While we were with `Utba. `Umar wrote to us: The Prophet said, "There is none who wears silk in this world except that he will wear nothing of it in the Hereafter." ' Abu `Uthman pointed out with his middle and index fingers.

This hadith has also been narrated by Abu `Uthman.

Um Sulaim said, "O Allah's Apostle! Verily Allah is not shy of (telling you) the truth. Is it essential for a woman to take a bath after she had a wet dream (nocturnal sexual discharge)?" He said, "Yes, if she notices discharge. On that Um Salama laughed and said, "Does a woman get a (nocturnal sexual) discharge?" He said, "How then does (her) son resemble her (his mother)?"

Um Sulaim came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Verily, Allah does not feel shy to tell the truth. If a woman gets a nocturnal sexual discharge (has a wet dream), is it essential for her to take a bath? He replied, "Yes if she notices a discharge."

A man praised another man in front of the Prophet. The Prophet said thrice, "Wailaka (Woe on you) ! You have cut the neck of your brother!" The Prophet added, "If it is indispensable for anyone of you to praise a person, then he should say, "I think that such-and-such person (is so-and-so), and Allah is the one who will take his accounts (as he knows his reality) and none can sanctify anybody before Allah (and that only if he knows well about that person.)".

I heard Khabbab, who had branded his `Abdomen with seven brands, saying, "Had Allah's Apostle not forbidden us to invoke Allah for death, I would have invoked Allah for death. The companions of Muhammad have left this world without taking anything of their reward in it (i.e., they will have perfect reward in the Hereafter), but we have collected of the worldly wealth what we cannot spend but on earth (i.e. on building houses).

The Prophet used to say, "Nobody should be flogged more than ten stripes except if he is guilty of a crime, the legal punishment of which is assigned by Allah."

The Prophet said, "O `Abdur-Rahman! Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking (for it), then you will be helped (by Allah) in it. If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then you should expiate your oath and do what is better."

The Prophet said, "Not to wish to be the like of except the like of two (persons): a man whom Allah has given the knowledge of the Qur'an and he recites it during the hours of the night and the hours of the day; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it (in Allah's Cause) during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day."

Abu Huraira came to the Prophet and asked him (for a share from the Khaibar booty). On that, one of the sons of Sa`id bin Al-`As said to him, "O Allah's Apostle! Do not give him." Abu Huraira then said (to the Prophet ) "This is the murderer of Ibn Qauqal." Sa`id's son said, "How strange! A guinea pig coming from Qadum Ad-Dan!"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, 'Messenger of Allah! Some people from the desert bring us meat, and we do not know whether the name of Allah has been mentioned over it or not.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Mention the name of Allah over it and eat.' "

Malik said, "That was in the beginning of Islam."

The Prophet said, "Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:

1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else.

2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake.

3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire."

The Prophet said, "Amongst the trees, there is a tree, the leaves of which do not fall and is like a Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree." Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I thought of the date-palm tree. The others then asked, "Please inform us what is that tree, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "It is the date-palm tree."

(the wife of the Prophet) Allah's Apostle used to get up at night and pray while I used to lie across between him and the Qibla on his family's bed.

"One night Allah's Apostle led us in the `Isha' prayer and that is the one called Al-`Atma [??] by the people. After the completion of the prayer, he faced us and said, "Do you know the importance of this night? Nobody present on the surface of the earth tonight will be living after one hundred years from this night." (See Hadith No. 575).

The Prophet said, "If anyone forgets a prayer he should pray that prayer when he remembers it. There is no expiation except to pray the same." Then he recited: "Establish prayer for My (i.e. Allah's) remembrance." (20.14).

My father said, "Allah's Apostle used to raise both his hands up to the level of his shoulders when opening the prayer; and on saying the Takbir for bowing. And on raising his head from bowing he used to do the same and then say "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa laka l-hamd." And he did not do that (i.e. raising his hands) in prostrations.

The Prophet vowed to keep aloof from his wives for a period of one month, and after the completion of 29 days he went either in the morning or in the afternoon to his wives. Someone said to him "You vowed that you would not go to your wives for one month." He replied, "The month is of 29 days."

Asma bint Abi Bakr said, "We broke our fast during the lifetime of the Prophet on a cloudy day and then the sun appeared." Hisham was asked, "Were they ordered to fast in lieu of that day?" He replied, "It had to be made up for." Ma`mar said, "I heard Hisham saying, "I don't know whether they fasted in lieu of that day or not."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: No one of you should make water in his bath and then wash himself there (after urination).

The version of Ahmad has: Then performs ablution there, for evil thoughts come from it.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If there are three men in a village or in the desert among whom prayer is not offered (in congregation), the devil has got the mastery over them. So observe (prayer) in congregation), for the wolf eats only the straggling animal. Sa'ib said: By the word Jama'ah he meant saying prayer in company or in congregation.

The Prophet (saws) said: There are three types of people whose prayer is not accepted by Allah: One who goes in front of people when they do not like him; a man who comes dibaran, which means that he comes to it too late; and a man who takes into slavery an emancipated male or female slave.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to pass through the row from one side to the other; he used to set out chests and shoulders in order, and say: Do not be irregular. And he would say: Allah and His angels bless those who are near the first rows.

We were with the Prophet when a tall pagan with long matted unkempt hair came driving his sheep. The Prophet asked him, "Are those sheep for sale or for gifts?" The pagan replied, "They are for sale." The Prophet bought one sheep from him.

Allah's Apostle said, "A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger." Allah's Apostle further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), 'You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the vermin of the earth.' "

A Jew from Hira asked me which one of the two periods Musa (i.e. Prophet Moses) completed. I said, "I don't know, (but wait) till I see the most learned 'Arab and inquire him about it." So, I went to Ibn `Abbas and asked him. He replied, "Moses completed the longer and better period." Ibn `Abbas added, "No doubt, an apostle of Allah always does what he says."

Once the Prophet called the Ansar in order to grant them part of the land of Bahrain. On that they said, "No! By Allah, we will not accept it unless you grant a similar thing to our Quarries brothers as well." He said, "That will be their's if Allah wishes." But when the Ansar persisted in their request, he said, "After me you will see others given preference over you in this respect (in which case) you should be patient till you meet me at the Tank (of Al-Kauthar).

The Prophet said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's death or life (i.e. birth), but they are two signs amongst the Signs of Allah. So, if you see them (i.e. eclipse) offer the (eclipse) prayer.

I heard the Prophet saying, "Who ever spends a couple (of objects) in Allah's cause, will be called by the Gatekeepers of Paradise who will say, "O so-and-so, come on!" Abu Bakr said, "Such a person will never perish or be miserable' The Prophet said, "I hope you will be among such person."

The Prophet said, "A tent (in Paradise) is like a hollow pearl which is thirty miles in height and on every corner of the tent the believer will have a family that cannot be seen by the others." (Narrated Abu `Imran in another narration, "The tent is sixty miles in height.")

Um Salama said, "Um Sulaim said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not refrain from saying the truth! Is it obligatory for a woman to take a bath after she gets nocturnal discharge?' He said, 'Yes, if she notices the water (i.e. discharge).' Um Salama smiled and said, 'Does a woman get discharge?' Allah's Apostle said. 'Then why does a child resemble (its mother)?"

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!

`Urwa said, "Aisha told me that Allah's Apostle used to examine the women emigrants. We have been told also that when Allah revealed the order that the Muslims should return to the pagans what they had spent on their wives who emigrated (after embracing Islam) and that the Muslims should not keep unbelieving women as their wives, `Umar divorced two of his wives, Qariba, the daughter of Abu Umayyah and the daughter of Jarwal Al-Khuza`i. Later on Mu`awiya married Qariba and Abu Jahm married the other." When the pagans refused to pay what the Muslims had spent on their wives, Allah revealed: "And if any of your wives have gone from you to the unbelievers and you have an accession (by the coming over of a woman from the other side) (then pay to those whose wives have gone) the equivalent of what they had spent (on their Mahr)." (60.11) So, Allah ordered that the Muslim whose wife has gone, should be given, as a compensation of the Mahr he had given to his wife, from the Mahr of the wives of the pagans who had emigrated deserting their husbands. We do not know any of the women emigrants who deserted Islam after embracing it. We have also been told that Abu Basir bin Asid Ath-Thaqafi came to the Prophet as a Muslim emigrant during the truce. Al-Akhnas bin Shariq wrote to the Prophet requesting him to return Abu Basir.

I was an interpreter between the people and Ibn `Abbas. Once Ibn `Abbas said that a delegation of the tribe of `Abdul Qais came to the Prophet who asked them, "Who are the people (i.e. you)? (Or) who are the delegates?" They replied, "We are from the tribe of Rabi`a." Then the Prophet said to them, "Welcome, O people (or said, "O delegation (of `Abdul Qais).") Neither will you have disgrace nor will you regret." They said, "We have come to you from a distant place and there is the tribe of the infidels of Mudar intervening between you and us and we cannot come to you except in the sacred month. So please order us to do something good (religious deeds) and that we may also inform our people whom we have left behind (at home) and that we may enter Paradise (by acting on them.)" The Prophet ordered them to do four things, and forbade them from four things. He ordered them to believe in Allah Alone, the Honorable the Majestic and said to them, "Do you know what is meant by believing in Allah Alone?" They replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." Thereupon the Prophet said, "(That means to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Apostle, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay Zakat, to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan, (and) to pay Al-Khumus (one fifth of the booty to be given in Allah's cause)." Then he forbade them four things, namely Ad-Dubba.' Hantam, Muzaffat (and) An-Naqir or Muqaiyar (These were the names of pots in which alcoholic drinks used to be prepared). The Prophet further said, "Memorize them (these instructions) and tell them to the people whom you have left behind."

During one of his Ghazawat, the Prophet encountered the pagans, and the two armies fought, and then each of them returned to their army camps. Amongst the (army of the) Muslims there was a man who would follow every pagan separated from the army and strike him with his sword. It was said, "O Allah's Apostle! None has fought so satisfactorily as so-and-so (namely, that brave Muslim). "The Prophet said, "He is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire." The people said, "Who amongst us will be of the dwellers of Paradise if this (man) is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire?" Then a man from amongst the people said, "I will follow him and accompany him in his fast and slow movements." The (brave) man got wounded, and wanting to die at once, he put the handle of his sword on the ground and its tip in between his breasts, and then threw himself over it, committing suicide. Then the man (who had watched the deceased) returned to the Prophet and said, "I testify that you are Apostle of Allah." The Prophet said, "What is this?" The man told him the whole story. The Prophet said, "A man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise, but he is of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and a man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise."