My father died in debt and I suggested, to his creditors that they should accept the dates we had in payment of his debt. When they refused, I went to the Prophet and said, "You know that my father died a martyr at the battle of Uhud leaving a large debt, and I would like the creditors to see you." He told me to go and collect all the dates in separate groups, and when I had done so I called him. When they looked at him it seemed as though they were more persistent with me at that time, and when he saw what they were doing he went round the largest group three times, then sitting down beside it he said, "Call your creditors to me." He then kept measuring out to them till God paid on my father's behalf what he owed. I should have been pleased that God should pay my father's debt leaving me not a date to take back to my brothers; but God kept all the groups intact, and when I looked at the group beside which the Prophet was, it seemed as if it had not been diminished by a single date. Bukhari transmitted it.

He told that Umm Malik used to present clarified butter to the Prophet in a skin of hers. Her sons would come to her and ask for seasoning when they had nothing, and she would go to the skin from which she made presents to the Prophet and find clarified butter in it. It kept providing her with seasoning for her household till she squeezed it, so she went to the Prophet who asked whether she had squeezed it, and when she replied that she had, he said, "If you had left it alone it would have kept on as it was." Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Talha told Umm Sulaim[*] he had noticed God's messenger's voice was weak and realised that he was suffering from hunger, so he suggested she might have something. Replying that she had, she brought out some barley loaves, then took out a head-covering of hers in part of which she wrapped the bread, and when she had put it under my arm, she wound part of it round my head and sent me to God's messenger. When I went with it, I found God's messenger in the mosque accompanied by some people. I gave them a salutation and God's messenger asked me if Abu Talha had sent me. I replied that he had, and he asked if he had sent me with food. When I replied that that was so he told the people who were with him to get up. He set off and I went in front of them, and when I came to Abu Talha, I informed him. He said, "God's messenger has come with some people, Umm Sulaim, and we have nothing to give them to eat." When she replied that God and His messenger knew best, he went off till he met God's messenger, who then came accompanied by Abu Talha and said, "Bring what you have, Umm Sulaim." She brought that bread, and he then ordered that the bread be broken into small pieces, and when Umm Sulaim had squeezed a skin and put seasoning on its God's messenger said regarding it what God willed him to say. He then asked permission for ten to enter, and when that was granted, they ate till they had had enough'. When they had gone out, he asked permission for one group of ten after another to enter, and all the people ate and had enough. They numbered seventy or eighty men. *She had married Malik b. an-Nadr to whom she bore Anas. Miltk had gone to Syria, where he died, and she married Abu Talha. (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Muslim he said, "Permit ten to enter," and when they entered, he said, "Eat, mentioning God's name." They ate until he had done that with eighty men, after which the Prophet and the members of the household ate, and he left something over. In a version by Bukhari he said, "Enter by tens," until he had counted forty. Then the Prophet ate, and I began to look whether it had diminished at all. A version by Muslim says he then took what remained and collected it, then invoked a blessing on it, and when it returned to its original state he said, "Take this."

He told that the Prophet was brought a vessel when he was in az-Zaura', and when he put his hand in the vessel the water began to spout between his fingers, and the people performed ablution. Qatada said he asked Anas how many were present, and he replied that there were three hundred, or, about three hundred. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

We used to reckon the signs[*] as a blessing, but you reckon them as something to cause fear. Once when we were on a journey with God's messenger and there was little water he said, "Look if there is any water left." They brought him a vessel containing a little water, and when he had put his hand into it, he said, "Come to the blessed cleansing medium and the blessing from God." I have seen the water spouting between God's messenger's fingers, and we have been hearing the glorifying of God over food when it was being eaten. *i.e., the miracles. Bukhari transmitted it.

God's messenger addressed us saying, "You will travel all evening and all night and come to water to-morrow, if God wills.' The people then set off not turning round to one another. Abu Qatada said: While God's messenger was travelling, when the middle of the night came, he turned aside from the road, laid down his head and said, "Keep watch for us for our time of prayer." Now the first to awake was God's messenger when he felt the sun on his back, and he said "Mount." We did so and travelled till the sun had risen in the sky, when he dismounted, called for an ablution vessel. I had containing some water and performed ablution from it to a less extent than usual. Some water remained in it, and he said, `Keep your ablution vessel for us, for it will be something to talk about. Bilal then gave the call to prayer, and God's messenger prayed two rak`as, after which he prayed the morning prayer. He then mounted and we mounted along with him and reached the people when the day had advanced and everything was hot. They were saying, "Messenger of God, we are perishing from thirst," to which he replied, "You will not perish." He called for the ablution vessel, began to pour out water, and Abu Qatada[*] was supplying them with water. No sooner did the people see that there was water in the ablution vessel then they crowded around it, so God's messenger said, "Behave in an orderly manner, for every one of you will get a supply of water." They did so, and God's messenger began to pour and I to supply them with water till only he and I were left. He then poured and told me to drink, but I replied, "I shall not drink till you do so, messenger of God." He said, "The one who supplies water for people comes last," so I drank and then he drank. Then the people came to the watering-place in comfort, having had a supply of water. *I have retained the Arabic construction here. Abu Qatada is telling the story and elsewhere uses the first-person pronoun when making reference to himself, Muslim transmitted it thus in his Sahih, and it is told similarly in al-Humaidi's book and in Jami' al-usul. In al-Masabih the words "in drinking" are added after "comes last."

On the day of the expedition of Tabuk the people were afflicted by hunger, and `Umar said, "Messenger of God, tell them to bring what is left over of their provisions and pray God for a blessing for them on them." He agreed, then called for a leather cloth and it was spread out. He then called for the provisions which were left, and one brought a handful of millet, another a handful of dates, another crumbs until a small quantity was collected on the leather cloth. God's messenger then prayed for a blessing, after which he said, "Take a supply in your receptacles." They did so until they did not leave a receptacle in the army which they did not fill. They then ate till they were satisfied, and there was something over. God's messenger then said, "I testify that there is no god but God and that I am God's messenger. No one who meets God and affirms the two testimonies without harbouring any doubts will not be kept away from paradise." Muslim transmitted it.

When the Prophet was newly married to Zainab, my mother Umm Sulaim took some dates, clarified butter and curd, and made hais[1]. When she had prepared it in a cooking-pot she said, "Take this to God's messenger, Anas, say your mother has sent this to him along with her good wishes, and tell him this is a small gift to him from us." When I had gone and repeated this, he told me to put it down, then said, "Go and invite so and so, so and so, and so and so (naming some men) to come to me, and invite those whom you meet to come to me." I invited those he named and those I met, and when I returned the house was crowded with people[2]. (Anas was asked how many there were and replied that there were about three hundred.) I saw the Prophet put his hand on that bit of hais and say such words as God wished. He then began to invite them to eat in groups of ten, and he was saying to them, "Mention God's name, and let each man eat from the place nearest him." When they had eaten to their satisfaction one party went out and another entered till they had all eaten. He told me to remove the food and I did so, and I do not know whether there was more of it when I set it down or when I removed it. Hais (special dish prepared from dried yoghourt, butter and dates). This is what the Arabic says, but in view of what follows about the people being admitted in tens, it probably means that the house was surrounded by a great throng. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

I went on an expedition with God's messenger on a camel used for drawing water which had grown weary and could scarcely go on. The Prophet came up beside me and asked what was the matter with my camel, and when I told him it had grown weary, he went behind it and urged it on. He then made supplication for it and it kept going in front of the other camels. He asked me how I found my camel and I replied that it was fine, having received the benefit of his blessing. He asked if I would sell it to him for a wuqiya, and I agreed on condition that I might ride it till we came to Medina. When God's messenger came to Medina I took the camel to him in the morning, and he gave me its price, then returned the animal to me. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

We went out with God's messenger on the expedition to Tabuk, and in the wadi al-Qura we came to a garden belonging to a woman. God's messenger told us to estimate its amount and we did so, and God's messenger estimated it at ten camel loads. He told the woman to calculate the amount and have it ready for our return should God will, and then we set off. When we came to Tabuk God's messenger said, "You will have a violent wind to-night, so no one must get up while it is blowing and those who have camels must hobble them firmly." A violent wind blew, and a man got up and was carried by the wind and thrown on the two mountains of Tayy[*]. We then went on till we came to the wadi al-Qura., and when God's messenger asked the woman how much the fruit in her garden had amounted to, she replied that it was ten camel loads. *Aia' and Salma. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Dharr reported God's messenger as saying, "You will conquer Egypt, which is a land in which the qirat is mentioned. When you conquer it treat its inhabitants well, for protection and blood-relationship apply to them (or he said, protection and marriage relationship)[1]. But when you see two men quarrelling in a brickwork leave[2] it." Abu Dharr said he saw `Abd ar-Rahman b. Shurahbil b. Hasana and his brother Rabi'a quarrelling in a brickwork, and so left it. 1. The reference is to Abraham's son Ishmael having Hagar as mother, and to Mariya the Copt who was sent to the Prophet. 2. 'You' in this sentence and the preceding one is plural, but `leave' is singular, addressed particularly to Abu Dharr. Muslim transmitted it.

Hudhaifa reported the Prophet as saying, "Among my companions (a version has, my people) there will be twelve hypocrites who will neither enter paradise nor experience its odour till a camel goes through a needle's eye. Eight of them will be repelled by an internal ulcer (a burning, fiery wick) which will appear on their shoulders and extend into their breasts." Muslim transmitted it.

Unaisa, daughter of Zaid b. Arqam told on her father's authority that the Prophet went in to visit Zaid when he was ill and said, "No harm will come to you from your illness, but how will you do if your life is prolonged after I am gone and you become blind?" He replied, "I shall seek my reward from God and show endurance," whereupon he said, "In that case you will enter paradise without being taken to account." She said he became blind after the Prophet died, and that God restored his sight to him before he died.

this is the messenger of the Lord of the universe whom God is commissioning as a mercy to the universe." Some shaikhs of Quraish asked him how he knew, and he replied, "When you came over the hill not a tree or a stone failed to bow in prostration, and they prostrate themselves only before a prophet. I recognise him by the seal of prophecy, like an apple, below the end of his shoulder-blade." He then went and prepared food for them, and when he brought it to them the Prophet was looking after the camels, so he told them to send for him. He came with a cloud above him shading him, and when he approached the people, he found they had gone before him into the shade of a tree. Then when he sat down the shade of the tree inclined over him, and the monk said, "Look how the shade of the tree has inclined over him. I adjure you by God to tell me which of you is his guardian." On being told that it was Abu Talib he kept adjuring him to send him back until he did so. Abu Bakr sent Bilal along with him and the monk gave him provision of coarse bread and olive-oil. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Once when I was with the Prophet in Mecca and we went out into one of its districts in the neighbourhood, not a mountain or tree which confronted him failed to say, "Peace be upon you, messenger of God." Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.

Anas told that on the night when the Prophet was taken up to heaven al-Buraq was brought to him bridled and saddled, but it proved refractory, so Gabriel said to it, "Is it to Muhammad you are doing this? No one more honourable in God's sight than he has mounted you." It then poured with sweat. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.

Buraida reported God's messenger as saying, "When I came to Jerusalem Gabriel made a sign with his finger, making with it a hole in the stone, and tied al-Buraq to it." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

There are three things I saw relating to God's messenger. While we were travelling with him, we passed a camel being used for irrigation, and when the camel saw him, it rumbled and bent down its neck. The Prophet stopped beside it and asked where the owner of that camel was, and when he came, he asked him to sell it to him. He replied, "No, I shall not give it to you, messenger of God, it belongs to a family which has no other means of livelihood." He said, "Since you have mentioned this about it, note that it has complained to me of a great amount of work and a small amount of fodder; so, treat it well[*]." We then travelled on, and when we came to a stage and the Prophet had lain down to sleep a tree came cleaving the earth till it overshadowed him and then returned to its place. When God's messenger awoke, I mentioned the m atter to him and he said, "It is a tree which asked its Lord's permission to give a salutation to God's messenger, and He allowed it." We then travelled on, and when we passed a watering-place a woman brought a son of hers who was possessed, and the Prophet seized his nostril and said, "Come out, for I am Muhammad, God's messenger." We then travelled on, and when we passed that watering-place on the way back he asked the woman about the boy and she said, "I swear by Him who commissioned you with the truth that we have seen nothing in him to disturb us since you left." *The Prophet evidently had no desire to take the camel either by payment or as a gift, since it was the man's only means of earning a livelihood. He therefore left him with an exhortation to treat the camel properly. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Ibn `Abbas told that a woman brought a son of hers to God's messenger and said, "Messenger of God, my son is possessed, and it seizes him when we have our morning and evening meals." God's messenger stroked his breast and made a supplication, and when the boy had vomited once, something like a black puppy came running out from within him. Darimi transmitted it.

Anas told that Gabriel came to the Prophet when he was sitting grieved, smeared with blood as a result of what the people of Mecca had done[*], and said, "Messenger of God, would you like me to show you a sign?" When he agreed, Gabriel looked at a tree behind him and said, "Call it." He did so, and it came and stood in front of him. He then said, "Order it to go back," and when he had done so and it had gone back God's messenger said, "That is enough for me, that is enough for me." *Mirqat, v, 474, relates this to the injuries the Prophet suffered at the battle of Uhud Darimi transmitted it.

When we were on a journey with the Prophet a nomadic Arab approached, and when he came near God's messenger said to him, "Do you testify that there is no god but God alone who has no partner and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger?" He asked, "Who will testify to what you say?" Replying, "This mimosa tree," he called it. It was at the side of the wadi, and it came forward furrowing the ground till it stood in front of him. He asked it to testify three times, and when it had testified three time that it was as he had said, it returned to its said. Darimi transmitted it.

Ibn 'Abbas told that a nomadic Arab came to God's messenger and asked, "By what means can I know that you are a prophet?" He replied, "If I call this raceme from this palm-tree it will testify that I am God's messenger." He called it and it began to come down from the palm-tree and fell beside the Prophet. He then told it to go back, and when it returned the nomadic Arab accepted Islam. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying it is sahih.

A wolf came to a shepherd and took a sheep, and the shepherd went after it and snatched it from it. The wolf went up on a mound, and sitting on its haunches with its tail between its legs, it said, "I went to provision, God had provided for me and took it, then you snatched it from me." The man declared, "I swear by God that have never seen anything like what I have seen to-day, a wolf talking!" The wolf replied, "Something more wonderful than this is a man among the palm-trees between the two harras[*] who can tell you what has happened and what will happen after your time." The man who was a Jew came to the Prophet and told him and accepted Islam. The Prophet believed him and said, "There are signs before the last hour. A man will soon go out and not return before being informed by his sandals and his whip about the new things his family have been up to since he left them." * Two mountains. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

We were with the Prophet and were taking turns out of a large bowl from morning till night; ten getting up and ten sitting down. He was asked from what it was being replenished and replied, "What are you wondering at[*]?" "It was being replenished only from here," pointing with his hand to the sky. *Mirqat, 5:476, explains this as being addressed by Samura to Abul `Ala. Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.

`Abdallah b. `Amr told that the Prophet went out at the battle of Badr with three hundred and fifteen men and said, "0 God, they are barefoot, so provide mounts for them; O God, they are naked, so clothe them; O God, they are hungry, so satisfy them." God then gave him victory, and when they went back there was not a man who did not return with one camel or two, and they were clothed and had enough to eat. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn Mas'ud reported God's messenger as saying, "You will be helped, granted spoils, and given victory; so, let those of you who attain to that fear God, command what is reputable, and forbid what is disreputable." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jabir told that a Jewess belonging to Khaibar poisoned a roasted sheep and presented it to God's messenger. He took a foreleg and ate some of it, and some of his companions ate along with him. Then telling them to withdraw their hands, he sent for the Jewess, called her and said, "You have poisoned this sheep." She asked who told him and he replied, "This which is in my hand," referring to the foreleg. She said, "Yes, I said to myself that if he is a prophet, it will not harm him, and if he is not a prophet, we shall be rid of him." God's messenger pardoned her and did not punish her. His companions who had eaten some of the sheep died, and God's messenger had himself cupped on the upper arm because of what he had eaten of the sheep. Abu Hind who was a client of the B. Bayada, a section of the Ansar, cupped him with a horn and the edge of a knife. Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it.

Sahl b. al-Hanzaliya told that on the day of Hunain they travelled for a long time with God's messenger, and that in the evening a horseman came and said, "Messenger of God, I went up such and such a mountain and saw Hawazin all together with their women and animals, having collected at Hunain." God's messenger smiled and said, "That will be the booty of the Muslims to-morrow if God most high will." He asked who would go on guard that night, and when Anas b. Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said he would, he told him to mount. Then when he had mounted a horse of his he said, "Go forward to this ravine till you get to the top of it." In the morning God's messenger came out to his place of prayer and after praying two rak'as he said, "Have you seen any sign of your horseman?" to which a man replied, "We have not, messenger of God." The announcement that the time of prayer had come was then made, and while God's messenger was saying the prayer he began to glance towards the ravine, and when he finished, he said, "Cheer up, for your horseman has come." They began to look between the trees in the ravine, and sure enough he had come. He came on and standing by God's messenger said, "I went till I reached the top of this ravine where God's messenger commanded me, and in the morning, I looked down into both ravines but saw no one." God's messenger asked him if he had dismounted during the night, and when he replied that he had not, except to pray or to relieve himself, God's messenger said, "No blame will apply to you if you do no more supererogatory deeds in future*." *Literally, "no blame will apply to you supposing you do not work (i.e., do anything) after it." The translation above is based on the explanation given in Mirqat, 5:478. ' Abu Dawud transmitted it.

I brought the Prophet some dates saying, "Ask God for a blessing on them, messenger of God." He took them, prayed that I might have a blessing in them and said, "Take them and put them' in your provision-bag; and as often as you wish to take any, put in your hand and take them, but do not scatter them." I carried such and such a number of camel loads from those dates in God's path, eating of them and giving others something to eat. It never left my side until the day `Uthman was killed, for the bag was cut away. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

"One night, Quraish consulted together in Mecca. Some said they should tie him up (i.e., the Prophet) in the morning; others said they should rather kill him; and others said they should rather expel him. God informed His prophet about that, so `Ali spent that night on the Prophet's bed, and the Prophet went out till he came to the cave. The polytheists spent the night keeping guard on `Ali, thinking he was the Prophet, and in the morning, they rushed on him, but when they saw `Ali, God had turned away their guile. They asked, "Where is this companion of yours?" and he replied, "I do not know." They tracked him but when they reached the mountain his tracks became confused, so they went up the mountain and passed by the cave. They saw a spider's web at the entrance and said, "If he had entered here there would not have been a spider's web at the entrance." He stayed in it for three nights. Ahmad transmitted it.

When Khaibar was conquered a poisoned sheep was presented to God's messenger and he said, "Collect for me the Jews who are here." Then when they were collected God's messenger said to them, "I am going to ask you something, so will you tell me the truth about it?" They replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim." He asked who their father was, and when they replied that he was so and so he told them they lied, for their father was so and so. They said, "You have spoken truly and well." He then said, "Will you tell me the truth about a matter if I ask you about it?" They replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim; and if we lie you will know as you did about our father." He asked them who would go to hell and they replied, "We shall be in it for a little, then you[*] will succeed us in it." He said, "Go off in shame into it. I swear by God that we shall never succeed you in it." He then said, "Will you tell me the truth about a matter if I ask you about it?" and when they replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim," he said, "Have you put poison in this sheep?" They replied that they had, and when he asked them what had induced them to do that they replied, "We wanted to get rid of you if you are a liar, for if you are telling the truth it will not harm you." *The Pronoun is plural, indicating the Prophet and his followers. Bukhari transmitted it.

One day God's messenger led us in the dawn prayer, and mounting the pulpit addressed us till the time for the noon prayer came. He then descended and prayed, after which he mounted the pulpit and addressed us till the time for the afternoon prayer came. He then descended and prayed, after which he mounted the pulpit till the sun set. He informed us of what is to happen up to the day of resurrection, and the one of us who knows most is the one who committed most to memory. Muslim transmitted it.

Ma'n b. 'Abd ar-Rahman told of hearing his father say he had asked Masruq, who told the Prophet about the jinn on the night they listened to the Quran, and he replied, "Your father (meaning 'Abdallah b. Mas'ud) told me that he said a tree told about them." (Bukhari and Muslim).

When we were with `Umar between Mecca and Medina we tried to see the new moon, and I saw it as I had sharp sight, but no one else claimed to have seen it. I began to ask `Umar if he could not see it, but while he could not see it, he said he would see it when he was lying on his back on his bed. He began to tell us of those who had been at Badr, saying that God's messenger had shown them the day before where the combatants would fall. He had said, "This is where so and so will fall to-morrow, if God will; this is where so and so will fall to-morrow, if God will." `Umar swore by Him who had sent the Prophet with the truth that they did not go beyond the limits specified by God's messenger. He told that they were put on top of one another into a well and that God's messenger went to them and said, "So and so son of so and so, and so and so son of so and so, have you found what God and His messenger promised you to be true? I have found what God promised me to be true." 'Umar asked, "Messenger of God, how can you speak to bodies which contain no spirits?" to which he replied, "You are no better able to hear what I am saying than they are, but they are unable to make any reply." Muslim transmitted it.

Jabir told that a man came to God's messenger asking him for food and he gave him half a camel-load of barley. The man, his wife and their guest kept on eating of it till he measured it, and then it came to an end. He went to the Prophet who said to him, "If you had not measured it you would have eaten of it and it would have remained for you." Muslim transmitted it.

We went out with God's messenger to a funeral, and I saw him at the grave giving this instruction to the grave-digger, "Make it wide where the feet go and wide where the head goes." When he came back, he was met by one who conveyed an invitation from the widow, and he accepted it and we went along with him. Food was brought, and when he put in his hand the people did the same, and they ate. We noticed that God's messenger was moving a morsel round in his mouth. He then said, "I find the flesh of a sheep which has been taken without its owners' permission." The woman sent a message to say, "Messenger of God, I sent to an-Naqi (a place where sheep were sold) to have a sheep bought for me, but there were none, so I sent to a neighbour of mine who had bought a sheep asking him to send it to me for the price he had paid, but he could not be found. I therefore sent to his wife and she sent it to me." God's messenger then said, "Give this food to the prisoners." Abu Dawud and Baihaqi, in Dala'il an-nubuwa, transmitted it.

Hizam b. Hisham, on his father's authority, said that his grandfather, Hubaish b. Khalid brother of Umm Ma'bad, told that when God's messenger was put out of Mecca he went as an emigrant to Medina, he, Abu Bakr and `Amir b. Fuhaira, Abu Bakr's client, with `Abdallah al-Laithi as their guide. They passed the two tents of Umm Ma'bad and asked her for some meat and dates meaning to buy them from her, but found she had nothing of that nature, for the provisions were exhausted as the tribe had been afflicted with famine. God's messenger looked at a sheep at the side of the tent and said, "What is this sheep, Umm Ma'bad?" She replied, "It is a sheep too emaciated to follow the flock." He asked if it had any milk, and when she replied that it was too exhausted for that, he asked if she would let him milk it. She said, "You for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom, if you see anything to milk in it, milk it." God's messenger asked it to be brought, and wiping its udder with his hand and mentioning the name of God most high, he prayed that she might have a blessing in her sheep. It then opened its legs for him, gave a flow of milk and ruminated. He called for a vessel which could hold enough for the people and milked an abundant supply into it till the froth appeared on the top. He gave her a drink till she was satisfied and gave his companions a drink till they were satisfied, then drank himself last of all. Immediately afterwards he milked it a second time, and when he had filled the vessel, he left it with her. He contracted with her [to accept Islam] and they departed from her. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna, by Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Isti'ab, and by Ibn al-Jauzi Kitab al-wafa'. In the tradition a story follows.

Anas told that one very dark night Usaid b. Hudair and `Abbad b. Bishr talked with the Prophet about a matter which concerned them till a short part of the night had passed. They then left God's messenger and went away, each having a small staff in his hand. The staff of one of them gave them light so that they walked by its light, and when their paths separated the other's staff gave him light, so each walked by the light of his staff till he reached his family. Bukhari transmitted it.

Before the battle of Uhud began my father called me 1 during the night and said, "I feel that I shall be among the first of the Prophet's companions to be killed, and apart from God's messenger himself I shall leave no one dearer to me than you. I owe a debt, so pay it; and look after your sisters well." In the morning he was the first to be killed, and I buried him in a grave along with another. Bukhari transmitted it.

The people in the Suffa were poor men, and the Prophet said, "Let him who has food for two take a third, and let him who has food for four take a fifth, or a sixth*." Abu Bakr brought three men and the Prophet went off with ten. Abu Bakr had supper with the Prophet, then remained till the evening prayer was said, after which he went back and stayed till the Prophet had had his supper. Then when so much of the night as God willed had passed, he came home and his wife asked what had kept him away from his guests. He asked if she had not given them their supper, and when she told him they had refused to take it till he came he was angry and said, "I swear by God that I will never taste it." His wife swore that she would not taste it, and the guests swore that they would not taste it; so Abu Bakr, saying this came from the devil, called for the food and ate, and they ate also. Whenever they raised a morsel to their mouths the place from which it was taken increased in quantity, so Abu Bakr said to his wife, "You who come from the B. Firas, what does this mean?" She replied, "I swear by my wellbeing that it is three times as great as it was." They ate and he sent it to the Prophet, and it is mentioned that he ate some of it. *It is not clear whether there is doubt about whether a fifth or a sixth is correct, or whether the words "or a sixth" indicate that two extra people may be invited when there is enough for four. The construction of the sentence rather suggests this latter meaning. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

'Urwa b. az-Zubair told that Arwa daughter of Aus brought a dispute with Sa'id b. Zaid b. `Amr b. Nufail before Marwan b. al-Hakam claiming he had taken some of her land. Sa'id said, "Would I take any of her land after what I heard from God's messenger?" He was asked what he had heard from God's messenger and replied that he had heard him say, "If anyone takes a span of land wrongfully it will be tied round him like a necklace to a depth of seven earths." Marwan said he would ask him for no proof after that, and Sa'id said, "0 God, if she is lying make her blind and kill her in her land." Urwa said she did not die till after she had lost her eyesight. And while she was walking on her land she fell into a hole and died. (Bukhari and Muslim.) Something to the same effect is given in a version by Muslim on the authority of Muhammad b. Zaid b. `Abdallah b. `Umar who said he had seen her blind, feeling for walls, and saying she had been smitten by Sa'id's curse; and that she had come past a well in the region about which she had disputed with him and fallen into it, and it was her grave. Muslim

`A'isha said that when the Negus died, they discussed the fact that a light continued to be seen over his grave. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

She told that when they intended to wash the Prophet, they said they did not know whether they should strip him of his clothes as they did with their dead, or wash him with his clothes on. When they disagreed, God cast sleep upon them, so that every man's chin was on his breast. Then someone of whose identity they were unaware addressed them from the comer of the house saying, "Wash the Prophet with his clothes on," so they got up and washed him with his shirt on, pouring the water over the shirt and rubbing him with the shirt. Baihaqi transmitted it in Dala'il an nubuwa.

Ibn al-Munkadir told that Safina, God's messenger's client, missed the army in the land of the Byzantines, or was taken prisoner, and went in flight in search of the army. He met a lion and said, "Abul Harith[*], I am the client of God's messenger, and such and such has happened to me." The lion came forward wagging its tail and stood beside. him, and as often as it heard a sound it rushed towards it. It then went forward walking at his side till he reached the army, after which the lion went back. *This is a name in the form of a kunya commonly applied to a lion. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

The people of Medina were afflicted by a severe famine and complained to `A'isha who said, "Look at the Prophet's grave and make windows opening from it towards the sky so that there will be no ceiling between it and the sky." When they had done so they were given rain to such an extent that the herbage sprouted and the camels were bursting with fat. It was called the year of the bursting. *He was Aus b. 'Abdallah ar-Rab'i. He belonged to Basra and died in 83. Darimi transmitted it.

During the days of the battle of the harra[*] neither the call to prayer nor the declaration that the time for prayer had come was made for three days at the Prophet's Mosque. Sa'id b. al-Musayyib did not leave the mosque, and the only means by which he knew the time for prayer was a whinnying he heard coming from the Prophet's grave. *When the people of Medina rebelled against the Umayyad Caliph Yazid he sent an army under Muslim b. 'Uqba al-Murri towards the end of 63 A.H. The Medina troops were defeated in a battle known by the name given above. Darimi transmitted it.

Abu Khalda[1] told that he asked Abul `Aliya[2] whether Anas had heard anything from the Prophet, and he replied that he had served him for ten years and that the Prophet had prayed for a blessing on him. He had a garden which produced two crops of fruit annually, and in it there was basil which gave off the odour of musk. He was Khalid b. Dinar at-Tamimi as-Sa'di. He was Rufai' b. Mihran ar-Rayahi. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.

Ibn `Umar told that 'Umar sent off an army over which he appointed a man called Sariya as commander. While `Umar was addressing the people he began to shout, `Keep near the mountain, Sari[*]" A messenger came later from the army and said, "Commander of the faithful, we met our enemy and they routed us, then someone began to shout, `Keep near the mountain, Sari,' so we set our backs to the mountain and God most high routed them." *A shortened form of the man's name. Baihaqi transmitted it in Dala'il an-nubuwa.

Nubaiha b. Wahb told th at once when Ka'b[1] went in to visit `A'isha and those present mentioned God's messenger, Ka'b said, "Not a day begins without seventy thousand angels descending, surrounding the grave of God's messenger, beating their wings and invoking blessings on him. When evening comes, they ascend and a like number come down and do the same as that. This will go on till the earth is cloven[2] and he comes forth escorted by seventy thousand angels." i.e., Ka'b al-Ahbar On the day of resurrection. Darimi transmitted it.

The first of the companions of God's messenger to come to us were Mus'ab b. `Umair and Ibn Umm Maktum who began to teach us the Quran[1]. Then `Ammar,[2] Bilal[3] and Sa'd[4] came. Then `Umar b. al-Khattab came with twenty of the Prophet's companions. Then the Prophet came, and I never saw the people of Medina so happy about anything as they were about him. I even saw the little girls and boys saying, "This is God's messenger who has come." By the time he came I had learned "Glorify the name of your most high Lord"[5] along with similar suras from al-Mufassal. 1. These two were sent to Medina before the Hijra to teach the people who had sworn allegiance to the Prophet. 2. 'Ammar b. Yasir. 3. Bilal b. Rabah. 4. Sa'd b. Abu Waqqe. 5. Quran:87 Bukhari transmitted it.