During the Pre-lslamic Period of ignorance the Quraish used to observe fasting on the day of 'Ashura', and the Prophet himself used to observe fasting on it too. But when he came to Medina, he fasted on that day and ordered the Muslims to fast on it. When (the order of compulsory fasting in ) Ramadan was revealed, fasting in Ramadan became an obligation, and fasting on 'Ashura' was given up, and who ever wished to fast (on it) did so, and whoever did not wish to fast on it, did not fast.

When Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) sent Mu`adh to Yemen, he said (to him), "YOU are going to people of a (Divine) Book. First of all invite them to worship Allah (alone) and when they come to know Allah, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers in every day and night; and if they start offering these prayers, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, the Zakat. And it is to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them; and if they obey you in that, take Zakat from them and avoid (don't take) the best property of the people as Zakat."

On the day of the battle of Uhud the pagans were defeated completely. Then Satan shouted loudly, "O Allah's slaves! Beware the ones behind you!" So the front files attacked the back ones. Then Hudhaifa looked and saw his father, and said loudly, "O Allah's slaves! My father! My father!" By Allah, they did not stop till they killed him (i.e. Hudaifa's father). Hudhaifa said, "May Allah forgive you!" The sub-narrator said, "By Allah, because of what Hudhaifa said, he remained in a good state till he met Allah (i.e. died).

On the day (of the battle) of Uhud when the pagans were defeated, Satan shouted, "O slaves of Allah! Beware of the forces at your back," and on that the Muslims of the front files fought with the Muslims of the back files (thinking they were pagans). Hudhaifa looked back to see his father "Al-Yaman," (being attacked by the Muslims). He shouted, "O Allah's Slaves! My father! My father!" By Allah, they did not stop till they killed him. Hudhaifa said, "May Allah forgive you." `Urwa said that Hudhaifa continued to do good (invoking Allah to forgive the killer of his father till he met Allah (i.e. died).

I asked: Messenger of Allah! will each one of us see his Lord? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "being alone with Him, on the Day of Resurrection? And what sign is there is His creation?" He replied: AbuRazin! does each one of you not see the moon? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "on the night when it is full, being alone with it?" Then the agreed version goes: I said: Yes. He said: Allah is more great. Ibn Mu'adh's version has: It is only part of Allah's creation, but Allah is more glorious and greater.

(the wife of the Prophet) "I do not remember my parents believing in any religion other than the Religion (of Islam), and our being visited by Allah's Apostle in the morning and in the evening. One day, while we were sitting in the house of Abu Bakr (my father) at noon, someone said, 'This is Allah's Apostle coming at an hour at which he never used to visit us.' Abu Bakr said, 'There must be something very urgent that has brought him at this hour.' The Prophet said, 'I have been allowed to go out (of Mecca) to migrate.' "

I saw the Prophet on the Day of (the battle of) Al-Khandaq, carrying earth with us and saying, "By Allah, without Allah we would not have been guided, neither would we have fasted, nor would we have prayed. O Allah! Send down Sakina (calmness) upon us and make our feet firm when we meet (the enemy). The pagans have rebelled against us, but if they want to put us in affliction (i.e., fight us) we refuse (to flee)." (See Hadith No. 430, Vol. 5).

My father said, "(Before Islam) I was looking for my camel .." The same narration is told by a different sub-narrator. Jubair bin Mut`im said, "My camel was lost and I went out in search of it on the day of `Arafat, and I saw the Prophet standing in `Arafat. I said to myself: By Allah he is from the Hums (literally: strictly religious, Quraish were called so, as they used to say, 'We are the people of Allah we shall not go out of the sanctuary). What has brought him here?"

From his father, from his grandfather, that he went with the Messenger of Allah (saws) to the Musalla, and he saw the people doing business so he said: 'O people of trade!' and they replied to the Messenger of Allah (saws) turning their necks and their gazes towards him, and he said: Indeed the merchants will be resurrected on the Day of judgement with the wicked, except the one who has Taqwa of Allah, who behaves charitably and is truthful.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. And they also say Isma'il bin 'Ubaidullah bin Rifa'ah.

And with this (same) chain, (it was reported) from the Prophet (saws) who said: "Indeed greater reward comes with greater trial. And indeed, when Allah loves a people He subjects them to trials, so whoever is content, then for him is pleasure, and whoever is discontent, then for him is wrath."

That the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "The forelocks of horses contain good until the Day of Judgement. The horse is for three (purposes): It is for one man a reward, and it is for one man a shelter (from poverty), and it is from one man a burden. As for the one who acquires it for the cause of Allah and then prepares it for that; it is for him a reward, nothing disappears into its stomach except that Allah writes it for him as a reward."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. Malik bin Anas narrated similar to this Hadith from Zaid bin Aslam from Abu Salih from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet (saws).

Allah's Apostle used to practice I`tikaf (in the mosque) in the middle third of Ramadan and after passing the twenty nights he used to go back to his house on the 21st, and the people who were in I`tikaf with him also used to go back to their houses. Once in Ramadan, in which he practiced I`tikaf, he established the night prayers at the night in which he used to return home, and then he addressed the people and ordered them whatever Allah wished him to order and said, "I used to practice I`tikaf for these ten days (i.e. the middle third but now I intend to stay in I`tikaf for the last ten days (of the month); so whoever was in I`tikaf with me should stay at his place of seclusion. I have verily been shown (the date of) this Night (of Qadr) but I have forgotten it. So search for it in the odd nights of the last ten days (of this month). I also saw myself (in the dream) prostrating in mud and water." On the night of the 21st, the sky was covered with clouds and it rained, and the rainwater started leaking through the roof of the mosque at the praying place of the Prophet . I saw with my own eyes the Prophet at the completion of the morning prayer leaving with his face covered with mud and water.

I said to Allah's Apostle "I hear many narrations (Hadiths) from you but I forget them." Allah's Apostle said, "Spread your Rida' (garment)." I did accordingly and then he moved his hands as if filling them with something (and emptied them in my Rida') and then said, "Take and wrap this sheet over your body." I did it and after that I never forgot any thing.

Narrated Ibrahim bin Al-Mundhir:

Ibn Abi Fudaik narrated the same as above (Hadith...119) but added that the Prophet had moved his hands as if filling them with something and then he emptied them in the Rida' of Abu Huraira.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from a mawla of Safiyya bint Abi Ubayd that she gave all that she possessed to her husband as compensation for her divorce from him, and Abdullah ibn Umar did not disapprove of that.

Malik said that divorce was ratified for a woman who ransomed herself from her husband, when it was known that her husband was detrimental to her and was oppressive for her, and it was known that he wronged her, and he had to return her property to her. Malik added, "This is what I have heard, and it is what is done among us."

Malik said, "There is no harm if a woman ransoms herself from her husband for more than he gave her."

I asked `Uthman bin `Affan about a man who engaged in the sexual intercourse with his wife but did not discharge. `Uthman replied, "He should perform ablution like that for the prayer after washing his private parts." `Uthman added, "I heard that from Allah's Apostle." I asked `Ali bin Abi Talib, Az- Zubair bin Al-`Awwam, Talha bin 'Ubaidullah and Ubai bin Ka`b and they gave the same reply. (Abu Aiyub said that he had heard that from Allah's Apostle ) (This order was canceled later on so one has to take a bath. See, Hadith No. 180).

Um 'Atiyya (an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet ) came to Basra to visit her son, but she could not find him. She narrated to us, "The Prophet came to us while we were giving bath to his (dead) daughter, he said: 'Wash her three times, five times or more, if you think it necessary, with water and Sidr, and last of all put camphor, and when you finish, notify me.' " Um 'Atiyya added, "After finishing, we informed him and he gave us his waist sheet and told us to shroud her in it and did not say more than that."

We asked Ibn `Umar: "May a man have sexual relations with his wife during the Umra before performing Tawaf between Safa and Marwa?" He said, "Allah's Apostle arrived (in Mecca) and circumambulated the Ka`ba seven times, then offered two rak`at behind Maqam Ibrahim (the station of Abraham), then performed Tawaf between Safa and Marwa." Ibn `Umar added, "Verily! In Allah's Apostle you have a good example." And I asked Jabir bin `Abdullah (the same question), and he replied, "You should not go near your wives (have sexual relations) till you have finished Tawaf between Safa and Marwa. "

The Prophet (saws) postponed the circumambulation on the day of sacrifice till the night.

Allah's Apostle said, "We (Muslims) are the last (people to come in the world) but (will be) the foremost (on the Day of Resurrection)."

One day the Prophet sat on the pulpit and we sat around him.

The Prophet said, "A woman should not travel for more than three days except with a Dhi-Mahram."

Allah's Apostle used to practice I`tikaf in the last ten days of the month of Ramadan.

On the day of Uhud. the Prophet said, "This is Gabriel holding the head of his horse and equipped with war material.'

I went out with `Abdullah , to Mecca and when we proceeded to am' he offered the two prayers (the Maghrib and the `Isha') together, making the Adhan and Iqama separately for each prayer. He took his supper in between the two prayers. He offered the Fajr prayer as soon as the day dawned. Some people said, "The day had dawned (at the time of the prayer)," and others said, "The day had not dawned." `Abdullah then said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'These two prayers have been shifted from their stated times at this place only (at Al-Muzdalifa); first: The Maghrib and the `Isha'. So the people should not arrive at Al-Muzdalifa till the time of the `Isha' prayer has become due. The second prayer is the morning prayer which is offered at this hour.' " Then `Abdullah stayed there till it became a bit brighter. He then said, "If the chief of the believers hastened onwards to Mina just now, then he had indeed followed the Sunna." I do not know which proceeded the other, his (`Abdullah's) statement or the departure of `Uthman . `Abdullah was reciting Talbiya till he threw pebbles at the Jamrat-Al- `Aqaba on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering) (that is the 10th of Dhul-Hijja).

The Prophet said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, 'We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.' The man said to them, 'Don't quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.' But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.' So, they worked till the time of `Asr prayer. Then they said, "Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.' The man said to them, 'Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,' but they refused. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly.

On the day of the battle of Uhud, the people ran away, leaving the Prophet , but Abu- Talha was shielding the Prophet with his shield in front of him. Abu Talha was a strong, experienced archer who used to keep his arrow bow strong and well stretched. On that day he broke two or three arrow bows. If any man passed by carrying a quiver full of arrows, the Prophet would say to him, "Empty it in front of Abu Talha." When the Prophet stated looking at the enemy by raising his head, Abu Talha said, "O Allah's Prophet! Let my parents be sacrificed for your sake! Please don't raise your head and make it visible, lest an arrow of the enemy should hit you. Let my neck and chest be wounded instead of yours." (On that day) I saw `Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and Um Sulaim both lifting their dresses up so that I was able to see the ornaments of their legs, and they were carrying the water skins of their arms to pour the water into the mouths of the thirsty people and then go back and fill them and come to pour the water into the mouths of the people again. (On that day) Abu Talha's sword fell from his hand twice or thrice.

27 Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab, if he was travelling in Ramadan and knew that he would reach Madina at the begining of the day ,would do so fasting.

Yahya said that Malik said, "Someone who is travelling and knows that he will be reaching his people in the first part of the day, and then dawn breaks before he gets there, should be fasting when he gets there."

Malik said, "Someone who intends to go away (on a journey) in Ramadan, and then dawn breaks while he is still on his land before he has left, should fast that day."

Malik said that a man who returns from a journey in Ramadan and is not fasting may have sexual intercourse with his wife if he wishes, if she is not fasting and she has just become pure after her menses.

On the day of Nahr Allah's Apostle delivered the Khutba after the `Id prayer and said, "Anyone who prayed like us and slaughtered the sacrifice like we did then he acted according to our (Nusuk) tradition of sacrificing, and whoever slaughtered the sacrifice before the prayer, then that was just mutton (i.e. not sacrifice)." Abu Burda bin Naiyar stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, I slaughtered my sacrifice before I offered the (Id) prayer and thought that today was the day of eating and drinking (nonalcoholic drinks) and so I made haste (in slaughtering) and ate and also fed my family and neighbors." Allah's Apostle said, "That was just mutton (not a sacrifice)." Then Abu Burda said, "I have a young she-goat and no doubt, it is better than two sheep. Will that be sufficient as a sacrifice for me?" The Prophet replied, "Yes. But it will not be sufficient for anyone else (as a sacrifice), after you."

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone repeats in the morning: "So glory be to Allah in the evening and in the morning; to Him is the praise in the heavens and the earth, and in the late evening and at noon....thus shall you be brought forth, " he will get that day what he has missed; and if anyone repeats these words in the evening he will get that night what he has missed. Ar-Rabi' transmitted it from al-Layth.

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever prayed at night the whole month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." Ibn Shihab (a sub-narrator) said, "Allah's Apostle died and the people continued observing that (i.e. Nawafil offered individually, not in congregation), and it remained as it was during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and in the early days of 'Umar's Caliphate."

Some slaves (of the unbelievers) went out to the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the day of al-Hudaybiyyah before treaty. Their masters wrote to him saying: O Muhammad, they have not gone out to you with an interest in your religion, but they have gone out to escape from slavery. Some people said: They have spoken the truth, Messenger of Allah, send them back to them. The Messenger of Allah (saws) became angry and said: I do not see your restraining yourself from this action), group of Quraysh, but that Allah send someone to you who strike your necks. He then refused to return them, and said: They are emancipated (slaves) of Allah, the Exalted.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Every intoxicant is khamr (wine) and every intoxicant is forbidden. If anyone drinks wine, Allah will not accept prayer from him for forty days, but if he repents, Allah will accept his repentance. If he repeats it a fourth time, it is binding on Allah that He will give him tinat al-khabal to drink.

He was asked: What is tinat al-khabal, Messenger of Allah? He replied: Discharge of wounds, flowing from the inhabitants of Hell. If anyone serves it to a minor who does not distinguish between the lawful and the unlawful, it is binding on Allah that He will give him to drink the discharge of wounds, flowing from the inhabitants of Hell.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that A'isha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began fasting voluntarily one morning and then food was given to them and they broke their fast with it. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came in. A'isha said, "Hafsa asked, anticipating me in speech - she took after her father Umar - 'Messenger of Allah, A'isha and I began the morning fasting voluntarily and then food was given us and we broke the fast with it.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Fast another day in its place.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha heard Anas ibn Malik say that a certain tailor invited the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat some food which he had prepared.

Anas said, "I went with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat the food. He served barley bread and a soup with pumpkin in it. I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, going after the pumpkin around the dish, so I have always liked pumpkin since that day."