The Prophet said, "The Hour will not be established till my followers copy the deeds of the previous nations and follow them very closely, span by span, and cubit by cubit (i.e., inch by inch)." It was said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you mean by those (nations) the Persians and the Byzantines?" The Prophet said, "Who can it be other than they?"

Ikrimah quoted Ibn Abbas as saying: When asking for something you should raise your hands opposite to your shoulders; when asking for forgiveness you should point with one finger; and when making an earnest supplication you should spread out both your hands.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Safwan ibn Sulaym heard that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I and the one who guards the orphan, whether for himself or for someone else, will be like these two in the Garden, when he has taqwa," indicating his middle and index fingers.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that the slave girls of Abdullah ibn Umar used to wash his feet and bring him a mat of palm leaves while they were menstruating.

Malik was asked whether a man who had women and slavegirlscould have intercourse with all of them before he did ghusl. He said, "There is no harm in a man having intercourse with two of his slave girls before he does ghusl. It is disapproved of, however, to go to a freewoman on another's day. There is no harm in making love first to one slave girl and then to another when one is junub."

Malik was asked about a man who was junub and water was put down for him to do ghusl with.Then he forgot and put his finger into it to find out whether it was hot or cold. Malik said, "If no filth has soiled his fingers, I do not consider that that makes the water impure."

I said that I should look at the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws) how he prays. The Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up and faced the qiblah (i.e. the direction of Ka'bah) and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great); then he raised his hands till he brought them in front of his ears; then he caught hold of his left hand with his right hand (i.e. folded his hands).

When he was about to bow, he raised them (his hands) in a like manner. Then he sat, stretched out his left foot (to sit on it), placed his left hand on his left thigh, and kept away the tip of his right elbow from his right thigh, joined two fingers, formed a ring, to do so. And the narrator Bishr made a ring with the thumb and the middle finger.

Yahya related to me that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Harmala al-Aslami said, "I saw Said ibn al-Musayyab with his nose bleeding and blood poured out of it so that his fingers were all red from the blood coming out of his nose, and he prayed without doing wudu."

Anas b. Malik reported that one day he saw on the finger of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) a silver ring, and the people also made silver rings and put them on. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) threw his ring away, and so the people also threw away their rings.

A bowl of water was brought to the Prophet while he was at Az-Zawra. He placed his hand in it and the water started flowing among his fingers. All the people performed ablution (with that water). Qatada asked Anas, "How many people were you?" Anas replied, "Three hundred or nearly three hundred."

I heard Muawiya bin Abi Sufyan delivering a sermon. He said, "I heard the Prophet saying, "If Allah wants to do a favor to somebody, He bestows on him, the gift of understanding the Qur'an and Sunna. I am but a distributor, and Allah is the Giver. The state of this nation will remain good till the Hour is established, or till Allah's Order comes."

The Prophet said, "Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings, the afternoons, and during the last hours of the nights." (See Fath-ul-Bari, Page 102, Vol 1).

One day while Allah's Apostle was sitting with the people, a man came to him walking and said, "O Allah's Apostle. What is Belief?" The Prophet said, "Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection." The man asked, "O Allah's Apostle What is Islam?" The Prophet replied, "Islam is to worship Allah and not worship anything besides Him, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay the (compulsory) charity i.e. Zakat and to fast the month of Ramadan." The man again asked, "O Allah's Apostle What is Ihsan (i.e. perfection or Benevolence)?" The Prophet said, "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you." The man further asked, "O Allah's Apostle When will the Hour be established?" The Prophet replied, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the questioner does, but I will describe to you its portents. When the lady slave gives birth to her mistress, that will be of its portents; when the bare-footed naked people become the chiefs of the people, that will be of its portents. The Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah. Verily, the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs." (31.34) Then the man left. The Prophet said, "Call him back to me." They went to call him back but could not see him. The Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." (See Hadith No. 47 Vol 1)

The Prophet (saws) got some ornaments presented by Negus as a gift to him. They contained a gold ring with an Abyssinian stone. The Messenger of Allah (saws) turning his attention from it took it by means of a stick or his finger, then called Umamah, daughter of Abul'As and daughter of his daughter Zaynab, and said: Wear it, my dear daughter.

The Prophet (saws) said: The fingers are equal and the teeth are equal. The front tooth and the molar tooth are equal, this and that are equal.

Abu Dawud said: Nadr b. Shumail transmitted it from Shu'bah to the same effect as mentioned by 'Abd al-Samad. Abu Dawud said: al-Darimi narrated it to me from al-Nadr.

Allah's Apostle wanted to write a letter to a group of people or some non-Arabs. It was said to him, "They do not accept any letter unless it is stamped." So the Prophet had a silver ring made for himself, and on it was engraved: 'Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah'. .. as if I am now looking at the glitter of the ring on the finger (or in the palm) of the Prophet .

Whenever the Prophet took a bath after Janaba he started by washing his hands and then performed ablution like that for the prayer. After that he would put his fingers in water and move the roots of his hair with them, and then pour three handfuls of water over his head and then pour water all over his body.

The Prophet (saws) asked AbuBakr: When do you observe the witr?

He replied: I observe the witr prayer in the early hours of the night.

The Prophet (saws) asked Umar: When do you observe the witr?

He replied: At the end of the night.

He then said to AbuBakr: This has followed it with care; and he said to Umar: He has followed it with strength.

The Prophet said, "The keys of the unseen are five and none knows them but Allah: (1) None knows (the sex) what is in the womb, but Allah: (2) None knows what will happen tomorrow, but Allah; (3) None knows when it will rain, but Allah; (4) None knows where he will die, but Allah (knows that); (5) and none knows when the Hour will be established, but Allah."

A man kissed a woman (unlawfully) and then went to the Prophet and informed him. Allah revealed: And offer prayers perfectly At the two ends of the day And in some hours of the night (i.e. the five compulsory prayers). Verily! good deeds remove (annul) the evil deeds (small sins) (11.114). The man asked Allah's Apostle, "Is it for me?" He said, "It is for all my followers."

"I heard 'Ali saying: 'The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited Al-Qassi, the red Mitharah, and wearing rings on this and this.' And he pointed to the index and middle fingers."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. Ibn Abi Musa is Abu Burdah bin Abi Musa and his name is 'Amir bin 'Abdullah bin Qais.

Ibn 'Umar reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sat for tashahhud he placed his left hand on his left knee. and his right hand on his right knee. and he raised his right finger, which is next to the thumb, making supplication in this way, and he stretched his left hand on his left knee.

Allah's Apostle said, "The keys of Unseen are five which none knows but Allah: None knows what will happen tomorrow but Allah; none knows what is in the wombs (a male child or a female) but Allah; none knows when it will rain but Allah; none knows at what place one will die; none knows when the Hour will be established but Allah." (See The Qur'an 31:34.")

I saw the trace of a wound in Salama's leg. I said to him, "O Abu Muslim! What is this wound?" He said, "This was inflicted on me on the day of Khaibar and the people said, 'Salama has been wounded.' Then I went to the Prophet and he puffed his saliva in it (i.e. the wound) thrice., and since then I have not had any pain in it till this hour."

Rafi' ibn Rifa'ah came to a meeting of the Ansar and said: The Prophet of Allah (saws) forbade us (from some things) today, and he mentioned some things. He forbade the earning of a slave-girl except what she earned with her hand. He indicated (some things) with his fingers such as baking, spinning, and ginning.

Allah's Apostle performed the Tawaf (around the Ka`ba while riding his camel, and every time he reached the corner (of the Black Stone) he pointed at it with his hand and said, "Allahu Akbar." (Zainab said: The Prophet said, "An opening has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog like this and this," forming the number 90 (with his thumb and index finger).

The Prophet said, "A believer to another believer is like a building whose different parts enforce each other." The Prophet then clasped his hands with the fingers interlaced. (At that time) the Prophet was sitting and a man came and begged or asked for something. The Prophet faced us and said, "Help and recommend him and you will receive the reward for it, and Allah will bring about what He will through His Prophet's tongue."