My Lord agreed with me in three things: -1. I said, "O Allah's Apostle, I wish we took the station of Abraham as our praying place (for some of our prayers). So came the Divine Inspiration: And take you (people) the station of Abraham as a place of prayer (for some of your prayers e.g. two rak`at of Tawaf of Ka`ba)". (2.125) -2. And as regards the (verse of) the veiling of the women, I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! I wish you ordered your wives to cover themselves from the men because good and bad ones talk to them.' So the verse of the veiling of the women was revealed. -3. Once the wives of the Prophet made a united front against the Prophet and I said to them, 'It may be if he (the Prophet) divorced you, (all) that his Lord (Allah) will give him instead of you wives better than you.' So this verse (the same as I had said) was revealed." (66.5).

The Prophet (saws) said: A time is certainly coming to mankind when only the receiver of usury will remain, and if he does not receive it, some of its vapour will reach him. Ibn Isa said: Some of its dust will reach him.

The Prophet (saws) said: Shortening the salutation is sunnah (commendable).

The narrator 'Isa said: Ibn al-Mubarak prohibited me from reporting this tradition as a statement of the Prophet (saws).

Abu Dawud said: I heard Abu 'Umar 'Isa b. Yunus al-Fakhuri al-Ramil saying: When al-Firyabi returned from Mecca, he gave up narrating this tradition as a statement of the Prophet (saws). He said: Ahmad b. Hanbal forbade to report this tradition directly from the Prophet (saws).

Yazid Maula Al-Munba'ith heard Zaid bin Khalid al-Juham saying, "The Prophet was asked about Luqata. He said, 'Remember the description of its container and the string it is tied with, and announce it publicly for one year.' " Yazid added, "If nobody claims then the person who has found it can spend it, and it is regarded as a trust entrusted to him." Yahya said, "I do not know whether the last sentences were said by the Prophet or by Yazid." Zaid further said, "The Prophet was asked, 'What about a lost sheep?' The Prophet said, 'Take it, for it is for you or for your brother (i.e. its owner) or for the wolf." Yazid added that it should also be announced publicly. The man then asked the Prophet about a lost camel. The Prophet said, "Leave it, as it has its feet, water container (reservoir), and it will reach a place of water and eat trees till its owner finds it."

Malik related to me that he heard that Urwa ibn az-Zubayr and Sulayman ibn Yasar when asked whether the sons of a man, who had a kitaba written for himself and his children and then died, worked for the kitaba of their father or were slaves, said, "They work for the kitaba of their father and they have no reduction at all for the death of their father."

Malik said, "If they are small and unable to work, one does not wait for them to grow up and they are slaves of their father's master unless the mukatab has left what will pay their instalments for them until they can work. If there is enough to pay for them in what he has left, that is paid for on their behalf and they are left in their condition until they can work, and then if they pay, they are free. If they cannot do it, they are slaves."

Malik spoke about a mukatab who died and left property which was not enough to pay his kitaba, and he also left a child with him in his kitaba and an umm walad, and the umm walad wanted to work for them. He said, "The money is paid to her if she is trustworthy with it and strong enough to work. If she is not strong enough to work and not trustworthy with property, she is not given any of it and she and the children of the mukatab revert to being slaves of the master of the mukatab."

Malik said, "If people are written together in one kitaba and there is no kinship between them, and some of them are incapable and others work until they are all set free, those who worked can claim from those who were unable, the portion of what they paid for them because some of them assumed the responsibility for others."

Yahya related to me from Malik, from Hisham ibn Urwa, from his father, that A'isha, umm al-muminin, said to him, "Son of my sister, it is only for ten nights, so if you get an urge to do something, leave it," by which she meant eating game-meat.

Malik said that if game was hunted forthe sake of a man who is in ihram and it was prepared for him and he ate some of it knowing that it had been hunted for his sake, then he had to pay a forfeit for all of the game that had been hunted on his behalf.

Malik was asked about whether someone who was forced to eat carrion while he was in ihram should hunt game and then eat that rather than the carrion, and he said, "It is better for him to eat the carrion, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has not given permission for someone in ihram to either eat game or take it in any situation, but He has made allowances for eating carrion when absolutely necessary."

Malik said, "It is not halal for anyone, whether in ihram or not, to eat game which has been killed or sacrificed by some one in ihram, because, whether it was killed deliberately or by mistake, it was not done in a halal manner, and so eating it is not halal. I have heard this from more than one person. Somebody who kills game and then eats it only has to make a single kaffara, which is the same as for somebody who kills game but does not eat any of it."

That Arwa sued him before Marwan for a right, which she claimed, he had deprived her of. On that Sa`id said, "How should I deprive her of her right? I testify that I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'If anyone takes a span of land unjustly, his neck will be encircled with it down seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."

"Banu Murrah bin 'Ubaid sent me to bring the Sadaqah from their wealth of the Messenger of Allah (saws). I arrived with him in Al-Madinah and found him sitting between the Muhajirin and the Ansar." He said: "Then he took my hand and brought me to the home of Umm Salamah and he said: 'Do you have any food?' So a bowl containing a lot of Tharid with pieces of meat was brought to us, and presented for us to eat from it. So I began wandering my around it while the Messenger of Allah (saws) ate from what was in front of him. He grabbed my right hand with his left hand, then he said: 'O 'Ikrash! Eat from one spot, for indeed the food is one.' Then a plate containing various dried dates" - or fresh dates - 'Ubaidullah (a narrator) was not sure. He said: "I began eating what was in front of me, while the hand of the Messenger of Allah (saws) roamed about the plate. He said: 'O 'Ikrash! Eat from wherever you like, for indeed it is not all from the same variety.' Then water was brought, so the Messenger of Allah (saws) washed his hands, and with the wetness of his hands he wiped his face, his forearms, and his head, and he said: 'O Ikrash! This is the Wudu' for that which has been altered by fire.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib, we do not know of it except through the narration of Al-'Ala' bin Al-Fadl, and Al-Ala'was alone with this narration, and there is more in the story in the Hadith. And we do not know a Hadith from the Prophet (saws) by 'Ikrash except this.

Abu Bakr invited a group of people and told me, "Look after your guests." Abu Bakr added, I am going to visit the Prophet and you should finish serving them before I return." `Abdur-Rahman said, So I went at once and served them with what was available at that time in the house and requested them to eat." They said, "Where is the owner of the house (i.e., Abu Bakr)?" `Abdur-Rahman said, "Take your meal." They said, "We will not eat till the owner of the house comes." `Abdur-Rahman said, "Accept your meal from us, for if my father comes and finds you not having taken your meal yet, we will be blamed severely by him, but they refused to take their meals . So I was sure that my father would be angry with me. When he came, I went away (to hide myself) from him. He asked, "What have you done (about the guests)?" They informed him the whole story. Abu Bakr called, "O `Abdur Rahman!" I kept quiet. He then called again. "O `Abdur-Rahman!" I kept quiet and he called again, "O ignorant (boy)! I beseech you by Allah, if you hear my voice, then come out!" I came out and said, "Please ask your guests (and do not be angry with me)." They said, "He has told the truth; he brought the meal to us." He said, "As you have been waiting for me, by Allah, I will not eat of it tonight." They said, "By Allah, we will not eat of it till you eat of it." He said, I have never seen a night like this night in evil. What is wrong with you? Why don't you accept your meals of hospitality from us?" (He said to me), "Bring your meal." I brought it to him, and he put his hand in it, saying, "In the name of Allah. The first (state of fury) was because of Satan." So Abu Bakr ate and so did his guests.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr that A'isha umm al-muminin used to say, "Someone performing hajj at-tamattu who does not have a sacrificial animal fasts (three days) from the time he enters ihram for the hajj till the Day of Arafa, and if he does not fast then, he fasts the days of Mina."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say the same concerning that, as the words of A'isha, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with her.

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "While a shepherd was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked them and took away one sheep. When the shepherd chased the wolf, the wolf turned towards him and said, 'Who will be its guard on the day of wild animals when nobody except I will be its shepherd. And while a man was driving a cow with a load on it, it turned towards him and spoke to him saying, 'I have not been created for this purpose, but for ploughing." The people said, "Glorified be Allah." The Prophet said, "But I believe in it and so does Abu Bakr end `Umar."

The Prophet was on a journey and a slave named Anjasha was chanting (singing) for the camels to let them go fast (while driving). The Prophet said, "O Anjasha, drive slowly (the camels) with the glass vessels!" Abu Qilaba said, "By the glass vessels' he meant the women (riding the camels).

Allah's Apostle said, "Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Ka`b). "The Prophet said, "You may say it." Then Muhammad bin Maslama went to Ka`b and said, "That man (i.e. Muhammad demands Sadaqa (i.e. Zakat) from us, and he has troubled us, and I have come to borrow something from you." On that, Ka`b said, "By Allah, you will get tired of him!" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Now as we have followed him, we do not want to leave him unless and until we see how his end is going to be. Now we want you to lend us a camel load or two of food." (Some difference between narrators about a camel load or two.) Ka`b said, "Yes, (I will lend you), but you should mortgage something to me." Muhammad bin Mas-lama and his companion said, "What do you want?" Ka`b replied, "Mortgage your women to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our women to you and you are the most handsome of the 'Arabs?" Ka`b said, "Then mortgage your sons to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our sons to you? Later they would be abused by the people's saying that so-and-so has been mortgaged for a camel load of food. That would cause us great disgrace, but we will mortgage our arms to you." Muhammad bin Maslama and his companion promised Ka`b that Muhammad would return to him. He came to Ka`b at night along with Ka`b's foster brother, Abu Na'ila. Ka`b invited them to come into his fort, and then he went down to them. His wife asked him, "Where are you going at this time?" Ka`b replied, "None but Muhammad bin Maslama and my (foster) brother Abu Na'ila have come." His wife said, "I hear a voice as if dropping blood is from him, Ka`b said. "They are none but my brother Muhammad bin Maslama and my foster brother Abu Naila. A generous man should respond to a call at night even if invited to be killed." Muhammad bin Maslama went with two men. (Some narrators mention the men as 'Abu bin Jabr. Al Harith bin Aus and `Abbad bin Bishr). So Muhammad bin Maslama went in together with two men, and sail to them, "When Ka`b comes, I will touch his hair and smell it, and when you see that I have got hold of his head, strip him. I will let you smell his head." Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf came down to them wrapped in his clothes, ...

"The Prophet (saws) prohibited meeting the goods being brought (to the market). If someone were to meet them and buy them, then the owner of the goods retains the option when he reaches the market."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib narration of Ayyub (a narrator). The Hadith if Ibn Mas'ud is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. There are those among the people of knowledge who disliked meeting the owners of the goods, saying that it is a type of deception. This is the view of Ash-Shafi'i, and others among our companions.

Allah's Apostle I said, "Not to wish to be the like of except two men: A man whom Allah has taught the Qur'an and he recites it during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day, and his neighbor listens to him and says, 'I wish I had been given what has been given to so-and-so, so that I might do what he does; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it on what is just and right, whereupon an other man May say, 'I wish I had been given what so-and-so has been given, for then I would do what he does."

The Prophet "Whoever gets up at night and says: -- 'La ilaha il-lallah Wahdahu la Sharika lahu Lahu-lmulk, waLahu-l-hamd wahuwa 'ala kullishai'in Qadir. Al hamdu lil-lahi wa subhanal-lahi wa la-ilaha il-lal-lah wa-l-lahu akbar wa la hawla Wala Quwata il-la-bil-lah.' (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He is the Only One and has no partners . For Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are due for Him. He is Omnipotent. All the praises are for Allah. All the glories are for Allah. And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, And Allah is Great And there is neither Might nor Power Except with Allah). And then says: -- Allahumma, Ighfir li (O Allah! Forgive me). Or invokes (Allah), he will be responded to and if he performs ablution (and prays), his prayer will be accepted."

We were in a Ghazwa (Sufyan once said, in an army) and a man from the emigrants kicked an Ansari man (on the buttocks with his foot). The Ansari man said, "O the Ansar! (Help!)" and the emigrant said. "O the emigrants! (Help!) Allah's Apostle heard that and said, "What is this call for, which is characteristic of the period of ignorance?" They said, "O Allah's Apostle! A man from the emigrants kicked one of the Ansar (on the buttocks with his foot)." Allah's Apostle said, "Leave it (that call) as is a detestable thing." `Abdullah bin Ubai heard that and said, 'Have the (the emigrants) done so? By Allah, if we return Medina, surely, the more honorable will expel therefrom the meaner." When this statement reached the Prophet. `Umar got up an, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let me chop off the head of this hypocrite (`Abdullah bin Ubai)!" The Prophet said "Leave him, lest the people say that Muhammad kills his companions." The Ansar were then more in number than the emigrants when the latter came to Medina, but later on the emigrant increased.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Uthman ibn Ishaq ibn Kharasha that Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb said, "A grandmother came to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and asked him for her inheritance. Abu Bakr said to her, 'You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and I do not know that you have anything in the sunna of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Go away therefore, until I have questioned the people.' (i.e.the Companions). He questioned the people, and al-Mughira ibn Shuba said, 'I was present with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he gave the grandmother a sixth.' Abu Bakr said, 'Was there anybody else with you?' Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari stood up and said the like of what al-Mughira said. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq gave it to her. Then the other grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him for her inheritance. He said to her, "You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and what has been decided is only for other than you, and I am not one to add to the fixed shares, other than that sixth. If there are two of you together, it is between you. If eitherof you is left alone with it, it is hers."

I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija though I did not see her, but the Prophet used to mention her very often, and when ever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them to the women friends of Khadija. When I sometimes said to him, "(You treat Khadija in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth except Khadija," he would say, "Khadija was such-and-such, and from her I had children."

When the Prophet said, "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah," (Allah heard those who sent praises to Him), he would say, "Rabbana wa laka l-hamd." On bowing and raising his head from it the Prophet used to say Takbir. He also used to say Takbir on rising after the two prostrations. (See Hadith No. 656).

The Prophet went out towards Al-Batha' and ascended the mountain and shouted, "O Sabahah!" So the Quraish people gathered around him. He said, "Do you see? If I tell you that an enemy is going to attack you in the morning or in the evening, will you believe me?" They replied, "Yes." He said, "Then I am a plain warner to you of a coming severe punishment." Abu Lahab said, "Is it for this reason that you have gathered us? May you perish ! " Then Allah revealed: 'Perish the hands of Abu Lahab!'

The Prophet said, "The Adhan pronounced by Bilal should not stop you from taking Suhur, for he pronounces the Adhan at night, so that the one offering the late night prayer (Tahajjud) from among you might hurry up and the sleeping from among you might wake up. It does not mean that dawn or morning has started." Then he (the Prophet) pointed with his fingers and raised them up (towards the sky) and then lowered them (towards the earth) like this (Ibn Mas`ud imitated the gesture of the Prophet). Az-Zuhri gestured with his two index fingers which he put on each other and then stretched them to the right and left. These gestures illustrate the way real dawn appears. It spreads left and right horizontally. The dawn that appears in the high sky and lowers down is not the real dawn) .

Ikrimah reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, saying: I think the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: When one of you prays without a sutrah, a dog, an ass, a pig, a Jew, a Magian, and a woman cut off his prayer, but it will suffice if they pass in front of him at a distance of over a stone's throw.

Abu Dawud said: There is something about this tradition in my heart. I used to discuss it with Ibrahim and others. I did not find anyone who narrated it from Hisham and knew it. I did not know anyone who reported it from Hisham and knew it. I did not know anyone who related it from Hisham. I think the confusion is on the part of Ibn Abi Saminah that is, Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Basri, the freed slave of Banu Hisham. In this tradition the mention of words "a Magian" is rejected; the mention of the words "at a stone's throw" and "a pig" is rejected.

Abu Dawud said: I did not hear this tradition except from Muhammad b. Isma'il b. Samurrah and I think he was mistaken because he used to narrate to us from his memory.

Ubaydullah ibn Yazid said: AbuLubabah passed by us and we followed him till he entered his house, and we also entered it.

There was a man in a rusty house and in shabby condition. I heard him say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur'an.

I (the narrator AbdulJabbar) said to Ibn AbuMulaykah: AbuMuhammad, what do you think if a person does not have pleasant voice? He said: He should recite with pleasant voice as much as possible.

I found a purse containing one hundred Diners. So I went to the Prophet (and informed him about it), he said, "Make public announcement about it for one year" I did so, but nobody turned up to claim it, so I again went to the Prophet who said, "Make public announcement for another year." I did, but none turned up to claim it. I went to him for the third time and he said, "Keep the container and the string which is used for its tying and count the money it contains and if its owner comes, give it to him; otherwise, utilize it." The sub-narrator Salama said, "I met him (Suwaid, another sub-narrator) in Mecca and he said, 'I don't know whether Ubai made the announcement for three years or just one year.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked whether a man who had vowed to fast a month could fast voluntarily, and Said said, "He should fulfil his vow before he does any voluntary fasting."

Malik said, "I have heard the same thing from Sulayman ibn Yasar."

Malik said, "If someone dies with an unfulfilled vow to free a slave or to fast or to give sadaqa or to give away a camel, and makes a bequest that his vow should be fulfilled from his estate, then the sadaqa or the gift of the camel are taken from one third of his estate. Preference is given to it over other bequests, except things of a similar nature, because by his vow it has become incumbent on him, and this is not the case with something he donates voluntarily. They (vows and voluntary donations) are settled from a limited one-third of his estate, and not from the whole of it, since if the dying man were free to dispose of all of his estate, he might delay settling what had become incumbent on him (i.e. his vows), so that when death came and the estate passed into the hands of his heirs, he would have bequeathed such things (i.e. his vows) that were not claimed by anyone (like debts). If that (i.e. to dispose freely of his property) were allowed him, he would delay these things (i.e. his vows) until when he was near death, he would designate them and they might take up all of his estate. He must not do that."

[Muslim].

Al-Hayyaj ibn Imran ibn Husayn reported that a slave of Imran ran away. He took a vow to Allah that if he overpowers him, he will cut off his head. He then sent me (to Samurah ibn Jundub) to ask him about this question for him. I came to Samurah ibn Jundub and asked him. He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to exhort us to give alms (sadaqah) and forbid us to mutilate (a slain). I then came to Imran ibn Husayn and asked him. He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to exhort us to give alms (sadaqah) and forbid us to mutilate (a slain).

`Abdullah bin `Umar said, "Once Allah's Apostle was busy (at the time of the `Isha'), so the prayer was delayed so much so that we slept and woke up and slept and woke up again. The Prophet came out and said, 'None amongst the dwellers of the earth but you have been waiting for the prayer." Ibn `Umar did not find any harm in praying it earlier or in delaying it unless he was afraid that sleep might overwhelm him and he might miss the prayer, and sometimes he used to sleep before the `Isha' prayer. Ibn Juraij said, "I said to `Ata', 'I heard Ibn `Abbas saying: Once Allah's Apostle delayed the `Isha' prayer to such an extent that the people slept and got up and slept again and got up again. Then `Umar bin Al-Khattab I, stood up and reminded the Prophet I of the prayer.' `Ata' said, 'Ibn `Abbas said: The Prophet came out as if I was looking at him at this time, and water was trickling from his head and he was putting his hand on his head and then said, 'Hadn't I thought it hard for my followers, I would have ordered them to pray (`Isha' prayer) at this time.' I asked `Ata' for further information, how the Prophet had kept his hand on his head as he was told by Ibn `Abbas. `Ata' separated his fingers slightly and put their tips on the side of the head, brought the fingers downwards approximating them till the thumb touched the lobe of the ear at the side of the temple and the beard on the face. He neither slowed nor hurried in this action but he acted like that. The Prophet said: "Hadn't I thought it hard for my followers I would have ordered them to pray at this time."

When the time of the Battle of Uhud approached, my father called me at night and said, "I think that I will be the first amongst the companions of the Prophet to be martyred. I do not leave anyone after me dearer to me than you, except Allah's Apostle's soul and I owe some debt and you should repay it and treat your sisters favorably (nicely and politely)." So in the morning he was the first to be martyred and was buried along with another (martyr). I did not like to leave him with the other (martyr) so I took him out of the grave after six months of his burial and he was in the same condition as he was on the day of burial, except a slight change near his ear.

Ibn ‘Abbas said “Hilal bin Umayyah was one of the three persons whose repentance was accepted by Allaah. One night he returned from his land and found a man along with his wife. He witnessed with his eyes and heard with his ears. He did not threaten him till the morning.” Next day he went to the Apostle of Allaah(saws) in the morning and said Apostle of Allaah(saws) “I came to my wife in the night and found a man along with her. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. The Apostle of Allaah(saws) disliked what he described and he took it seriously. There upon the following Qur’anic verse came down “And those who make charges against their spouses but have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them ....” When the Apostle of Allaah(saws) came to himself (after the revelation ended) he said “Glad tidings to you Hilal, Allaah the exalted has made ease and a way out for you.” Hilal said “I expected that from my Lord. The Apostle of Allaah(saws) said “Send for her. She then came.” The Apostle of Allaah(saws) recited the verses to them and he reminded them and told them that the punishment in the next world was more severe than that in n this world. Hilal said “I swear by Allah I spoke the truth against her.” She said “He told a lie.” The Apostle of Allaah(saws) said “Apply the method of invoking curses on one another. Hilal was told “Bear witness. So he bore witness before Allaah four times that he spoke the truth.” When he was about to utter the fifth time he was told “Hilal fear Allah, for the punishment in this world is easier than that in the next world and this is the deciding one, that will surely cause punishment to you.” He said “I swear by Allaah. Allah will not punish me for this (act), as He did not cause me to be flogged for this (act).” So he bore witness a fifth time invoking the curse of Allah on him if he was of those who tell a lie. Then the people said to her, Testify. So she gave testimony before Allaah that he was a liar. When she was going to testify the fifth time she was told “Fear Allah, for the punishment in this world is easier than that in the next world. This is the deciding one that will surely cause punishment to you.” She hesitated for a moment. And then said “By Allah, I will not disgrace my people.” So she testified a fifth time invoking the curse of Allah on her if he spoke the truth. Apostle of Allaah(saws) separated them from each other and ...

'Urwah said: I always saw Mu'awiyah and his son opening their buttons of the collar during winter and summer. They never closed their buttons.

One day the Prophet ascended Safa mountain and said, "Oh Sabah! " All the Quraish gathered round him and said, "What is the matter?" He said, Look, if I told you that an enemy is going to attack you in the morning or in the evening, would you not believe me?" They said, "Yes, we will believe you." He said, "I am a warner to you in face of a terrible punishment." On that Abu Lahab said, "May you perish ! Is it for this thing that you have gathered us?" So Allah revealed: 'Perish the hands of Abu Lahab!...' (111.1)

The news about the differences amongst the people of Bani `Amr bin `Auf reached Allah's Apostle and so he went to them along with some of his companions to effect a reconciliation between them. Allah's Apostle was delayed there, and the time of the prayer was due. Bilal went to Abu Bakr and said to him, "Allah's Apostle has been delayed (there) and the time of prayer is due. So will you lead the people in prayer?" Abu Bakr said, "Yes, if you wish." Bilal pronounced the Iqama and Abu Bakr, went forward and said Takbir for the people. In the meantime Allah's Apostle came crossing the rows (of the praying people) and stood in the (first) row and the people started clapping. Abu Bakr, would never glance sideways in his prayer but when the people clapped much he looked back and (saw) Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle beckoned him to carry on the prayer. Abu Bakr raised his hands and thanked Allah, and retreated till he reached the (first) row. Allah's Apostle went forward and led the people in the prayer. When he completed the prayer he faced the people and said, "O people! Why did you start clapping when something unusual happened to you in the prayer? Clapping is only for women. So whoever amongst you comes across something in the prayer should say, 'Subhan-Allah' for there is none who will not turn round on hearing him saying Subhan-Allah. O Abu Bakr! What prevented you from leading the people in the prayer when I beckoned you to do so?" Abu Bakr replied, "How dare the son of Abu Quhafa lead the prayer in the presence of Allah's Apostle ?"