The Prophet faced the Ka`ba and invoked evil on some people of Quraish, on Shaiba bin Rabi`a, `Utba bin Rabi`a, Al-Walid bin `Utba and Abu Jahl bin Hisham. I bear witness, by Allah, that I saw them all dead, putrefied by the sun as that day was a very hot day.

Ibn `Umar never used to take his meal unless a poor man was called to eat with him. One day I brought a poor man to eat with him, the man ate too much, whereupon Ibn `Umar said, "O Nafi`! Don't let this man enter my house, for I heard the Prophet saying, "A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a little food), and a kafir (unbeliever) eats in seven intestines (eats much food).

Hilal bin Umaiya accused his wife of committing illegal sexual intercourse with Sharik bin Sahma' and filed the case before the Prophet. The Prophet said (to Hilal), "Either you bring forth a proof (four witnesses) or you will receive the legal punishment (lashes) on your back." Hilal said, "O Allah's Apostle! If anyone of us saw a man over his wife, would he go to seek after witnesses?" The Prophet kept on saying, "Either you bring forth the witnesses or you will receive the legal punishment (lashes) on your back." Hilal then said, "By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I am telling the truth and Allah will reveal to you what will save my back from legal punishment." Then Gabriel came down and revealed to him:-- 'As for those who accuse their wives...' (24.6-9) The Prophet recited it till he reached: '... (her accuser) is telling the truth.' Then the Prophet left and sent for the woman, and Hilal went (and brought) her and then took the oaths (confirming the claim). The Prophet was saying, "Allah knows that one of you is a liar, so will any of you repent?" Then the woman got up and took the oaths and when she was going to take the fifth one, the people stopped her and said, "It (the fifth oath) will definitely bring Allah's curse on you (if you are guilty)." So she hesitated and recoiled (from taking the oath) so much that we thought that she would withdraw her denial. But then she said, "I will not dishonor my family all through these days," and carried on (the process of taking oaths). The Prophet then said, "Watch her; if she delivers a black-eyed child with big hips and fat shins then it is Sharik bin Sahma's child." Later she delivered a child of that description. So the Prophet said, "If the case was not settled by Allah's Law, I would punish her severely."

The People of Kufa complained against Sa`d to `Umar and the latter dismissed him and appointed `Ammar as their chief . They lodged many complaints against Sa`d and even they alleged that he did not pray properly. `Umar sent for him and said, "O Aba 'Is-haq! These people claim that you do not pray properly." Abu 'Is-haq said, "By Allah, I used to pray with them a prayer similar to that of Allah's Apostle and I never reduced anything of it. I used to prolong the first two rak`at of `Isha prayer and shorten the last two rak`at." `Umar said, "O Aba 'Is-haq, this was what I thought about you." And then he sent one or more persons with him to Kufa so as to ask the people about him. So they went there and did not leave any mosque without asking about him. All the people praised him till they came to the mosque of the tribe of Bani `Abs; one of the men called Usama bin Qatada with a surname of Aba Sa`da stood up and said, "As you have put us under an oath; I am bound to tell you that Sa`d never went himself with the army and never distributed (the war booty) equally and never did justice in legal verdicts." (On hearing it) Sa`d said, "I pray to Allah for three things: O Allah! If this slave of yours is a liar and got up for showing off, give him a long life, increase his poverty and put him to trials." (And so it happened). Later on when that person was asked how he was, he used to reply that he was an old man in trial as the result of Sa`d's curse. `Abdul Malik, the sub narrator, said that he had seen him afterwards and his eyebrows were overhanging his eyes owing to old age and he used to tease and assault the small girls in the way.

that he remembered Allah's Apostle and he also remembered a mouthful of water which he had thrown on his face, after taking it from a well that was in their house. Mahmud said that he had heard `Itban bin Malik, who was present with Allah's Apostle in the battle of Badr saying, "I used to lead my people at Bani Salim in the prayer and there was a valley between me and those people. Whenever it rained it used to be difficult for me to cross it to go to their mosque. So I went to Allah's Apostle and said, 'I have weak eyesight and the valley between me and my people flows during the rainy season and it becomes difficult for me to cross it; I wish you would come to my house and pray at a place so that I could take that place as a praying place.' Allah's Apostle said, 'I will do so.' So Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr came to my house in the (next) morning after the sun had risen high. Allah's Apostle asked my permission to let him in and I admitted him. He did not sit before saying, 'Where do you want us to offer the prayer in your house?' I pointed to the place where I wanted him to pray. So Allah's Apostle stood up for the prayer and started the prayer with Takbir and we aligned in rows behind him; and he offered two rak`at, and finished them with Taslim, and we also performed Taslim with him. I detained him for a meal called "Khazir" which I had prepared for him.--("Khazir" is a special type of dish prepared from barley flour and meat soup)-- When the neighbors got the news that Allah's Apostle was in my house, they poured it till there were a great number of men in the house. One of them said, 'What is wrong with Malik, for I do not see him?' One of them replied, 'He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle.' On that Allah's Apostle said, 'Don't say this. Haven't you seen that he said, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah for Allah's sake only.' The man replied, 'Allah and His Apostle know better; but by Allah, we never saw him but helping and talking with the hypocrites.' Allah's Apostle replied, 'No doubt, whoever says. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and by that he wants the pleasures of Allah, then Allah will save him from Hell." Mahmud added, "I told the above narration to some people, one of whom was Abu Aiyub, the companion of Allah's Apostle in the battle in which he (Abu Aiyub) died and Yazid bin Mu'awiya was their leader in Roman Territory. Abu Aiyub denounced the narration and said, 'I doubt that Allah's Apostle ever said what you have said.' I felt that too much, and I vowed to Allah that if I remained alive in that holy battle, I would (go to Medina and) ask `Itban bin Malik if he was still living in the mosque of his people. So when he returned, I assumed Ihram for Hajj or `Umra and then I proceeded on till I reached Medina. I went to Bani Salim and `Itban bin Malik, who was by then an old blind man, was leading his people in the prayer. When he finished the prayer, I greeted him and introduced myself to him and then asked him about that narration. He told that narration again in the same manner as he had narrated it the first time."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Who is this? She replied: I am Habibah, daughter of Sahl. He asked: What is your case? She replied: I and Thabit ibn Qays, referring to her husband, cannot live together.

When Thabit ibn Qays came, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said to him: This is Habibah, daughter of Sahl, and she has mentioned (about you) what Allah wished to mention.

Habibah said: Messenger of Allah, all that he gave me is with me.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Thabit ibn Qays: Take it from her. So he took it from her, and she lived among her people (relatives).

Allah's Apostle delivered a sermon and said, "O people! You will be gathered before Allah barefooted, naked and not circumcised." Then (quoting Qur'an) he said:-- "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. A promise We have undertaken: Truly we shall do it.." (21.104) The Prophet then said, "The first of the human beings to be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham. Lo! Some men from my followers will be brought and then (the angels) will drive them to the left side (Hell-Fire). I will say. 'O my Lord! (They are) my companions!' Then a reply will come (from Almighty), 'You do not know what they did after you.' I will say as the pious slave (the Prophet Jesus) said: And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them. When You took me up. You were the Watcher over them and You are a Witness to all things.' (5.117) Then it will be said, "These people have continued to be apostates since you left them."

When the Verse:--'And warn your tribe of near-kindred, was revealed, the Prophet ascended the Safa (mountain) and started calling, "O Bani Fihr! O Bani `Adi!" addressing various tribes of Quraish till they were assembled. Those who could not come themselves, sent their messengers to see what was there. Abu Lahab and other people from Quraish came and the Prophet then said, "Suppose I told you that there is an (enemy) cavalry in the valley intending to attack you, would you believe me?" They said, "Yes, for we have not found you telling anything other than the truth." He then said, "I am a warner to you in face of a terrific punishment." Abu Lahab said (to the Prophet) "May your hands perish all this day. Is it for this purpose you have gathered us?" Then it was revealed: "Perish the hands of Abu Lahab (one of the Prophet's uncles), and perish he! His wealth and his children will not profit him...." (111.1-5)

Sauda (the wife of the Prophet) went out to answer the call of nature after it was made obligatory (for all the Muslims ladies) to observe the veil. She had a large frame and everybody who knew her before could recognize her. So `Umar bin Al-Khattab saw her and said, "O Sauda! By Allah, you cannot hide yourself from us, so think of a way by which you should not be recognized on going out. Sauda returned while Allah's Apostle was in my house taking his supper and a bone covered with meat was in his hand. She entered and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I went out to answer the call of nature and `Umar said to me so-and-so." Then Allah inspired him (the Prophet) and when the state of inspiration was over and the bone was still in his hand as he had not put in down, he said (to Sauda), "You (women) have been allowed to go out for your needs."

While the Prophet was in the state of prostration, surrounded by a group of people from Quraish pagans. `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait came and brought the intestines of a camel and threw them on the back of the Prophet . The Prophet did not raise his head from prostration till Fatima (i.e. his daughter) came and removed those intestines from his back, and invoked evil on whoever had done (the evil deed). The Prophet said, "O Allah! Destroy the chiefs of Quraish, O Allah! Destroy Abu Jahl bin Hisham, `Utba bin Rabi`a, Shaiba bin Rabi`a, `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait, Umaiya bin Khalaf (or Ubai bin Kalaf)." Later on I saw all of them killed during the battle of Badr and their bodies were thrown into a well except the body of Umaiya or Ubai, because he was a fat person, and when he was pulled, the parts of his body got separated before he was thrown into the well.

I came to the Holy Prophet (saws) when he was in Arafat. Some people or a group of people came from Najd. They commanded someone (to ask the Prophet about hajj).

So he called the Messenger of Allah (saws), saying: How is the hajj done? He (the Prophet) ordered a man (to reply). He shouted loudly: The hajj, the hajj is on the day of Arafah. If anyone comes over there before the dawn prayer on the night of al-Muzdalifah, his hajj will be complete. The period of halting at Mina is three days. Then whoever hastens (his departure) by two days, it is no sin for him, and whoever delays it there is no sin for him.

The narrator said: He (the Prophet) then put a man behind him on the camel. He began to proclaim this loudly.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by Mahran from Sufyan in a similar way. This version adds: The Hajj, the Hajj, twice. The version narrated by Yaya b. Sa'id al-Qattan has the words: The Hajj only once.

When the Prophet got up at night to offer the night prayer, he used to say: "Allahumma laka l-hamdu; Anta nuras-samawati wal ardi wa man fihinna. wa laka l-hamdu; Anta qaiyim as-samawati wal ardi wa man flhinna. Wa lakaI-hamdu; Anta-l-,haqqun, wa wa'daka haqqun, wa qauluka haqqun, wa liqauka haqqun, wal-jannatu haqqun, wannaru haqqun, was-sa atu haqqun, wan-nabiyyuna huqqun, Mahammadun haqqun, Allahumma laka aslamtu, wa Alaika tawakkaltu, wa bika amantu, wa ilaika anabtu, wa bika Khasamtu, wa ilaika hakamtu, faghfirli ma qaddamtu wa ma akh-khartu, wa ma asrartu, wa ma a'lantu. Anta al-muqaddimu, wa anta al-mu-'akhkhiru. La ilaha il-la anta (or La ilaha ghairuka)"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that Abasa (Sura 80) was sent down about Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and began to say, "O Muhammad, show me a place near you (where I can sit)," whilst one of the leading men of the idol worshippers was in audience with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to turn away from him and give his attention to the other man, and he said to him, "Father of so-and-so, do you see any harm in what I am saying?" and he said, "No, by the blood (of our sacrifices) I see no harm in what you are saying." And Abasa - "He frowned and turned away when the blind man came" - was sent down.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said al- Maqburi from Abdullah ibn Abi Qatada that his father had said that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "O Messenger of Allah! If I am killed in the way of Allah, expectant for reward, sincere, advancing, and not retreating, will Allah pardon my faults?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes." When the man turned away, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him - or commanded him and he was called to him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "What did you say?" He repeated his words to him, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "Yes, except for the debt. Jibril said that to me."

The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah's Apostle said to them, "What do you find in the Torah (old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?" They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them." `Abdullah bin Salam said, "You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm." They brought and opened the Torah and one of them solaced his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. `Abdullah bin Salam said to him, "Lift your hand." When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, "Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (`Abdullah bin `Umar said, "I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) cursed the man who dressed like a woman and the woman who dressed like a man.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Muhammad Sirin used to say, "Do not sell grain on the ears until it is white."

Malik said, "If someone buys food for a known price to be delivered at a stated date, and when the date comes, the one who owes the food says, 'I do not have any food, sell me the food which I owe you with delayed terms.' The owner of the food says, 'This is not good, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade selling food until the deal was completed.' The one who owes the food says to his creditor, 'Sell me any kind of food on delayed terms until I discharge the debt to you.' This is not good because he gives him food and then he returns it to him. The gold which he gave him becomes the price of that which is his right against him and the food which he gave him becomes what clears what is between them. If they do that, it becomes the sale of food before the deal is complete."

Malik spoke about a man who was owed food which he had purchased from a man and this man was owed the like of that food by another man. The one who owed the food said to his creditor, "I will refer you to my debtor who owes me the same amount of food as I owe you, so that you may obtain the food which I owe you ."

Malik said, "If the man who had to deliver the food, had gone out, and bought the food to pay off his creditor, that is not good. That is selling food before taking possession of it. If the food is an advance which falls due at that particular time, there is no harm in paying off his creditor with it because that is nota sale. It is not halal to sell food before receiving it in full since the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade that. However, the people of knowledge agree that there is no harm in partnership, transfer of responsibility and revocation in sales of food and other goods."

Malik said, "That is because the people of knowledge consider it as a favour rendered. They do not consider it as a sale. It is like a man lending light dirhams. He is then paid back in dirhams of full weight, and so gets back more than he lent. That is halal for him and permitted. Had a man bought defective dirhams from him as being the full weight, that would not be halal. Had it been stipulated to him that he lend full weight in dirhams, and then he gave faulty ones, that would not be halal for him."

Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) saw a man driving his Badana (sacrificial camel). He said, "Ride on it." The man said, "It is a Badana." The Prophet said, "Ride on it." He (the man) said, "It is a Badana." The Prophet said, "Ride on it." And on the second or the third time he (the Prophet ) added, "Woe to you."

A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I am ruined!" The Prophet said, "Waihaka (May Allah be merciful to you) !" The man said, "I have done sexual intercourse with my wife while fasting in Ramadan." The Prophet said, "Manumit a slave." The man said, " I cannot afford that. " The Prophet said; "Then fast for two successive months." The man said, " I have no power to do so." The Prophet said, "Then feed sixty poor persons." The man said, "I have nothing (to feed sixty persons). Later a basket full of dates were brought to the Prophet and he said (to the man), "Take it and give it in charity." The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I give it to people other than my family? By Him in Whose Hand my life is, there is nobody poorer than me in the whole city of Medina." The Prophet smiled till his premolar teeth became visible, and said, "Take it." Az-Zuhri said (that the Prophet said). "Wailaka."

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

The Prophet (saws) said to a man: Would you like me to marry you to so-and-so?

He said: Yes. He also said to the woman: Would you like me to marry you to so-and-so?

She said: Yes. He then married one to the other. The man had sexual intercourse with her, but he did not fix any dower for her, nor did he give anything to her. He was one of those who participated in the expedition to al-Hudaybiyyah. One part of the expedition to al-Hudaybiyyah had a share in Khaybar.

When he was nearing his death, he said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) married me to so-and-so, and I did not fix a dower for her, nor did I give anything to her. I call upon you as witness that I have given my share in Khaybar as her dower. So she took the share and sold it for one lakh (of dirhams).

Abu Dawud said: The version of 'Umar b. al-Khattab added in the beginning of this tradition, and his version is more perfect. He reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: The best marriage is the one that is most easy. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to the man. The narrator then transmitted the rest of the tradition to the same effect.

Abu Dawud said: I am afraid this tradition has been added later on, for the matter is otherwise.

A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet (saws) and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (saws) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (saws) was informed about it.

He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.

He sat before the Prophet (saws) and said: Messenger of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.

Thereupon the Prophet (saws) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.

Malik said, "When a man owes money to another man and he asks him to let it stay with him as a quirad, that is disapproved of until the creditor receives his property. Then he can make it a qirad loan or keep it. That is because the debtor may be in a tight situation, and want to delay it to increase it for him."

Malik spoke about an investor who made a qirad loan to a man, and some of the principal was lost before he used it, and then he used it and made a profit. The agent wanted to make the principal the remainder of the money after what was lost from it. Malik said, "His statement is not accepted, and the principal is made up to its original amount from his profit. Then they divide what remains after the principal has been repaid according to the conditions of the qirad."

Malik said, "Qirad loan is only good in gold or silver coin and it is never permitted in any kind of wares or goods or articles."

Malik said, "There are certain transactions which if a long span of time passes after the transaction takes place, its revocation becomes unacceptable. As for usury, there is never anything except its rejection whether it is a little or a lot. What is permitted in other than it is not permitted in it because Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, said in His Book, 'If you repent, you have your capital back, not wronging and not wronged. ' "

32.4 Conditions Permitted in Qirad

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that there was only one hadd against a man who slandered a group of people.

Malik said, "If they are on separate occasions there is still only one hadd against him."

Malik related to me from Abu'r-Rijal Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Haritha ibn an-Numan al- Ansari, then from the Banu'n-Najar from his mother Amra bint Abd ar- Rahman that two men cursed each other in the time of Umar ibn al- Khattab. One of them said to the other, " By Allah, my father is not an adulterer and my mother is not an adulteress." Umar ibn al-Khattab asked advice about that. One person said, "He has praised his father and mother." Another said, "His father and mother have praise other than this. We think that he is to be flogged with the hadd." So Umar flogged him with the hadd of eighty lashes.

Malik said, "There is no hadd in our view except for slander, denial or insinuation, in which one sees that the speaker intends by that denial or slander. Then the hadd is completely imposed on the one who said it."

Malik said, "What is done in our community when a man denies that another man is from his father, is that he deserves the hadd. If the mother who is denied is a slave, then he deserves the hadd as well. '

The Prophet and his companions assumed Ihram for Hajj and none except the Prophet and Talha had the Hadi with them. `Ali had come from Yemen and he had the Hadi with him. He (`Ali) said, "I have assumed Ihram with an intention like that of Allah's Apostle has assumed it." The Prophet ordered his companions to intend the Ihram with which they had come for `Umra, to perform the Tawaf of the Ka`ba (and between Safa and Marwa), to get their hair cut short and then to finish their Ihram with the exception of those who had the Hadi with them. They asked, "Shall we go to Mina and the private organs of some of us are dribbling (if we finish Ihram and have sexual relations with our wives)?" The Prophet heard that and said, "Had I known what I know now, I would not have brought the Hadi. If I did not have the Hadi with me I would have finished my Ihram." `Aisha got her menses and performed all the ceremonies (of Hajj) except the Tawaf . So when she became clean from her menses, and she had performed the Tawaf of the Ka`ba, she said, "O Allah's Apostle! You (people) are returning with both Hajj and `Umra and I am returning only with Hajj!" So, he ordered `Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr to go with her to at-Tan`im. Thus she performed `Umra after the Hajj in the month of Dhi-l-Hijja. Suraqa bin Malik bin Ju'sham met the Prophet at Al-`Aqaba (Jamrat-ul 'Aqaba) while the latter was stoning it and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Is this permissible only for you?" The Prophet replied, "No, it is for ever (i.e. it is permissible for all Muslims to perform `Umra before Hajj."

Allah's Apostle entered upon sick man to pay him a visit, and said to him, "Don't worry, Allah willing, (your sickness will be) an expiation for your sins." The man said, "No, it is but a fever that is boiling within an old man and will send him to his grave." On that, the Prophet said, "Then yes, it is so."

`Uqba bin `Amr said to Hudhaifa, "Won't you relate to us of what you have heard from Allah's Apostle ?" He said, "I heard him saying, "When Al-Dajjal appears, he will have fire and water along with him. What the people will consider as cold water, will be fire that will burn (things). So, if anyone of you comes across this, he should fall in the thing which will appear to him as fire, for in reality, it will be fresh cold water." Hudhaifa added, "I also heard him saying, 'From among the people preceding your generation, there was a man whom the angel of death visited to capture his soul. (So his soul was captured) and he was asked if he had done any good deed.' He replied, 'I don't remember any good deed.' He was asked to think it over. He said, 'I do not remember, except that I used to trade with the people in the world and I used to give a respite to the rich and forgive the poor (among my debtors). So Allah made him enter Paradise." Hudhaifa further said, "I also heard him saying, 'Once there was a man on his death-bed, who, losing every hope of surviving said to his family: When I die, gather for me a large heap of wood and make a fire (to burn me). When the fire eats my meat and reaches my bones, and when the bones burn, take and crush them into powder and wait for a windy day to throw it (i.e. the powder) over the sea. They did so, but Allah collected his particles and asked him: Why did you do so? He replied: For fear of You. So Allah forgave him." `Uqba bin `Amr said, "I heard him saying that the Israeli used to dig the grave of the dead (to steal their shrouds).

A man came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! A black child has been born for me." The Prophet asked him, "Have you got camels?" The man said, "Yes." The Prophet asked him, "What color are they?" The man replied, "Red." The Prophet said, "Is there a grey one among them?' The man replied, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Whence comes that?" He said, "May be it is because of heredity." The Prophet said, "May be your latest son has this color because of heredity."

The Prophet (saws) said: I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for a man who avoids quarrelling even if he were in the right, a house in the middle of Paradise for a man who avoids lying even if he were joking, and a house in the upper part of Paradise for a man who made his character good.

When the Prophet realized that the Quraish had delayed in embracing Islam, he said, "O Allah! Protect me against their evil by afflicting them with seven (years of famine) like the seven years of (Prophet) Joseph." So they were struck with a year of famine that destroyed everything till they had to eat bones, and till a man would look towards the sky and see something like smoke between him and it. Allah said:-- "Then watch you (O Muhammad) for the day when the sky will produce a kind of smoke plainly visible." (44.10) And Allah further said:-- "Verily! We shall withdraw the punishment a little, Verily you will return (to disbelief)." (44.15) (Will Allah relieve them from torture on the Day of Resurrection?) (The punishment of) the smoke had passed and Al-Baltsha (the destruction of the pagans in the Badr battle) had passed too.

Allah's Apostle forbade Al-Wisal (fasting continuously for more than one day without taking any meals). A man from the Muslims said, "But you do Al-Wisal, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle I said, "Who among you is similar to me? I sleep and my Lord makes me eat and drink." When the people refused to give up Al-Wisal, the Prophet fasted along with them for one day, and did not break his fast but continued his fast for another day, and when they saw the crescent, the Prophet said, "If the crescent had not appeared, I would have made you continue your fast (for a third day)," as if he wanted to punish them for they had refused to give up Al-Wisal.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah, from Sulayman ibn Yasar from alMiqdad ibn al- Aswad that Ali ibn Abi Talib told him to ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what a man should do, who, when close to his wife, had a flow of prostatic fluid. Ali explained that the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was living with him then and he was too shy to ask for himself. Al-Miqdad said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about it, and he said, 'When you find that, wash your genitals with water and do wudu as for prayer.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ibn Ukayma al-Laythi from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, finished a prayer in which he had recited aloud and asked, "Did any of you recite with me just now?" One man said, "Yes, I did, Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was saying to myself, 'Why am I distracted from the Qur'an?' " When the people heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say that, they refrained from reciting with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he recited aloud.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "How does the revelation come to you?" and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and that is the hardest for me, and when it leaves me I remember what it has said. And sometimes the angel appears to me in the likeness of a man and talks to me and I remember what he says."

A'isha added, "I saw it coming down on him on an intensely cold day, and when it had left him his forehead was dripping with sweat."

Usama bin Zaid said, "The Prophet rode over a donkey with a saddle underneath which there was a thick soft Fadakiya velvet sheet. Usama bin Zaid was his companion rider, and he was going to pay a visit to Sa`d bin Ubada (who was sick) at the dwelling place of Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, and this incident happened before the battle of Badr. The Prophet passed by a gathering in which there were Muslims and pagan idolators and Jews, and among them there was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, and there was `Abdullah bin Rawaha too. When a cloud of dust raised by the animal covered that gathering, `Abdullah bin Ubai covered his nose with his Rida (sheet) and said (to the Prophet), "Don't cover us with dust." The Prophet greeted them and then stopped, dismounted and invited them to Allah (i.e., to embrace Islam) and also recited to them the Holy Qur'an. `Abdullah bin Ubai' bin Salul said, "O man! There is nothing better than what you say, if what you say is the truth. So do not trouble us in our gatherings. Go back to your mount (or house,) and if anyone of us comes to you, tell (your tales) to him." On that `Abdullah bin Rawaha said, "(O Allah's Apostle!) Come to us and bring it(what you want to say) in our gatherings, for we love that." So the Muslims, the pagans and the Jews started quarreling till they were about to fight and clash with one another. The Prophet kept on quietening them (till they all became quiet). He then rode his animal, and proceeded till he entered upon Sa`d bin 'Ubada, he said, "O Sa`d, didn't you hear what Abu Habbab said? (He meant `Abdullah bin Ubai). He said so-and-so." Sa`d bin 'Ubada said, "O Allah's Apostle! Excuse and forgive him, for by Allah, Allah has given you what He has given you. The people of this town decided to crown him (as their chief) and make him their king. But when Allah prevented that with the Truth which He had given you, it choked him, and that was what made him behave in the way you saw him behaving." So the Prophet excused him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Harmala, the mawla of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Huwaytib, that Zaynab bint Abi Salama died during the time that Tariq was amir of Madina and her bier was brought out after subh and put in al-Baqi. He said that Tariq used to pray subh right at the beginning of its time. He added, "I heard Abdullah ibn Umar say to the family, 'You can either pray over your dead now or you can wait until the sun comes up.' "

On the day of the battle of Uhud the pagans were defeated completely. Then Satan shouted loudly, "O Allah's slaves! Beware the ones behind you!" So the front files attacked the back ones. Then Hudhaifa looked and saw his father, and said loudly, "O Allah's slaves! My father! My father!" By Allah, they did not stop till they killed him (i.e. Hudaifa's father). Hudhaifa said, "May Allah forgive you!" The sub-narrator said, "By Allah, because of what Hudhaifa said, he remained in a good state till he met Allah (i.e. died).

The Prophet (saws) said: The religion will continue to be established till there are twelve caliphs over you, and the whole community will agree on each of them. I then heard from the Prophet (saws) some remarks which I could not understand. I asked my father: What is he saying: He said: all of them will belong to Quraysh.