“I heard Ali bin Abi Talib saying: “the Messenger of Allah dispatched us – myself, Az-Zubair, and Al-Miqad bin Al- Aswad. He said: “Proceed until you reach Rawdah Khakh, where there is a lady carrying a letter. Take the letter from her and bring it to me.” So we proceeded on our way with our horses galloping until we reached the Rawdah. There we found the lady and said to her: “Give me the letter.” She said: “I have no letter.” We said: “Either you take out the letter, or we shall take off your clothes.’” He said: ‘So she took it out of her braid.’ He said: ‘We brought it to the Messenger of Allah, and it was from Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah, addressed to some of people among the idolaters of Makkah, infrmed them of some matter regarding the Prophet. So he said: “What is this O Hatib?” He said: “Do not be hasty with me O Messenger of Allah! I was a person who is an ally to the Quraish, not being related to them. The Muhajirun who are with you have relatives who can protect their families and their wealth in Makkah. So since I have no lineage among them, I wanted to do them a favor, so they might protect my relatives. I did not do this out of disbelief, nor to renegade from my religion, nor did I do it to chose disbelief [after Islam].” The Prophet said: “He said the truth.” Umar bin Al-Khattab said: “Allow me to chop off the head of this hypocrite!” The Prophet said: “Indeed he participated in (the battle of) Badr. You do not know, perhaps Allah looked at those who attended Badr and said: ‘O people of Badr! Do as you like, for I have forgiven you.’” He said: ‘It was about him, that this Surah was revealed: O you who believe! Do not take My enemies and your enemies as protecting friends showing affection towards them.’”

"From 'Ubaid bin As-Sabbaq, that Zaid bin Thabit narrated to him, he said: 'Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me - (regarding) those killed at Al-Yamamah - and 'Umar bin Al-Khattab was with him. He (Abu Bakr) said: "'Umar came to me and said: The fighting inflicted many casualties among the reciters of the Qur'an on the Day of Al-Yamamah, and I fear that there will be more casualties among the reciters in other parts of the land, such that much of the Qur'an may be lost. In my view, you should order that the Qur'an be collected.'" Abu Bakr said to 'Umar: "How can I do something which was not done my the Messenger of Allah (SAW)?" 'Umar said: 'By Allah! It is something good.' 'Umar continued trying to convince me until Allah opened up my chest to that which He had opened the chest of 'Umar, and I saw it as he saw it." Zaid said: 'Abu Bakr said: "You are a young wise man, and we have no suspicions of you. You used to write down the Revelation for the Messenger of Allah as the Qur'an was revealed." He (Zaid) said: 'By Allah! If they had ordered to move one of the mountains it would have been lighter on me than that.' He said: 'I said: "How will you do something which was not done by the Messenger of Allah (SAW)?" Abu Bakr said: "By Allah! It is something good." Abu Bakr and 'Umar continued trying to convince me, until Allah opened up my chest for that, just as He had opened their chests, the chest of Abu Bakr and the chest of 'Umar. So I began searching for Qur'anic material from parchments, leaf stalks of date-palms and Al-Likhaf - meaning stones - and the chests of men. I found the end of Surah Bara'ah with Khuzaimah bin Thabit: Verily, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He is eager for you; for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. But if they turn away, say: "Allah is sufficient for me. There is no god but He, in Him I put my trust, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne (9:128 & 129).'"

The Prophet (SAW) used to teach us to seek Allah's Counsel in all matters, as he used to teach us a Surah from the Qur'an. He would say: When anyone of you has an important matter to decide, let him pray two Rak'ahs other than the obligatory prayer, and then say: Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi `ilmik, wa astaqdiruka biqudratik, wa as'aluka min faḍlika ‘l-`Aẓīm, fa'innaka taqdiru wa lā aqdir, wa ta`lamu wa lā a`lam, wa anta `allāmu ‘l-ghuyūb, Allāhumma in kunta ta`lamu anna hādha ‘l-amra - [then mention the thing to be decided] Khayrun lī fī dīnī wa ma`āshī wa `āqibati amrī - [or say] `ājilihi wa ājilih - faqdurhu lī wa yassirhu lī thumma bārik lī fīh, wa in kunta ta`lamu anna hādha ‘l-amra sharrun lī fī dīnī wa ma`āshī wa `āqibati 'amrī - [or say] `ājilihi wa 'ājilihi - faṣrifhu `annī waṣrifnī `anh, waqdur liya ‘l-khayra ḥaythu kān, thumma arḍinī bih. "O Allah, I seek the counsel of Your Knowledge, and I seek the help of Your Omnipotence, and I beseech You for Your Magnificent Grace. Surely, You are Capable and I am not. You know and I know not, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter [then mention the thing to be decided] is good for me in my religion and in my life and for my welfare in the life to come, - [or say: in this life and the afterlife] - then ordain it for me and make it easy for me, then bless me in it. And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion and in my life and for my welfare in the life to come, - [or say: in this life and the afterlife] - then distance it from me, and distance me from it, and ordain for me what is good wherever it may be, and help me to be content with it." Whoever seeks the counsel of the Creator will not regret it and whoever seeks the advice of the believers will feel confident about his decisions, for Allah has said in the Qur'an: "And consult them in the affair. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah." Reference: Al-Bukhari 7/162. and Aal-'Imran 3:159.

A prayer performed by someone who has not recited the Essence of the Quran (1) during it is deficient (and he repeated the word three times), incomplete. Someone said to Abu Hurayrah: [Even though] we are behind the imam? (2) He said: Recite it to yourself, for I have heard the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) say: Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin (3), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: Ar-rahmani r-rahim (4), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has extolled Me, and when he says: Maliki yawmi d-din (5), Allah says: My servant has glorified Me - and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. And when he says: Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in (6), He says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin (7), He says: This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. (1) Surat al-Fatihah, the first surah (chapter) of the Qur'an. (2) i.e. standing behind the imam (leader) listening to him reciting al-Fatihah. (3) "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds." (4) "The Merciful, the Compassionate". (5) "Master of the Day of Judgement". (6) "It is You we worship and it is You we ask for help". (7) "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favors, not of those against whom You are angry, nor of those who are astray". It was related by Muslim (also by Malik, at-Tirmidhi, Abu-Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

A woman came to Allah's Messenger. (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I have come to you to entrust myself to you (you may contract my marriage with anyone at your discretion). Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw her and cast a glance at her from head to foot. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) then lowered his head. When the woman saw that he had made no decision in regard to her, she sat down. There stood up a person from amongst his companions and said: Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her. He (the Prophet) said: is there anything with you (which you con give as a dower)? He said: No, Messenger of Allah, by Allah I have nothing. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Go to your people (family) and see if you can find something. He returned and said: I have found nothing. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: See even if it is an iron ring. He went and returned and said: No, by Allah, not even an iron ring, but only this lower garment of mine (Sahl said that he had no upper garment), half of which (I am prepared to part with) for her. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: How can your lower garment serve your purpose, for it you wear it, she would not be able to make any use of it and if she wears it there would not be anything on you? The man sat down and as the sitting prolonged he stood up (in disappointment) and as he was going back Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded (him) to be called back, and as he came, he said to him: Do you know any part of the Qur'an? He said: I know such and such surahs (and he counted them), whereupon he (saws) said: Can you recite them from heart (from your memory)? He said: Yes, whereupon he (Allah's Messenger) said: Go, I have given her to you in marriage for the part of the Qur'an which you know.

Hittan ibn Abdullah ar-Ruqashi said: AbuMusa al-Ash'ari led us in prayer.

When he sat at the end of his prayer, one of the people said: Prayer has been established by virtue and purity.

When AbuMusa returned (from his prayer or finished his prayer), he gave his attention to the people, and said: Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. Which of you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. He said: You might have said them, Hittan. He replied: I did not say them. I was afraid you might punish me. One of the people said: I said them and I did not intend by them (anything) except good.

AbuMusa said: Do you not know how you utter (them) in your prayer? The Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed us, and taught us and explained to us our way of doing and taught us our prayer.

He said: When you pray a (congregational) prayer, straighten your rows, then one of you should lead you in prayer. When he says the takbir (Allah is Most Great), say the takbir, and when he recites verses "Not of those upon whom is Thy anger, nor of those who err" (i.e. the end of Surah i.), say Amin; Allah will favour you. When he says "Allah is most great," and bows, say "Allah is most great" and bow, for the imam will bow before you, and will raise (his head) before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he says "Allah listens to the one who praises Him," say: "O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be praise, Allah be praised," Allah will listen to you, for Allah, the Exalted, said by the tongue of His Prophet (saws): "Allah listens to the one who praises Him." When he says "Allah is most great" and prostrates, say: "Allah is most great" and prostrate, for the imam prostrates before you and raises his head before you.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: This is for that. When he sits, each one of you should say "The adorations of the tongue, all good things, and acts of worship are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah's upright servants. I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle."

This version of Ahmad does not mention the words "and His blessings" nor the phrase "and I testify"; instead, it has the words "that Muhammad."

After the revelation of (the Surah) "When the Help of Allah comes (to you, O Muhammad (PBUH) against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)" (110:1), Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to recite in every prayer: "Subhanaka Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahum-maghfir li (Far removed You are from every imperfection, our Rubb, and all praise is for You, forgive me, O Allah)".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) recited frequently in bowing and prostration: "Subhanaka Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahum-maghfir li. (Far removed You are from every imperfection, our Rubb, and all praise is for You, forgive me, O Allah)". He elucidated that it has been commanded in the Noble Qur'an to recite: "So glorify the Praises of your Rubb, and ask for His forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and Who forgives". (V.110:1) And he (the Messenger of Allah) acted upon it.

According to the narration in Muslim, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) frequently recited these words just before he passed away: "Subhanaka Rabbana wa bihamdika. Astaghfiruka wa atubu ilaika." I ('Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) asked him: "O Messenger of Allah! What are these new words which I hear from you repeatedly." He replied, "A sign has been appointed for me relating to my people that I should repeat these words at the sight of that sign". Then he recited Surat An-Nasr.

Another narration in Muslim related from 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) is: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) often recited, "Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him; I seek forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance." I said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, I hear you recite frequently: 'O Allah, You are free from every imperfection our Rubb and all praise is for You; I seek forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance."' He replied, "My Rubb has informed me that I would soon see a sign regarding my people, whenever I see it, I repeat this statement more often (of His Glorification and Praise and beg pardon of Him and turn to Him). Now I have witnessed the sign. The revelation of Surat An-Nasr and the victory is the conquest of Makkah."

"When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad (PBUH) against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah). And you see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds. So glorify the Praises of your Rubb, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and Who forgives." (110:1-3)

I was asked about the invokers of curses during the reign of Mus'ab (b. Zubair) whether they could separate (themselves by this process). He said: I did not understand what to say. So I went to the house of Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with them) in Mecca. I said to his servant: Seek permission for Me. He said that he (Ibn 'Umar) had been taking rest. He (Ibn 'Umar) heard my voice. and said: Are you Ibn Jubair? I said: Yes. He'said: Come in. By Allah, it must be some (great) need which has brought you here at this Hour. So I got in and found him lying on a blanket reclining against a pillow stuffed with fibres of date-palm. I said: O Abu'Abd al-Rahman, should there be separation between the invokers of curses? He said: Hallowed be Allah, yes, The first one who asked about it was so and so. he said: Messenger of Allah, tell me If one of us finds his wife committing adultery: what should he do? If he talks, that is something great, and if he keeps quiet that is also (something great) (which he cannot afford to do). Allah's Prophet (may peace be upon him) kept quiet (or some time). After some time he (that very person) came to him (Allah's Messenger) and said: I have been involved in that very cage about which I had asked you Allah the Exalted and Majestic then revealed (these) verses of Surah Nur:" Those who accuse their wives" (verse 6), and he (the Holy Prophet) recited them to him and admonished him, and exhorted him and informed him that the torment of the world is less painful than the torment of the Hereafter. He said: No, by Him Who sent you with Truth, I did not tell a lie against her. He (the Holy Prophet) then called her (the wife of that person who had accused her) and admonished her, and exhorted her, and informed her that the torment of this world is less painful than the torment of the Hereafter. She said: No, by Him Who sent thee with Truth, he is a liar. (it was) the man who started the swearing of oath and he swore in the name of Allah four times that he was among the truthful. and at the fifth turn he said: Let there be curse of Allah upon him if he were among the liars. Then the woman was called and she swore four times in the name of Allah that he (her husband) was among the liars, and at the fifth time (she said): Let there be curse upon her if he were among the truthful. He (the Holy Prophet) then effected separation between the two.

from Anas who said: "Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman came to 'Uthman, at the time when the people of Ash-Sham and the people of Al-'Iraq were waging war to conquer Arminiyah and Adharbijan. Hudhaifah saw their (the people of Ash-Sham and Al-'Iraq) different forms of recitation of the Qur'an. So he said to 'Uthman: 'O Commander of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book as the Jews and the Christians did before them.' So he ('Uthman) sent a message to Hafsah (saying): 'Send us the manuscripts so that we may copy them in the Musahif (plural of Mushaf: a written copy of the Qur'an) then we shall return it to you.' So Hafsah sent the manuscripts to 'Uthman bin 'Affan. 'Uthman then sent order for Zaid bin Thabit, Sa'eed bin Al-'As, 'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham, and 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair to copy the manuscripts in the Musahif. 'Uthman said to the three Quraish men: 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the (recitation dialect of the) Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish for it was in their tongue.' So when they had copied the manuscripts, 'Uthman sent one Mushaf from those Musahif that they had copied to every province." Az-Zuhri said: "Kharijah bin Zaid [bin Thabit] narrated to me that Zaid bin Thabit said: 'I missed an Ayah of Surat Al-Ahzab that I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) reciting: Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah, of them some have fulfilled their obligations, and some of them are still waiting (33:23) - so I searched for it and found it with Khuzaimah bin Thabit, or Abu Khuzaimah, so I put it in its Surah.'" Az-Zuhri said: "They differed then with At-Tabut and At-Tabuh. The Quraish said: At-Tabut while Zaid said: At-Tabuh. Their disagreement was brought to 'Uthman, so he said: 'Write it as At-Tabut, for it was revealed in the tongue of the Quraish.'" Az-Zuhri said: "'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah informed me that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud disliked Zaid bin Thabit copying the Musahif, and he said: 'O you Muslim people! I am removed from recording the transcription of the Mushaf and it is overseen by a man, by Allah, when I accepted Islam he was but in the loins of a disbelieving man' - meaning Zaid bin Thabit - and it was regarding this that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said: 'O people of Al-'Iraq! Keep the Musahif that are with you, and conceal them. For indeed Allah said: And whoever conceals something, he shall come with what he concealed on the Day of Judgement (3:161). So meet Allah with the Musahif.'" Az-Zuhri said: "It was conveyed to me that some men amongst the most virtuous of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) disliked that view of Ibn Mas'ud."

I divorced my wife. I then came to Medina to sell my land that was there so that I could buy arms and fight in battle. I met a group of the Companions of the Prophet (saws). They said: Six persons of us intended to do so (i.e. divorce their wives and purchase weapons), but the Prophet (saws) prohibited them. He said: For you in the Messenger of Allah there is an excellent model. I then came to Ibn 'Abbas and asked him about the witr observed by the Prophet (saws). He said: I point to you a person who is most familiar with the witr observed by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Go to 'Aishah. While going to her I asked Hakim b. Aflah to accompany me. He refused, but I adjured him. He, therefore, went along with me. We sought permission to enter upon 'Aishah. She said: Who is this ? He said: Hakim b. Aflah. She asked: Who is with you ? He replied: Sa'd b. Hisham. She said: Hisham son of 'Amir who was killed in the Battle of Uhud. I said: Yes. She said: What a good man 'Amir was! I said: Mother of faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (saws). She asked: Do you not recite the Quran ? The character of Messenger of Allah (saws) was the Qur'an. I asked: Tell me about his vigil and prayer at night. She replied: Do you not recite: "O thou folded in garments" (73:1). I said: Why not ?

When the opening of this Surah was revealed, the Companions stood praying (most of the night) until their fett swelled, and the concluding verses were not revealed for twelve months from heaven. At last the concluding verses were revealed and the prayer at night became voluntary after it was obligatory. I said: Tell me about the witr of the Prophet (saws). She replied: He used to pray eight rak'ahs, sitting only during the eighth of them. Then he would stand up and pray another rak'ahs. He would sit only after the eighth and the ninth rak'ahs. He would utter salutation only after the ninth rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting and that made eleven rak'ahs, O my son. But when he grew old and became fleshy he observed a witr of seven, sitting only in sixth and seventh rak'ahs, and would utter salutation only after the seventh rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting, and that made nine rak'ahs, O my son. The Messenger of Allah (saws) would not pray through a whole night, or recite the whole Qur'an in a night or fast a complete month except in Ramadan. When he offered prayer, he would do that regularly. When he was overtaken by sleep at night, he would pray twelve rak'ahs.

The narrator said: I came to Ibn 'Abbas and narrated all this to him. By Allah, this is really a tradition. Has I been on speaking terms with her, I would have come to her and heard it from her mouth. I said: If I knew that you were not on speaking terms with her, I would have never narrated it to you.