The Prophet said, "No doubt, one had better take a rope (and cut) and tie a bundle of wood and sell it whereby Allah will keep his face away (from Hell-fire) rather than ask others who may give him or not."

`Abdullah said, "The Prophet arranged for a horse race, and the prepared horses were given less food for a few days before the race to win the race, and were allowed to run from Al-Hafya to Thaniyat-al- Wada`, and the unprepared horses were allowed to run between Thaniyat-al-Wada` and the mosque of Bani Zuraiq," `Abdullah was one of those who participated in the race.

Abu Dawud said: The version narrated by al-Zubaidi, Ibn Abi Dhi’b, Ibrahim b. Sa’d, Ma’mar, Shu’aib b. Abi Hamzah on the authority of al-Zuhri has the words: “the part you miss then complete it”. Ibn ‘Uyainah alone narrated from al-Zuhri the words “then offer it afterwards”. And Muhammad b. ‘Amr narrated from Abu Salamah on the authority of Abu Hurairah, and Ja’far b. Rabi’ah narrated from al-A’raj on the authority of Abu Hurairah the words “then complete it”. And Ibn Mas’ud narrated from the Prophet(may peace be upon him) and Abu Qatadah and Anas reported from the Prophet( may peace be upon him) the words” then complete it”.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that Kab al-Ahbar said, "If the person who passed in front of a man praying knew what he was bringing on himself, it would be better for him to sink into the ground than to pass in front of him."

I heard Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) while he was on the pulpit speaking about charity, to abstain from asking others for some financial help and about begging others, saying, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is that of the giver and the lower (hand) is that of the beggar."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "Shall I tell you what is better than much prayer and sadaqa?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Mending discord. And beware of hatred - it strips you (of your deen)."

The Prophet said, "It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert (not to speak to) his brother Muslim for more than three days while meeting, one turns his face to one side and the other turns his face to the other side. Lo! The better of the two is the one who starts greeting the other."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Prayer in congregation is better than the prayer of one of you on his own by twenty-five parts."

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, it is better for anyone of you to take a rope and cut the wood (from the forest) and carry it over his back and sell it (as a means of earning his living) rather than to ask a person for something and that person may give him or not."

When I mentioned it (i.e. the narration of Rafi` 'bin Khadij: no. 532) to Tawus, he said, "It is permissible to rent the land for cultivation, for Ibn `Abbas said, 'The Prophet did not forbid that, but said: One had better give the land to one's brother gratis rather than charge a certain amount for it.' "

In the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) we used to be called brokers, but the Prophet (saws) came upon us one day, and called us by a better name than that, saying: O company of merchants, unprofitable speech and swearing takes place in business dealings, so mix it with sadaqah (alms).

The Prophet said, "Time has come back to its original state which it had on the day Allah created the Heavens and the Earth. The year is twelve months, four of which are sacred, three of them are in succession, namely Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul Hijja and Muharram, (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar which is between Juma'da (ath-thamj and Sha'ban. The Prophet then asked, "Which month is this?" We said, "Allah and his Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, "Isn't it the month of Dhul-Hijja?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Which town is this?" We said, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it t,y a name other than its real name. He said, "isn't it the town (of Mecca)?" We replied, "Yes." He said, "What day is today?" We replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, "Isn't it the day of Nahr?" We replied, "Yes." He then said, "Your blood, properties and honor are as sacred to one another as this day of yours in this town of yours in this month of yours. You will meet your Lord, and He will ask you about your deeds. Beware! Do not go astray after me by cutting the necks of each other. It is incumbent upon those who are present to convey this message to those who are absent, for some of those to whom it is conveyed may comprehend it better than some of those who have heard it directly." (Muhammad, the sub-narrator, on mentioning this used to say: The Prophet then said, "No doubt! Haven't I delivered (Allah's) Message (to you)? Haven't I delivered Allah's message (to you)?"

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "It is better for anyone of you to take a rope (and cut) and bring a bundle of wood (from the forest) over his back and sell it and Allah will save his face (from the Hell-Fire) because of that, rather than to ask the people who may give him or not."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abi Habiba said, "I said to a man, when I was young, 'A man who only says that he must walk to the House of Allah and does not say that he has vowed to walk, does not have to walk.' A man said, 'Shall I give you this small cucumber?' and he had a small cucumber in his hand and you will say, 'I must walk to the house of Allah?' I said, 'Yes' and I said it, for at that time I was still immature. Then, when I came of age, some one said to me that I had to fulfill my vow. I went and asked Said ibn al- Musayyab about it, and he said to me, 'You must walk.' So I walked."

Malik said, "That is the custom among us."

The above hadith is narratted through another chain of transmitters.

Allah's Apostle said, "It is not lawful for a man to desert his brother Muslim for more than three nights. (It is unlawful for them that) when they meet, one of them turns his face away from the other, and the other turns his face from the former, and the better of the two will be the one who greets the other first."

The Prophet said, "I saw in a dream that I waved a sword and it broke in the middle, and behold, that symbolized the casualties the believers suffered on the Day (of the battle) of Uhud. Then I waved the sword again, and it became better than it had ever been before, and behold, that symbolized the Conquest (of Mecca) which Allah brought about and the gathering of the believers. "

The Prophet looked at the people of the well (the well in which the bodies of the pagans killed in the Battle of Badr were thrown) and said, "Have you found true what your Lord promised you?" Somebody said to him, "You are addressing dead people." He replied, "You do not hear better than they but they cannot reply."

The Prophet said "There is a tree in Paradise (which is so big and huge that) a rider could travel in its shade for a hundred years. And if you wish, you can recite:--'In shade long extended..' (56. 30) and a place in Paradise equal to an arrow bow of one of you, is better than (the whole earth) on which the sun rises and sets."