The Prophet said, "The prayer offered in congregation is twenty five times more superior (in reward) to the prayer offered alone in one's house or in a business center, because if one performs ablution and does it perfectly, and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of praying, then for each step which he takes towards the mosque, Allah upgrades him a degree in reward and (forgives) crosses out one sin till he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque he is considered in prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer and the angels keep on asking for Allah's forgiveness for him and they keep on saying: 'O Allah! Be Merciful to him, O Allah! Forgive him, as long as he keeps on sitting at his praying place and does not pass wind. (See Hadith No. 620).

The Prophet said, "The example of the person abiding by Allah's orders and limits (or the one who abides by the limits and regulations prescribed by Allah) in comparison to the one who do wrong and violate Allah's limits and orders is like the example of people drawing lots for seats in a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part while the others in the lower part ; those in the, lower part have to pass by those in the upper one to get water, and that troubled the latter. One of them (i.e. the people in the lower part) took an ax and started making a hole in the bottom of the boat. The people of the upper part came and asked him, (saying), 'What is wrong with you?' He replied, "You have been troubled much by my (coming up to you), and I have to get water.' Now if they prevent him from doing that they will save him and themselves, but if they leave him (to do what he wants), they will destroy him and themselves."

Next year I came out to make an atonement for my umrah. I came to Ibn Abbas and asked him (about it). He said: Bring a new sacrificial animal, for the Messenger of Allah (saws) ordered his companions to bring fresh sacrificial animals for the umrah of atonement in lieu of the animals they had sacrificed in the year of al-Hudaybiyyah.

Another chain reports a similar hadith.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili said, "I heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'A house or land that has been divided in the Jahiliyya, it is according to the division of the Jahiliyya. A house or land which has not been divided before the coming of Islam is divided according to Islam.' "

While we were in the company of the Prophet in a tent he said, ''Would it please you to be one fourth of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Would It please you to be one-third of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Would it please you to be half of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." Thereupon he said, "I hope that you will be one half of the people of Paradise, for none will enter Paradise but a Muslim soul, and you people, in comparison to the people who associate others in worship with Allah, are like a white hair on the skin of a black ox, or a black hair on the skin of a red ox."

Someone said to Usama, "Will you not talk to this (Uthman)?" Usama said, "I talked to him (secretly) without being the first man to open an evil door. I will never tell a ruler who rules over two men or more that he is good after I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'A man will be brought and put in Hell (Fire) and he will circumambulate (go around and round) in Hell (Fire) like a donkey of a (flour) grinding mill, and all the people of Hell (Fire) will gather around him and will say to him, O so-and-so! Didn't you use to order others for good and forbid them from evil?' That man will say, 'I used to order others to do good but I myself never used to do it, and I used to forbid others from evil while I myself used to do evil.' "

`Uthman bin `Affan was afflicted with severe nose-bleeding in the year when such illness was prevelant and that prevented him from performing Hajj, and (because of it) he made his will. A man from Quraish came to him and said, "Appoint your successor." `Uthman asked, "Did the people name him? (i.e. the successor) the man said, "Yes." `Uthman asked, "Who is that?" The man remained silent. Another man came to `Uthman and I think it was Al-Harith. He also said, "Appoint your successor." `Uthman asked, "Did the people name him?" The man replied "Yes." `Uthman said, "Who is that?" The man remained silent. `Uthman said, "Perhaps they have mentioned Az-Zubair?" The man said, "Yes." `Uthman said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, he is the best of them as I know, and the dearest of them to Allah's Apostle ."

While `Umar was at home in a state of fear, there came Al-`As bin Wail As-Sahmi Abu `Amr, wearing an embroidered cloak and a shirt having silk hems. He was from the tribe of Bani Sahm who were our allies during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. Al-`As said to `Umar "What is wrong with you?" He said, "Your people claim that they would kill me if I become a Muslim." Al-`As said, "Nobody will harm you after I have given protection to you." So Al-`As went out and met the people streaming in the whole valley. He said, "Where are you going?" They said, "We want Ibn Al-Khattab who has embraced Islam." Al-`As said, "There is no way for anybody to touch him." So the people retreated.

Abu Dawud said : Marwan b. Muhammad said: He is Rabah b. al-Walid who heard from him (nimran). He (Marwan b. Muhammad) said: Yahya b. Hussain was confused in it.

All the idols which were worshiped by the people of Noah were worshiped by the Arabs later on. As for the idol Wadd, it was worshiped by the tribe of Kalb at Daumat-al-Jandal; Suwa` was the idol of (the tribe of) Hudhail; Yaghouth was worshiped by (the tribe of) Murad and then by Bani Ghutaif at Al-Jurf near Saba; Ya`uq was the idol of Hamdan, and Nasr was the idol of Himyar, the branch of Dhi-al-Kala`. The names (of the idols) formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah, and when they died Satan inspired their people to (prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. The people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people (who initiated them) had died and the origin of the idols had become obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.

I asked `Ali "Do you have anything Divine literature besides what is in the Qur'an?" Or, as Uyaina once said, "Apart from what the people have?" `Ali said, "By Him Who made the grain split (germinate) and created the soul, we have nothing except what is in the Qur'an and the ability (gift) of understanding Allah's Book which He may endow a man, with and what is written in this sheet of paper." I asked, "What is on this paper?" He replied, "The legal regulations of Diya (Blood-money) and the (ransom for) releasing of the captives, and the judgment that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for killing a Kafir (disbeliever).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Umar ibn al- Khattab told people to kill snakes in the Haram.

Malik said, about the "wild dogs" which people were told to kill in the Haram, that any animals that wounded, attacked, or terrorised men, such as lions, leopards, Iynxes and wolves, were counted as"wild dogs." However, someone who was in ihram should not kill beasts of prey that did not attack (people), such as hyenas, foxes, cats and anything else like them, and if he did then he had to pay a forfeit for it. Similarly, someone in ihram should not kill any predatory birds except the kinds that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specified, namely crows and kites. If someone in ihram killed any other kind of bird he had to pay a forfeit for it.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to pray dhuhr, asr, maghrib, isha and subh at Mina. Then in the morning, after the sun had risen, he would go to Arafa .

Malik said, "What we are all agreed upon here (in Madina) is that the imam does not recite the Qur'an out loud in dhuhr on the day of Arafa, and that he gives a khutba to the people on that day, and that the prayer on the day of Arafa is really a dhuhr prayer, and even if it coincides with a jumua it is still a dhuhr prayer, but one which has been shortened because of travelling."

Malik said that the imam of the pilgrims should not pray the jumua prayer if the day of Arafa, the day of sacrifice or one of the three days after the day of sacrifice, was a Friday.

That the Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed each of you is a shepherd and all of you will be questioned regarding your flock. The commander who is in authority over the Muslims is responsible and he will be questioned regarding his responsibility. The man is responsible over the inhabitants of his house and he is the one who will be questioned about them. The wife is responsible in her husband's house and she will be questioned about it. The slave is responsible regarding his master's property, and he will be questioned about it. Indeed each of you is a shepherd and each of you will be questioned about his flock."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There are narrations on this topic from Abu Hurairah, Anas, and Abu Musa. The Hadith of Abu Musa is not preserved, and the Hadith of Anas is not preserved. And the Hadith of Ibn 'Umar is Hasan Sahih Hadith.

This hadith has been narrated through several other chains of transmitters, but some of the chains have a slight variation of words.

Abu Bakr came riding his horse from his dwelling place in As-Sunh. He got down from it, entered the Mosque and did not speak with anybody till he came to me and went direct to the Prophet, who was covered with a marked blanket. Abu Bakr uncovered his face. He knelt down and kissed him and then started weeping and said, "My father and my mother be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Prophet! Allah will not combine two deaths on you. You have died the death which was written for you." Narrated Abu Salama from Ibn `Abbas : Abu Bakr came out and `Umar , was addressing the people, and Abu Bakr told him to sit down but `Umar refused. Abu Bakr again told him to sit down but `Umar again refused. Then Abu Bakr recited the Tashah-hud (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Apostle) and the people attended to Abu Bakr and left `Umar. Abu Bakr said, "Amma ba'du, whoever amongst you worshipped Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but whoever worshipped Allah, Allah is alive and will never die. Allah said: 'Muhammad is no more than an Apostle and indeed (many) Apostles have passed away before him ..(up to the) grateful.' " (3.144) (The narrator added, "By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and then whoever heard it, started reciting it.")

Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh on a horse. He dismounted and entered the Mosque, but did not speak to the people till he entered upon `Aisha and went straight to Allah's Apostle who was covered with Hibra cloth (i.e. a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered the Prophet's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you." Narrated Ibn `Abbas: Abu Bakr went out while `Umar bin Al-Khattab was talking to the people. Abu Bakr said, "Sit down, O `Umar!" But `Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left `Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad , then Muhammad is dead, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said:--"Muhammad is no more than an Apostle, and indeed (many) apostles have passed away before him..(till the end of the Verse )......Allah will reward to those who are thankful." (3.144) By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this Verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and all the people received it from him, and I heard everybody reciting it (then). Narrated Az-Zuhri: Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab told me that `Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that the Prophet had died."

Allah's Apostle came to `Abdullah bin Ubai (a hypocrite) after his death and he has been laid in his pit (grave). He ordered (that he be taken out of the grave) and he was taken out. Then he placed him on his knees and threw some of his saliva on him and clothed him in his (the Prophet's) own shirt. Allah knows better (why he did so). `Abdullah bin Ubai had given his shirt to Al-Abbas to wear. Abu Harun said, "Allah's Apostle at that time had two shirts and the son of `Abdullah bin Ubai said to him, 'O Allah's Apostle! Clothe my father in your shirt which has been in contact with your skin.' ' Sufyan added, "Thus people think that the Prophet clothed `Abdullah bin Tubal in his shirt in lieu of what he (Abdullah) had done (for Al `Abbas, the Prophet's uncle.)"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf told him that once a poor woman fell ill and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told of her illness, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to visit poor people frequently and ask after them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let me know if she dies." Her bier was brought out at night- time and they did not want to wake up the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. In the morning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told what had happened to her and he said, "Didn't I tell you to let me know if she died?" They replied, "Messenger of Allah, we did not want to wake you up and make you come out in the night." Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out and formed everyone into rows by her grave and said "Allah is greater" four times.

`Ali bin Abi Talib sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle distributed that amongst four Persons: 'Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin H`Abis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin at-Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, "We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons)." When that news reached the Prophet , he said, "Don't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?" There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, "O Allah's Apostle! Be afraid of Allah." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?" Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?" The Prophet said, "No, for he may offer prayers." Khalid said, "Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts." Allah's Apostle said, "I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies." Then the Prophet looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, "From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur'an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game's body." I think he also said, "If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations a Thamud were killed."

`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."

(the wife of the Prophet) I bought a cushion having on it pictures (of animals). When Allah's Apostle saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. I noticed the sign of disapproval on his face and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I repent to Allah and His Apostle. What sin have I committed?' Allah's Apostle said. "What is this cushion?" I said, "I have bought it for you so that you may sit on it and recline on it." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them, 'Give life to what you have created (i.e., these pictures).' " The Prophet added, "The Angels of (Mercy) do not enter a house in which there are pictures (of animals).

(the wife of the Prophet) I bought a cushion having pictures on it. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he stopped at the gate and did not enter. I noticed the signs of hatred (for that) on his face! I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I turn to Allah and His Apostle in repentance! What sin have I committed?" He said, "What about this cushion?" I said, 'I bought it for you to sit on and recline on." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished (severely) on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said to them, 'Make alive what you have created.'" He added, "Angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures."

We set out in the company of Allah's Apostle five days before the end of Dhul Qa'da intending to perform Hajj only. When we approached Mecca Allah's Apostle ordered those who did not have the Hadi (i.e. an animal for sacrifice) with them, to perform the Tawaf around the Ka`ba, and between Safa and Marwa and then finish their Ihram. Beef was brought to us on the day of (i.e. the days of slaughtering) and I asked, "What is this?" Somebody said, Allah's Apostle has slaughtered (a cow) on behalf of his wives."

Jabir bin Abdullah said “We raised our voices in talbiyah along with the Apostle of Allaah(saws) exclusively for Hajj, not combining anything with it. When we came to Makkah four days of Dhu al Hijjah had already passed. We the circumambulated (the Ka’bah) and ran between Al Safa’ and Al Marwah . The Apostle of Allaah(saws) then commanded us to put off ihram. He said if I had not brought the sacrificial animals, I would have taken off Ihram. Suraqah bin Malik then stood up and said Apostle of Allaah , what do you think, have you provided this facility to us for this year alone or forever? The Apostle of Allaah said No, this forever and forever.

Al Awza’l said I heard Ata bin Abi Rabah narrating this tradition, but I did not memorize it till I met Ibn Juraij who confirmed it for me.

Allah's Apostle said, "There are three persons whom Allah will not look at on the Day of Resurrection, nor will he purify them and theirs shall be a severe punishment. They are: -1. A man possessed superfluous water, on a way and he withheld it from travelers. -2. A man who gave a pledge of allegiance to a ruler and he gave it only for worldly benefits. If the ruler gives him something he gets satisfied, and if the ruler withholds something from him, he gets dissatisfied. -3. And man displayed his goods for sale after the `Asr prayer and he said, 'By Allah, except Whom None has the right to be worshipped, I have been given so much for my goods,' and somebody believes him (and buys them). The Prophet then recited: "Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah's Covenant and their oaths." (3.77)

Allah's Apostle said, "While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?" He replied, "Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

Allah's Apostle said to me. "Will you relieve me from Dhi-al-Khalasa? " Dhi-al-Khalasa was an idol which the people used to worship and it was called Al-Ka`ba al Yamaniyya. I said, "O Allah's Apostle I am a man who can't sit firm on horses." So he stroked my chest (with his hand) and said, "O Allah! Make him firm and make him a guiding and well-guided man." So I went out with fifty (men) from my tribe of Ahrnas. (The sub-narrator, Sufyan, quoting Jarir, perhaps said, "I went out with a group of men from my nation.") and came to Dhi-al-Khalasa and burnt it, and then came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have not come to you till I left it like a camel with a skin disease." The Prophet then invoked good upon Ahmas and their cavalry (fighters).

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman told him that she had heard A'isha, umm al-muminin, saying, "We set out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when there were five nights left in Dhu'l-Qada and we assumed that we must be setting out for hajj. When we got near to Makka, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told everyone that did not have a sacrificial animal with them to leave ihram after they had done tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa."

A'isha added, "We were sent some beef on the day of sacrifice. I asked what it was and they said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had sacrificed for his wives."

Yahya ibn Said said, "I mentioned this hadith to Qasim ibn Muhammad and he said, 'She has given you the complete hadith, by Allah.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "Whoever swears by Allah and then says, 'Allah willing' and then does not do what he has sworn to, has not broken his oath."

Malik said, "The best I have heard on this reservation is that it belongs to the statement made if the speaker does not break the normal flow of speech before he is silent. If he is silent and breaks the flow of speech, he has no exception."

Yahya said, "Malik said that a man who said that he had disbelieved or associated something with Allah and then he broke his oath, had no kaffara, and he was not a disbeliever or one who associated something with Allah unless his heart concealed something of either of those. He should ask forgiveness of Allah and not return to it - for what he did was evil."

I heard `Aisha saying, "We set out (from Medina) along with Allah's Apostle five days before the end of Dhul-Qa'da with the intention of performing Hajj only. When we approached Mecca, Allah's Apostle ordered those who had no Hadi along with them to finish the lhram after performing Tawaf of the Ka`ba, (Safa and Marwa). `Aisha added, "Beef was brought to us on the Day of Nahr and I said, 'What is this?' Somebody said, 'The Prophet has slaughtered (cows) on behalf of his wives.' "

That he heard the Prophet delivering a sermon, and he mentioned the shecamel and the one who hamstrung it. Allah's Apostle recited:-- 'When, the most wicked man among them went forth (to hamstrung the she-camel).' (91.12.) Then he said, "A tough man whose equal was rare and who enjoyed the protection of his people, like Abi Zama went forth to (hamstrung) it." The Prophet then mentioned about the women (in his sermon). "It is not wise for anyone of you to lash his wife like a slave, for he might sleep with her the same evening." Then he advised them not to laugh when somebody breaks wind and said, "Why should anybody laugh at what he himself does?"