Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr that A'isha umm al-muminin told him that Aflah, the brother of Abu'l-Quays came and asked permission to visit her after the veil had been lowered, and he was her paternal uncle by suckling. She said, "I refusedto give him permission to enter. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came, I told him about what I had done, and he ordered me to give him permission to enter."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz during his khalifate, wrote to one of his governors, "Whatever a father, or guardian, who gives someone in marriage, makes a condition in the way of unreturnable gift or of favour, belongs to the woman if she wants it."

Malik spoke about a woman whose father gave her in marriage and made an unreturnable gift a condition of the bride-price which was to be given. He said, "Whatever is given as a condition by which marriage occurs belongs to the woman if she wants it. If the husband parts from her before the marriage is consummated, the husband has half of the unreturnable gift by which the marriage occurred."

Malik said about a man who married off his young son and the son had no wealth at all, that the bride- price was obliged of the father if the young man had no property on the day of marriage. If the young man did have property the bride- price was taken from his property unless the father stipulated that he would pay the bride-price. The marriage was affirmed for the son if he was a minor only if he was under the guardianship of his father.

Malik said that if a man divorced his wife before he had consummated the marriage and she was a virgin, her father returned half of the bride-price to him. That half was permitted to the husband from the father to compensate him for his expenses.

Malik said that that was because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, "Unless they (women with whom he had not consummated marriage) make remission or he makes remission to him in whose hand is the knot of marriage." (Sura 2 ayat 237). (He being the father of a virgin daughter or the master of a female slave.)

Malik said, "That is what I have heard about the matter, and that is how things are done among us."

Malik said that a jewish or christian woman who was married to a jew or christian and then became muslim before the marriage had been consummated, did not keep anything from the bride-price.

Malik said, "I do not think that women should be married for less than a quarter of a dinar. That is the lowest amount for which cutting off the hand is obliged ."

When the adhan for the dawn prayer was initially introduced, the Prophet (saws) commanded me to call the adhan and I did so. Then I began to ask: Should I utter iqamah, Messenger of Allah? But he began to look at the direction of the east, (waiting) for the break of dawn, and said: No.

When the dawn broke, he came down and performed ablution and he then turned to me. In the meantime his Companions joined him. Then Bilal wanted to utter the iqamah, but the Prophet (saws) said to him: The man of Suda' has called the adhan, and he who calls the adhan utters the iqamah.

(the wife of the Prophet) When the health of Allah's Apostle deteriorated and his condition became serious, he asked the permission of all his wives to allow him to be treated In my house, and they allowed him. He came out, supported by two men and his legs were dragging on the ground between `Abbas and another man. (The sub-narrator told Ibn `Abbas who said: Do you know who was the other man whom `Aisha did not mention? The sub-narrator said: No. Ibn `Abbas said: It was `Ali.) `Aisha added: When the Prophet entered my house and his disease became aggravated, he said, "Pour on me seven water skins full of water (the tying ribbons of which had not been untied) so that I may give some advice to the people." So we made him sit in a tub belonging to Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet and started pouring water on him from those water skins till he waved us to stop. Then he went out to the people and led them in prayer and delivered a speech before them.

Ayyub ibn Bushayr ibn Ka'b al-Adawi quoted a man of Anazah who said that he asked AbuDharr when he left Syria: I wish to ask you about a tradition of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He said: I shall tell you except that it is something secret. Did the Messenger of Allah (saws) shake hands with you when you met him? He replied: I never met him without his shaking hands with me. One day he sent for me when I was not at home. When I came I was informed that he had sent for me. I came to him and found him on a couch. He embraced me and that was better and better.

While I was praying, Allah's Apostle passed me and called me, but I did not go to him until I had finished the prayer. Then I went to him, and he said, "What prevented you from coming to me? Didn't Allah say:-- "O you who believe! Answer the call of Allah (by obeying Him) and His Apostle when He calls you?" He then said, "I will inform you of the greatest Sura in the Qur'an before I leave (the mosque)." When Allah's Apostle got ready to leave (the mosque), I reminded him. He said, "It is: 'Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.' (i.e. Surat-al-Fatiha) As-sab'a Al-Mathani (the seven repeatedly recited Verses).

I met `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As and asked him, "Tell me about the description of Allah's Apostle which is mentioned in Torah (i.e. Old Testament.") He replied, 'Yes. By Allah, he is described in Torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the Qur'an as follows: "O Prophet ! We have sent you as a witness (for Allah's True religion) And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers), And a warner (to the unbelievers) And guardian of the illiterates. You are My slave and My messenger (i.e. Apostle). I have named you "Al-Mutawakkil" (who depends upon Allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh Nor a noisemaker in the markets And you do not do evil to those Who do evil to you, but you deal With them with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him (the Prophet) Die till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," With which will be opened blind eyes And deaf ears and enveloped hearts."

My father, seeing a silken cloak being sold, said, "O Allah's Apostle! Buy this and wear it on Fridays and when the foreign delegates pay a visit to you." He said, "This is worn only by that person who will have no share in the Hereafter." Later a few silken cloaks were given to the Prophet as a gift, and he sent one of those cloaks to `Umar. `Umar said (to the Prophet), "How can I wear it while you have said about it what you said?" The Prophet said, "I did not give it to you to wear but to sell or to give to someone else to wear." So `Umar sent it to his (pagan) brother who was from the inhabitants of Mecca before he (`Umar's brother) embraced Islam.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone has sexual intercourse with an animal, kill him and kill it along with him. I (Ikrimah) said: I asked him (Ibn Abbas): What offence can be attributed to the animal/ He replied: I think he (the Prophet) disapproved of its flesh being eaten when such a thing had been done to it.

Abu Dawud said: This is not a strong tradition.

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that he asked Salim ibn 'Abdullah ibn Umar about renting out fields. He said, "There is no harm in it for gold or silver." Ibn Shihab said, "I said to him, 'What do you think of the hadith which is mentioned from Rafi ibn Khadij?'" He said, ''Rafi has exaggerated. If I had a field, I would rent it out."

Allah's Apostle sent us who were three-hundred riders under the command of Abu Ubaida bin Al- Jarrah in order to watch the caravan of the Quraish pagans. We stayed at the seashore for half a month and were struck with such severe hunger that we ate even the Khabt (i.e. the leaves of the Salam, a thorny desert tree), and because of that, the army was known as Jaish-ul-Khabt. Then the sea threw out, an animal (i.e. a fish) called Al-`Anbar and we ate of that for half a month, and rubbed its fat on our bodies till our bodies returned to their original state (i.e. became strong and healthy). Abu Ubaida took one of its ribs, fixed it on the ground; then he went to the tallest man of his companions (to let him pass under the rib). Once Sufyan said, "He took a rib from its parts and fixed it, and then took a man and camel and they passed from underneath it (without touching it). " Jabir added: There was a man amongst the people who slaughtered three camels and then slaughtered another three camels and then slaughtered other three camels, and then Abu 'Ubaida forbade him to do so. Narrated Abu Salih: Qais bin Sa`d said to his father. "I was present in the army and the people were struck with severe hunger." He said, "You should have slaughtered (camels) (for them)." Qais said, "I did slaughter camels but they were hungry again. He said, "You should have slaughtered (camels) again." Qais said, "I did slaughter (camels) again but the people felt hungry again." He said, "You should have slaughtered (camels) again." Qais said, "I did slaughter (camels) again, but the people again felt hungry." He said, "You should have slaughtered (camels) again." Qais said, "But I was forbidden (by Abu 'Ubaida this time).

Abu Dawud said: This woman was the wife of Abu Dharr.

Amrah said on the authority of Aisha that she would steep dates for the Messenger of Allah (saws) in the morning. When the evening came, he took his dinner and drank it after his dinner. If anything remained, she poured it out. She then would steep for him at night. When the morning came, he took his morning meal and drank it after his morning meal. She said: The skin vessel was washed in the morning and in the evening. My father (Hayyan) said to her: Twice a day? She said: Yes.

AbuDharr said: Prophet of Allah. The wealthy people have all the rewards; they pray as we pray; they fast as we fast; and they have surplus wealth which they give in charity; but we have no wealth which we may give in charity.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: AbuDharr, should I not teach you phrases by which you acquire the rank of those who excel you? No one can acquire your rank except one who acts like you.

He said: Why not, Messenger of Allah? He said: Exalt Allah (say: Allah is Most Great) after each prayer thirty-three times; and praise Him (say: Praise be to Allah) thirty-three times; and glorify Him (say: Glory be to Allah) thirty-three times, and end it by saying, "There is no god but Allah alone, there is no partner, to Him belongs the Kingdom, to Him praise is due and He has power over everything". His sins will be forgiven, even if they are like the foam of the sea.

This Verse: 'Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner.' (48.8) which is in the Qur'an, appears in the Torah thus: 'Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner, and as a protector for the illiterates (i.e., the Arabs.) You are my slave and My Apostle, and I have named you Al-Mutawakkil (one who depends upon Allah). You are neither hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. You do not return evil for evil, but excuse and forgive. Allah will not take you unto Him till He guides through you a crocked (curved) nation on the right path by causing them to say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah." With such a statement He will cause to open blind eyes, deaf ears and hardened hearts.'

Abu Huraira is reported to have said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prohibited to observe prayer after the 'Asr prayer till the sun is set, and after the dawn till the sun rises.

We were with Uthman when he was besieged in the house. There was an entrance to the house. He who entered it heard the speech of those who were in the Bilat. Uthman then entered it. He came out to us, looking pale.

He said: They are threatening to kill me now. We said: Allah will be sufficient for you against them, Commander of the Faithful! He asked: Why kill me? I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: It is not lawful to kill a man who is a Muslim except for one of the three reasons: Kufr (disbelief) after accepting Islam, fornication after marriage, or wrongfully killing someone, for which he may be killed.

I swear by Allah, I have not committed fornication before or after the coming of Islam, nor did I ever want another religion for me instead of my religion since Allah gave guidance to me, nor have I killed anyone. So for what reason do you want to kill me?

Abu Dawud said: 'Uthman and Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with them) abandoned drinking wine in pre-Islamic times.

We set out with the Prophet with the intention of performing Hajj only. The Prophet reached Mecca and performed Tawaf of the Ka`ba and between Safa and Marwa and did not finish the Ihram, because he had the Hadi with him. His companions and his wives performed Tawaf (of the Ka`ba and between Safa and Marwa), and those who had no Hadi with them finished their Ihram. I got the menses and performed all the ceremonies of Hajj. So, when the Night of Hasba (night of departure) came, I said, "O Allah's Apostle! All your companions are returning with Hajj and `Umra except me." He asked me, "Didn't you perform Tawaf of the Ka`ba (Umra) when you reached Mecca?" I said, "No." He said, "Go to Tan`im with your brother `Abdur-Rahman, and assume Ihram for `Umra and I will wait for you at such and such a place." So I went with `Abdur-Rahman to Tan`im and assumed Ihram for `Umra. Then Safiya bint Huyay got menses. The Prophet said, " 'Aqra Halqa! You will detain us! Didn't you perform Tawaf-al-Ifada on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering)?" She said, "Yes, I did." He said, "Then there is no harm, depart." So I met the Prophet when he was ascending the heights towards Mecca and I was descending, or vice-versa.

I wrote a letter to Ibn `Abbas and he wrote to me that the Prophet had given the verdict that the defendant had to take an oath.

Ibn Shihab informed me of Lian and the tradition related to it, referring to the narration of Sahl bin Sa`d, the brother of Bani Sa`idi He said, "An Ansari man came to Allah's Apostle and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! If a man saw another man with his wife, should he kill him, or what should he do?' So Allah revealed concerning his affair what is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an about the affair of those involved in a case of Lian. The Prophet said, 'Allah has given His verdict regarding you and your wife.' So they carried out Lian in the mosque while I was present there. When they had finished, the man said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I should now keep her with me as a wife then I have told a lie about her. Then he divorced her thrice before Allah's Apostle ordered him, when they had finished the Lian process. So he divorced her in front of the Prophet ." Ibn Shihab added, "After their case, it became a tradition that a couple involved in a case of Lian should be separated by divorce. That lady was pregnant then, and later on her son was called by his mother's name. The tradition concerning their inheritance was that she would be his heir and he would inherit of her property the share Allah had prescribed for him." Ibn Shihab said that Sahl bin Sa`d As'Saidi said that the Prophet said (in the above narration), "If that lady delivers a small red child like a lizard, then the lady has spoken the truth and the man was a liar, but if she delivers a child with black eyes and huge lips, then her husband has spoken the truth." Then she delivered it in the shape one would dislike (as it proved her guilty).

Allah's Apostle addressed the people, and after praising and glorifying Allah, he said, "What do you suggest me regarding those people who are abusing my wife? I have never known anything bad about her." The sub-narrator, `Urwa, said: When `Aisha was told of the slander, she said, "O Allah's Apostle! Will you allow me to go to my parents' home?" He allowed her and sent a slave along with her. An Ansari man said, "Subhanaka! It is not right for us to speak about this. Subhanaka! This is a great lie!"

Allah's Apostle said, "Extinguish the lamps when you go to bed; close your doors; tie the mouths of your water skins, and cover the food and drinks." I think he added, ". . . even with a stick you place across the container."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'I have prepared for my pious worshipers such things as no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and nobody has ever thought of." Abu Huraira added: If you wish you can read:-- 'No soul knows what is kept hidden (in reserve) for them of joy as reward for what they used to do.' 32.17.

The Prophet was vigilant one night and when he reached Medina, he said, "Would that a pious man from my companions guard me tonight!" Suddenly we heard the clatter of arms. He said, "Who is that? " He (The new comer) replied, " I am Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas and have come to guard you." So, the Prophet slept (that night).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If someone changes his deen - strike his neck!"

The meaning of the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in our opinion and Allah knows best, is that "if someone changes his deen, strike his neck!" refers to those who leave Islam for other than it - like the heretics and their like, about whom it is known. They are killed without being called to tawba because their tawba is not recognised. They were hiding their kufr and publishing their Islam, so I do not think that one calls such people to tawba, and one does not accept their word. As for the one who goes out of Islam to something else and divulges it, one calls him to tawba. If he does not turn in tawba, he is killed. If there are people in that situation, I think that one should call them to Islam and call them to tawba. If they turn in tawba, that is accepted from them. If they do not turn in tawba, they are killed. That does not refer as we see it, and Allah knows best, to those who come out of Judaism to Christianity or from Christianity to Judaism, nor to someone who changes his deen from the various forms of deen except for Islam. Whoever comes out of Islam to other than it and divulges that, that is the one who is referred to, and Allah knows best!

Musa bin `Uqba said, "I saw Salim bin `Abdullah looking for some places on the way and prayed there. He narrated that his father used to pray there, and had seen the Prophet praying at those very places." Narrated Nafi` on the authority of Ibn `Umar who said, "I used to pray at those places." Musa the narrator added, "I asked Salim on which he said, 'I agree with Nafi` concerning those places, except the mosque situated at the place called Sharaf Ar-Rawha."

Yahya related to me from Malik that al-Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman said, "We visited Anas ibn Malik after dhuhr and he stood up and prayed asr. When he had finished his prayer, we mentioned doing prayers early in their time, or he mentioned it, and he said that he had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, the prayer of the hypocrites, the prayer of the hypocrites, the prayer of the hypocrites is that one of them sits until the sun becomes yellow and is between the horns of Shaytan, or on the horn of Shaytan, and then gets up and rattles off four rakas, hardly remembering Allah in them at all.' "

I went to `Aisha and asked her to describe to me the illness of Allah's Apostle. `Aisha said, "Yes. The Prophet became seriously ill and asked whether the people had prayed. We replied, 'No. O Allah's Apostle! They are waiting for you.' He added, 'Put water for me in a trough." `Aisha added, "We did so. He took a bath and tried to get up but fainted. When he recovered, he again asked whether the people had prayed. We said, 'No, they are waiting for you. O Allah's Apostle,' He again said, 'Put water in a trough for me.' He sat down and took a bath and tried to get up but fainted again. Then he recovered and said, 'Have the people prayed?' We replied, 'No, they are waiting for you. O Allah's Apostle.' He said, 'Put water for me in the trough.' Then he sat down and washed himself and tried to get up but he fainted. When he recovered, he asked, 'Have the people prayed?' We said, 'No, they are waiting for you. O Allah's Apostle! The people were in the mosque waiting for the Prophet for the `Isha prayer. The Prophet sent for Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer. The messenger went to Abu Bakr and said, 'Allah's Apostle orders you to lead the people in the prayer.' Abu Bakr was a softhearted man, so he asked `Umar to lead the prayer but `Umar replied, 'You are more rightful.' So Abu Bakr led the prayer in those days. When the Prophet felt a bit better, he came out for the Zuhr prayer with the help of two persons one of whom was Al-`Abbas. while Abu Bakr was leading the people in the prayer. When Abu Bakr saw him he wanted to retreat but the Prophet beckoned him not to do so and asked them to make him sit beside Abu Bakr and they did so. Abu Bakr was following the Prophet (in the prayer) and the people were following Abu Bakr. The Prophet (prayed) sitting." 'Ubaidullah added "I went to `Abdullah bin `Abbas and asked him, Shall I tell you what Aisha has told me about the fatal illness of the Prophet?' Ibn `Abbas said, 'Go ahead. I told him her narration and he did not deny anything of it but asked whether `Aisha told me the name of the second person (who helped the Prophet ) along with Al-Abbas. I said. 'No.' He said, 'He was `Ali (Ibn Abi Talib).