Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that A'isha said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'No prophet dies until he is given the choice.' " She continued, "I heard him say ,'O Allah, the highest company,' and I knew that he was going."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman from more than one of the people of knowledge of that time, that those who were killed on the Day of the Camel, the Day of Siffin, the Day of al-Harra, and the Day of Qudayd did not inherit from each other. None of them inherited anything from his companion unless it was known that he had been killed before his companion.

Malik said, "That is the way of doing things about which there is no dispute, and which none of the people of knowledge in our city doubt. The procedure with two mutual heirs who are drowned, or killed in another way, when it is not known which of them died first is the same - neither of them inherits anything from his companion. Their inheritance goes to whoever remains of their heirs. They are inherited from by the living."

Malik said, "No one should inherit from anyone else when there is doubt, and one should only inherit from the other when there is certainty of knowledge and witnesses. That is because a man and his mawla whom his father has freed might die at the same time. The sons of the free man could say, 'Our father inherited from the mawla.' They should not inherit from the mawla without knowledge or testimony that he died first. The living people most entitled to his wala' inherit from him."

Malik said, "Another example is two full brothers who die. One of them has children and the other does not. They have a half-brother by their father. It is not known which of them died first, so the inheritance of the childless one goes to his half-brother by the father. The children of the full-brother get nothing."

Malik said, "Another example is when a paternal aunt and the son of her brother die, or else the daughter of the brother and her paternal uncle. It is not known which of them died first. The paternal uncle does not inherit anything from the daughter of his brother, and the son of the brother does not inherit anything from his paternal aunt."

Zaynab said, "I heard my mother, Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah! My daughter's husband died, and her eyes are troubling her, can she put kohl on them?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'No' two or three times. Then he said, 'It is only four months and ten days. In the Jahiliyya, none of you threw away the piece of dung until a year had passed.' "

Humayd ibn Nafi said, "I asked Zaynab to explain what 'throwing away the piece of dung at the end of a year' meant. Zaynab said, 'In the Jahiliyya when a woman's husband died, she went into a small tent and dressed in the worst of clothes. She did not touch perfume or anything until a year had passed. Then she was brought an animal - a donkey, a sheep, or a bird, and she would break her idda with it, by rubbing her body against it (taftaddu). Rarely did she break her idda with anything (by rubbing herself against it) but that it died. Then she would come out and would be given a piece of dung. She would throw it away and then return to whatever she wished of perfumes or whatever.' "

Malik explained, 'Taftaddu' means to wipe her skin with it in the same way as with a healing charm."

"A letter came from the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: 'Do not use the skins of dead animals, nor tendons.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan. This Hadith has been related to 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim from some Shuyukh of his, and this is not acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge. And this Hadith has been related from 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim, that he said: "A letter came to us from the Messenger of Allah (saws) two months before he died."

He said: I heart Ahmad bin Al-Hasan saying: "Ahmad bin Hanbal followed this Hadith due to it mentioning that it was two months before he (saws) died. Then Ahmad left this Hadith because of their Idtirab in its chain, since some of them reported it, saying: 'From 'Abdullah bin 'Ukaim from some Shuyukh of his from Juhainah.'"

"A man among the Ansar decided to free a slave of his after his death. He died but he left no wealth behind beside the slave. So the Prophet (saws) sold him and Nu'aim [bin 'Abdullah] bin An-Nah-ham bought him." Jabir said: "He was Coptic slave who died during the first year of the leadership of Ibn Az-Zubair."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih and it has been reported through more than one route from Jabir bin 'Abdullah.

This Hadith is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others. They did not see any harm in the sale of Mudabbar. This is the view of Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad and Ishaq. There are those among people of knowledge, among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others, who disliked selling the Mudabbar. This is the view of Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Malik and Al-Awza'i.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died on Monday and was buried on Tuesday and people prayed over him individually with no one leading them. Some people said that he would be buried near the mimbar, and others said that he would be buried in al-Baqi. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq came and said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No prophet was ever buried except in the place where he died.' "So a grave was dug for him there. When he was about to be washed they wished to take off his shirt but they heard a voice saying "Don't take off his shirt," so they did not take off his shirt and he was washed with it on, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Allah's Apostle was fond of honey and sweet edible things and (it was his habit) that after finishing the `Asr prayer he would visit his wives and stay with one of them at that time. Once he went to Hafsa, the daughter of `Umar and stayed with her more than usual. I got jealous and asked the reason for that. I was told that a lady of her folk had given her a skin filled with honey as a present, and that she made a syrup from it and gave it to the Prophet to drink (and that was the reason for the delay). I said, "By Allah we will play a trick on him (to prevent him from doing so)." So I said to Sa`da bint Zam`a "The Prophet will approach you, and when he comes near you, say: 'Have you taken Maghafir (a bad-smelling gum)?' He will say, 'No.' Then say to him: 'Then what is this bad smell which i smell from you?' He will say to you, 'Hafsa made me drink honey syrup.' Then say: Perhaps the bees of that honey had sucked the juice of the tree of Al-`Urfut.' I shall also say the same. O you, Safiyya, say the same." Later Sa`da said, "By Allah, as soon as he (the Prophet ) stood at the door, I was about to say to him what you had ordered me to say because I was afraid of you." So when the Prophet came near Sa`da, she said to him, "O Allah's Apostle! Have you taken Maghafir?" He said, "No." She said. "Then what is this bad smell which I detect on you?" He said, "Hafsa made me drink honey syrup." She said, "Perhaps its bees had sucked the juice of Al-`Urfut tree." When he came to me, I also said the same, and when he went to Safiyya, she also said the same. And when the Prophet again went to Hafsa, she said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Shall I give you more of that drink?" He said, "I am not in need of it." Sa`da said, "By Allah, we deprived him (of it)." I said to her, "Keep quiet." '

While a man was delivering a speech in the tribe of Kinda, he said, "Smoke will prevail on the Day of Resurrection and will deprive the hypocrites their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof." That news scared us, so I went to (Abdullah) Ibn Mas`ud while he was reclining (and told him the story) whereupon he became angry, sat up and said, "He who knows a thing can say, it, but if he does not know, he should say, 'Allah knows best,' for it is an aspect of knowledge to say, 'I do not know,' if you do not know a certain thing. Allah said to His prophet. 'Say (O Muhammad): No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor I am one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist.)' (38.86) The Qur'aish delayed in embracing Islam for a period, so the Prophet invoked evil on them, saying, 'O Allah! Help me against them by sending seven years of (famine) like those of Joseph.' So they were afflicted with such a severe year of famine that they were destroyed therein and ate dead animals and bones. They started seeing something like smoke between the sky and the earth (because of severe hunger). Abu Sufyan then came (to the Prophet) and said, "O Muhammad! You came to order us for to keep good relations with Kith and kin, and your kinsmen have now perished, so please invoke Allah (to relieve them).' Then Ibn Mas`ud recited:-- 'Then watch you for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible....but truly you will return! (to disbelief) (44.10-15) Ibn Mas`ud added, Then the punishment was stopped, but truly, they reverted to heathenism (their old way). So Allah (threatened them thus): 'On the day when we shall seize you with a mighty grasp.' (44.16) And that was the day of the Battle of Badr. Allah's saying- "Lizama" (the punishment) refers to the day of Badr Allah's Statement: Alif-Lam-Mim, the Romans have been defeated, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious,' (30.1- 3) (This verse): Indicates that the defeat of Byzantine has already passed.

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the one whom Allah created with His Own Hands, and breathed in you of His soul, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you; so please intercede for us with our Lord.' Adam will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, and will remember his sin, and will say, 'Go to Noah, the first Apostle sent by Allah' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking', and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Abraham whom Allah took as a Khalil. They will go to him (and request similarly). He will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Moses to whom Allah spoke directly.' They will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Jesus.' They will go to him, and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad as Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.' They will come to me and I will ask my Lord's permission, and when I see Him, I will fall down in prostration to Him, and He will leave me in that state as long as (He) Allah will, and then I will be addressed. 'Raise up your head (O Muhammad)! Ask, and your request will be granted, and say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' Then I will raise my head, and I will glorify and praise my Lord with a saying(i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede, Allah will fix a limit for me (i.e., certain type of people for whom I may intercede), and I will take them out of the (Hell) Fire and let them enter Paradise. Then I will come back (to Allah) and fall in prostration, and will do the same for the third and fourth times till no-one remains in the (Hell) Fire except those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned therein." (The sub-narrator, Qatada used to say at that point, "...those upon whom eternity (in Hell) has been imposed.") (See Hadith No. 3, Vol 6).

Sa`d was wounded on the day of Khandaq (i.e. Trench) when a man from Quraish, called Hibban bin Al-`Araqa hit him (with an arrow). The man was Hibban bin Qais from (the tribe of) Bani Mais bin 'Amir bin Lu'ai who shot an arrow at Sa`d's medial arm vein (or main artery of the arm). The Prophet pitched a tent (for Sa`d) in the Mosque so that he might be near to the Prophet to visit. When the Prophet returned from the (battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and laid down his arms and took a bath Gabriel came to him while he (i.e. Gabriel) was shaking the dust off his head, and said, "You have laid down the arms?" By Allah, I have not laid them down. Go out to them (to attack them)." The Prophet said, "Where?" Gabriel pointed towards Bani Quraiza. So Allah's Apostle went to them (i.e. Banu Quraiza) (i.e. besieged them). They then surrendered to the Prophet's judgment but he directed them to Sa`d to give his verdict concerning them. Sa`d said, "I give my judgment that their warriors should be killed, their women and children should be taken as captives, and their properties distributed." Narrated Hisham: My father informed me that `Aisha said, "Sa`d said, "O Allah! You know that there is nothing more beloved to me than to fight in Your Cause against those who disbelieved Your Apostle and turned him out (of Mecca). O Allah! I think you have put to an end the fight between us and them (i.e. Quraish infidels). And if there still remains any fight with the Quraish (infidels), then keep me alive till I fight against them for Your Sake. But if you have brought the war to an end, then let this wound burst and cause my death thereby.' So blood gushed from the wound. There was a tent in the Mosque belonging to Banu Ghifar who were surprised by the blood flowing towards them . They said, 'O people of the tent! What is this thing which is coming to us from your side?' Behold! Blood was flowing profusely out of Sa`d's wound. Sa`d then died because of that."

I participated in a Ghazwa along with Allah's Apostle The Prophet met me (on the way) while I was riding a camel of ours used for irrigation and it had got so tired that it could hardly walk. The Prophet asked me, "What is wrong with the camel?" I replied, "It has got tired." So. Allah's Apostle came from behind it and rebuked it and prayed for it so it started surpassing the other camels and going ahead of them. Then he asked me, "How do you find your camel (now)?" I replied, "I find it quite well, now as it has received your blessings." He said, "Will you sell it to me?" I felt shy (to refuse his offer) though it was the only camel for irrigation we had. So, I said, "Yes." He said, "Sell it to me then." I sold it to him on the condition that I should keep on riding it till I reached Medina. Then I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I am a bridegroom," and requested him to allow me to go home. He allowed me, and I set out for Medina before the people till I reached Medina, where I met my uncle, who asked me about the camel and I informed him all about it and he blamed me for that. When I took the permission of Allah's Apostle he asked me whether I had married a virgin or a matron and I replied that I had married a matron. He said, "Why hadn't you married a virgin who would have played with you, and you would have played with her?" I replied, "O Allah's Apostle! My father died (or was martyred) and I have some young sisters, so I felt it not proper that I should marry a young girl like them who would neither teach them manners nor serve them. So, I have married a matron so that she may serve them and teach them manners." When Allah's Apostle arrived in Medina, I took the camel to him the next morning and he gave me its price and gave me the camel itself as well.

About the Qur'anic verse: "It is not lawful for you forcibly to inherit the woman (of your deceased kinsmen), nor (that) ye should put constraint upon them. When a man died, his relatives had more right to his wife then her own guardian. If any one of them wanted to marry her, he did so; or they married her (to some other person), and if they did not want to marry her, they did so. So this verse was revealed about the matter.

The Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the day of Uhud and said: We have been afflicted with wound and fatigue. What do you command us?

He said: Dig graves, make them wide, bury two or three in a single grave.

He was asked: Which of them should be put first?

He replied: The one who knew the Qur'an most.

He (Hisham) said: My father Amir died on the day and was buried with two or one.

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Whoever dies and he is free of three: Kibr (Pride), Ghulul, and debt, he will enter paradise."

There are narrations on this topic from Abu Hurairah and Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhni

Footnote: Ghulul refers to goods stolen from the spoils of war, or concealed, before it is divided among the soldiers

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr that Asma bint Umays washed Abu Bakr as-Siddiq when he died. Then she went out and asked some of the muhajirun who were there, "I am fasting and this is an extremely cold day. Do I have to do ghusl?" They said, "No."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "I did not believe that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had died until I heard the pickaxes fall."