Um Al-`Ala an Ansari woman who had given the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle said, "`Uthman bin Maz'un came in our share when the Ansars drew lots to distribute the emigrants (to dwell) among themselves, He became sick and we looked after (nursed) him till he died. Then we shrouded him in his clothes. Allah's Apostle came to us, I (addressing the dead body) said, "May Allah's Mercy be on you, O Aba As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you." The Prophet said, 'How do you know that?' I replied, 'I do not know, by Allah.' He said, 'As for him, death has come to him and I wish him all good from Allah. By Allah, though I am Allah's Apostle, I neither know what will happen to me, nor to you.'" Um Al-`Ala said, "By Allah, I will never attest the righteousness of anybody after that." She added, "Later I saw in a dream, a flowing spring for `Uthman. So I went to Allah's Apostle and mentioned that to him. He said, 'That is (the symbol of) his good deeds (the reward for) which is going on for him.' "

She said: AbuMa'qil accompanied the Messenger of Allah (saws) during hajj. When he came (to her) she said: You know that hajj is incumbent on me. They walked until they visited him (i.e. the Prophet) and she asked (him): Messenger of Allah, hajj is due from me, and AbuMa'qil has a camel.

AbuMa'qil said: She spoke the truth, I have dedicated it to the cause of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Give it to her, that is in the cause of Allah. So he gave the camel to her.

She then said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who has become aged and ill. Is there any action which would be sufficient for me as my hajj?

He replied: umrah performed during Ramadan is sufficient as hajj.

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that a Syrian man called Ibn Khaybari found a man with his wife and killed him, or killed them both. Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan found it difficult to make a decision and he wrote to Abu Musa al-Ashari to ask Ali ibn Abi Talib for him about that. So Abu Musa asked Ali ibn Abi Talib and AIi said to him, "Is this thing in my land? I adjure you, you must tell me." Abu Musa explained to him how Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan had written him to ask Ali about it. Ali said, "I am Abu Hasan. If he does not bring four witnesses, then let him be completely handed over," (to the relatives of the murdered man).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father that Abu Hurayra said, "When people saw the first fruits of the season, they brought them to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took them and said, 'O Allah! Bless us in our fruits. Bless us in our city. Bless us in our sa and bless us in our mudd. O Allah! Ibrahim is Your slave, Your Khalil and Your Prophet. I am Your slave and Your Prophet. He prayed to You for Makka. I pray to You for Madina for the like of what He prayed to You for Makka, and the like of it with it.' Then he called the smallest child he saw and gave him the fruits."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Mahmud ibn Rabi al-Ansari that Utban ibn Malik, who was a blind man, used to lead his people in prayer, and he said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Sometimes it is dark and rainy and there is a lot of water around outside, and I am a man who has lost his sight. Messenger of Allah, pray in a certain place in my house so that I can take it as a place to pray." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to him and said, "Where would you like me to pray?" He indicated a place to him and the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed there.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Hunayd ibn Abd arRahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that a man broke the fast in Ramadan and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to make kaffara by freeing a slave, or fasting two consecutive months, or feeding sixty poor people, and he said, "I can't do it." Someone brought a large basket of dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, "Take this and give it away as sadaqa." He said, "Messenger of Allah, there is no-ne more needy than I am." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laughed until his eye-teeth appeared, and then he said, "Eat them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave Hafsa bint Abd arRahman in marriage to al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr while Abd ar-Rahman was away in Syria. When Abd ar-Rahman arrived, he said, "Shall someone like me have this done to him? Am I the kind of man to have something done to him without his consent?" A'isha spoke to al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr, and al-Mundhir said, "It is in the hands of Abd ar-Rahman." Abd ar-Rahman said, "I won't oppose something that you have already completed." Hafsa was confirmed with al-Mundhir, and there was no divorce.

Once the journey-food of the people ran short and they were in great need. So, they came to the Prophet to take his permission for slaughtering their camels, and he permitted them. Then `Umar met them and they informed him about it. He said, "What will sustain you after your camels (are finished)?" Then `Umar went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! What will sustain them after their camels (are finished)?" Allah's Apostle said, "Make an announcement amongst the people that they should bring all their remaining food (to me)." (They brought it and) the Prophet invoked Allah and asked for His Blessings for it. Then he asked them to bring their food utensils and the people started filling their food utensils with their hands till they were satisfied. Allah's Apostle then said, "I testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and I am His Apostle. "

that he saw a silver ring on the hand of Allah's Apostle for one day only. Then the people had silver rings made for themselves and wore it. On that, Allah's Apostle threw away their rings as well. (For the details of this Hadith, see Fath-ul-Bari, Vol. 12, page 438).

While we were offering the prayer with the Prophet a caravan carrying food came from Sham. The people looked towards the caravan (and went to it) and only twelve persons remained with the Prophet. So, the Divine Inspiration came; "But when they see some bargain or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it." (62.11)

The Prophet (saws) said: The Friday prayer is obligatory on him who hears the call.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by a group of narrators from Sufyan. They did not narrate it as a statement of the Prophet (saws); only Qabisah has transmitted it as saying of the Prophet (saws).

The Prophet said, "Martyrs are those who die because of drowning, plague, an Abdominal disease, or of being buried alive by a falling building." And then he added, "If the people knew the Reward for the Zuhr prayer in its early time, they would race for it. If they knew the reward for the `Isha' and the Fajr prayers in congregation, they would join them even if they had to crawl. If they knew the reward for the first row, they would draw lots for it."

Allah's Apostle said, "If the people knew what is the reward of making the call (for the prayer) and (of being in) the first row (in the prayer), and if they found no other way to get this privilege except by casting lots, they would certainly cast lots for it. If they knew the reward of the noon prayer, they would race for it, and if they knew the reward of the morning (i.e. Fajr) and `Isha prayers, they would present themselves for the prayer even if they had to crawl to reach there.

Abdullah ibn Zalim al-Mazini said: I heard Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl say: When so and so came to Kufah, and made so and so stand to address the people, Sa'id ibn Zayd caught hold of my hand and said: Are you seeing this tyrant? I bear witness to the nine people that they will go to Paradise. If I testify to the tenth too, I shall not be sinful.

I asked: Who are the nine? He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said when he was on Hira': Be still, Hira', for only a Prophet, or an ever-truthful, or a martyr is on you. I asked: Who are those nine? He said: The Messenger of Allah, AbuBakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talhah, az-Zubayr, Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas and AbdurRahman ibn Awf. I asked: Who is the tenth? He paused a moment and said: it is I.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by al-Ashja'i, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Hilal b. Yasaf, from Ibn Hayyan on the authority of 'Abd Allah b. Zalim through his different chain of narrators in a a similar manner.

Um Al-`Ala', an Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet said to me, "The emigrants were distributed amongst us by drawing lots and we got in our share `Uthman bin Maz'un. We made him stay with us in our house. Then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal when he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his clothes, Allah's Apostle came I said, 'May Allah be merciful to you, O Abu As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you'. The Prophet said, 'How do you know that Allah has honored him?' I replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you! On whom else shall Allah bestow His honor?' The Prophet said, 'No doubt, death came to him. By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Apostle. ' By Allah, I never attested the piety of anyone after that."

Al-Laith also narrated as above.

While we were sitting with the Prophet a man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have been ruined." Allah's Apostle asked what was the matter with him. He replied "I had sexual intercourse with my wife while I was fasting." Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He replied in the negative. Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet asked him, "Can you afford to feed sixty poor persons?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet kept silent and while we were in that state, a big basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet . He asked, "Where is the questioner?" He replied, "I (am here)." The Prophet said (to him), "Take this (basket of dates) and give it in charity." The man said, "Should I give it to a person poorer than I? By Allah; there is no family between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains who are poorer than I." The Prophet smiled till his premolar teeth became visible and then said, 'Feed your family with it."

The people say that Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations. In fact Allah knows whether I say the truth or not. They also ask, "Why do the emigrants and the Ansar not narrate as he does?" In fact, my emigrant brethren were busy trading in the markets, and my Ansar brethren were busy with their properties. I was a poor man keeping the company of Allah's Apostle and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. So, I used to be present while they (i.e. the emigrants and the Ansar) were absent, and I used to remember while they forgot (the Hadith). One day the Prophet said, "Whoever spreads his sheet till I finish this statement of mine and then gathers it on his chest, will never forget anything of my statement." So, I spread my covering sheet which was the only garment I had, till the Prophet finished his statement and then I gathered it over my chest. By Him Who had sent him (i.e. Allah's Apostle) with the truth, since then I did not forget even a single word of that statement of his, until this day of mine. By Allah, but for two verses in Allah's Book, I would never have related any narration (from the Prophet). (These two verses are): "Verily! Those who conceal the clear signs and the guidance which we have sent down .....(up to) the Merciful.' (2.159-160)

Rabi'ah reported on the authority of more than one person saying: The Messenger of Allah (saws) assigned as a fief to Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani the mines of al-Qabaliyyah which is in the neighbourhood of al-Fur', and only zakat is levied on those mines up to the present day.

When the number of Muslims increased they discussed the question as to how to know the time for the prayer by some familiar means. Some suggested that a fire be lit (at the time of the prayer) and others put forward the proposal to ring the bell. Bilal was ordered to pronounce the wording of Adhan twice and of the Iqama once only.

An Ansari woman who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet that the Ansar drew lots concerning the dwelling of the Emigrants. `Uthman bin Maz'un was decided to dwell with them (i.e. Um Al-`Ala's family), `Uthman fell ill and I nursed him till he died, and we covered him with his clothes. Then the Prophet came to us and I (addressing the dead body) said, "O Abu As-Sa'ib, may Allah's Mercy be on you! I bear witness that Allah has honored you." On that the Prophet said, "How do you know that Allah has honored him?" I replied, "I do not know. May my father and my mother be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! But who else is worthy of it (if not `Uthman)?" He said, "As to him, by Allah, death has overtaken him, and I hope the best for him. By Allah, though I am the Apostle of Allah, yet I do not know what Allah will do to me," By Allah, I will never assert the piety of anyone after him. That made me sad, and when I slept I saw in a dream a flowing stream for `Uthman bin Maz'un. I went to Allah's Apostle and told him of it. He remarked, "That symbolizes his (good) deeds."

Abdullah b. Yazid al-Khatmi reported on the authority of Abu Ayyub (Allah be pleased with him) that he prayed the sunset and 'Isha' prayers (together) at Muzdalifa in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage.

Ibn Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) cursing the woman who added false hair and the woman who asked for tattoos. This hadith has been reported on the authority of Abdullah through another chain of transmitters.

Abu Musa reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Stretches out His Hand during the night so that the people may repent for the fault committed from dawn till dusk and He stretches out His Hand during the day so that the people may repent for the fault committed from dusk to dawn. (He would accept repentance) before the sun rises in the west (before the Day of Resurrection). A hadith like this has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters.

Anas reported that the people of Mecca demanded from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) that he should show them (some) signs (miracles) and he showed twice the splitting of the moon. This hadlth has been narrated on the authority of Anas through another chain of transmitters.

I got an agreement written between me and Umaiya bin Khalaf that Umaiya would look after my property (or family) in Mecca and I would look after his in Medina. When I mentioned the word 'Ar64 Rahman' in the documents, Umaiya said, "I do not know 'Ar-Rahman.' Write down to me your name, (with which you called yourself) in the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance." So, I wrote my name ' `Abdu `Amr'. On the day (of the battle) of Badr, when all the people went to sleep, I went up the hill to protect him. Bilal(1) saw him (i.e. Umaiya) and went to a gathering of Ansar and said, "(Here is) Umaiya bin Khalaf! Woe to me if he escapes!" So, a group of Ansar went out with Bilal to follow us (`Abdur-Rahman and Umaiya). Being afraid that they would catch us, I left Umaiya's son for them to keep them busy but the Ansar killed the son and insisted on following us. Umaiya was a fat man, and when they approached us, I told him to kneel down, and he knelt, and I laid myself on him to protect him, but the Ansar killed him by passing their swords underneath me, and one of them injured my foot with his sword. (The sub narrator said, " `Abdur-Rahman used to show us the trace of the wound on the back of his foot.")

I went to `Aisha and said, "I was the slave of `Utba bin Abu Lahab. "Utba died and his sons became my masters who sold me to Ibn Abu `Amr who manumitted me. The sons of `Utba stipulated that my Wala' should be for them." `Aisha said, "Barirah came to me and she was given the writing of emancipation by her masters and she asked me to buy and manumit her. I agreed to it, but Barirah told me that her masters would not sell her unless her Wala' was for them." `Aisha said, "I am not in need of that." When the Prophet heard that, or he was told about it, he asked `Aisha about it. `Aisha mentioned what Barirah had told her. The Prophet said, "Buy and manumit (free) her and let them stipulate whatever they like." So, `Aisha bought and manumitted her and her masters stipulated that her Wala' should be for them." The Prophet;, said, "The Wala' will be for the liberator even if they stipulated a hundred conditions."

who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra' were killed). `Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, `Umar has come to me and said, The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra' (those who know the Qur'an by heart) at other battle-fields, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur'an." Abu Bakr added, "I said to `Umar, 'How can I do something which Allah's Apostle has not done?' `Umar said (to me), 'By Allah, it is (really) a good thing.' So `Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as `Umar." (Zaid bin Thabit added:) `Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking. me). "You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness): and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript). " By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur'an. I said to both of them, "How dare you do a thing which the Prophet has not done?" Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, it is (really) a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and `Umar. So I started locating Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuza`ima two Verses of Surat-at-Tauba which I had not found with anybody else, (and they were):-- "Verily there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty He (Muhammad) is ardently anxious over you (to be rightly guided)" (9.128) The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with `Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, `Umar's daughter.