Allah's Apostle said, "The congregational prayer of anyone amongst you is more than twenty (five or twenty seven) times in reward than his prayer in the market or in his house, for if he performs ablution completely and then goes to the mosque with the sole intention of performing the prayer, and nothing urges him to proceed to the mosque except the prayer, then, on every step which he takes towards the mosque, he will be raised one degree or one of his sins will be forgiven. The angels will keep on asking Allah's forgiveness and blessings for everyone of you so long as he keeps sitting at his praying place. The angels will say, 'O Allah, bless him! O Allah, be merciful to him!' as long as he does not do Hadath or a thing which gives trouble to the other." The Prophet further said, "One is regarded in prayer so long as one is waiting for the prayer."

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

Sa'id ibn Jubayr reported: Ibn Abbas saw the Messenger of Allah (saws) performed ablution. He narrated the tradition which says that he (the Prophet) performed each detail of ablution three times. He wiped his head and ears once.

When the Prophet distribute the war booty of Hunain, a man from the Ansar said, "He (i.e. the Prophet), did not intend to please Allah in this distribution." So I came to the Prophet and informed him of that (statement) whereupon the color of his face changed and he said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses, for he was troubled with more than this, but he remained patient."

Malik was asked whether someone who went into a mosque to do itikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan and stayed there for a day or two but then became ill and left the mosque, had to do itikaf for the number of days that were left from the ten, or not, and if he did have to do so, then what month should he do it in, and he replied, "He should make up whatever he has to do of the itikaf when he recovers, whether in Ramadan or otherwise. I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once wanted to do itikaf in Ramadan, but then came back without having done so, and then when Ramadan had gone, he did itikaf for ten days in Shawwal.

Some one who does itikaf voluntarily in Ramadan and some one who has to do itikaf are in the same position regarding what is halal for them and what is haram. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever did itikaf other than voluntarily."

Malik said, that if a woman did itikaf and then menstruated during her itikaf, she went back to her house, and, when she was pure again she returned to the mosque, at whatever time it was that she became pure. She then continued her itikaf from where she left off. This was the same situation as with a woman who had to fast two consecutive months, and who menstruated and then became pure. She then continued the fast from where she had left off and did not delay doing so.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab and AIi ibn Abi Talib and Abu Hurayra were asked about a man who had intercourse with his wife while he was in ihram on hajj. They said, "The two of them should carry on and complete their hajj. Then they must do hajj again in another year, and sacrifice an animal."

Malik added that AIi ibn Abi Talib said, "When they then go into ihram for hajj in a future year they should keep apart until they have completed their hajj."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab departed for Sham and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the (Muslim) army, Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah and his companions met him and told him that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. `Umar said, "Call for me the early emigrants." So `Umar called them, consulted them and informed them that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. Those people differed in their opinions. Some of them said, "We have come out for a purpose and we do not think that it is proper to give it up," while others said (to `Umar), "You have along with you. other people and the companions of Allah's Apostle so do not advise that we take them to this epidemic." `Umar said to them, "Leave me now." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, Leave me now," and added, "Call for me the old people of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Mecca." I called them and they gave a unanimous opinion saying, "We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to that (place) of epidemic." So `Umar made an announcement, "I will ride back to Medina in the morning, so you should do the same." Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah said (to `Umar), "Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?" `Umar said, "Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu 'Ubaida! Yes, we are running from what Allah had ordained to what Allah has ordained. Don't you agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?" At that time `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, who had been absent because of some job, came and said, "I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'If you hear about it (an outbreak of plague) in a land, do not go to it; but if plague breaks out in a country where you are staying, do not run away from it.' " `Umar thanked Allah and returned to Medina.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that one of the administrators of Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz wrote to him mentioning that a man had refused to pay zakat on his property. Umar wrote to the administrator and told him to leave the man alone and not to take any zakat from him when he took it from the other muslims. The man heard about this and the situation became unbearable for him, and after that he paid the zakat on his property. The administrator wrote to Umar and mentioned that to him, and Umar wrote back telling him to take the zakat from him.

The Prophet appointed a man from the tribe of Bani Asad, called Ibn Al-Utabiyya to collect the Zakat. When he returned (with the money) he said (to the Prophet), "This is for you and this has been given to me as a gift." The Prophet stood up on the pulpit (Sufyan said he ascended the pulpit), and after glorifying and praising Allah, he said, "What is wrong with the employee whom we send (to collect Zakat from the public) that he returns to say, 'This is for you and that is for me?' Why didn't he stay at his father's and mother's house to see whether he will be given gifts or not? By Him in Whose Hand my life is, whoever takes anything illegally will bring it on the Day of Resurrection by carrying it over his neck: if it is a camel, it will be grunting: if it is a cow, it will be mooing: and if it is a sheep it will be bleating!" The Prophet then raised both his hands till we saw the whiteness of his armpits (and he said), "No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's Message?" And he repeated it three times.

AbuAyyub heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Capitals will be conquered at your hands, and you will have to raise companies in large armies. A man will be unwilling to join a company, so he will escape from his people and go round the tribes offering himself to them, saying: Whose place may I take in such and such expedition? Whose place may I take in such and such expedition? Beware: That man is a hireling to the last drop of his blood.

When the ailment of the Prophet became aggravated and his disease became severe, he asked his wives to permit him to be nursed (treated) in my house. So they gave him the permission. Then the Prophet came (to my house) with the support of two men, and his legs were dragging on the ground, between `Abbas, and another man." 'Ubaidullah (the sub narrator) said, "I informed `Abdullah bin `Abbas of what `Aisha said. Ibn `Abbas said: 'Do you know who was the other man?' I replied in the negative. Ibn `Abbas said, 'He was `Ali (bin Abi Talib)." `Aisha further said, "When the Prophet came to my house and his sickness became aggravated he ordered us to pour seven skins full of water on him, so that he might give some advice to the people. So he was seated in a Mikhdab (brass tub) belonging to Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet. Then, all of us started pouring water on him from the water skins till he beckoned to us to stop and that we have done (what he wanted us to do). After that he went out to the people."

Malik said, "It is not halal to marry a christian or jewish slave-girl because Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Believing women who are muhsanat and women of those who were given the Book before you who are muhsanat', (sura 5 ayat 6) and they are free women from the Christians and Jews. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'If you are not affluent enough to marry believing women who are muhsanat, take believing slave-girls whom your right hands own.' " (Sura 4 ayat 24)

Malik said, "In our opinion, Allah made marriage to believing slave-girls halal, and He did not make halal marriage to christian and jewish slave-girls from the People of the Book."

Malik said, "The christian and jewish slave-girl are halal for their master by right of possession, but intercourse with a magian slave-girl is not halal by the right of possession."

Buraidah reported the Apostle of Allaah(saws) as saying “Respect to be shown by those who stay at home to the women of those who are engaged in jihad is t be like that shown to their mothers. If any man among those who stay at home is entrusted with the oversight of one’s family who is engaged in jihad and betrays him, he will be setup for him on the Day of Resurrection and he (the mujahid) will be told “This (man) was entrusted with the oversight of your family, so take what you want from his good deeds. The Apostle of Allaah(saws) turned towards us and said “So what do you think.”

Abu Dawud said “Qa’nab (a narrator of this tradition) was a pious man. Ibn Abi Laila intended to appoint him a judge, but he refused and said “If I intend to fulfill my need of a dirham, I seek the help of a person for it. He said “Which of us does not seek the help in his need? He said “Bring me out so that I may see. So he was brought out, and he concealed himself. Sufyan said “While he was concealing himself.” Sufyan said “While he was concealing himself the house suddenly fell on him and he died.”

`Ukaz, Majanna and Dhul-Majaz were marketplaces in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance. When Islam came, Muslims felt that marketing there might be a sin. So, the Divine Inspiration came: "There is no harm for you to seek the bounty of your Lord (in the seasons of Hajj)." (2.198) Ibn `Abbas recited the Verse in this way.

The Prophet (saws) said: Go in Allah's name, trusting in Allah, and adhering to the religion of Allah's Apostle. Do not kill a decrepit old man, or a young infant, or a child, or a woman; do not be dishonest about booty, but collect your spoils, do right and act well, for Allah loves those who do well.

`Abdullah (bin Masud) said. "Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah's creation." His saying reached a lady from Bani Asd called Um Yaqub who came (to `Abdullah) and said, "I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?" He replied, "Why should I not curse these whom Allah's Apostle has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah's Book!" Um Yaqub said, "I have read the whole Qur'an, but I did not find in it what you say." He said, "Verily, if you have read it (i.e. the Qur'an), you have found it. Didn't you read: 'And whatsoever the Apostle gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you, you abstain (from it). (59.7) She replied, "Yes, I did," He said, "Verily, Allah's Apostle forbade such things." "She said, "But I see your wife doing these things?" He said, "Go and watch her." She went and watched her but could not see anything in support of her statement. On that he said, "If my wife was as you thought, I would not keep her in my company."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar Rahman that Abu Said said that he had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "A group of people will appear among you whose prayer, fasting and deeds will make you think little of your own prayer, fasting and deeds. They will recite the Qur'an, but it wil not get past their throats, and they will pass through the deen like an arrow passes through game. You look at the arrowhead, and you see nothing, and you look at the shaft, and you see nothing, and you look at the flights, and you see nothing. And you are in doubt about the notch."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that a man who pronounced a dhihar from his four wives in one statement, had only to do one kaffara. Yahya related the same as that to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman.

Malik said, "That is what is done among us. Allah, the Exalted said about the kaffara for pronouncing dhihar, 'It is to free a slave before they touch one another. If he does not find the means to do that, then fasting for two consecutive months before they touch one another. If he cannot do that, it is to feed sixty poor people. ' " (Sura 58 ayats 4,5).

Malik said that a man who pronounced dhihar from his wife on various occasions had only to do one kaffara. If he pronounced dhihar, and then did kaffara, and then pronounced dhihar after he had done the kaffara, he had to do kaffara again.

Malik said, "Some one who pronounces dhihar from his wife and then has intercourse with her before he has done kaffara, only has to do one kaffara. He must abstain from her until he does kaffara and ask forgiveness of Allah. That is the best of what I have heard. "

Malik said, "It is the same with dhihar using any prohibited relations of fosterage and ancestry."

Malik said, "Women have no dhihar."

Malik said that he had heard that the commentary on the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, "Those of you who pronounce the dhihar about their wives, and then retract what they have said," (Sura 56 ayat 3), was that a man pronounced dhihar on his wife and then decided to keep her and have intercourse with her. If he decided on that, he must do kaffara. If he divorced her and did not decide to retract his dhihar of her and to keep her and have intercourse with her, there would be no kaffara incumbent on him.

Maliksaid, "If he marries her after that, he does not touch her until he has completed the kaffara of pronouncing dhihar."

Malik said that if a man who pronounced dhihar from his slave-girl wanted to have intercourse with her, he had to do the kaffara of the dhihar before he could sleep with her.

Malik said, "There is no ila in a man's dhihar unless it is evident that he does not intend to retract his dhihar."

Abu Salama b. 'Abd al-Rahman reported that Jabir told him that he had observed the prayer in danger with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) (first) led one of the two groups in two rak'ah of prayer. and then led the second group in two rak'ah of prayer. So the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed four rak'ah and led in two rak'ah each of the groups.

I came to the Prophet at Al-Batha' while his camel was kneeling down and he asked me, "Have you intended to perform the Hajj?" I replied in the affirmative. He asked me, 'With what intention have you assumed Ihram?" I replied, "I have assumed Ihram with the same intention as that of the Prophet. He said, "You have done well. Perform the Tawaf of the Ka`ba and (the Sai) between As-Safa and Al- Marwa and then finish the Ihram." So, I performed the Tawaf around the Ka`ba and the Sai) between As-Safa and Al-Marwa and then went to a woman of the tribe of Qais who cleaned my head from lice. Later I assumed the Ihram for Hajj. I used to give the verdict of doing the same till the caliphate of `Umar who said, "If you follow the Holy Book then it orders you to remain in the state of Ihram till you finish from Hajj, if you follow the Prophet then he did not finish his Ihram till the Hadi (sacrifice) had reached its place of slaughtering (Hajj-al-Qiran).

We were in a Ghazwa (Sufyan once said, in an army) and a man from the emigrants kicked an Ansari man (on the buttocks with his foot). The Ansari man said, "O the Ansar! (Help!)" and the emigrant said. "O the emigrants! (Help!) Allah's Apostle heard that and said, "What is this call for, which is characteristic of the period of ignorance?" They said, "O Allah's Apostle! A man from the emigrants kicked one of the Ansar (on the buttocks with his foot)." Allah's Apostle said, "Leave it (that call) as is a detestable thing." `Abdullah bin Ubai heard that and said, 'Have the (the emigrants) done so? By Allah, if we return Medina, surely, the more honorable will expel therefrom the meaner." When this statement reached the Prophet. `Umar got up an, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let me chop off the head of this hypocrite (`Abdullah bin Ubai)!" The Prophet said "Leave him, lest the people say that Muhammad kills his companions." The Ansar were then more in number than the emigrants when the latter came to Medina, but later on the emigrant increased.

The Prophet (saws) said: Our Lord Most High is pleased with a man who fights in the path of Allah, the Exalted; then his companions fled away (i.e. retreated). But he knew that it was a sin (to flee away from the battlefield), so he returned, and his blood was shed. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, says to His angels: Look at My servant; he returned seeking what I have for him (i.e. the reward), and fearing (the punishment) I have, until his blood was shed.

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.")

Mahmud bin Ar-Rabi` who was the person on whose face the Prophet had ejected a mouthful of water from his family's well while he was a boy, and `Urwa (on the authority of Al-Miswar and others) who testified each other, said, "Whenever the Prophet , performed ablution, his companions were nearly fighting for the remains of the water."

The Prophet said, "Procrastination (delay) in paying debts by a wealthy man is injustice. So, if your debt is transferred from your debtor to a rich debtor, you should agree."

A man came to Ibn `Umar and asked about `Uthman and Ibn `Umar mentioned his good deeds and said to the questioner. "Perhaps these facts annoy you?" The other said, "Yes." Ibn `Umar said, "May Allah stick your nose in the dust (i.e. degrade you)!' Then the man asked him about `Ali. Ibn `Umar mentioned his good deeds and said, "It is all true, and that is his house in the midst of the houses of the Prophet. Perhaps these facts have hurt you?" The questioner said, "Yes." Ibn `Umar said, "May Allah stick your nose in the dust (i.e. degrade you or make you do things which you hate) ! Go away and do whatever you can against me."

The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ishmael. She used a girdle so that she might hide her tracks from Sarah. Abraham brought her and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka`ba under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those days there was nobody in Mecca, nor was there any water So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and returned while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see him, he faced the Ka`ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers: 'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred House (Ka`ba at Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.' (14.37) Ishmael's mother went on suckling Ishmael and drinking from the water (she had). When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ishmael) tossing in agony; She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times." The Prophet said, "This is the source of the tradition of the walking of people between them (i.e. Safa and Marwa). When she reached the Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself to be quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, 'O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it." The Prophet added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zamzam (flow without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.' The House (i.e. Ka`ba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)." The Prophet added, "Ishmael's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?" She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet further said, "Ishmael's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love to enjoy the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there. The child (i.e. Ishmael) grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them. After Ishmael's mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael's wife about him, she replied, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied, 'We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,' complaining to him. He said, 'When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).' When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife, 'Has anyone visited you?' She replied, 'Yes, an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.' On that Ishmael said, 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied, 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.' Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (i.e. Jurhum). Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael's wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Abraham asked her, 'How are you getting on?' asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied, 'We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).' Then she thanked Allah' Abraham said, 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said. 'Meat.' He said, 'What do you drink?' She said, 'Water." He said, "O Allah! Bless their meat and water." The Prophet added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet added, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca." The Prophet added," Then Abraham said Ishmael's wife, "When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.' When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife, 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied, 'Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,' so she praised him and added. 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.' Ishmael asked her, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?' She said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.' On that Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them afterwards. He saw Ishmael under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Abraham, he rose up to welcome him (and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father). Abraham said, 'O Ishmael! Allah has given me an order.' Ishmael said, 'Do what your Lord has ordered you to do.' Abraham asked, 'Will you help me?' Ishmael said, 'I will help you.' Abraham said, Allah has ordered me to build a house here,' pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it." The Prophet added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e. the Ka`ba). Ishmael brought the stones and Abraham was building, and when the walls became high, Ishmael brought this stone and put it for Abraham who stood over it and carried on building, while Ishmael was handing him the stones, and both of them were saying, 'O our Lord! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.' The Prophet added, "Then both of them went on building and going round the Ka`ba saying: O our Lord ! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2.127)

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If anyone goes bankrupt, and a man finds his own property intact with him, he is more entitled to it than anyone else."

Malik spoke about a man who sold a man wares, and the buyer went bankrupt. He said, "The seller takes whatever of his goods he finds. If the buyer has sold some of them and distributed them, the seller of the wares is more entitled to them than the creditors. What the buyer has distributed does not prevent the seller from taking whatever of it he finds. It is the seller's right if he has received any of the price from the buyer and he wants to return it to take what he finds of his wares, and in what he does not find, he is like the creditors."

Malik spoke about some one who bought spun wool or a plot of land, and then did some work on it, like building a house on the plot of land or weaving the spun wool into cloth. Then he went bankrupt after he had bought it, and the original owner of the plot said, "I will take the plot and whatever structure is on it." Malik said, "That structure is not his. However, the plot and what is in it that the buyer has improved is appraised. Then one sees what the price of the plot is and how much of that value is the price of the structure. They are partners in that. The owner of the plot has as much as his portion, and the creditors have the amount of the portion of the structure."

Malik said, "The explanation of that is that the value of it all is fifteen hundred dirhams. The value of the plot is five hundred dirhams, and the value of the building is one thousand dirhams. The owner of the plot has a third, and the creditors have two-thirds."

Malik said, "It is like that with spinning and other things of the same nature in these circumstances and the buyer has a debt which he cannot pay. This is the behaviour in such cases."

Malik said, "As for goods which have been sold and which the buyer does not improve, but those goods sell well and have gone up in price, so their owner wants them and the creditors also want to seize them, then the creditors choose between giving the owner of the goods the price for which he sold them and not giving him any loss and surrendering his goods to him.

"If the price of the goods has gone down, the one who sold them has a choice. If he likes, he can take his goods and he has no claim to any of his debtor's property, and that is his right. If he likes, he can be one of the creditors and take a portion of his due and not take his goods. That is up to him."

Malik said about someone who bought a slave-girl or animal and she gave birth in his possession and the buyer went bankrupt, "The slave-girl or the animal and the offspring belong to the seller unless the creditors desire it. In that case they give him his complete due and they take it."

One day Ibn `Umar, while in the Mosque, looked at a man who was dragging his clothes while walking in one of the corners of the Mosque He said, "See who is that. I wish he was near to me." Somebody then said (to Ibn `Umar), "Don't you know him, O Abu `Abdur-Rahman? He is Muhammad bin Usama." On that Ibn `Umar bowed his head and dug the earth with his hands and then, said, "If Allah's Apostle saw him, he would have loved him."

Once Fatima came walking and her gait resembled the gait of the Prophet . The Prophet said, "Welcome, O my daughter!" Then he made her sit on his right or on his left side, and then he told her a secret and she started weeping. I asked her, "Why are you weeping?" He again told her a secret and she started laughing. I said, "I never saw happiness so near to sadness as I saw today." I asked her what the Prophet had told her. She said, "I would never disclose the secret of Allah's Apostle." When the Prophet died, I asked her about it. She replied. "The Prophet said: 'Every year Gabriel used to revise the Qur'an with me once only, but this year he has done so twice. I think this portends my death, and you will be the first of my family to follow me.' So I started weeping. Then he said. 'Don't you like to be the chief of all the ladies of Paradise or the chief of the believing women? So I laughed for that."

That Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will not look on the Day of Judgment at him who drags his robe (behind him) out of pride." Abu Bakr said "One side of my robe slacks down unless I get very cautious about it." Allah's Apostle said, "But you do not do that with a pride."

The Prophet said on the day of Nahr, "Whoever has slaughtered his sacrifice before the prayer, should repeat it (slaughter another sacrifice)." A man got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! This is a day on which meat is desired." He then mentioned his neighbors saying, "I have a six month old ram which is to me better than the meat of two sheep." The Prophet allowed him to slaughter it as a sacrifice, but I do not know whether this permission was valid for other than that man or not. The Prophet then went towards two rams and slaughtered them, and then the people went towards some sheep and distributed them among themselves.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) addressed us and said: Is here any one of such and such tribe present? But no one replied.

He again asked: Is here any one of such and such tribe present? But no one replied.

He again asked: Is here any one of such and such tribe?

Then a man stood and said: I am (here), Messenger of Allah.

He said: What prevented you from replying the first two times? I wish to tell you something good.

Your companion has been detained (from entering Paradise) on account of his debt. Then I saw him that he paid off all his debt on his behalf and there remained no one to demand from him anything.

Abu Dawud said: The name of the narrator Sam'an is Sam'an b. Mushannaj.