The news of the migration of the Prophet (from Mecca to Medina) reached us while we were in Yemen. So we set out as emigrants towards him. We were (three) I and my two brothers. I was the youngest of them, and one of the two was Abu Burda, and the other, Abu Ruhm, and our total number was either 53 or 52 men from my people. We got on board a boat and our boat took us to Negus in Ethiopia. There we met Ja`far bin Abi Talib and stayed with him. Then we all came (to Medina) and met the Prophet at the time of the conquest of Khaibar. Some of the people used to say to us, namely the people of the ship, "We have migrated before you." Asma' bint 'Umais who was one of those who had come with us, came as a visitor to Hafsa, the wife the Prophet . She had migrated along with those other Muslims who migrated to Negus. `Umar came to Hafsa while Asma' bint 'Umais was with her. `Umar, on seeing Asma,' said, "Who is this?" She said, "Asma' bint 'Umais," `Umar said, "Is she the Ethiopian? Is she the sea-faring lady?" Asma' replied, "Yes." `Umar said, "We have migrated before you (people of the boat), so we have got more right than you over Allah's Apostle " On that Asma' became angry and said, "No, by Allah, while you were with Allah's Apostle who was feeding the hungry ones amongst you, and advised the ignorant ones amongst you, we were in the far-off hated land of Ethiopia, and all that was for the sake of Allah's Apostle . By Allah, I will neither eat any food nor drink anything till I inform Allah's Apostle of all that you have said. There we were harmed and frightened. I will mention this to the Prophet and will not tell a lie or curtail your saying or add something to it."

Allah's Apostle said on the Day of (the battle of) Hunain, "Whoever has killed an infidel and has a proof or a witness for it, then the salb (arms and belongings of that deceased) will be for him." I stood up to seek a witness to testify that I had killed an infidel but I could not find any witness and then sat down. Then I thought that I should mention the case to Allah's Apostle I (and when I did so) a man from those who were sitting with him said, "The arms of the killed person he has mentioned, are with me, so please satisfy him on my behalf." Abu Bakr said, "No, he will not give the arms to a bird of Quraish and deprive one of Allah's lions of it who fights for the cause of Allah and His Apostle." Allah's Apostle I stood up and gave it to me, and I bought a garden with its price, and that was my first property which I owned through the war booty. The people of Hijaz said, "A judge should not pass a judgment according to his knowledge, whether he was a witness at the time he was the judge or before that" And if a litigant gives a confession in favor of his opponent in the court, in the opinion of some scholars, the judge should not pass a judgment against him till the latter calls two witnesses to witness his confession. And some people of Iraq said, "A judge can pass a judgement according to what he hears or witnesses (the litigant's confession) in the court itself, but if the confession takes place outside the court, he should not pass the judgment unless two witnesses witness the confession." Some of them said, "A judge can pass a judgement depending on his knowledge of the case as he is trust-worthy, and that a witness is Required just to reveal the truth. The judge's knowledge is more than the witness." Some said, "A judge can judge according to his knowledge only in cases involving property, but in other cases he cannot." Al-Qasim said, "A judge ought not to pass a judgment depending on his knowledge if other people do not know what he knows, although his knowledge is more than the witness of somebody else because he might expose himself to suspicion by the Muslims and cause the Muslims to have unreasonable doubt. "

Abu Bakr sent for me owing to the large number of casualties in the battle of Al-Yamama, while `Umar was sitting with him. Abu Bakr said (to me), `Umar has come to my and said, 'A great number of Qaris of the Holy Qur'an were killed on the day of the battle of Al-Yamama, and I am afraid that the casualties among the Qaris of the Qur'an may increase on other battle-fields whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost. Therefore I consider it advisable that you (Abu Bakr) should have the Qur'an collected.' I said, 'How dare I do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?' `Umar said, By Allah, it is something beneficial.' `Umar kept on pressing me for that till Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chest of `Umar and I had in that matter, the same opinion as `Umar had." Abu Bakr then said to me (Zaid), "You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. So you should search for the fragmentary scripts of the Qur'an and collect it (in one Book)." Zaid further said: By Allah, if Abu Bakr had ordered me to shift a mountain among the mountains from one place to another it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur'an. Then I said (to `Umar and Abu Bakr), "How can you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?" Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, it is something beneficial." Zaid added: So he (Abu Bakr) kept on pressing me for that until Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and `Umar, and I had in that matter, the same opinion as theirs. So I started compiling the Qur'an by collecting it from the leafless stalks of the date-palm tree and from the pieces of leather and hides and from the stones, and from the chests of men (who had memorized the Qur'an). I found the last verses of Sirat-at-Tauba: ("Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves--' (9.128-129) ) from Khuza`ima or Abi Khuza`ima and I added to it the rest of the Sura. The manuscripts of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him. Then it remained with `Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Hafsa bint `Umar.

Abu Bakr came to my father who was at home and purchased a saddle from him. He said to `Azib. "Tell your son to carry it with me." So I carried it with him and my father followed us so as to take the price (of the saddle). My father said, "O Abu Bakr! Tell me what happened to you on your night journey with Allah's Apostle (during Migration)." He said, "Yes, we travelled the whole night and also the next day till midday. when nobody could be seen on the way ( because of the severe heat) . Then there appeared a long rock having shade beneath it, and the sunshine had not come to it yet. So we dismounted there and I levelled a place and covered it with an animal hide or dry grass for the Prophet to sleep on (for a while). I then said, 'Sleep, O Allah's Apostle, and I will guard you.' So he slept and I went out to guard him. Suddenly I saw a shepherd coming with his sheep to that rock with the same intention we had when we came to it. I asked (him). 'To whom do you belong, O boy?' He replied, 'I belong to a man from Medina or Mecca.' I said, 'Do your sheep have milk?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Will you milk for us?' He said, 'Yes.' He caught hold of a sheep and I asked him to clean its teat from dust, hairs and dirt. (The sub-narrator said that he saw Al-Bara' striking one of his hands with the other, demonstrating how the shepherd removed the dust.) The shepherd milked a little milk in a wooden container and I had a leather container which I carried for the Prophet to drink and perform the ablution from. I went to the Prophet, hating to wake him up, but when I reached there, the Prophet had already awakened; so I poured water over the middle part of the milk container, till the milk was cold. Then I said, 'Drink, O Allah's Apostle!' He drank till I was pleased. Then he asked, 'Has the time for our departure come?' I said, 'Yes.' So we departed after midday. Suraqa bin Malik followed us and I said, 'We have been discovered, O Allah's Apostle!' He said, Don't grieve for Allah is with us.' The Prophet invoked evil on him (i.e. Suraqa) and so the legs of his horse sank into the earth up to its belly. (The subnarrator, Zuhair is not sure whether Abu Bakr said, "(It sank) into solid earth.") Suraqa said, 'I see that you have invoked evil on me. Please invoke good on me, and by Allah, I will cause those who are seeking after you to return.' The Prophet invoked good on him and he was saved. Then, whenever he ...

I said to Ibn `Abbas, "Nauf-Al-Bakali claims that Moses (the companion of Khadir) was not the Moses of Bani Israel but he was another Moses." Ibn `Abbas remarked that the enemy of Allah (Nauf) was a liar.

Narrated Ubai bin Ka`b:

The Prophet said, "Once the Prophet Moses stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked, "Who is the most learned man amongst the people. He said, "I am the most learned." Allah admonished Moses as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah). So Allah inspired to him "At the junction of the two seas there is a slave amongst my slaves who is more learned than you." Moses said, "O my Lord! How can I meet him?" Allah said: Take a fish in a large basket (and proceed) and you will find him at the place where you will lose the fish. So Moses set out along with his (servant) boy, Yusha` bin Noon and carried a fish in a large basket till they reached a rock, where they laid their heads (i.e. lay down) and slept. The fish came out of the basket and it took its way into the sea as in a tunnel. So it was an amazing thing for both Moses and his (servant) boy. They proceeded for the rest of that night and the following day. When the day broke, Moses said to his (servant) boy: "Bring us our early meal. No doubt, we have suffered much fatigue in this journey." Moses did not get tired till he passed the place about which he was told. There the (servant) boy told Moses, "Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock, I indeed forgot the fish." Moses remarked, "That is what we have been seeking. So they went back retracing their footsteps, till they reached the rock. There they saw a man covered with a garment (or covering himself with his own garment). Moses greeted him. Al-Khadir replied saying, "How do people greet each other in your land?" Moses said, "I am Moses." He asked, "The Moses of Bani Israel?" Moses replied in the affirmative and added, "May I follow you so that you teach me of that knowledge which you have been taught." Al-Khadir replied, "Verily! You will not be able to remain patient with me, O Moses! I have some of the knowledge of Allah which He has taught me and which you do not know, while you have some knowledge which Allah has taught you which I do not know." Moses said, "Allah willing, you will find me patient and I will disobey no order of yours. So both of them set out walking along the seashore, as they did not have a boat. In the meantime ...

1: At-Tawbah 9:104.

2: Al-Baqarah 2:276.

3: Anthropomorphism, resembling Allah to creatures.

Harmala, the freed slave of Usama bin Zaid said

that while he was in the company of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, Al-Hajjaj bin Aiman came in and (while praying) he did not perform his bowing and prostrations properly. So Ibn 'Umar told him to repeat his prayer. When he went away, Ibn 'Umar asked me, "Who is he?" I said, "Al-Hajjaj bin Um Aiman." Ibn 'Umar said, "If Allah's Apostle saw him, he would have loved him." Then Ibn 'Umar mentioned the love of the Prophet for the children of Um Aiman. Sulaiman said that Um Aiman was one of the nurses of the Prophet.

Ibn `Abbas said to me, "Shall I show you a woman of the people of Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "This black lady came to the Prophet and said, 'I get attacks of epilepsy and my body becomes uncovered; please invoke Allah for me.' The Prophet said (to her), 'If you wish, be patient and you will have (enter) Paradise; and if you wish, I will invoke Allah to cure you.' She said, 'I will remain patient,' and added, 'but I become uncovered, so please invoke Allah for me that I may not become uncovered.' So he invoked Allah for her."

Narrated 'Ata:

That he had seen Um Zafar, the tall black lady, at (holding) the curtain of the Ka`ba.

We were coming from Khaibar along with Allah's Apostle while l was riding behind Abu Talha and he was proceeding. While one of the wives of Allah's Apostle was riding behind Allah's Apostle, suddenly the foot of the camel Slipped and I said, "The woman!" and alighted (hurriedly). Allah's Apostle said, "She is your mother." Sol resaddled the she-camel and Allah's Apostle mounted it. When he approached or saw Medina, he said, "Ayibun, ta'ibun, 'abidun, li-Rabbina hami-dun."

That Allah's Apostle saw him with the lice falling (from his head) on his face. Allah's Apostle said, "Are your lice troubling you? Ka`b said, "Yes." Allah's Apostle thus ordered him to shave his head while he was at Al-Hudaibiya. Up to then there was no indication that all of them would finish their state of Ihram and they hoped that they would enter Mecca. Then the order of Al-Fidya was revealed, so Allah's Apostle ordered Ka`b to feed six poor persons with one Faraq of food or slaughter a sheep or fast for three days.

Once the Prophet went out during the day. Neither did he talk to me nor I to him till he reached the market of Bani Qainuqa and then he sat in the compound of Fatima's house and asked about the small boy (his grandson Al-Hasan) but Fatima kept the boy in for a while. I thought she was either changing his clothes or giving the boy a bath. After a while the boy came out running and the Prophet embraced and kissed him and then said, 'O Allah! Love him, and love whoever loves him.'

"Regarding sheep, for every forty sheep up to one hundred and twenty, one sheep is due. But if you possess only thirty-nine, nothing is payable on them." He further narrated the tradition about the sadaqah (zakat) on sheep like that of az-Zuhri.

"Regarding cattle, a yearling bull calf is payable for every thirty, and a cow in her third year for forty, and nothing is payable on working animals.

Regarding (the zakat on) camels, he mentioned the rates that az-Zuhri mentioned in his tradition. He said: "For twenty-five camels, five sheep are to be paid. If they exceed by one, a she-camel in her second year is to be given. If there is no she-camel in her second year, a male camel in its third year is to be given, up to thirty-five. If they exceed by one a she-camel in her third year is to be given, up to forty-five. If they exceed by one, a she-camel in her fourth year which is ready to be covered by a bull-camel is to be given." He then transmitted the rest of the tradition like that of az-Zuhri.

He continued: If they exceed by one, i.e. they are ninety-one to hundred and twenty, two she-camels in their fourth year, which are ready to be covered by a bull-camel, are to be given. If there are more camels than that, a she-camel in her fourth year is to be given for every fifty. Those which are in one flock are not to be separated, and those which are separate are not to be brought together. An old sheep, one with a defect in the eye, or a billy goat is not to be accepted as a sadaqah unless the collector is willing.

As regards agricultural produce, a tenth is payable on that which is watered by rivers or rain, and a twentieth on that which is watered by draught camels."

The version of Asim and al-Harith says: "Sadaqah (zakat) is payable every year." Zuhayr said: I think he said "Once a year".

The version of Asim has the words: "If a she-camel in her second year is not available among the camels, nor is there a bull-camel in its third year, ten dirhams or two goats are to be given."

Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody gives in charity something equal to a date from his honestly earned money ----for nothing ascends to Allah except good---- then Allah will take it in His Right (Hand) and bring it up for its owner as anyone of you brings up a baby horse, till it becomes like a mountain." Abu Huraira said: The Prophet. said, "Nothing ascends to Allah except good."

A man asked Ibn `Umar, "What have you heard from Allah's Apostle regarding An-Najwa?" He said, "Everyone of you will come close to His Lord Who will screen him from the people and say to him, 'Did you do so-and-so?' He will reply, 'Yes.' Then Allah will say, 'Did you do so-and-so?' He will reply, 'Yes.' So Allah will question him and make him confess, and then Allah will say, 'I screened your sins in the world and forgive them for you today.' "

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) .

Allah's Apostle said, "During your sleep, Satan knots three knots at the back of the head of each of you, and he breathes the following words at each knot, 'The night is, long, so keep on sleeping,' If that person wakes up and celebrates the praises of Allah, then one knot is undone, and when he performs ablution the second knot is undone, and when he prays, all the knots are undone, and he gets up in the morning lively and in good spirits, otherwise he gets up in low spirits and lethargic."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyub said, "Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the first to give hospitality to the guest and the first person to be circumcised and the first person to trim the moustache and the first person to see grey hair. He said, 'O Lord! What is this?' Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'It is dignity, Ibrahim.' He said, 'Lord, increase me in dignity!' "

Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one mutilates oneself."

Yahya related to me from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud, from Abdullah ibn Abbas, that as-Sab ibn Jaththama al-Laythi once gave a wild ass to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was at al- Abwa, or Waddan, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave it back to him. However, when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the expression on the man's face he said, "We only gave it back to you because we are in ihram."