[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

I heard Um Ad-Darda' saying, "Abu Ad-Darda' entered the house in an angry mood. I said to him. 'What makes you angry?' He replied, 'By Allah! I do not find the followers of Muhammad doing those good things (which they used to do before) except the offering of congregational prayer." (This happened in the last days of Abu Ad-Darda' during the rule of `Uthman) .

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by al-Darawardi from ‘Ubaid Allah on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, saying: there was a mu'adhdhin of ‘Umar, named Mas’ud. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. This version is more correct than one.

The Prophet said, "(There are) three (types of persons to whom) Allah will neither speak to them on the Day of Resurrections, nor look at them (They are):--(1) a man who takes a false oath that he has been offered for a commodity a price greater than what he has actually been offered; (2) and a man who takes a false oath after the `Asr (prayer) in order to grab the property of a Muslim through it; (3) and a man who forbids others to use the remaining superfluous water. To such a man Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, 'Today I withhold My Blessings from you as you withheld the superfluous part of that (water) which your hands did not create.' "

Allah's Apostle said, "There are three persons whom Allah will neither talk to nor look at, nor purify from (the sins), and they will have a painful punishment. (They are): (1) A man possessed superfluous water on a way and he withheld it from the travelers. (2) a man who gives a pledge of allegiance to a Muslim ruler and gives it only for worldly gains. If the ruler gives him what he wants, he remains obedient to It, otherwise he does not abide by it, and (3) a man bargains with another man after the `Asr prayer and the latter takes a false oath in the Name of Allah) claiming that he has been offered so much for the thing and the former (believes him and) buys it."

Once I stayed overnight at the house of (my aunt ) Maimuna while the Prophet was with her, to see how was the night prayer of Allah s Apostle Allah's Apostle talked to his wife for a while and then slept. When it was the last third of the night (or part of it), the Prophet got up and looked towards the sky and recited the Verse:-- 'Verily! In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth....there are indeed signs for the men of understanding.' (3.190) Then He got up and performed the ablution, brushed his teeth and offered eleven rak`at. Then Bilal pronounced the Adhan whereupon the Prophet offered a two-rak`at (Sunna) prayer and went out to lead the people in Fajr (morning compulsory congregational prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said that he had heard Umar ibn al-Khattab say, "I heard Hisham ibn Hakim ibn Hizam reciting Surat al-Furqan (Sura 25) differently from me, and it was the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who had recited it to me. I was about to rush up to him but I granted him a respite until he had finished his prayer. Then I grabbed him by his cloak and took him to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surat al- Furqan differently from the way you recited it to me.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Let him go.' Then he said, 'Recite, Hisham,' and Hisham recited as I had heard him recite. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'It was sent down like that.' Then he said to me, 'Recite' and I recited the sura, and he said, 'It was sent down like that. This Qur'an was sent down in seven (different) ways, so recite from it whatever is easy for you .' "

He then made a call to prayer. When he reached the words “ come to prayer, come to salvation”. He turned his neck right and left, respectively; he did not turn himself (with his whole body). He then entered (his house) and came out with a lancet. The narrator then reported the rest of the tradition.

Abu Dawud said: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, Ibn al-Zubair and Ibn ‘Umar hold the opinion that whoever gets an odd number of the rak’ahs of prayer, he should perform two prostrations on account of forgetfulness.

Abu Dawud said: It has also been narrated by Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi, but I did not hear him. He reported it from 'Aishah through a different chain of narrators. 'Aishah said: Zainab daughter of Jahsh had a prolonged flow of blood. The Prophet (saws) said to her: Take bath for every prayer. The narrator then reported the tradition (in full).

Abu Dawud said: The version transmitted by 'Abd al-Samad from Sulaiman b. Kathir has: "Perform ablution for every prayer." This is a misunderstanding on the part of 'Abd al-Samad. The correct version is the one narrated by Abu al-Walid.

On his father's authority, said that his grandfather reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Anyone who practises medicine when he is not known as a practitioner will be held responsible.

Abu Dawud said: This has been transmitted by al-Walid alone. We do not know whether it is sound or not.

The Prophet said, "If anyone of you, on having sexual relation with his wife, says: 'O Allah! Protect me from Satan, and prevent Satan from approaching the offspring you are going to give me,' and if it happens that the lady conceives a child, Satan will neither harm it nor be given power over it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that one time the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was speaking to Umar ibn al-Khattab while he was travelling with a troop and Umar swore by his father and he (the Messenger) said, "Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers. If anyone swears, let him swear by Allah or keep silent."

The Prophet (saws) said: When your brethren were smitten at the battle of Uhud, Allah put their spirits in the crops of green birds which go down to the rivers of Paradise, eat its fruit and nestle in lamps of gold in the shade of the Throne. Then when they experienced the sweetness of their food, drink and rest, they asked: Who will tell our brethren about us that we are alive in Paradise provided with provision, in order that they might not be disinterested in jihad and recoil in war? Allah Most High said: I shall tell them about you; so Allah sent down; "And do not consider those who have been killed in Allah's path." till the end of the verse.

Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met AbuHurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage.

AbuHurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you?

(Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (saws):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.

If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

During the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, the sun eclipsed. Allah's Apostle offered the prayer of (the) eclipse) and so did the people along with him. He performed a long Qiyam (standing posture) during which Surat-al-Baqara could have been recited; then he performed a pro-longed bowing, then raised his head and stood for a long time which was slightly less than that of the first Qiyam (and recited Qur'an). Then he performed a prolonged bowing again but the period was shorter than the period of the first bowing, then he stood up and then prostrated. Again he stood up, but this time the period of standing was less than the first standing. Then he performed a prolonged bowing but of a lesser duration than the first, then he stood up again for a long time but for a lesser duration than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing but of lesser duration than the first, and then he again stood up, and then prostrated and then finished his prayer. By then the sun eclipse had cleared. The Prophet then said, "The sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allah, and they do not eclipse because of the death or birth of someone, so when you observe the eclipse, remember Allah (offer the eclipse prayer)." They (the people) said, "O Allah's Apostle! We saw you stretching your hand to take something at this place of yours, then we saw you stepping backward." He said, "I saw Paradise (or Paradise was shown to me), and I stretched my hand to pluck a bunch (of grapes), and had I plucked it, you would have eaten of it as long as this world exists. Then I saw the (Hell) Fire, and I have never before, seen such a horrible sight as that, and I saw that the majority of its dwellers were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for that?" He replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was said. "Do they disbelieve in Allah (are they ungrateful to Allah)?" He replied, "They are not thankful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors done to them. Even if you do good to one of them all your life, when she seems some harshness from you, she will say, "I have never seen any good from you.' "

A man emigrated to the Messenger of Allah (saws) from the Yemen. He asked (him): Have you anyone (of your relatives) in the Yemen? He replied: My parents. He asked: Did they permit you? He replied: No. He said: Go back to them and ask for their permission. If they permit you, then fight (in the path of Allah), otherwise be devoted to them.

The Prophet said, "If anyone of you on having sexual relations with his wife said (and he must say it before starting) 'In the name of Allah. O Allah! Protect us from Satan and also protect what you bestow upon us (i.e. the coming offspring) from Satan, and if it is destined that they should have a child then, Satan will never be able to harm that offspring."

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone has himself cupped on the 17th, 19th and 21st it will be a remedy for every disease.

The Prophet said, "If the wife of anyone of you asks permission to go to the mosque, he should not forbid her."

Allah's Apostle said, 'If anyone says to his brother, 'O misbeliever! Then surely, one of them such."

In the lifetime of the Prophet the sun eclipsed and the Prophet (p.b.u.h) stood up to offer the prayer with the people and recited a long recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, and then lifted his head and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first and then lifted his head and performed two prostrations. He then stood up for the second rak`a and offered it like the first. Then he stood up and said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's life or death but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah which He shows to His worshipers. So whenever you see them, make haste for the prayer."

Whenever a dead man in debt was brought to Allah's Apostle he would ask, "Has he left anything to repay his debt?" If he was informed that he had left something to repay his debts, he would offer his funeral prayer, otherwise he would tell the Muslims to offer their friend's funeral prayer. When Allah made the Prophet wealthy through conquests, he said, "I am more rightful than other believers to be the guardian of the believers, so if a Muslim dies while in debt, I am responsible for the repayment of his debt, and whoever leaves wealth (after his death) it will belong to his heirs. "

When we came to Medina accompanying the caravan, I used to preach after the dawn prayer, and prostrate on account of the recitation of the Qur'an. Ibn Umar prohibited me three times, but I did not cease doing that. He then repeated (his prohibition) saying: I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (saws), AbuBakr, Umar and Uthman, they would not prostrate (on account of the recitation of the Qur'an) till the sun had risen.

The Prophet (saws) said: I am commanded to fight with men till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle, face our qiblah (direction of prayer), eat what we slaughter, and pray like us. When they do that, their life and property are unlawful for us except what is due to them. They will have the same rights as the Muslims have, and have the same responsibilities as the Muslims have.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) once prayed wearing a garment having marks. He looked at its marks. When he saluted, he said: Take this garment of mine to AbuJahm, for it turned my attention just now in my prayer, and bring a simple garment without marks.

Abu Dawud said: The name of Abu Jahm b. Hudhaifah from Banu 'Adi b. Ka'b b. Ghanam

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) decided upon doing any act, he continued to do it, and when he slept at night or fell sick he observed twelve rak'ahs during the daytime. I am not aware of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) observing prayer during the whole of the night till morning, or observing fast for a whole month continuously except that of Ramadan.

We were with Allah's Apostle when the sun eclipsed. Allah's Apostle stood up dragging his cloak till he entered the Mosque. He led us in a two-rak`at prayer till the sun (eclipse) had cleared. Then the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's death. So whenever you see these eclipses pray and invoke (Allah) till the eclipse is over."

A woman from the tribe of Bani Asad was sitting with me and Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) came to my house and said, "Who is this?" I said, "(She is) So and so. She does not sleep at night because she is engaged in prayer." The Prophet said disapprovingly: Do (good) deeds which is within your capacity as Allah never gets tired of giving rewards till you get tired of doing good deeds."

Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody gives in charity something equal to a date from his honestly earned money ----for nothing ascends to Allah except good---- then Allah will take it in His Right (Hand) and bring it up for its owner as anyone of you brings up a baby horse, till it becomes like a mountain." Abu Huraira said: The Prophet. said, "Nothing ascends to Allah except good."

Abu Dawud said: The name of Abu Jamrah is Nasr bin 'Imran al-Duba'i.

I was with the Prophet (saws) when a man who was a murderer and had a strap round his neck was brought to him.

He then called the legal guardian of the victim and asked him: Do you forgive him?

He said: No. He asked: Will you accept the blood-money? He said: No. He asked: Will you kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Take him. When he turned his back, he said: Do you forgive him? He said: No. He said: Will you accept the blood-money? He said: No. He said: Will you kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Take him. After repeating all this a fourth time, he said: If you forgive him, he will bear the burden of his own sin and the sin of the victim. He then forgave him. He (the narrator) said: I saw him pulling the strap.