Aisha told me, "Allah's Apostle used to examine them according to this Verse: "O you who believe! When the believing women come to you, as emigrants test them . . . for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful." (60.10-12) Aisha said, "When any of them agreed to that condition Allah's Apostle would say to her, 'I have accepted your pledge of allegiance.' He would only say that, but, by Allah he never touched the hand of any women (i.e. never shook hands with them) while taking the pledge of allegiance and he never took their pledge of allegiance except by his words (only).

I had a she-camel which I got in my share from the booty of the battle of Badr, and the Prophet had given me another she camel from the Khumus which Allah had bestowed on him that day. And when I intended to celebrate my marriage to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, I made an arrangement with a goldsmith from Bani Qainuqa 'that he should go with me to bring Idhkhir (i.e. a kind of grass used by gold-smiths) which I intended to sell to gold-smiths in order to spend its price on the marriage banquet. While I was collecting ropes and sacks of pack saddles for my two she-camels which were kneeling down beside an Ansari's dwelling and after collecting what I needed, I suddenly found that the humps of the two she-camels had been cut off and their flanks had been cut open and portions of their livers had been taken out. On seeing that, I could not help weeping. I asked, "Who has done that?" They (i.e. the people) said, "Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib has done it. He is present in this house with some Ansari drinkers, a girl singer, and his friends. The singer said in her song, "O Hamza, get at the fat she-camels!" On hearing this, Hamza rushed to his sword and cut of the camels' humps and cut their flanks open and took out portions from their livers." Then I came to the Prophet, with whom Zaid bin Haritha was present. The Prophet noticed my state and asked, "What is the matter?" I said, "O Allah's Apostle, I have never experienced such a day as today! Hamza attacked my two she-camels, cut off their humps and cut their flanks open, and he is still present in a house along some drinkers." The Prophet asked for his cloak, put it on, and proceeded, followed by Zaid bin Haritha and myself, till he reached the house where Hamza was. He asked the permission to enter, and he was permitted. The Prophet started blaming Hamza for what he had done. Hamza was drunk and his eyes were red. He looked at the Prophet then raised his eyes to look at his knees and raised his eves more to look at his face and then said, "You are not but my father's slaves." When the Prophet understood that Hamza was drunk, he retreated, walking backwards went out and we left with him.

I testify that the Messenger of Allah (saws) decided that the land is the land of Allah, and the servants are the servants of Allah. If anyone brings barren land into cultivation, he has more right to it.

This tradition has been transmitted to us from the Prophet (saws) by those who transmitted the traditions about prayer from him.

"When the period of four months has expired, the husband should be put in prison so that he should divorce his wife, but the divorce does not occur unless the husband himself declares it. This has been mentioned by `Uthman, `Ali, Abu Ad-Darda, `Aisha and twelve other companions of the Prophet ."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade to make a vow. He said: It has not effect against fate, it is only from the miserly that it is means by which something is extracted.

Musaddad said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: A vow does not avert anything (i.e. has no effect against fate).

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What is done in our community about a slave who finds something and uses it before the term which is set for finds has been reached, and that is a year, is that it is against his person. Either his master gives the price of what his slave has used, or he surrenders his slave to them as compensation. If he withheld it until the term was reached which is set for finds and he used it, it is a debt against him which follows him and it is not against his person and there is nothing against his master in it."

Abu Dawud said: Ibn Wahb narrated this tradition on the authority of Yunus. He described the fact of eating as the statement of ‘A’ishah (not the saying of the prophet). It has also been narrated it from ‘Urwah or Abu Salamah. Al-Awza’I narrated it from Yunus on the Authority of Al-Zuhri from the prophet (may peace be upon him) as narrated by Ibn al-Mubarak.

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What I have heard from the people of knowledge is that if a man succumbs to an illness which makes fasting very difficult for him and exhausts him and wears him out, he can break his fast. This is the same as with a sick man in the prayer, who finds standing to be too difficult and exhausting, (and Allah knows better than the slave that it is an excuse for him and that it really cannot be described). If the man is in such a condition he prays sitting, and the deen of Allah is ease.

Allah has permitted a traveller to break the fast when travelling, and he has more strength for fasting than a sick man. Allah, the Exalted, says in His book, 'Whoever among you is ill or on a journey (must fast) a number of other days,' and Allah has thus permitted a traveller to break his fast when on a journey, and he is more capable of fasting than a sick man.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it Adam was created, on it he was expelled (from Paradise), on it his contrition was accepted, on it he died, and on it the Last Hour will take place. On Friday every beast is on the lookout from dawn to sunrise in fear of the Last Hour, but not jinn and men, and it contains a time at which no Muslim prays and asks anything from Allah but He will give it to him. Ka'b said: That is one day every year. So I said: It is on every Friday. Ka'b read the Torah and said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) has spoken the truth. AbuHurayrah said: I met Abdullah ibn Salam and told him of my meeting with Ka'b. Abdullah ibn Salam said: I know what time it is. AbuHurayrah said: I asked him to tell me about it. Abdullah ibn Salam said: It is at the very end of Friday. I asked: How can it be when the Messenger of Allah (saws) has said: "No Muslim finds it while he is praying...." and this is the moment when no prayer is offered. Abdullah ibn Salam said: Has the Messenger of Allah (saws) not said: "If anyone is seated waiting for the prayer, he is engaged in the prayer until he observes it." I said: Yes, it is so.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from as-Sa'ib ibn Yazid that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Hadrami brought a slave of his to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said to him, "Cut off the hand of this slave of mine. He has stolen." Umar said to him, "What did he steal?" He said, "He stole a mirror belonging to my wife. Its value was sixty dirhams." Umar said, "Let him go. His hand is not to be cut off. He is your servant who has stolen your belongings."

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then he is what he has said, (e.g. if he says, 'If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,' he is really a Jew). And whoever commits suicide with piece of iron will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell Fire." Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, "A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar ibn Muhammad from his father from Jabir ibn Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, walked when he came down from Safa and Marwa and then, when he reached the middle of the valley, he broke into a light run until he had left it.

Malik said, about a man who, out of ignorance, did the say between Safa and Marwa before he had done tawaf of the House, "He should go back and do tawaf of the House and then do say between Safa and Marwa. If he does not learn about this until he has left Makka and is far away, he should return to Makka and do tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa. If in the meantime he has had intercourse with a woman he should return, and do tawaf of the House and say between Safa and Marwa so that he completes what he owes of that umra. Then, after that, he has to do another umra and offer a sacrificial animal ."

Malik related to me that he heard that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made a settlement with her mukatab for an agreed amount of gold and silver.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us in the case of a mukatab who is shared by two partners, is that one of them cannot make a settlement with him for an agreed price according to his portion without the consent of his partner. That is because the slave and his property are owned by both of them, and so one of them is not permitted to take any of the property except with the consent of his partner. If one of them settled with the mukatab and his partner did not, and he took the agreed price, and then the mukatab died while he had property or was unable to pay, the one who settled would not have anything of the mukatab's property and he could not return that for which he made settlement so that his right to the slave's person would return to him. However, when someone settles with a mukatab with the permission of his partner and then the mukatab is unable to pay, it is preferable that the one who broke with him return what he has taken from the mukatab for the severance and he can have back his portion of the mukatab. He can do that. If the mukatab dies and leaves property, the partner who has kept hold of the kitaba is paid in full the amount of the kitaba which remains to him against the mukatab from the mukatab's property. Then what remains of property of the mukatab is between the partner who broke with him and his partner, according to their shares in the mukatab. If one of the partners breaks off with him and the other keeps the kitaba, and the mukatab is unable to pay, it is said to the partner who settled with him, 'If you wish to give your partner half of what you took so the slave is divided between you, then do so. If you refuse, then all of the slave belongs to the one who held on to possession of the slave.' "

Malik spoke about a mukatab who was shared between two men and one of them made a settlement with him with the permission of his partner. Then the one who retained possession of the slave demanded the like of that for which his partner had settled or more than that and the mukatab could not pay it. He said, "The mukatab is shared between them because the man has only demanded what is owed to him. If he demands less than what the one who settled with him took and the mukatab can not manage that, and the one who settled with him prefers to return to his partner half of what he took so the slave is divided in halves between them, he can do that. If he refuses then all of the slave belongs to the one who did not settle with him. If the mukatab dies and leaves property, and the one who settled with him prefers to return to his companion half of what he has taken so the inheritance is divided between them, he can do that. If the one who has kept the kitaba takes the like of what the one who has settled with him took, or more, the inheritance is between them according to their shares in the slave because he is only taking his right."

Malik spoke about a mukatab who was shared between two men and one of them made a settlement with him for half of what was due to him with the permission of his partner, and then the one who retained possession of the slave took less than what his partner settled with him for and the mukatab was unable to pay. He said, "If the one who made a settlement with the slave prefers to return half of what he was awarded to his partner, the slave is divided between them. If he refuses to return it, the one who retained possession has the portion of the share for which his partner made a settlement with the mukatab."

Malik said, "The explanation of that is that the slave is divided in two halves between them. They write him a kitaba together and then one of them makes a settlement with the mukatab for half his due with the permission of his partner. That is a fourth of all the slave. Then the mukatab is unable to continue, so it is said to the one who settled with him, 'If you wish, return to your partner half of what you were awarded and the slave is divided equally between you.' If he refuses, the one who held to the kitaba takes in full the fourth of his partner for which he made settlement with the mukatab. He had half the slave, so that now gives him three-fourths of the slave. The one who broke off has a fourth of the slave because he refused to return the equivalent of the fourth share for which he settled."

Malik spoke about a mukatab whose master made a settlement with him and set him free and what remained of his severance was written against him as debt, then the mukatab died and people had debts against him. He said, "His master does not share with the creditors because of what he is owed from the severance. The creditors begin first."

Malik said, "A mukatab cannot break with his master when he owes debts to people. He would be set free and have nothing because the people who hold the debts are more entitled to his property than his master. That is not permitted for him."

Malik said, "According to the way things are done among us, there is no harm if a man gives a kitaba to his slave and settles with him for gold and reduces what he is owed of the kitaba provided that only the gold is paid immediately. Whoever disapproves of that does so because he puts it in the category of a debt which a man has against another man for a set term. He gives him a reduction and he pays it immediately. This is not like that debt. The breaking of the mukatab with his master is dependent on his giving money to speed up the setting free. Inheritance, testimony and the hudud are obliged for him and the inviolability of being set free is established for him. He is not buying dirhams for dirhams or gold for gold. Rather it is like a man who having said to his slave, 'Bring me such-and-such an amount of dinars and you are free', then reduces that for him, saying, 'If you bring me less than that, you are free.' That is not a fixed debt. Had it been a fixed debt, the master would have shared with the creditors of the mukatab when he died or went bankrupt. His claim on the property of the mukatab would join theirs."

On the day of the Battle of Uhud, my father was brought and he had been mutilated (in battle) and was placed in front of Allah's Apostle and a sheet was over him. I went intending to uncover my father but my people forbade me; again I wanted to uncover him but my people forbade me. Allah's Apostle gave his order and he was shifted away. At that time he heard the voice of a crying woman and asked, "Who is this?" They said, "It is the daughter or the sister of `Amr." He said, "Why does she weep? (or let her stop weeping), for the angels had been shading him with their wings till he (i.e. the body of the martyr) was shifted away."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from Umm Qays ibn Mihsan that she brought a baby boy of hers who was not yet eating food to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he sat it in his arms and it urinated on his garment, so the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called for some water and sprinkled over it but did not wash it.

Abu Dawud said : None of the narrators said this word in this tradition except Hammad ; That is, “ If he tells its number.”

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said and 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr and Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that al-Walid ibn Abd al- Malik asked Salim ibn Abdullah and Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit if he could use perfume after he had stoned the jamra and shaved his head, but before he had left for the tawafal-ifada. Salim forbade him to do so, but Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit said that he could.

Malik said, "There is no harm in a man oiling himself with an oil which does not have any perfume in it, either before he enters ihram, or before he leaves Mina for the tawaf al-ifada, if he has stoned the jamra."

Yahya said that Malik was asked whether someone in ihram could eat food with saffron in it, and he said, "There is no harm in some one in ihram eating it if it has been cooked. If, however, it has not been cooked he should not eat it."

Yahya said that Malik related from Muhammad ibn Umara from Abu Bakr ibn Hazm that Uthman ibn Affan said, "When boundaries are fixed in land, there is no pre-emption in it. There is no pre-emption in a well or in male palm trees. "

Malik said, "This is what is done in our community."

Malik said, "There is no pre-emption in a road, whether or not it is practical to divide it."

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that there is no pre- emption in the courtyard of a house, whether or not it is practical to divide it."

Malik spoke about a man who bought into a shared property provided that he had the option of withdrawal and the partners of the seller wanted to take what their partner was selling by pre-emption before the buyer had exercised his option. Malik said, "They cannot do that until the buyer has taken possession and the sale is confirmed for him. When the sale is confirmed, they have the right of pre-emption."

Malik spoke about a man who bought land and it remained in his hands for some time. Then a man came and saw that he had a share of the land by inheritance. Malik said, "If the man's right of inheritance is established, he also has a right of preemption. If the land has produced a crop, the crop belongs to the buyer until the day when the right of the other is established, because he has tended what was planted against being destroyed or being carried away by a flood."

Malik continued, "If the time has been long, or the witnesses are dead or the seller has died, or the buyer has died, or they are both alive and the basis of the sale and purchase has been forgotten because of the length of time, pre- emption is discontinued. A man only takes his right by inheritance which has been established for him. If his situation differs from this, because the sale transaction is recent and he sees that the seller has concealed the price in order to sever his right of pre- emption, the value of the land is estimated, and he buys the land for that price by his right of pre-emption. Then the buildings, plants, or structures which are extra to the land are looked at, so he is in the position of some one who bought the land for a known price, and then after that built on it and planted. The owner of pre-emption takes possession after that is included."

Malik said, "Pre-emption is applied to the property of the deceased as it is applied to the property of the living. If the family of the deceased fear to break up the property of the deceased, then they share it and sell it, and they have no pre-emption in it."

Malik said, "There is no pre- emption among us in a slave or a slave-girl or a camel, a cow, sheep, or any animal, nor in clothes or a well which does not have any uncultivated land around it. Pre-emption is in what can be usefully divided, and in land in which boundaries occur. As for what cannot be usefully divided, there is no pre-emption in it."

Malik said, "Some one who buys land in which people who are present have a right of pre-emption, refers them to the Sultan and either they claim their right or the Sultan surrenders it to him. If he were to leave them, and not refer their situation to the Sultan and they knew about his purchase, and then they left it until a long time had passed and then came demanding their pre-emption, I do not think that they would have it."

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: I am the heirs of Him who has none, freeing him from his liabilities, and inheriting what he possesses. A maternal uncle is the heir of Him who has none, freeing him from his liabilities, and inheriting his property.

I witnessed the Prophet offering the `Id prayer (and after finishing it) he delivered a sermon and said, "Whoever has slaughtered his sacrifice (before the prayer) should make up for it (i.e. slaughter another animal) and whoever has not slaughtered his sacrifice yet, should slaughter it by mentioning Allah's Name over it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili that lkrama, the mawla of Ibn Abbas, said, (and Thawr believed it to be from Abdullah ibn Abbas), "Someone who has intercourse with his wife before he has done the tawaf al-ifada should do an umra and sacrifice an animal."

Hafsa, daughter of 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abu Bakr, reported that 'A'isha narrated to her that she and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) took a bath from the same vessel which contained water equal to three Mudds or thereabout.

The Prophet (saws) sent Umm Salamah on the night before the day of sacrifice and she threw pebbles at the jamrah before dawn. She hastened (to Mecca) and performed the circumambulation. That day was the one the Messenger of Allah (saws) spent with her.

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi ].

Editor's note: The Qamees is a modest, traditional outfit thought to resemble what is now referred to as a thawb.

Urwa said that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace used to pray asr while the sunlight was pouring into her room, before the sun itself had become visible (i.e. because it was still high in the sky).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father would never do two sets of seven tawafs together without praying between them. After every seven tawafs he would pray two rakas, sometimes at the maqam of Ibrahim, and sometimes elsewhere.

Malik was asked whether a man doing voluntary tawaf could, to make it easier on himself, join two or more sets of seven circuits and then pray whatever he owed for those sets of seven, and he said, "He should not do that. The sunna is that he does two rakasafter every seven circuits."

Malik said, about someone who began doing tawaf and then forgot how many he had done and did eightor nine circuits, "He should stop when he knows that he has done more than the right number and then pray two rakas,and he should not count the ones that he has done in excess. Neither should he build on the nine that he has done and then pray the rakas for the two sets of seven circuits together, because the sunna is that you pray two rakas after every seven circuits."

Malik said that someone who was in doubt about his tawaf after he had prayed the two rakas of tawaf should go back and complete his tawaf until he was certain of how much he had done. He should then repeat the two rakas, because prayer when doing tawaf was only valid after completing seven circuits.

"If some one breaks his wudu either while he is doing tawaf, or when he has finished tawaf but before he has prayed the two rakas of tawaf, he should do wudu and begin the tawaf and the two rakas afresh. Breaking wudu does not interrupt say between Safa and Marwa, but a person should not begin say unless he is pure by being in wudu."

The Prophet said, "Whoever sees me (in a dream) then he indeed has seen the truth ."

The Prophet said, "While three persons were walking, rain began to fall and they had to enter a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled over and blocked the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, 'Invoke Allah with the best deed you have performed (so Allah might remove the rock)'. One of them said, 'O Allah! My parents were old and I used to go out for grazing (my animals). On my return I would milk (the animals) and take the milk in a vessel to my parents to drink. After they had drunk from it, I would give it to my children, family and wife. One day I was delayed and on my return I found my parents sleeping, and I disliked to wake them up. The children were crying at my feet (because of hunger). That state of affairs continued till it was dawn. O Allah! If You regard that I did it for Your sake, then please remove this rock so that we may see the sky.' So, the rock was moved a bit. The second said, 'O Allah! You know that I was in love with a cousin of mine, like the deepest love a man may have for a woman, and she told me that I would not get my desire fulfilled unless I paid her one-hundred Dinars (gold pieces). So, I struggled for it till I gathered the desired amount, and when I sat in between her legs, she told me to be afraid of Allah, and asked me not to deflower her except rightfully (by marriage). So, I got up and left her. O Allah! If You regard that I did if for Your sake, kindly remove this rock.' So, two-thirds of the rock was removed. Then the third man said, 'O Allah! No doubt You know that once I employed a worker for one Faraq (three Sa's) of millet, and when I wanted to pay him, he refused to take it, so I sowed it and from its yield I bought cows and a shepherd. After a time that man came and demanded his money. I said to him: Go to those cows and the shepherd and take them for they are for you. He asked me whether I was joking with him. I told him that I was not joking with him, and all that belonged to him. O Allah! If You regard that I did it sincerely for Your sake, then please remove the rock.' So, the rock was removed completely from the mouth of the cave."

A man committed fornication with a woman. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) ordered regarding him and the prescribed punishment of flogging was inflicted on him. He was then informed that he was married. So he commanded regarding him and he was stoned to death.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Muhammad b. Bakr al-Barsani from Ibn Juraij as a statement of Jabir, and Abu 'Asim has transmitted it from Ibn Juraid similar to that of Ibn Wahb. He did not mention the Prophet (saws). But he said: A man committed fornication, but did not know that he was married ; so he was flogged. It was then known that he was married, so he was stoned to death.

from his father from his grandfather that the Prophet said, "Every Muslim has to give in charity." The people asked, "O Allah's Prophet! If someone has nothing to give, what will he do?" He said, "He should work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns)." The people further asked, "If he cannot find even that?" He replied, "He should help the needy who appeal for help." Then the people asked, "If he cannot do that?" He replied, "Then he should perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds and this will be regarded as charitable deeds."

Yahya related to me from Malik fromAbdullah ibn Abi Bakr that a mawla of Amir bint Abd ar-Rahman called Ruqayya told him that she once set out with Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman to go to Makka. She said, ''Amra entered Makka on the eighth of Dhu'l-Hijja, and I was with her. She did tawaf of the House, and say between Safa and Marwa, and then entered the back of the mosque. She asked me, 'Do you have a pair of scissors with you?' and I said, 'No.' She said, 'Then try and find some for me.' I went and looked for some and brought them back and she cut some hair from the tresses of her head.Then, on the day of sacrifice, she slaughtered a sheep."