When we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (saws), he talked about periods of trial (fitnahs), mentioning many of them.

When he mentioned the one when people should stay in their houses, some asked him: Messenger of Allah, what is the trial (fitnah) of staying at home?

He replied: It will be flight and plunder. Then will come a test which is pleasant. Its murkiness is due to the fact that it is produced by a man from the people of my house, who will assert that he belongs to me, whereas he does not, for my friends are only the God-fearing. Then the people will unite under a man who will be like a hip-bone on a rib. Then there will be the little black trial which will leave none of this community without giving him a slap, and when people say that it is finished, it will be extended. During it a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening, so that the people will be in two camps: the camp of faith which will contain no hypocrisy, and the camp of hypocrisy which will contain no faith. When that happens, expect the Antichrist (Dajjal) that day or the next.

The Prophet (saws) said: Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the eminent saints of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam.

Then there will arise a man of Quraysh whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (saws) and establish Islam on Earth. He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.

Abu Dawud said: Some transmitted from Hisham "nine years" and some "seven years".

That when he asked `Aisha about the statement of Allah "Until when the Apostles gave up hope (of their people)." (12.110) she told him (its meaning), `Urwa added, "I said, 'Did they (Apostles) suspect that they were betrayed (by Allah) or that they were treated as liars by (their people)?' `Aisha said, '(They suspected) that they were treated as liars by (their people),' I said, 'But they were sure that their people treated them as liars and it was not a matter of suspicion.' She said, 'Yes, upon my life they were sure about it.' I said to her. 'So they (Apostles) suspected that they were betrayed (by Allah).' She said, "Allah forbid! The Apostles never suspected their Lord of such a thing.' I said, 'What about this Verse then?' She said, 'It is about the Apostles' followers who believed in their Lord and trusted their Apostles, but the period of trials was prolonged and victory was delayed till the Apostles gave up all hope of converting those of the people who disbelieved them and the Apostles thought that their followers treated them as liars; thereupon Allah's help came to them.

Mu`adh bin Jabal used to pray with the Prophet and then go to lead his people in prayer. Once he led the people in prayer and recited Surat-al-Baqara. A man left (the row of the praying people) and offered (light) prayer (separately) and went away. When Mu`adh came to know about it, he said. "He (that man) is a hypocrite." Later that man heard what Mu`adh said about him, so he came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are people who work with our own hands and irrigate (our farms) with our camels. Last night Mu`adh led us in the (night) prayer and he recited Sura-al-Baqara, so I offered my prayer separately, and because of that, he accused me of being a hypocrite." The Prophet called Mu`adh and said thrice, "O Mu`adh! You are putting the people to trials? Recite 'Washshamsi wad-uhaha' (91) or'Sabbih isma Rabbi ka-l-A'la' (87) or the like."

I heard Allah's Apostle while he was standing on the pulpit, saying, "The remaining period of your stay (on the earth) in comparison to the nations before you, is like the period between the `Asr prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah and they acted upon it till midday, and then they were worn out and were given for their labor, one Qirat each. Then the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel and they acted upon it till the time of the `Asr prayer, and then they were worn out and were given (for their labor), one Qirat each. Then you people were given the Qur'an and you acted upon it till sunset and so you were given two Qirats each (double the reward of the previous nations)." Then the people of the Torah said, 'O our Lord! These people have done a little labor (much less than we) but have taken a greater reward.' Allah said, 'Have I withheld anything from your reward?' They said, 'No.' Then Allah said, 'That is My Favor which I bestow on whom I wish.' "

The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allah's Apostle said (to the Muslims). "Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, 'We believe in Allah and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you.' "

I went to `Aisha and she was standing praying and the people, too, were standing (praying). So I said, "What is the matter with the people?" She beckoned with her head towards the sky. I said, "(Is there) a sign?" She nodded intending to say, "Yes."

Allah's Apostle informed (the people) about the death of An-Najashi on the very day he died. He went towards the Musalla (praying place) and the people stood behind him in rows. He said four Takbirs (i.e. offered the Funeral prayer).

I proceeded along with the Prophet on the day of `Arafat (9th Dhul-Hijja). The Prophet heard a great hue and cry and the beating of camels behind him. So he beckoned to the people with his lash, "O people! Be quiet. Hastening is not a sign of righteousness."

"When the Messenger of Allah (saws) arrived from Tabuk, the people went out to Thaniyyah Al-Wada' to meet him." As-Sa'ib said: "I went out with the people, and I was a boy."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

The people of Najran came to the Prophet and said, "Send an honest man to us." The Prophet said, "I will send to you an honest man who is really trustworthy." Everyone of the (Muslim) people hoped to be that one. The Prophet then sent Abu Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah.

When Allah's Apostle became seriously ill, Bilal came to him for the prayer. He said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Abu Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stands in your place, he would not be able to make the people hear him. Will you order `Umar (to lead the prayer)?" The Prophet said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." Then I said to Hafsa, "Tell him, Abu i Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stands in his place, he would not be able to make the people hear him. Would you order `Umar to lead the prayer?' " Hafsa did so. The Prophet said, "Verily you are the companions of Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer." So Abu- Bakr stood for the prayer. In the meantime Allah's Apostle felt better and came out with the help of two persons and both of his legs were dragging on the ground till he entered the mosque. When Abu Bakr heard him coming, he tried to retreat but Allah's Apostle beckoned him to carry on. The Prophet sat on his left side. Abu Bakr was praying while standing and Allah's Apostle was leading the prayer while sitting. Abu Bakr was following the Prophet and the people were following Abu Bakr (in the prayer).

I fought along with the Prophet (saws) in such and such battles. The people occupied much space and encroached on the road. The Prophet (saws) sent an announcer to announce among the people: Those who occupy much space or encroach on the road will not be credited with jihad.

The Prophet (saws) said: Shall I not inform you of something more excellent in degree than fasting, prayer and almsgiving (sadaqah)? The people replied: Yes, Prophet of Allah! He said: It is putting things right between people, spoiling them is the shaver (destructive).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say that he had heard one of the people of knowledge say that the Hijr was only enclosed so that people would go beyond it as they were making tawaf, and their tawaf would therefore encompass the original House.

The Prophet said to me during Hajjat-al-Wida`: Let the people keep quiet and listen. Then he said (addressing the people), "Do not (become infidels) revert to disbelief after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another (killing each other).

The people of Yemen used to come for Hajj and used not to bring enough provisions with them and used to say that they depend on Allah. On their arrival in Medina they used to beg the people, and so Allah revealed, "And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is the fear of Allah." (2.197).

"The Prophet became sick and when his disease became aggravated, he said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer." `Aisha said, "He is a softhearted man and would not be able to lead the prayer in your place." The Prophet said again, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." She repeated the same reply but he said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. You are the companions of Joseph." So the messenger went to Abu Bakr (with that order) and he led the people in prayer in the lifetime of the Prophet.

`Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer during his illness and so he led them in prayer." `Urwa, a sub narrator, added, "Allah's Apostle felt a bit relieved and came out and Abu Bakr was leading the people. When Abu Bakr saw the Prophet he retreated but the Prophet beckoned him to remain there. Allah's Apostle sat beside Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was following the prayer of Allah's Apostle and the people were following the prayer of Abu Bakr."

I offered the `Asr prayer behind the Prophet at Medina. When he had finished the prayer with Taslim, he got up hurriedly and went out by crossing the rows of the people to one of the dwellings of his wives. The people got scared at his speed . The Prophet came back and found the people surprised at his haste and said to them, "I remembered a piece of gold Lying in my house and I did not like it to divert my attention from Allah's worship, so I have ordered it to be distributed (in charity).

I was the butler of the people in the house of Abu Talha, and in those days drinks were prepared from dates. Allah's Apostle ordered somebody to announce that alcoholic drinks had been prohibited. Abu Talha ordered me to go out and spill the wine. I went out and spilled it, and it flowed in the streets of Medina. Some people said, "Some people were killed and wine was still in their stomachs." On that the Divine revelation came:-- "On those who believe And do good deeds There is no blame For what they ate (in the past)." (5.93)

Abu Dawud said: The solitary point in this tradition (not supported by other traditions) is the report about the signet-ring.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban that Ibn Muhayriz said, "I went into the mosque and saw Abu Said al-Khudri and so I sat by him and asked him about coitus interruptus. Abu Said al-Khudri said, 'We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the expedition to the Banu al-Mustaliq. We took some Arabs prisoner, and we desired the women as celibacy was hard for us. We wanted the ransom, so we wanted to practise coitus interruptus. We said, 'Shall we practise coitus interruptus while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is among us before we ask him?' We asked him about that and he said, 'You don't have to not do it. There is no self which is to come into existence up to the Day of Rising but that it will come into existence.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Umar ibn Husayn, the mawla of A'isha bint Qudama, that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan imposed retaliation against a man who killed a mawla with a stick and so the mawla's patron killed the man with a stick.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things in our community about which there is no dispute is that when a man strikes another man with a stick or hits him with a rock or intentionally strikes him causing his death, that is an intentional injury and there is retaliation for it."

Malik said, "Intentional murder with us is that a man intentionally goes to a man and strikes him until his life goes. Part of intentional injury also is that a man strikes a man in a quarrel between them. He leaves him while he is alive, and he bleeds to death and so dies. There is retaliation for that."

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that a group of free men are killed for the intentional murder of one free man, and a group of women for one woman, and a group of slaves for one slave."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf from Abdullah ibn Abbas that Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira entered the house of Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he was brought a roasted lizard. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stretched his hand toward it. One of the women who was in Maimuna's house said, "Tell the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what he means to eat." Someone said, "It is a lizard, Messenger of Allah." He withdrew his hand. Khalid said, "Is it haram, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "No, but there were none in my people's land, and I find that I dislike them."

Khalid added, "I chewed and ate it while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was looking."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abd ar- Rahman say that a slave could marry four women.

Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about the matter."

Malik said, "The slave differs with the muhallil if the slave is given permission by his master for his ex-wife. If his master does not give him permission, he separates them. The muhallil is separated in any case if he intends to make the woman halal by marriage."

Malik said, "When a slave is owned by his wife or a husband owns his wife, the possession of each of them is rendered void without divorce. If a man, for instance, is married to a slave-girl, and then he buys her, he must divorce her as a matter of course. They can then re- marry. If they re-marry afterwards, that separation was not divorce."

Malik said, "When a slave is freed by his wife who owns him and she is in the idda-period from him, they can only return to each other after she has made another marriage."

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.

I heard `Aisha saying, "When the news of the martyrdom of Ibn Haritha, Ja`far bin Abi Talib and `Abdullah bin Rawaka reached, Allah's Apostle sat with sorrow explicit on his face." `Aisha added, "I was then peeping through a chink in the door. A man came to him and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The women of Ja`far are crying.' Thereupon the Prophet told him to forbid them to do so. So the man went away and returned saying, "I forbade them but they did not listen to me." The Prophet ordered him again to go (and forbid them). He went again and came saying, 'By Allah, they overpowered me (i.e. did not listen to me)." `Aisha said that Allah's Apostle said (to him), "Go and throw dust into their mouths." Aisha added, "I said, May Allah put your nose in the dust! By Allah, neither have you done what you have been ordered, nor have you relieved Allah's Apostle from trouble."

I sat in a gathering in which the chiefs of the Ansar were present, and `Abdur-Rahman bin Abu Laila was amongst them. I mentioned the narration of `Abdullah bin `Utba regarding the question of Subai'a bint Al-Harith. `Abdur-Rahman said, "But `Abdullah's uncle used not to say so." I said, "I am too brave if I tell a lie concerning a person who is now in Al-Kufa," and I raised my voice. Then I went out and met Malik bin 'Amir or Malik bin `Auf, and said, "What was the verdict of Ibn Mas`ud about the pregnant widow whose husband had died?" He replied, "Ibn Mas`ud said, 'Why do you impose on her the hard order and don't let her make use of the leave? The shorter Sura of women (i.e. Surat-at- Talaq) was revealed after the longer Sura (i.e. Surat-al-Baqara)." (i.e. Her 'Idda is up till she delivers.)

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the people of knowledge say, "If someone goes into ihram to do hajj on its own, he cannot then go into ihram to do umra.''

Malik said, "This is what I have found the people of knowledge in our city doing."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki that Jabir ibn Abdullah said, "We sacrificed with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of Hudaybiya, a camel between seven people, and a cow between seven people."

Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Turks; people with small eyes, red faces, and flat noses. Their faces will look like shields coated with leather. The Hour will not be established till you fight with people whose shoes are made of hair."

Two men, a Muslim and a Jew, abused each other. The Muslim said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Muhammad over all the people." On that, the Jew said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Moses over all the people." The Muslim became furious at that and slapped the Jew in the face. The Jew went to Allah's Apostle and informed him of what had happened between him and the Muslim. Allah's Apostle said, "Don't give me superiority over Moses, for the people will fall unconscious on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first to gain consciousness, and behold ! Moses will be there holding the side of Allah's Throne. I will not know whether Moses has been among those people who have become unconscious and then has regained consciousness before me, or has been among those exempted by Allah from falling unconscious."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said, "I went out with Umar ibn alKhattab in Ramadan to the mosque and the people there were spread out in groups. Some men were praying by themselves, whilst others were praying in small groups. Umar said, 'By Allah! It would be better in my opinion if these people gathered behind one reciter.' So he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Kab. Then I went out with him another night and the people were praying behind their Qur'an reciter. Umar said, 'How excellent this new way is, but what you miss while you are asleep is better than what you watch in prayer.' He meant the end of the night, and people used to watch the beginning of the night in prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Umara ibn Yasar that Ata ibn Yasar told him that Abu Ayyub al-Ansari had told him, "We used to sacrifice one sheep, and a man sacrificed for himself and his family. Then later on people began to compete with each other and it became boasting."

Malik said, "The best that I have heard about a single camel, cow or sheep, is that a man should sacrifice a camel for himself and his family. He sacrifices a cow or sheep which he owns for his family, and shares with them in it. It is disapproved for a group of people to buy a camel, cow or sheep, to share for the ritual and sacrifices, each man giving a share of its price, and taking a share of its meat. We have heard the tradition that people do not share in the ritual. However, it may be that the people of one household can share."

A Muslim and a Jew quarreled. The Muslim taking an oath, said, "By Him Who has preferred Muhammad over all people...!" The Jew said, "By Him Who has preferred Moses, over all people." The Muslim raised his hand and slapped the Jew who came to the Prophet to tell him what had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet said, "Don't give me superiority over Moses, for the people will become unconscious (on the Day of Resurrection) and I will be the first to gain consciousness to see Moses standing and holding a side of Allah's Throne. I will not know if he has been among those people who have become unconscious; and that he has gained consciousness before me, or he has been amongst those whom Allah has exempted."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Humayd ibn Oays al-Makki told him, "I was with Mujahid while he was performing tawaf around the Kaba, and a man came to him and asked whether the days (of fasting) for kaffara had to be fasted consecutively, or could they be split up. I said to him, 'Yes, they can be split up, if the person so wishes.' Mujahid said, 'He should not split them up, because in Ubayy ibn Kab's recitation they are referred to as three consecutive days.' "

Malik said, "What I like most is what Allah has specified in the Qur'an, that is, that they are fasted consecutively."

Malik was asked about a woman who began the day fasting in Ramadan and though it was outside of the time of her period, fresh blood (i.e. not menstrual blood) flowed from her. She then waited until evening to see the same, but did not see anything.Then, on the next day in the morning she had anotherflow, though less than the first. Then, some days before her period, the flow stopped completely. Malik was asked what she should do about her fasting and prayer, and he said, "This blood is like menstrual blood. When she sees it she should break her fast, and then make up the days she has missed. Then, when the blood has completely stopped, she should do ghusl and fast."

Malik was asked whether someone who became muslim on the last day of Ramadan had to make up all of Ramadan or whether he just had to make up the day when he became muslim, and he said, "He does not have to make up any of the days that have passed. He begins fasting from that day onwards. What I like most is that he makes up the day on which he became muslim."