he performed Tawaf of the Ka`ba and of Safa (and Marwa) and did not do more than that. He did not make legal for himself the things which were illegal for a Muhrim till it was the Day of Nahr (sacrifice), when he had his head shaved and slaughtered (the sacrifice) and considered sufficient his first Tawaf (between Safa and Marwa), as a (Sa`i) for his Hajj and `Umra both. He then said, "The Prophet used to do like that."

Ya`la used to say, "I wish I could see Allah's Apostle at the time he is being inspired Divinely." When the Prophet was at Al-Ja'rana and was shaded by a garment hanging over him and some of his companions were with him, a man perfumed with scent came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is your opinion regarding a man who assumes Ihram and puts on a cloak after perfuming his body with scent?" The Prophet waited for a while, and then the Divine Inspiration descended upon him. `Umar pointed out to Ya`la, telling him to come. Ya`la came and pushed his head (underneath the screen which was covering the Prophet ) and behold! The Prophet's face was red and he kept on breathing heavily for a while and then he was relieved. Thereupon he said, "Where is the questioner who asked me about `Umra a while ago?" The man was sought and then was brought before the Prophet who said (to him), "As regards the scent which you perfumed your body with, you must wash it off thrice, and as for your cloak, you must take it off; and then perform in your `Umra all those things which you perform in Hajj."

That he was in the company of the Prophet in one of the gardens of Medina and in the hand of the Prophet there was a stick, and he was striking (slowly) the water and the mud with it. A man came (at the gate of the garden) and asked permission to enter. The Prophet said, "Open the gate for him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise. "I went, and behold! It was Abu Bakr. So I opened the gate for him and informed him of the glad tidings of entering Paradise. Then another man came and asked permission to enter. The Prophet said, "Open the gate for him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." Behold! It was `Umar. So I opened the gate for him and gave him the glad tidings of entering Paradise. Then another man came and asked permission to enter. The Prophet was sitting in a leaning posture, so he sat up and said, "Open the gate for him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise with a calamity which will befall him or which will take place." I went, and behold ! It was `Uthman. So I opened the gate for him and gave him the glad tidings of entering Paradise and also informed him of what the Prophet had said (about a calamity). `Uthman said, "Allah Alone Whose Help I seek (against that calamity).

Ibn `Abbas said, "The Prophet slept till he snored and then prayed (or probably lay till his breath sounds were heard and then got up and prayed)." Ibn `Abbas added: "I stayed overnight in the house of my aunt, Maimuna, the Prophet slept for a part of the night, (See Fath-al-Bari page 249, Vol. 1), and late in the night, he got up and performed ablution from a hanging water skin, a light (perfect) ablution and stood up for the prayer. I, too, performed a similar ablution, then I went and stood on his left. He drew me to his right and prayed as much as Allah wished, and again lay and slept till his breath sounds were heard. Later on the Mu'adh-dhin (call maker for the prayer) came to him and informed him that it was time for Prayer. The Prophet went with him for the prayer without performing a new ablution." (Sufyan said to `Amr that some people said, "The eyes of Allah's Apostle sleep but his heart does not sleep." `Amr replied, "I heard `Ubaid bin `Umar saying that the dreams of Prophets were Divine Inspiration, and then he recited the verse: 'I (Abraham) see in a dream, (O my son) that I offer you in sacrifice (to Allah)." (37.102) (See Hadith No. 183)

(Later on) Allah's Apostle (once again) went along with Ubai bin Ka'b to the garden of date-palms where Ibn Saiyad was staying. When the Prophet entered the garden, he started hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms as he wanted to hear something from the Ibn Saiyad before the latter could see him. Ibn Saiyad was lying in his bed, covered with a velvet sheet from where his murmurs were heard. Ibn Saiyad's mother saw the Prophet while he was hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms. She addressed Ibn Saiyad, "O Saf!" (And this was his name). Ibn Saiyad got up. The Prophet said, "Had this woman let him to himself, he would have revealed the reality of his case." Then the Prophet got up amongst the people, glorifying Allah as He deserves, he mentioned Ad-Dajjal, saying, "I warn you about him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) and there is no prophet who did not warn his nation about him, and Noah warned his nation about him, but I tell you a statement which no prophet informed his nation of. You should understand that he is a one-eyed man and Allah is not one-eyed."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab appointed a freed slave of his, called Hunai, manager of the Hima (i.e. a pasture devoted for grazing the animals of the Zakat or other specified animals). He said to him, "O Hunai! Don't oppress the Muslims and ward off their curse (invocations against you) for the invocation of the oppressed is responded to (by Allah); and allow the shepherd having a few camels and those having a few sheep (to graze their animals), and take care not to allow the livestock of `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf and the livestock of (`Uthman) bin `Affan, for if their livestock should perish, then they have their farms and gardens, while those who own a few camels and those who own a few sheep, if their livestock should perish, would bring their dependents to me and appeal for help saying, 'O chief of the believers! O chief of the believers!' Would I then neglect them? (No, of course). So, I find it easier to let them have water and grass rather than to give them gold and silver (from the Muslims' treasury). By Allah, these people think that I have been unjust to them. This is their land, and during the prelslamic period, they fought for it and they embraced Islam (willingly) while it was in their possession. By Him in Whose Hand my life is! Were it not for the animals (in my custody) which I give to be ridden for striving in Allah's Cause, I would not have turned even a span of their land into a Hima."

On the day of Badr, the Prophet ordered that the corpses of twenty four leaders of Quraish should be thrown into one of the dirty dry wells of Badr. (It was a habit of the Prophet that whenever he conquered some people, he used to stay at the battle-field for three nights. So, on the third day of the battle of Badr, he ordered that his she-camel be saddled, then he set out, and his companions followed him saying among themselves." "Definitely he (i.e. the Prophet) is proceeding for some great purpose." When he halted at the edge of the well, he addressed the corpses of the Quraish infidels by their names and their fathers' names, "O so-and-so, son of so-and-so and O so-and-so, son of so-andso! Would it have pleased you if you had obeyed Allah and His Apostle? We have found true what our Lord promised us. Have you too found true what your Lord promised you? "`Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! You are speaking to bodies that have no souls!" Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, you do not hear, what I say better than they do." (Qatada said, "Allah brought them to life (again) to let them hear him, to reprimand them and slight them and take revenge over them and caused them to feel remorseful and regretful.")

The Prophet arrived (at Mecca) in the year of the Conquest (of Mecca) while Usama was riding behind him on (his she-camel)'. Al-Qaswa.' Bilal and `Uthman bin Talha were accompanying him. When he made his she-camel kneel down near the Ka`ba, he said to `Uthman, "Get us the key (of the Ka`ba). He brought the key to him and opened the gate (of the Ka`ba), for him. The Prophet, Usama, Bilal and `Uthman (bin Talha) entered the Ka`ba and then closed the gate behind them (from inside). The Prophet stayed there for a long period and then came out. The people rushed to get in, but I went in before them and found Bilal standing behind the gate, and I said to him, "Where did the Prophet pray?" He said, "He prayed between those two front pillars." The Ka`ba was built on six pillars, arranged in two rows, and he prayed between the two pillars of the front row leaving the gate of the Ka`ba at his back and facing (in prayer) the wall which faces one when one enters the Ka`ba. Between him and that wall (was the distance of about three cubits). But I forgot to ask Bilal about the number of rak`at the Prophet had prayed. There was a red piece of marble at the place where he (i.e. the Prophet) had offered the prayer.

We were talking about Hajjat-ul-Wada`, while the Prophet was amongst us. We did not know what Hajjat-ul-Wada` signified. The Prophet praised Allah and then mentioned Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal and described him extensively, saying, "Allah did not send any prophet but that prophet warned his nation of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal. Noah and the prophets following him warned (their people) of him. He will appear amongst you (O Muhammad's followers), and if it happens that some of his qualities may be hidden from you, but your Lord's State is clear to you and not hidden from you. The Prophet said it thrice. Verily, your Lord is not blind in one eye, while he (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) is blind in the right eye which looks like a grape bulging out (of its cluster). No doubt,! Allah has made your blood and your properties sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this town of yours, in this month of yours." The Prophet added: No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's Message to you? " They replied, "Yes," The Prophet said thrice, "O Allah! Be witness for it." The Prophet added, "Woe to you!" (or said), "May Allah be merciful to you! Do not become infidels after me (i.e. my death) by cutting the necks (throats) of one another."

The Jews brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from among them who had committed illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet said to them, "How do you usually punish the one amongst you who has committed illegal sexual intercourse?" They replied, "We blacken their faces with coal and beat them," He said, "Don't you find the order of Ar-Rajm (i.e. stoning to death) in the Torah?" They replied, "We do not find anything in it." `Abdullah bin Salam (after hearing this conversation) said to them. "You have told a lie! Bring here the Torah and recite it if you are truthful." (So the Jews brought the Torah). And the religious teacher who was teaching it to them, put his hand over the Verse of Ar- Rajm and started reading what was written above and below the place hidden with his hand, but he did not read the Verse of Ar-Rajm. `Abdullah bin Salam removed his (i.e. the teacher's) hand from the Verse of Ar-Rajm and said, "What is this?" So when the Jews saw that Verse, they said, "This is the Verse of Ar-Rajm." So the Prophet ordered the two adulterers to be stoned to death, and they were stoned to death near the place where biers used to be placed near the Mosque. I saw her companion (i.e. the adulterer) bowing over her so as to protect her from the stones.

Abu `Abdur-Rahman and Hibban bin 'Atiyya had a dispute. Abu `Abdur-Rahman said to Hibban, "You know what made your companions (i.e. `Ali) dare to shed blood." Hibban said, "Come on! What is that?" `Abdur-Rahman said, "Something I heard him saying." The other said, "What was it?" `AbdurRahman said, "`Ali said, Allah's Apostle sent for me, Az-Zubair and Abu Marthad, and all of us were cavalry men, and said, 'Proceed to Raudat-Hajj (Abu Salama said that Abu 'Awana called it like this, i.e., Hajj where there is a woman carrying a letter from Hatib bin Abi Balta'a to the pagans (of Mecca). So bring that letter to me.' So we proceeded riding on our horses till we overtook her at the same place of which Allah's Apostle had told us. She was traveling on her camel. In that letter Hatib had written to the Meccans about the proposed attached of Allah's Apostle against them. We asked her, "Where is the letter which is with you?' She replied, 'I haven't got any letter.' So we made her camel kneel down and searched her luggage, but we did not find anything. My two companions said, 'We do not think that she has got a letter.' I said, 'We know that Allah's Apostle has not told a lie.'" Then `Ali took an oath saying, "By Him by Whom one should swear! You shall either bring out the letter or we shall strip off your clothes." She then stretched out her hand for her girdle (round her waist) and brought out the paper (letter). They took the letter to Allah's Apostle. `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! (Hatib) has betrayed Allah, His Apostle and the believers; let me chop off his neck!" Allah's Apostle said, "O Hatib! What obliged you to do what you have done?" Hatib replied, "O Allah's Apostle! Why (for what reason) should I not believe in Allah and His Apostle? But I intended to do the (Mecca) people a favor by virtue of which my family and property may be protected as there is none of your companions but has some of his people (relatives) whom Allah urges to protect his family and property." The Prophet said, "He has said the truth; therefore, do not say anything to him except good." `Umar again said, "O Allah's Apostle! He has betrayed Allah, His Apostle and the believers; let me chop his neck off!" The Prophet said, "Isn't he from those who fought the battle of Badr? And what do you know, Allah might have looked at them (Badr warriors) and said (to them), 'Do what you like, for I have granted you Paradise?' " On that, `Umar's eyes became flooded with tears and he said, "Allah and His Apostle know best."