While I was with my uncle, I heard `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul saying, "Do not spend on those who are with Allah's Apostle, that they may disperse and go away (from him). And if we return to Medina, surely, the more honorable will expel therefrom the meaner. "I mentioned that to my uncle who, in turn, mentioned it to the Prophet. The Prophet called me and I told him about that. Then he sent for `Abdullah bin Ubai and his companions, and they swore that they did not say so. The Prophet disbelieved my statement and believed theirs. I was distressed as I have never been before, and I remained in my house. My uncle said to me, "You just wanted the Prophet to consider you a liar and hate you." Then Allah revealed:-- 'When the hypocrites come to you, they say: 'We bear witness that you are indeed the Apostle of Allah." (63.1) So the Prophet sent for me and recited it and said, "Allah has confirmed your statement."

A man came to the Prophet and said, "I am ruined!" The Prophet said, "Why?" He said, "I had sexual intercourse with my wife while fasting (in the month of Ramadan)." The Prophet said to him, "Manumit a slave (as expiation)." He replied, "I cannot afford that." The Prophet said, "Then fast for two successive months." He said, "I cannot." The Prophet said, "Then feed sixty poor persons." He said, "I have nothing to do that." In the meantime a basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet . He said, "Where is the questioner." The man said, "I am here." The Prophet said (to him), "Give this (basket of dates) in charity (as expiation)." He said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I give it to poorer people than us? By Him Who sent you with the Truth, there is no family between Medina's two mountains poorer than us." The Prophet smiled till his pre-molar teeth became visible. He then said, "Then take it."

I was a young unmarried man during the lifetime of the Prophet. I used to sleep in the mosque. Anyone who had a dream, would narrate it to the Prophet. I said, "O Allah! If there is any good for me with You, then show me a dream so that Allah's Apostle may interpret it for me." So I slept and saw (in a dream) two angels came to me and took me along with them, and they met another angel who said to me, "Don't be afraid, you are a good man." They took me towards the Fire, and behold, it was built inside like a well, and therein I saw people some of whom I recognized, and then the angels took me to the right side. In the morning, I mentioned that dream to Hafsa. Hafsa told me that she had mentioned it to the Prophet and he said, "`Abdullah is a righteous man if he only prays more at night." (Az-Zuhri said, "After that, `Abdullah used to pray more at night.")

Abu Huraira said, "You people claim that Abu Huraira narrates many narrations of Allah's Apostle. (Anyhow) with Allah will be our appointment. I was a poor man, and used to stick to Allah's Apostle contented with what will fill my stomach, and the Muhajirin (emigrants) used to be busy trading in the markets, and the Ansar used to be busy looking after their properties. One-day I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'Who will spread his Rida' (a garment covering the upper part of the body) till I finished my speech and then fold it, (i.e. wrap it over your body), in which case he will never forget anything he had heard from me." So I spread my garment which I was wearing; and by Him Who sent Muhammad with the Truth, ever since, I have never forgotten whatever I heard from him (the Prophet)" (See, Hadith No. 119, Vol. 1)

Yahya related to me from Malik, from Yahya ibn Said, that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab relating from Abu Hurayra that he was once coming back from Bahrayn, and, when he reached ar-Rabadha, he found a caravan of people from Iraq in ihram, who asked him whether they could eat the meat of some game which they had found with the people of ar- Rabadha, and he told them they could eat it. He said, "Afterwards I had doubts about what I had told them to do, so when I got back to Madina I mentioned the matter to Umar ibn al-Khattab and he said, 'What did you tell them to do?' I said, ' I told them to eat it.' Umar ibn al-Khattab said, threatening me, 'If you had told them to do anything else I would have done something to you.' "

I passed by a place called Ar-Rabadha and by chance I met Abu Dhar and asked him, "What has brought you to this place?" He said, "I was in Sham and differed with Muawiya on the meaning of (the following verses of the Qur'an): 'They who hoard up gold and silver and spend them not in the way of Allah.' (9.34). Muawiya said, 'This verse is revealed regarding the people of the scriptures." I said, It was revealed regarding us and also the people of the scriptures." So we had a quarrel and Mu'awiya sent a complaint against me to `Uthman. `Uthman wrote to me to come to Medina, and I came to Medina. Many people came to me as if they had not seen me before. So I told this to `Uthman who said to me, "You may depart and live nearby if you wish." That was the reason for my being here for even if an Ethiopian had been nominated as my ruler, I would have obeyed him .

Allah's Apostle was informed that I had taken an oath to fast daily and to pray (every night) all the night throughout my life (so Allah's Apostle came to me and asked whether it was correct): I replied, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you! I said so." The Prophet said, "You can not do that. So, fast for few days and give it up for few days, offer Salat (prayer) and sleep. Fast three days a month as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to one year of fasting." The Prophet said to me, "Fast one day and give up fasting for two days." I replied, "I can do better than that." The Prophet said to me, "Fast one day and give up fasting for a day and that is the fasting of Prophet David and that is the best fasting." I said, "I have the power to fast better (more) than that." The Prophet said, "There is no better fasting than that."

I asked Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri, "Did you hear Allah's Apostle talking about the Night of Qadr?" He replied in the affirmative and said, "Once we were in I`tikaf with Allah's Apostle in the middle ten days of (Ramadan) and we came out of it in the morning of the twentieth, and Allah's Apostledelivered a sermon on the 20th (of Ramadan) and said, 'I was informed (of the date) of the Night of Qadr (in my dream) but had forgotten it. So, look for it in the odd nights of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. I saw myself prostrating in mud and water on that night (as a sign of the Night of Qadr). So, whoever had been in I`tikaf with Allah's Apostle should return for it.' The people returned to the mosque (for I`tikaf). There was no trace of clouds in the sky. But all of a sudden a cloud came and it rained. Then the prayer was established (they stood for the prayer) and Allah's Apostle prostrated in mud and water and I saw mud over the forehead and the nose of the Prophet.

While I was praying in the Mosque, Allah's Apostle called me but I did not respond to him. Later I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say'--"Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle when he calls you." (8.24) He then said to me, "I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Qur'an, before you leave the Mosque." Then he got hold of my hand, and when he intended to leave (the Mosque), I said to him, "Didn't you say to me, 'I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Qur'an?' He said, "Al-Hamdu-Li l-lah Rabbi-l-`alamin (i.e. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds) which is Al-Sab'a Al-Mathani (i.e. seven repeatedly recited Verses) and the Grand Qur'an which has been given to me."

The Prophet said, "I do not eat mastigure, but I do not prohibit its eating."

I heard the Prophet, saying, "I am your predecessor at the Lake-Fount. (Al-Kauthar) .

She said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: Yes. She said: I came out, and when I was in the apartment or in the mosque, he called for me, or he commanded (someone to call me) and, therefore, I was called.

He said: what did you say? So I repeated my story which I had already mentioned about my husband. Thereupon he said: Stay in your house till the term lapses. She said:

So I passed my waiting period in it (her house) for four months and ten days. When Uthman ibn Affan became caliph, he sent for me and asked me about that; so I informed him, and he followed it and decided cases accordingly.

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited me from selling what was not with me."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan. He said: There is something on this topic from 'Abdullah bin 'Umar.

Ishaq bin Mansur said: "I said to Ahmad: 'What is the meaning of the prohibition from a loan along with a sale? He said: 'That he gives him a loan and then he makes a sale to him greater then it's actual worth. And, it carries the meaning of him loaning it to him in exchange for something (as collateral), so he says: 'If you are unable to pay it (the loan), the it (the collateral) will be a sale for you.' Ishaq [bin Rahuwyah] said as he said. And I said to Ahmad: 'What about selling what one does not possess?' He said: 'To me it does not apply except in cases of food - meaning one has not taken possession of it.' And Ishaq said the same for all of what is measured or weighed. Ahmad said: 'When he says: "I will sell you this garment, with the condition that I am the tailor for it, and I am the one who bleaches it.' This is an example of two conditions in one sale. But if he says: "I am selling it to you with the condition that I am its tailor," then there is no harm in it. And, if he said: "I am selling it to you with the condition that I am the one who bleaches it" then there is no harm in it, because this is only one condition.' And Ishaq said as he said."

Mu’awiyah said: Rabi’ah b. Yazid narrated this tradition to me from Abu Idris and the authority of ‘Uqbah b.’Amir.

Ibn al-Muthanna reported from ‘Amr from Hussain b. Abi Laila, saying ; Until Mu’adh came. Shu’bah said ; I heard it from Hussain who said : I shall follow the position (in the prayer in which I find him (the prophet)). . . you should do in a similar way.

Abu Dawud said: I then turned to the tradition reported by ‘Amr b. Marzuq he said; then Ma’adh came and they (the people) hinted at him. Shu’bah said; I heard it from hussain who said: Mu’adh then said; I shall follow the position (in the prayer when I join it) in which I find him (the prophet). He then said: Mu’adh has prayer when I join it in which I find him (the prophet). He then said: MU’adh has introduced for you a SUNNAH (a model behaviour), so you should do in a like manner. He said; our people have narrated to us; when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to Madina, he commanded them (the people) to keep fast for three days. Thereafter the Quranic verses with regard to the fasts during Ramadan were revealed. But they were people who were not accustomed to keep fast ; hence the keeping of the fasts was hard for them; so those who could not keep fast would feed an indigent; then the month”. The concession was granted to the patient and the traveler; all were commanded to keep fast.

I asked `Abdullah bin Abi `Aufa, 'Did Allah's Apostle carry out the Rajam penalty ( i.e., stoning to death)?' He said, "Yes." I said, "Before the revelation of Surat-an-Nur or after it?" He replied, "I don't Know."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "I pray the prayerof a traveller as long as I am undecided whether to remain somewhere or not, even if I am detained for twelve nights."

I informed Allah's Apostle that I was sick. He said, "Perform Tawaf (of the Ka`ba) while riding behind the people." So, I performed the Tawaf while Allah's Apostle was offering the prayer beside the Ka`ba and was reciting Surat-at-Tur.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) commissioned me as a collector of zakat. I visited a man. When he had collected his property of camels, I found that a she-camel in her second year was due from him.

I said to him: Pay a she-camel in her second year, for she is to be paid as sadaqah (zakat) by you.

He said: That one is not worthy of milking and riding. Here is another she-camel which is young, grand and fat. So take it.

I said to him: I shall not take an animal for which I have not been commanded. The Messenger of Allah (saws) is here near to you. If you like, go to him, and present to him what you presented to me. Do that; if he accepts it from you, I shall accept it; if he rejects it, I shall reject it.

He said: I shall do it. He accompanied me and took with him the she-camel which he had presented to me. We came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). He said to him: Prophet of Allah, your messenger came to me to collect zakat on my property. By Allah, neither the Messenger of Allah nor his messenger has ever seen my property before. I gathered my property (camels), and he estimated that a she-camel in her second year would be payable by me. But that has neither milk nor is it worth riding. So I presented to him a grand young she-camel for acceptance as zakat. But he has refused to take her. Look, she is here; I have brought her to you, Messenger of Allah. Take her.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: That is what is due from you. If you give voluntarily a better (animal) Allah will give a reward to you for it. We accept her from you.

She is here, Messenger of Allah; I have brought her to you. So take her. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then ordered me to take possession of it, and he prayed for a blessing on his property.

The Prophet went out to one of the gardens of Medina for some business and I went out to follow him. When he entered the garden, I sat at its gate and said to myself, "To day I will be the gatekeeper of the Prophet though he has not ordered me." The Prophet went and finished his need and went to sit on the constructed edge of the well and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. In the meantime Abu Bakr came and asked permission to enter. I said (to him), "Wait till I get you permission." Abu Bakr waited outside and I went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Abu Bakr asks your permission to enter." He said, "Admit him, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." So Abu Bakr entered and sat on the right side of the Prophet and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. Then `Umar came and I said (to him), "Wait till I get you permission." The Prophet said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." So `Umar entered and sat on the left side of the Prophet and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well so that one side of the well became fully occupied and there remained no place for any-one to sit. Then `Uthman came and I said (to him), "Wait till I get permission for you." The Prophet said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise with a calamity which will befall him." When he entered, he could not find any place to sit with them so he went to the other edge of the well opposite them and uncovered his legs and hung them in the well. I wished that a brother of mine would come, so I invoked Allah for his coming. (Ibn Al-Musaiyab said, "I interpreted that (narration) as indicating their graves. The first three are together and the grave of `Uthman is separate from theirs.")

A man said: Messenger of Allah, I have a slave-girl and I withdraw the penis from her (while having intercourse), and I dislike that she becomes pregnant. I intend (by intercourse) what the men intend by it.

The Jews say that withdrawing the penis (azl) is burying the living girls on a small scale. He (the Prophet) said: The Jews told a lie. If Allah intends to create it, you cannot turn it away.

'Urwah said: I always saw Mu'awiyah and his son opening their buttons of the collar during winter and summer. They never closed their buttons.

Allah's Apostle said: (I saw in a dream that) I entered Paradise, and behold, there was a palace built of gold! I asked, 'For whom is this palace?' They (the angels) replied, 'For a man from the Quraish.' " The Prophet added, "O Ibn Al-Khattab! Nothing stopped me from entering it except your Ghira." `Umar said, "How dare I think of my Ghira being offended by you, O Allah's Apostle?"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Muhammad ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas that Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said, "I was holding the Book for Sad ibn Abi Waqqas and I rubbed myself. Sad said, 'Did you touch your penis?' I replied, 'Yes,' and he said, 'Get up and do wudu.' So I got up and did wudu and then returned."

I enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle for three years, and during the other years of my life, never was I so anxious to understand the (Prophet's) traditions as I was during those three years. I heard him saying, beckoning with his hand in this way, "Before the Hour you will fight with people who will have hairy shoes and live in Al-Bazir." (Sufyan, the sub-narrator once said, "And they are the people of Al-Bazir.")

(the wife of the Prophet) "Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he would draw lots amongst his wives and would take with him the one upon whom the lot fell. During a Ghazwa of his, he drew lots amongst us and the lot fell upon me, and I proceeded with him after Allah had decreed the use of the veil by women. I was carried in a Howdah (on the camel) and dismounted while still in it. When Allah's Apostle was through with his Ghazwa and returned home, and we approached the city of Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered us to proceed at night. When the order of setting off was given, I walked till I was past the army to answer the call of nature. After finishing I returned (to the camp) to depart (with the others) and suddenly realized that my necklace over my chest was missing. So, I returned to look for it and was delayed because of that. The people who used to carry me on the camel, came to my Howdah and put it on the back of the camel, thinking that I was in it, as, at that time, women were light in weight, and thin and lean, and did not use to eat much. So, those people did not feel the difference in the heaviness of the Howdah while lifting it, and they put it over the camel. At that time I was a young lady. They set the camel moving and proceeded on. I found my necklace after the army had gone, and came to their camp to find nobody. So, I went to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would discover my absence and come back in my search. While in that state, I felt sleepy and slept. Safwan bin Mu'attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army and reached my abode in the morning. When he saw a sleeping person, he came to me, and he used to see me before veiling. So, I got up when I heard him saying, "Inna lil-lah-wa inn a ilaihi rajiun (We are for Allah, and we will return to Him)." He made his camel knell down. He got down from his camel, and put his leg on the front legs of the camel and then I rode and sat over it. Safwan set out walking, leading the camel by the rope till we reached the army who had halted to take rest at midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell into destruction, (some people accused me falsely) and the leader of the false accusers was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. After that we returned to Medina, and I became ill for one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the false accusers. I was feeling during my ailment as if I were not receiving the usual kindness from the Prophet which I used to receive from him when I got sick. But he would come, greet and say, 'How is that (girl)?' I did not know anything of what was going on till I recovered from my ailment and went out with Um Mistah to the Manasi where we used to answer the call of nature, and we used not to go to answer the call of nature except from night to night and that was before we had lavatories near to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to the habit of the old 'Arabs in the open country (or away from houses). So. I and Um Mistah bint Ruhm went out walking. Um Mistah stumbled because of her long dress and on that she said, 'Let Mistah be ruined.' I said, 'You are saying a bad word. Why are you abusing a man who took part in (the battle of) Badr?' She said, 'O Hanata (you there) didn't you hear what they said?' Then she told me the rumors of the false accusers. My sickness was aggravated, and when I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting he said, 'How is that (girl)?' I requested him to allow me to go to my parents. I wanted then to be sure of the news through them I Allah's Apostle allowed me, and I went to my parents and asked my mother, 'What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry much about this matter. By Allah, never is there a charming woman loved by her husband who has other wives, but the women would forge false news about her.' I said, 'Glorified be Allah! Are the people really taking of this matter?' That night I kept on weeping and could not sleep till morning. In the morning Allah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zaid when he saw the Divine Inspiration delayed, to consul them about divorcing his wife (i.e. `Aisha). Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of the good reputation of his wives and added, 'O Allah's Apostle! Keep you wife, for, by Allah, we know nothing about her but good.' `Ali bin Abu Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah has no imposed restrictions on you, and there are many women other than she, yet you may ask the woman-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that Allah's Apostle called Barirah and said, 'O Barirah. Did you ever see anything which roused your suspicions about her?' Barirah said, 'No, by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, I have never seen in her anything faulty except that she is a girl of immature age, who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough for the goats to eat.' On that day Allah's Apostle ascended the pulpit and requested that somebody support him in punishing `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. Allah's Apostle said, 'Who will support me to punish that person (`Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul) who has hurt me by slandering the reputation of my family? By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and they have accused a person about whom I know nothing except good, and he never entered my house except in my company.' Sa`d bin Mu`adh got up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! by Allah, I will relieve you from him. If that man is from the tribe of the Aus, then we will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, the Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your order.' On that Sa`d bin 'Ubada, the chief of the Khazraj and before this incident, he had been a pious man, got up, motivated by his zeal for his tribe and said, 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you cannot kill him, and you will never be able to kill him.' On that Usaid bin Al-Hadir got up and said (to Sa`d bin 'Ubada), 'By Allah! you are a liar. By Allah, we will kill him; and you are a hypocrite, defending the hypocrites.' On this the two tribes of Aus and Khazraj got excited and were about to fight each other, while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. He got down and quieted them till they became silent and he kept quiet. On that day I kept on weeping so much so that neither did my tears stop, nor could I sleep. In the morning my parents were with me and I had wept for two nights and a day, till I thought my liver would burst from weeping. While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked my permission to enter, and I allowed her to come in. She sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allah's Apostle came and sat down and he had never sat with me since the day they forged the accusation. No revelation regarding my case came to him for a month. He recited Tashah-hud (i.e. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle) and then said, 'O `Aisha! I have been informed such-and-such about you; if you are innocent, then Allah will soon reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him to forgive you, for when a person confesses his sin and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.' When Allah's Apostle finished his speech my tears ceased completely and there remained not even a single drop of it. I requested my father to reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf. My father said, By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.' I said to my mother, 'Talk to Allah's Apostle on my behalf.' She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle. I was a young girl and did not have much knowledge of the Qur'an. I said. 'I know, by Allah, that you have listened to what people are saying and that has been planted in your minds and you have taken it as a truth. Now, if I told you that I am innocent and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would not believe me and if I confessed to you falsely that I am guilty, and Allah knows that I am innocent you would believe me. By Allah, I don't compare my situation with you except to the situation of Joseph's father (i.e. Jacob) who said, 'So (for me) patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah (Alone) whose help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side of my bed hoping that Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah I never thought that Allah would reveal Divine Inspiration in my case, as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of in the Holy Qur'an. I had hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah's Apostle had not got up and nobody had left the house before the Divine Inspiration came to Allah's Apostle. So, there overtook him the same state which used to overtake him, (when he used to have, on being inspired divinely). He was sweating so much so that the drops of the sweat were dropping like pearls though it was a (cold) wintry day. When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, he was smiling and the first word he said, `Aisha! Thank Allah, for Allah has declared your innocence.' My mother told me to go to Allah's Apostle . I replied, 'By Allah I will not go to him and will not thank but Allah.' So Allah revealed: "Verily! They who spread the slander are a gang among you . . ." (24.11) When Allah gave the declaration of my Innocence, Abu Bakr, who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha for he was his relative, said, 'By Allah, I will never provide Mistah with anything because of what he said about Aisha.' But Allah later revealed: -- "And let not those who are good and wealthy among you swear not to help their kinsmen, those in need and those who left their homes in Allah's Cause. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Verily! Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (24.22) After that Abu Bakr said, 'Yes ! By Allah! I like that Allah should forgive me,' and resumed helping Mistah whom he used to help before. Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e. the Prophet's wife about me saying, 'What do you know and what did you see?' She replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! I refrain to claim hearing or seeing what I have not heard or seen. By Allah, I know nothing except goodness about Aisha." Aisha further added "Zainab was competing with me (in her beauty and the Prophet's love), yet Allah protected her (from being malicious), for she had piety."

Abu Bakr came to towards me and struck me violently with his fist and said, "You have detained the people because of your necklace." But I remained motionless as if I was dead lest I should awake Allah's Apostle although that hit was very painful.

I then went with Abu Bakr into his home (carrying that saddle) and there I saw his daughter `Aisha Lying in a bed because of heavy fever and I saw her father Abu Bakr kissing her cheek and saying, "How are you, little daughter?"

`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you."

The Prophet offered one hundred Budn as Hadi and ordered me to distribute their meat (in charity) and I did so. Then he ordered me to distribute their covering sheets in charity and I did so. Then he ordered me to distribute their skins in charity and I did so.

My father got me married to a lady of a noble family, and often used to ask my wife about me, and she used to reply, "What a wonderful man he is! He never comes to my bed, nor has he approached me since he married me." When this state continued for a long period, my father told the story to the Prophet who said to my father, "Let me meet him." Then I met him and he asked me, "How do you fast?" I replied, "I fast daily," He asked, "How long does it take you to finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an?" I replied, "I finish it every night." On that he said, "Fast for three days every month and recite the Qur'an (and finish it) in one month." I said, "But I have power to do more than that." He said, "Then fast for three days per week." I said, "i have the power to do more than that." He said, "Therefore, fast the most superior type of fasting, (that is, the fasting of (prophet) David who used to fast every alternate day; and finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an In seven days." I wish I had accepted the permission of Allah's Apostle as I have become a weak old man. It is said that `Abdullah used to recite one-seventh of the Qur'an during the day-time to some of his family members, for he used to check his memorization of what he would recite at night during the daytime so that it would be easier for him to read at night. And whenever he wanted to gain some strength, he used to give up fasting for some days and count those days to fast for a similar period, for he disliked to leave those things which he used to do during the lifetime of the Prophet.

There was a Jew in Medina who used to lend me money up to the season of plucking dates. (Jabir had a piece of land which was on the way to Ruma). That year the land was not promising, so the payment of the debt was delayed one year. The Jew came to me at the time of plucking, but gathered nothing from my land. I asked him to give me one year respite, but he refused. This news reached the Prophet whereupon he said to his companions, "Let us go and ask the Jew for respite for Jabir." All of them came to me in my garden, and the Prophet started speaking to the Jew, but he Jew said, "O Abu Qasim! I will not grant him respite." When the Prophet saw the Jew's attitude, he stood up and walked all around the garden and came again and talked to the Jew, but the Jew refused his request. I got up and brought some ripe fresh dates and put it in front of the Prophet. He ate and then said to me, "Where is your hut, O Jabir?" I informed him, and he said, "Spread out a bed for me in it." I spread out a bed, and he entered and slept. When he woke up, I brought some dates to him again and he ate of it and then got up and talked to the Jew again, but the Jew again refused his request. Then the Prophet got up for the second time amidst the palm trees loaded with fresh dates, and said, "O Jabir! Pluck dates to repay your debt." The Jew remained with me while I was plucking the dates, till I paid him all his right, yet there remained extra quantity of dates. So I went out and proceeded till I reached the Prophet and informed him of the good news, whereupon he said, "I testify that I am Allah's Apostle."

I never heard `Umar saying about something that he thought it would be so-and-so, but he was quite right. Once, while `Umar was sitting, a handsome man passed by him, `Umar said, "If I am not wrong, this person is still on his religion of the pre-lslamic period of ignorance or he was their foreteller. Call the man to me." When the man was called to him, he told him of his thought. The man said, "I have never seen such a day on which a Muslim is faced with such an accusation." `Umar said, "I am determined that you should tell me the truth." He said, "I was a foreteller in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance." Then `Umar said, "Tell me the most astonishing thing your female Jinn has told you of." He said, "One-day while I was in the market, she came to me scared and said, 'Haven't you seen the Jinns and their despair and they were overthrown after their defeat (and prevented from listening to the news of the heaven) so that they (stopped going to the sky and) kept following camel-riders (i.e. 'Arabs)?" `Umar said, "He is right." and added, "One day while I was near their idols, there came a man with a calf and slaughtered it as a sacrifice (for the idols). An (unseen) creature shouted at him, and I have never heard harsher than his voice. He was crying, 'O you bold evil-doer! A matter of success! An eloquent man is saying: None has the right to be worshipped except you (O Allah).' On that the people fled, but I said, 'I shall not go away till I know what is behind this.' Then the cry came again: 'O you bold evil-doer! A matter of success! An eloquent man is saying: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.' I then went away and a few days later it was said, "A prophet has appeared."

`Abdullah bin `Umar said: I used to sleep in the mosque of the Prophet while I was young and unmarried.