Allah's Apostle said, "Angels (of mercy) do not enter a house where there are pictures.'" The subnarrator Busr added: "Then Zaid fell ill and we paid him a visit. Behold! There was, hanging at his door, a curtain decorated with a picture. I said to 'Ubaidullah Al-Khaulani, the step son of Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet , "Didn't Zaid tell us about the picture the day before yesterday?" 'Ubaidullah said, "Didn't you hear him saying: 'except a design in a garment'?"

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "When a faithful believer is made to sit in his grave, then (the angels) come to him and he testifies that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Apostle. And that corresponds to Allah's statement: Allah will keep firm those who believe with the word that stands firm . . . (14.27).

Narrated Shu'ba:

Same as above and added, "Allah will keep firm those who believe . . . (14.27) was revealed concerning the punishment of the grave."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nuaym ibn Abdullah al-Mujmir that he heard Abu Hurayra say, "If any one of you prays and then sits down in the spot where he has prayed, the angels ask blessings on him saying, 'Allah, forgive him. Allah, have mercy on him.' And if he moves from the spot where he has prayed and sits elsewhere in the mosque waiting for the prayer, he remains in prayer until he prays."

When the Prophet returned from Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and laid down his arms and took a bath, Gabriel came and said (to the Prophet ), You have laid down your arms? By Allah, we angels have not laid them down yet. So set out for them." The Prophet said, "Where to go?" Gabriel said, "Towards this side," pointing towards Banu Quraiza. So the Prophet went out towards them.

That she asked the Prophet , 'Have you encountered a day harder than the day of the battle) of Uhud?" The Prophet replied, "Your tribes have troubled me a lot, and the worse trouble was the trouble on the day of 'Aqaba when I presented myself to Ibn `Abd-Yalail bin `Abd-Kulal and he did not respond to my demand. So I departed, overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, and proceeded on, and could not relax till I found myself at Qarnath-Tha-alib where I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and saw Gabriel in it. He called me saying, 'Allah has heard your people's saying to you, and what they have replied back to you, Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.' The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said, "O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will let Al-Akh-Shabain (i.e. two mountains) fall on them." The Prophet said, "No but I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah Alone, and will worship None besides Him."

AbuUmayr reported on the authority of his uncle who was from the Ansar (the helpers of the Prophet): The Prophet (saws) was anxious as to how to gather the people for prayer.

The people told him: Hoist a flag at the time of prayer; when they see it, they will inform one another. But he (the Prophet) did not like it. Then someone mentioned to him the horn.

Ziyad said: A horn of the Jews. He (the Prophet) did not like it. He said: This is the matter of the Jews. Then they mentioned to him the bell of the Christians. He said: This is the matter of the Christians. Abdullah ibn Zayd returned anxiously from there because of the anxiety of the Apostle (saws). He was then taught the call to prayer in his dream. Next day he came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and informed him about it.

He said: Messenger of Allah, I was between sleep and wakefulness; all of a sudden a newcomer came (to me) and taught me the call to prayer. Umar ibn al-Khattab had also seen it in his dream before, but he kept it hidden for twenty days.

The Prophet (saws) said to me (Umar): What did prevent you from saying it to me?

He said: Abdullah ibn Zayd had already told you about it before me: hence I was ashamed.

Then the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Bilal, stand up, see what Abdullah ibn Zayd tells you (to do), then do it. Bilal then called them to prayer.

AbuBishr reported on the authority of AbuUmayr: The Ansar thought that if Abdullah ibn Zayd had not been ill on that day, the Messenger of Allah (saws) would have made him mu'adhdhin.

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.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone says in the morning: "O Allah! in the morning we call Thee, the bearers of Thy Throne, Thy angels, and all Thy creatures to witness that Thou art Allah than Whom there is no god, Thou being alone and without a partner, and that Muhammad is Thy servant and Thy Apostle," Allah will forgive him any sins that he commits that day; and if he repeats them in the evening. Allah will forgive him any sins he commits that night.

The people asked: Tell us a word which we repeat in the morning, evening and when we rise.

So he commanded us to say: "O Allah! Creator of Heavens and Earth; Knower of all that is hidden and open; Thou art the Lord of everything; the angels testify that there is no god but Thee, for we seek refuge in Thee from the evil within ourselves, from the evil of the Devil accused and from the evil of his suggestion about partnership with Allah, and that we earn sin for ourselves or drag it to a Muslim."

Malik related to me from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha that Rafi ibn Ishaq, the mawla of ash-Shifa informed him that he and Abdullah ibn Abi Talha had gone to visit Abu Said al-Khudri while he was ill. Abu Said said to them, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, informed us, 'The angels do not enter a house which contains pictures or images.' " Ishaq was not sure which of them Abu Said said.

The Prophet, said, "I entered Paradise and saw a palace and asked whose palace is this? They (the Angels) said, "This palace belongs to `Umar bin Al-Khattab.' I intended to enter it, and nothing stopped me except my knowledge about your sense of Ghira (self-respect (O `Umar)." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you! O Allah's Prophet! How dare I think of my Ghira (self-respect) being offended by you?"

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah says, 'If My slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is, but if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account). (On the other hand) if he intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, then write a good deed (in his account), and if he does it, then write it for him (in his account) as ten good deeds up to seven-hundred times.' "

My father's mutilated body was brought to the Prophet and was placed in front of him. I went to uncover his face but my companions forbade me. Then mourning cries of a lady were heard, and it was said that she was either the daughter or the sister of `Amr. The Prophet said, "Why is she crying?" Or said, "Do not cry, for the angels are still shading him with their wings." (Al-Bukhari asked Sadqa, a sub-narrator, "Does the narration include the expression: 'Till he was lifted?' " The latter replied, "Jabir may have said it.")

Allah's Apostle the true and truly inspired, narrated to us, "The creation of everyone of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things; his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter) and then the soul is breathed into him. So one of you may do (good) deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise so much that there is nothing except a cubit between him and Paradise but then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of Hell (Fire) and (ultimately) enters Hell (Fire); and one of you may do (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of Hell (Fire) so much so that there is nothing except a cubit between him and Hell (Fire), then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (good) deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise and ultimately) enters Paradise." (See Hadith No. 430, Vol. 4)

I came to `Aisha the wife of the Prophet during the solar eclipse. The people were standing and offering the prayer and she was also praying. I asked her, "What is wrong with the people?" She beckoned with her hand towards the sky and said, "Subhan Allah." I asked her, "Is there a sign?" She pointed out, "Yes." So I, too, stood for the prayer till I fell unconscious and later on I poured water on my head. After the prayer, Allah's Apostle praised and glorified Allah and said, "Just now I have seen something which I never saw before at this place of mine, including Paradise and Hell. I have been inspired (and have understood) that you will be put to trials in your graves and these trials will be like the trials of Ad-Dajjal, or nearly like it (the sub narrator is not sure of what Asma' said). Angels will come to every one of you and ask, 'What do you know about this man?' A believer will reply, 'He is Muhammad, Allah's Apostle , and he came to us with self-evident truth and guidance. So we accepted his teaching, believed and followed him.' Then the angels will say to him to sleep in peace as they have come to know that he was a believer. On the other hand a hypocrite or a doubtful person will reply, 'I do not know but heard the people saying something and so I said the same.' "

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.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone says in the morning or in the evening: "O Allah! in the morning we call Thee, the bearers of Thy Throne, Thy angels and all Thy creatures to witness that thou art Allah (God) than Whom alone there is no god, and that Muhammad is Thy Servant and Apostle," Allah will emancipate his fourth from Hell; if anyone says twice, Allah will emancipate his half; if anyone says it thrice, Allah will emancipate three-fourth; and if he says four times, Allah will emancipate him from Hell.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that some men from Iraq said to him, "Abu Abd ar-Rahman, we buy the fruit of the palm and grapes and we squeeze them into wine and we sell it." Abdullah ibn Umar said, "I call on Allah and His angels and whoever hears of jinn and men to testify to you that I order you not to buy it nor sell it nor to press it nor to drink it nor to give it to people to drink. It is something impure from the work of Shaytan."

We were sitting with Allah's Apostle, he said, "While I was sleeping, I saw myself in Paradise. Suddenly I saw a woman performing ablution beside a palace. I asked, "For whom is this palace?" They (the angels) replied, "It is for `Umar bin Al-Khattab." Then I remembered `Umar's ghira and went back hurriedly." On hearing that, `Umar started weeping and said, " Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. O Allah's Apostle! How dare I think of my Ghira being offended by you?

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Sa'id ibn al- Musayyab and Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman told him from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the imam says 'Amin', say 'Amin', for the one whose 'Amin' coincides with the 'Amin' of the angels - his previous wrong actions are forgiven him."

Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say 'Aameen' (extending it)."

One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.

1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.

2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.

The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone desires the office of Judge and seeks help for it, he will be left to his own devices; if anyone does not desire it, nor does he seek help for it, Allah will send down an angel who will direct him aright.

Waki' said: (This tradition has also been transmitted) by Isra'il, from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Abi Musa, from Anas, from the Prophet (saws).

Abu 'Awanah said: from 'Abd al-A'la, from Bilal bin Mirdas al-Fazari, from Khaithamah al-Basri from Anas.

I heard the Prophet describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration. He said in his talk, "While I was walking, I heard voices from the sky. I looked up, and behold ! I saw the same Angel who came to me in the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was too much afraid of him (so I returned to my house) and said, 'Fold me up in garments!' They wrapped me up. Then Allah revealed: 'O you wrapped...and desert the idols before the prayer became compulsory.' Rujz means idols.

Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Any person who takes a bath on Friday like the bath of Janaba and then goes for the prayer (in the first hour i.e. early), it is as if he had sacrificed a camel (in Allah's cause); and whoever goes in the second hour it is as if he had sacrificed a cow; and whoever goes in the third hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a horned ram; and if one goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour then it is as if he had offered an egg. When the Imam comes out (i.e. starts delivering the Khutba), the angels present themselves to listen to the Khutba."

I stuffed for the Prophet a pillow decorated with pictures (of animals) which looked like a Namruqa (i.e. a small cushion). He came and stood between the two doors and his face began to change. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! What did we do wrong?" He said, "What is this pillow?" I said, "I have prepared this pillow for you, so that you may recline on it." He said, "Don't you know that angels do not enter a house wherein there are pictures; and whoever makes a picture will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and will be asked to give life to (what he has created)?"

(The Prophet) Solomon son of (the Prophet) David said, "Tonight I will go round (i.e. have sexual relations with) one hundred women (my wives) everyone of whom will deliver a male child who will fight in Allah's Cause." On that an Angel said to him, "Say: 'If Allah will.' " But Solomon did not say it and forgot to say it. Then he had sexual relations with them but none of them delivered any child except one who delivered a half person. The Prophet said, "If Solomon had said: 'If Allah will,' Allah would have fulfilled his (above) desire and that saying would have made him more hopeful."

(the wife of the Prophet) I bought a cushion having pictures on it. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he stopped at the gate and did not enter. I noticed the signs of hatred (for that) on his face! I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I turn to Allah and His Apostle in repentance! What sin have I committed?" He said, "What about this cushion?" I said, 'I bought it for you to sit on and recline on." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished (severely) on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said to them, 'Make alive what you have created.'" He added, "Angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures."