Hittan ibn Abdullah ar-Ruqashi said: AbuMusa al-Ash'ari led us in prayer.

When he sat at the end of his prayer, one of the people said: Prayer has been established by virtue and purity.

When AbuMusa returned (from his prayer or finished his prayer), he gave his attention to the people, and said: Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. He said: You might have said them, Hittan. He replied: I did not say them. I was afraid you might punish me. One of the people said: I said them and I did not intend by them (anything) except good.

AbuMusa said: Do you not know how you utter (them) in your prayer? The Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed us, and taught us and explained to us our way of doing and taught us our prayer.

He said: When you pray a (congregational) prayer, straighten your rows, then one of you should lead you in prayer. When he says the takbir (Allah is Most Great), say the takbir, and when he recites verses "Not of those upon whom is Thy anger, nor of those who err" (i.e. the end of Surah i.), say Amin; Allah will favour you. When he says "Allah is most great," and bows, say "Allah is most great" and bow, for the imam will bow before you, and will raise (his head) before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he says "Allah listens to the one who praises Him," say: "O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be praise, Allah be praised," Allah will listen to you, for Allah, the Exalted, said by the tongue of His Prophet (saws): "Allah listens to the one who praises Him." When he says "Allah is most great" and prostrates, say: "Allah is most great" and prostrate, for the imam prostrates before you and raises his head before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he sits, each one of you should say "The adorations of the tongue, all good things, and acts of worship are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah's upright servants. I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle."

This version of Ahmad does not mention the words "and His blessings" nor the phrase "and I testify"; instead, it has the words "that Muhammad."

Al-Fadl bin `Abbas rode behind the Prophet as his companion rider on the back portion of his she camel on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering of sacrifice, 10th Dhul-Hijja) and Al-Fadl was a handsome man. The Prophet stopped to give the people verdicts. In the meantime, a beautiful woman From the tribe of Khath'am came, asking the verdict of Allah's Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face (to the owner sides in order that he should not gaze at her. She said, "O Allah's Apostle! The obligation of Performing Hajj enjoined by Allah on His worshipers, has become due (compulsory) on my father who is an old man and who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Will it be sufficient that I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said, "Yes."

Hafsa bint Seereen said, "On Id we used to forbid our girls to go out for `Id prayer. A lady came and stayed at the palace of Bani Khalaf and I went to her. She said, 'The husband of my sister took part in twelve holy battles along with the Prophet and my sister was with her husband in six of them. My sister said that they used to nurse the sick and treat the wounded. Once she asked, 'O Allah's Apostle! If a woman has no veil, is there any harm if she does not come out (on `Id day)?' The Prophet said, 'Her companion should let her share her veil with her, and the women should participate in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers.' " Hafsa added, "When Um-`Atiya came, I went to her and asked her, 'Did you hear anything about so-and-so?' Um-`Atiya said, 'Yes, let my father be sacrificed for the Prophet (p.b.u.h). (And whenever she mentioned the name of the Prophet she always used to say, 'Let my father be' sacrificed for him). He said, 'Virgin mature girls staying often screened (or said, 'Mature girls and virgins staying often screened--Aiyub is not sure as which was right) and menstruating women should come out (on the `Id day). But the menstruating women should keep away from the Musalla. And all the women should participate in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers'." Hafsa said, "On that I said to Um-`Atiya, 'Also those who are menstruating?' " Um-`Atiya replied, "Yes. Do they not present themselves at `Arafat and elsewhere?".

When the Prophet (saws) was brought some old dates, he began to examine them and remove the worms from them.

A man came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! You appointed such-and-such person and you did not appoint me?" The Prophet said, "After me you will see rulers not giving you your right (but you should give them their right) and be patient till you meet me."

Allah's Apostle said, "If anyone of you goes to an open space for answering the call of nature he should neither face nor turn his back towards the Qibla; he should either face the east or the west."

Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon, him) came back from 'Arafa and Usama (Allah be pleased with him) was seated behind him. Usama said that he (the Holy Prophet) continued the journey in this very state until he came to Muzdalifa.

I (in my boyhood) went out with the Prophet on the day of `Id ul Fitr or Id-ul-Adha. The Prophet prayed and then delivered the Khutba and then went towards the women, preached and advised them and ordered them to give alms.

We went to `Abdullah in the morning and a man said, "Yesterday I recited all the Mufassal Suras." On that `Abdullah said, "That is very quick, and we have the (Prophet's) recitation, and I remember very well the recitation of those Suras which the Prophet used to recite, and they were eighteen Suras from the Mufassal, and two Suras from the Suras that start with Ha Mim.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: When a man stands with the intention of saying prayer, or if any of you says prayer, he should not spit before him, nor at his right side; but he should do so at his left side, if there is a place for it; or he should spit under his left foot and then rub it off.

I was stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of death. The Prophet came to pay me a visit. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have much property and no heir except my single daughter. Shall I give two-thirds of my property in charity?" He said, "No." I said, "Half of it?" He said, "No." I said, "Onethird of it?" He said, "You may do so) though one-third is also to a much, for it is better for you to leave your off-spring wealthy than to leave them poor, asking others for help. And whatever you spend (for Allah's sake) you will be rewarded for it, even for a morsel of food which you may put in the mouth of your wife." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Will I remain behind and fail to complete my emigration?" The Prophet said, "If you are left behind after me, whatever good deeds you will do for Allah's sake, that will upgrade you and raise you high. May be you will have long life so that some people may benefit by you and others (the enemies) be harmed by you." But Allah's Apostle felt sorry for Sa`d bin Khaula as he died in Mecca. (Sufyan, a sub-narrator said that Sa`d bin Khaula was a man from the tribe of Bani 'Amir bin Lu'ai.)

A similar report (as above) was narrated from Ibn Abu Kabshah, from his father, from the Prophet (saw).

A man came to the Prophet (saws) and said: I cannot memorise anything from the Qur'an: so teach me something which is sufficient for me. He said: Say Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is most great, and there is no might and no strength but in Allah.

:He said: Messenger of Allah, this is for Allah, but what is for me? He said: Say: O Allah have mercy on me, and sustain me, and keep me well, and guide me. When he stood up, he made a sign with his hand (indicating that he had earned a lot).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: He filed up his hand with virtues.

The Prophet (saws) said: Judges are of three types, one of whom will go to Paradise and two to Hell. The one who will go to Paradise is a man who knows what is right and gives judgment accordingly; but a man who knows what is right and acts tyrannically in his judgment will go to Hell; and a man who gives judgment for people when he is ignorant will go to Hell.

Abu Dawud said: On this subject this is the soundest tradition, that is, the tradition of Ibn Buraidah: Judges are of three types.

We went out with the Prophet to Khaibar. A man (from the companions) said, "O 'Amir! Let us hear some of your Huda (camel-driving songs.)" So he sang some of them (i.e. a lyric in harmony with the camels walk). The Prophet said, "Who is the driver (of these camels)?" They said, "Amir." The Prophet said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him !" The people said, "O Allah's Apostle! Would that you let us enjoy his company longer!" Then 'Amir was killed the following morning. The people said, "The good deeds of 'Amir are lost as he has killed himself." I returned at the time while they were talking about that. I went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Let my father be sacrificed for you! The people claim that 'Amir's good deeds are lost." The Prophet said, "Whoever says so is a liar, for 'Amir will have a double reward as he exerted himself to obey Allah and fought in Allah's Cause. No other way of killing would have granted him greater reward."

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."

While I was sitting in the Mosque of Medina, there entered a man (Abdullah bin Salam) with signs of solemnity over his face. The people said, "He is one of the people of Paradise." He prayed two light rak`at and then left. I followed him and said, "When you entered the Mosque, the people said, 'He is one of the people of Paradise.' " He said, "By Allah, one ought not say what he does not know; and I will tell you why. In the lifetime of the Prophet I had a dream which I narrated to him. I saw as if I were in a garden." He then described its extension and greenery. He added: In its center there was an iron pillar whose lower end was fixed in the earth and the upper end was in the sky, and at its upper end there was a (ring-shaped) hand-hold. I was told to climb it. I said, "I can't." "Then a servant came to me and lifted my clothes from behind and I climbed till I reached the top (of the pillar). Then I got hold of the hand-hold, and I was told to hold it tightly, then I woke up and (the effect of) the handhold was in my hand. I narrated al I that to the Prophet who said, 'The garden is Islam, and the handhold is the Most Truth-worthy Hand-Hold. So you will remain as a Muslim till you die." The narrator added: "The man was `Abdullah bin Salam."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Bukayr ibn Abdullah al-Ashajj informed him that Muawiya ibn Abi Ayyash al- Ansari told him that he was sitting with Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr and Asim ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab when Muhammad ibn Iyas ibn al-Bukayr came up to them and said, "A man from the desert has divorced his wife three times before consummating the marriage, what do you think?" Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said "This is something about which we have no statement. Go to Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra. I left them with A'isha. Ask them and then come and tell us." He went and asked them. Ibn Abbas said to Abu Hurayra, "Give an opinion, Abu Hurayra! A difficult one has come to you." Abu Hurayra said, "One pronouncement separates her and three makes her haram until she has married another husband." Ibn Abbas said the like of that.

Malik said, "That is what is done among us, and when a man marries a woman who has been married before, and he has not had intercourse with her, she is treated as a virgin - one pronouncement separates her and three make her haram until she has married another husband."

Zayd ibn Wahb said: A man was brought to Ibn Mas'ud. He was told: This is so and so, and wine was dropping from his beard. Abdullah thereupon said: We have been prohibited to seek out (faults). If anything becomes manifest to us, we shall seize it.