Allah's Apostle sent me, Abu Marthad and Az-Zubair, and all of us were riding horses, and said, "Go till you reach Raudat-Khakh where there is a pagan woman carrying a letter from Hatib bin Abi Balta' a to the pagans of Mecca." So we found her riding her camel at the place which Allah's Apostle had mentioned. We said (to her),"(Give us) the letter." She said, "I have no letter." Then we made her camel kneel down and we searched her, but we found no letter. Then we said, "Allah's Apostle had not told us a lie, certainly. Take out the letter, otherwise we will strip you naked." When she saw that we were determined, she put her hand below her waist belt, for she had tied her cloak round her waist, and she took out the letter, and we brought her to Allah's Apostle Then `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! (This Hatib) has betrayed Allah, His Apostle and the believers! Let me cut off his neck!" The Prophet asked Hatib, "What made you do this?" Hatib said, "By Allah, I did not intend to give up my belief in Allah and His Apostle but I wanted to have some influence among the (Mecca) people so that through it, Allah might protect my family and property. There is none of your companions but has some of his relatives there through whom Allah protects his family and property." The Prophet said, "He has spoken the truth; do no say to him but good." `Umar said, "He as betrayed Allah, His Apostle and the faithful believers. Let me cut off his neck!" The Prophet said, "Is he not one of the Badr warriors? May be Allah looked at the Badr warriors and said, 'Do whatever you like, as I have granted Paradise to you, or said, 'I have forgiven you."' On this, tears came out of `Umar's eyes, and he said, "Allah and His Apostle know better."

Malik said, "The best of what is heard about a slave-girl whom a man has intercourse with while he has a partner in her is that the hadd is not inflicted on him and the child is connected to him. When the slave-girl becomes pregnant, her value is estimated and he gives his partners their shares of the price and the slave-girl is his. That is what is done among us."

Malik said about a man who made his slave-girl halal to a man that if the one for whom she was made halal had intercourse with her, her value was estimated on the day he had intercourse with her and he owed that to her owner whether or not she conceived. The hadd was averted from him by that. If she conceived the child was connected to him.

Malik said about a man who had intercourse with his son's or daughter's slave-girl, "The hadd is averted from him and he owes the estimated value of the slave-girl whether or not she conceives."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Safwan ibn Abdullah ibn Safwan that it was said to Safwan ibn Umayya, "Whoever does not do hijra is ruined." So Safwan ibn Umayya went to Madina and slept in the mosque with his cloak as a pillow. A thief came and took his cloak and Safwan grabbed hold of the thief and brought him 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 to him, "Did you steal this cloak?" He said, "Yes." So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered that his hand be cut off. Safwan said to him, "I did not intend this. It is his as sadaqa." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Why didn't you do it before bringing him to me?"

A man passed by Allah's Apostle and the Prophet asked a man sitting beside him, "What is your opinion about this (passer-by)?" He replied, "This (passer-by) is from the noble class of people. By Allah, if he should ask for a lady's hand in marriage, he ought to be given her in marriage, and if he intercedes for somebody, his intercession will be accepted. Allah's Apostle kept quiet, and then another man passed by and Allah's Apostle asked the same man (his companion) again, "What is your opinion about this (second) one?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! This person is one of the poor Muslims. If he should ask a lady's hand in marriage, no-one will accept him, and if he intercedes for somebody, no one will accept his intercession, and if he talks, no-one will listen to his talk." Then Allah's Apostle said, "This (poor man) is better than such a large number of the first type (i.e. rich men) as to fill the earth."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (Refuge), I will protect him; (i.e. give him My Refuge) and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sasaca that he had heard that Amr ibn al-Jamuh al-Ansari and Abdullah ibn Umar al-Ansari, both of the tribe of Banu Salami, had their grave uncovered by a flood. Their grave was part of what was left after the flood. They were in the same grave, and they were among those martyred at Uhud. They were dug up so that they might be moved. They were found unchanged. It was as if they had died only the day before. One of them had been wounded, and he had put his hand over his wound and had been buried like that. His hand was pulled away from his wound and released, and it returned to where it had been. It was forty-six years between Uhud and the day they were dug up.

Malik said, "There is no harm in burying two or three men in the same grave due to necessity. The oldest one is put next to the qibla."

Once Malik bin Huwairith said to his friends, "Shall I show you how Allah's Apostle used to offer his prayers?" And it was not the time for any of the compulsory congregational prayers. So he stood up (for the prayer) bowed and said the Takbir, then he raised his head and remained standing for a while and then prostrated and raised his head for a while (sat up for a while). He prayed like our Sheikh `Amr Ibn Salama. (Aiyub said, "The latter used to do a thing which I did not see the people doing i.e. he used to sit between the third and the fourth rak`a). Malik bin Huwairith said, "We came to the Prophet (after embracing Islam) and stayed with him. He said to us, 'When you go back to your families, pray such and such a prayer at such and such a time, pray such and such a prayer at such and such a time, and when there is the time for the prayer then only of you should pronounce the Adhan for the prayer and the oldest of you should lead the prayer."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) offered prayer. The version of the narrator Ibrahim goes: I do not know whether he increased or decreased (the rak'ahs of prayer).

When he gave the salutation, he was asked: Has something new happened in the prayer, Messenger of Allah? He said: What is it? They said: You prayed so many and so many (rak'ahs). He then relented his foot and faced the Qiblah and made two prostrations. He then gave the salutation. When he turned away (finished the prayer), he turned his face to us and said: Had anything new happened in prayer, I would have informed you. I am only a human being and I forget just as you do; so when I forget, remind me, and when any of you is in doubt about his prayer he should aim at what is correct, and complete his prayer in that respect, then give the salutation and afterwards made two prostrations.

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) was asked about fat, cheese, and furs, so he said: 'The lawful is what Allah made lawful in His Book, the unlawful is what Allah made unlawful in his Book, and what He was silent about; then it is among that for which He has pardoned.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There is something on this topic from Al-Mughirah, and this Hadith is Gharib, we do not know of it being Marfu' except from this route. Sufyan and others reported it from Sulaiman At-Taimi, from Abu 'Uthman, from Salman as his own saying. It is as if the Mawquf narration is more correct. I asked Al-Bukhari about this Hadith and he said: 'I do not think it is preserved. Sufyan reported it from Sulaiman At-Taimi from Abu 'Uthman, from Salman in Mawquf form.' Al-Bukhari said: "Saif bin Harun is Muqarib (Average) in Hadith, and as for Saif bin Muhammad from 'Asim, his narrations are left."

While the Prophet was in the state of prostration, surrounded by a group of people from Quraish pagans. `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait came and brought the intestines of a camel and threw them on the back of the Prophet . The Prophet did not raise his head from prostration till Fatima (i.e. his daughter) came and removed those intestines from his back, and invoked evil on whoever had done (the evil deed). The Prophet said, "O Allah! Destroy the chiefs of Quraish, O Allah! Destroy Abu Jahl bin Hisham, `Utba bin Rabi`a, Shaiba bin Rabi`a, `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait, Umaiya bin Khalaf (or Ubai bin Kalaf)." Later on I saw all of them killed during the battle of Badr and their bodies were thrown into a well except the body of Umaiya or Ubai, because he was a fat person, and when he was pulled, the parts of his body got separated before he was thrown into the well.

I spent a night with the Prophet (saws) to see how he prayed. He got up, performed ablution and prayed two rak'ahs. His standing was like his bowing (i.e. equal in duration), and his bowing was like his prostration (equal in length). Then he slept. Afterwards he awoke, performed ablution, and used tooth-stick. He then recited five verses from Surah Al-'Imran : "In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day". He went on doing so till he prayed ten rak'ahs. He then stood up and prayed one rak'ah observing witr with it. In the meantime the mu'adhdhin called to prayer. The Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up after the mu'adhdhin had kept silent. He prayed two light rak'ahs and remained sitting till he offered the dawn prayer.

Abu Dawud said: A part of the tradition transmitted by Ibn Bashshar remained hidden from me.

When Az-Zubair married me, he had no real property or any slave or anything else except a camel which drew water from the well, and his horse. I used to feed his horse with fodder and drew water and sew the bucket for drawing it, and prepare the dough, but I did not know how to bake bread. So our Ansari neighbors used to bake bread for me, and they were honorable ladies. I used to carry the date stones on my head from Zubair's land given to him by Allah's Apostle and this land was two third Farsakh (about two miles) from my house. One day, while I was coming with the date stones on my head, I met Allah's Apostle along with some Ansari people. He called me and then, (directing his camel to kneel down) said, "Ikh! Ikh!" so as to make me ride behind him (on his camel). I felt shy to travel with the men and remembered Az-Zubair and his sense of Ghira, as he was one of those people who had the greatest sense of Ghira. Allah's Apostle noticed that I felt shy, so he proceeded. I came to Az-Zubair and said, "I met Allah's Apostle while I was carrying a load of date stones on my head, and he had some companions with him. He made his camel kneel down so that I might ride, but I felt shy in his presence and remembered your sense of Ghira (See the glossary). On that Az-Zubair said, "By Allah, your carrying the date stones (and you being seen by the Prophet in such a state) is more shameful to me than your riding with him." (I continued serving in this way) till Abu Bakr sent me a servant to look after the horse, whereupon I felt as if he had set me free.

During the last Hajj (Hajj-al-Wada`) of Allah's Apostle he performed `Umra and Hajj. He drove a Hadi along with him from Dhul-Hulaifa. Allah's Apostle started by assuming Ihram for `Umra and Hajj. And the people, too, performed the `Umra and Hajj along with the Prophet. Some of them brought the Hadi and drove it along with them, while the others did not. So, when the Prophet arrived at Mecca. he said to the people, "Whoever among you has driven the Hadi, should not finish his Ihram till he completes his Hajj. And whoever among you has not (driven) the Hadi with him, should perform Tawaf of the Ka`ba and the Tawaf between Safa and Marwa, then cut short his hair and finish his Ihram, and should later assume Ihram for Hajj; but he must offer a Hadi (sacrifice); and if anyone cannot afford a Hadi, he should fast for three days during the Hajj and seven days when he returns home. The Prophet performed Tawaf of the Ka`ba on his arrival (at Mecca); he touched the (Black Stone) corner first of all and then did Ramal (fast walking with moving of the shoulders) during the first three rounds round the Ka`ba, and during the last four rounds he walked. After finishing Tawaf of the Ka`ba, he offered a two rak`at prayer at Maqam Ibrahim, and after finishing the prayer he went to Safa and Marwa and performed seven rounds of Tawaf between them and did not do any deed forbidden because of Ihram, till he finished all the ceremonies of his Hajj and sacrificed his Hadi on the day of Nahr (10th day of Dhul-Hijja). He then hastened onwards (to Mecca) and performed Tawaf of the Ka`ba and then everything that was forbidden because of Ihram became permissible. Those who took and drove the Hadi with them did the same as Allah's Apostle did.

My uncle Anas bin An-Nadr was absent from the Battle of Badr. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the pagans. (By Allah) if Allah gives me a chance to fight the pagans, no doubt. Allah will see how (bravely) I will fight." On the day of Uhud when the Muslims turned their backs and fled, he said, "O Allah! I apologize to You for what these (i.e. his companions) have done, and I denounce what these (i.e. the pagans) have done." Then he advanced and Sa`d bin Mu`adh met him. He said "O Sa`d bin Mu`adh ! By the Lord of An-Nadr, Paradise! I am smelling its aroma coming from before (the mountain of) Uhud," Later on Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! I cannot achieve or do what he (i.e. Anas bin An-Nadr) did. We found more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows on his body. We found him dead and his body was mutilated so badly that none except his sister could recognize him by his fingers." We used to think that the following Verse was revealed concerning him and other men of his sort: "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah.........." (33.23) His sister Ar-Rubbaya' broke a front tooth of a woman and Allah's Apostle ordered for retaliation. On that Anas (bin An-Nadr) said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, my sister's tooth shall not be broken." Then the opponents of Anas's sister accepted the compensation and gave up the claim of retaliation. So Allah's Apostle said, "There are some people amongst Allah's slaves whose oaths are fulfilled by Allah when they take them."

We set out along with the Prophet during the year of (the battle of) Hunain, and when we faced the enemy, the Muslims (with the exception of the Prophet and some of his companions) retreated (before the enemy). I saw one of the pagans over-powering one of the Muslims, so I struck the pagan from behind his neck causing his armor to be cut off. The pagan headed towards me and pressed me so forcibly that I felt as if I was dying. Then death took him over and he released me. Afterwards I followed `Umar and said to him, "What is wrong with the people?" He said, "It is the Order of Allah." Then the Muslims returned (to the battle after the flight) and (after overcoming the enemy) the Prophet sat and said, "Whoever had killed an Infidel and has an evidence to this issue, will have the Salb (i.e. the belonging of the deceased e.g. clothes, arms, horse, etc)." I (stood up) and said, "Who will be my witness?" and then sat down. Then the Prophet repeated his question. Then the Prophet said the same (for the third time). I got up and said, "Who will be my witness?" and then sat down. The Prophet asked his former question again. So I got up. The Prophet said, What is the matter, O Abu Qatada?" So I narrated the whole story; A man said, "Abu Qatada has spoken the truth, and the Salb of the deceased is with me, so please compensate Abu Qatada on my behalf." Abu Bakr said, "No! By Allah, it will never happen that the Prophet will leave a Lion of Allah who fights for the Sake of Allah and His Apostle and give his spoils to you." The Prophet said, "Abu Bakr has spoken the truth. Give it (the spoils) back to him (O man)!" So he gave it to me and I bought a garden in (the land of) Banu Salama with it (i.e. the spoils) and that was the first property I got after embracing Islam.

Zirr ibn Hubaysh said: Hudhayfah traced, I think, to the Messenger of Allah (saws) the saying: He who spits in the direction of the qiblah will come on the Day of Resurrection in the state that his saliva will be between his eyes; and he who eats from this noxious vegetable should not come near our mosque, saying it three times.