Abu Dawud said: The word "and that" (wa an) remained hidden to me.

that he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah willed to test three Israelis who were a Leper, a blind man and a bald-headed man. So, he sent them an angel who came to the leper and said, 'What thing do you like most?' He replied, 'Good color and good skin, for the people have a strong aversion to me.' The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given a good color and beautiful skin. The angel asked him, 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Camels (or cows).' (The narrator is in doubt, for either the leper or the bald-headed man demanded camels and the other demanded cows). So he (i.e. the leper) was given a pregnant she-camel, and the angel said (to him), 'May Allah bless you in it.' The angel then went to the bald-headed man and said, 'What thing do you like most?' He said, 'I like good hair and wish to be cured of this disease, for the people feel repulsion for me.' The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given good hair. The angel asked (him), 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Cows,' The angel gave him a pregnant cow and said, 'May Allah bless you in it.' The angel went to the blind man and asked, 'What thing do you like best?' He said, '(I like) that Allah may restore my eye-sight to me so that I may see the people.' The angel touched his eyes and Allah gave him back his eye-sight. The angel asked him, 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Sheep.' The angel gave him a pregnant sheep. Afterwards, all the three pregnant animals gave birth to young ones, and multiplied and brought forth so much that one of the (three) men had a herd of camels filling a valley, and one had a herd of cows filling a valley, and one had a flock of sheep filling a valley. Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a leper, went to the leper and said, I am a poor man, who has lost all means of livelihood while on a journey. So none will satisfy my need except Allah and then you. In the Name of Him Who has given you such nice color and beautiful skin, and so much property, I ask you to give me a camel so that I may reach my destination. The man replied, 'I have many obligations (so I cannot give you).' The angel said, 'I think I know you; were you not a leper to whom the people had a strong aversion? Weren't you a poor man, and then Allah gave you (all this property).' He replied, '(This is all wrong), I got this property through inheritance from my fore-fathers.' The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before. ' Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a bald man, went to the bald man and said to him the same as he told the first one, and he too answered the same as the first one did. The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before.' The angel, disguised in the shape of a blind man, went to the blind man and said, 'I am a poor man and a traveler, whose means of livelihood have been exhausted while on a journey. I have nobody to help me except Allah, and after Him, you yourself. I ask you in the Name of Him Who has given you back your eye-sight to give me a sheep, so that with its help, I may complete my journey.' The man said, 'No doubt, I was blind and Allah gave me back my eye-sight; I was poor and Allah made me rich; so take anything you wish from my property. By Allah, I will not stop you for taking anything (you need) of my property which you may take for Allah's sake.' The angel replied, 'Keep your property with you. You (i.e the three men) have been tested, and Allah is pleased with you and is angry with your two companions."

That Al-Miswar bin Makhrama and `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin 'Abu Yaghuth had said to him, "What prevents you from speaking to your uncle `Uthman regarding his brother Al-Walid bin `Uqba?" The people were speaking against the latter for what he had done. 'Ubaidullah said, "So I kept waiting for `Uthman, and when he went out for the prayer, I said to him, 'I have got something to say to you as a piece of advice.' `Uthman said, 'O man! I seek Refuge with Allah from you. So I went away. When I finished my prayer, I sat with Al-Miswar and Ibn 'Abu Yaghutb and talked to both of them of what I had said to `Uthman and what he had said to me. They said, 'You have done your duty.' So while I was sitting with them. `Uthman's Messenger came to me. They said, 'Allah has put you to trial." I set out and when I reached `Uthman, he said, 'What is your advice which you mentioned a while ago?' I recited Tashahhud and added, 'Allah has sent Muhammad and has revealed the Holy Book (i.e. Qur'an) to him. You (O `Uthman!) were amongst those who responded to the call of Allah and His Apostle and had faith in him. And you took part in the first two migrations (to Ethiopia and to Medina), and you enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle and learned his traditions and advice. Now the people are talking much about Al-Walid bin `Uqba and so it is your duty to impose on him the legal punishment.' `Uthman then said to me, 'O my nephew! Did you ever meet Allah's Apostle ?' I said, 'No, but his knowledge has reached me as it has reached the virgin in her seclusion.' `Uthman then recited Tashahhud and said, 'No doubt, Allah has sent Muhammad with the Truth and has revealed to him His Holy Book (i.e. Qur'an) and I was amongst those who responded to the call of Allah and His Apostle and I had faith in Muhammad's Mission, and I had performed the first two migrations as you have said, and I enjoyed the company of Allah's Apostle and gave the pledge of allegiance to him. By Allah, I never disobeyed him and never cheated him till Allah caused him to die. Then Allah made Abu Bakr Caliph, and by Allah, I was never disobedient to him, nor did I cheat him. Then `Umar became Caliph, and by Allah, I was never disobedient to him, nor did I cheat him. Then I became Caliph. Have I not then the same rights over you as they had over me?' I replied in the affirmative. `Uthman further said, 'The what are these talks which are reaching me from you? As for what you ha mentioned about Al-Walid bin 'Uqb; Allah willing, I shall give him the leg; punishment justly. Then `Uthman ordered that Al-Walid be flogged fort lashes. He ordered `Ali to flog him an he himself flogged him as well."

I put on ihram for umrah at at-Tan'im and I entered (Mecca) and performed my umrah as an atonement. The Messenger of Allah (saws) waited for me at al-Abtah till I finished it. He commanded the people to depart. The Messenger of Allah (saws) came to the House (the Ka'bah), went round it and went out (i.e. left for Medina).

Talhah ibn al-Bara' fell ill and the Prophet (saws) came to pay him a sick-visit. He said: I think Talhah has died; so tell me (about his death), and make haste, for it is not advisable that the corpse of a Muslim should remain withheld among his family.

When Abu Zur'ah made a business transaction with a man, he gave him the right of option. He then would tell him: Give me the right of option (to annul the bargain). He said: I heard AbuHurayrah say: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Two people must separate only by mutual consent.

The Prophet (saws) said: The fingers are equal and the teeth are equal. The front tooth and the molar tooth are equal, this and that are equal.

Abu Dawud said: Nadr b. Shumail transmitted it from Shu'bah to the same effect as mentioned by 'Abd al-Samad. Abu Dawud said: al-Darimi narrated it to me from al-Nadr.

The Prophet (saws) said: Gabriel came and taking me by the hand showed the gate of Paradise by which my people will enter. AbuBakr then said: Messenger of Allah! I wish I had been with you so that I might have looked at it. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: You, AbuBakr, will be the first of my people to enter Paradise.

The Prophet (saws) said: One night it seemed to me in a dream that we were in the house of Uqbah ibn Rafi' and were brought some of the fresh dates of Ibn tab. I interpreted it as meaning that to us is granted eminence (rif'ah) in this world, a blessed hereafter ('aqibah), and that our religion has been good (tabah).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) never went out of my house without raising his eye to the sky and saying: "O Allah! I seek refuge in Thee lest I stray or be led astray, or slip or made to slip, or cause injustice, or suffer injustice, or do wrong, or have wrong done to me."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman and Sulayman ibn Yasar and Ibn Shihab used to say, "When the divorced woman enters the beginning of her third period, she is clearly separated from her husband and there is no inheritance between them and he has no access to her."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say, "The woman who is absolutely divorced does not leave her house until she is free to remarry. She has no maintenance unless she is pregnant. In that circumstance the husband spends on her until she gives birth."

Malik said, "This is what is done among us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Amr ibn ash- Sharid that Abdullah ibn Abbas was asked whether, if a man had two wives, and one of them nursed a slave-boy, and the other had nursed a slave-girl, could the slave-boy marry the slave-girl. He said, "No. The husband is the same."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Sulayman ibn Yasar told him that one time the fodder of the animals of Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Aswad ibn Abd Yaghuth was finished so he said to his slave, "Take some of your family's wheat as food and buy with it barley, and take only a like quantity.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Uthman ibn Hafs ibn Khalda from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar was asked about a man who took a loan from another man for a set term. The creditor reduced the debt, and the man paid it immediately Abdullah ibn Umar disliked that, and forbade it.

Malik related to me that Yahya ibn Said said, ''Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr died in his sleep, and A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set free many slaves for him." Malik said, "This is what I like best of what I have heard on the subject."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that he was asked about the hadd of the slave for wine. He said, "I heard that he has half the hadd of a freeman for drinking wine. Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Abdullah ibn Umar flogged their slaves with half of the hadd of a freeman when they drank wine."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about al-Ghubayra. He said, "There is no good in it," and forbade it. Malik said, "I asked Zayd ibn Aslam, 'What is al- Ghubayra?' He said, 'It is an intoxicant.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Alqama ibn Abi Alqama that his mother said, "Hafsa bint Abd ar-Rahman visited A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Hafsa was wearing a long thin head scarf. A'isha tore it in two and made a thick one for her."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr from Jabir ibn Abdullah as-Salami that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade a man to eat with his left hand or walk in one sandal or wrap a single garment around his drawn-up legs exposing his genitals.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Sasaca said that he heard Abu'l-Hubab Said ibn Yasar say that he had heard Abu Hurayra say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Allah afflicts the one for whom He desires good.'"

Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar from Abdullah ibn Umar that a man called the Messenger of Allah and said, "Messenger of Allah, what do you think about lizards?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I do not eat them, and I do not forbid them."

Malik related to me that he heard that Abdullah ibn Masud used to say, "You must tell the truth. Truthfulness leads to right action. Right action leads to the Garden. Beware of lying. Lying leads to corruption, and corruption leads to the Fire. Don't you see that it is said, 'He speaks the truth and acts rightly,' and, 'He lies and is corrupt.' "

Malik related to me that he had heard that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Messenger of Allah! Shall we be destroyed while there are people who are salih among us?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes, if there is much wickedness."

Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from Amr ibn Muadh al- Ashali al-Ansari that his grandmother said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'O trusting women! Let none of you despise giving to her neighbour even if it is only a roasted sheep's trotter.'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said al-Musayyab and Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman said about a man who made a vow to abstain from intercourse with his wife, "If four months pass it is a divorce. The husband can go back to his wife as long as she is in her idda."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab and Sulayman ibn Yasar were asked about a man who divorced when he was drunk. They said, "When a drunk man divorces, his divorce is allowed. If he kills, he is killed for it."

Malik said, "That is what is done among us."

Two men sneezed before the Prophet and he said Tashmit to one of them, while he did not say Tashmit to the other. So that man said, "O Allah's Apostle! You said Tashmit to that fellow but you did not say Tashmit to me. "The Prophet said, "That man praised Allah, but you did not praise Allah."

My companions sent me to the Prophet to ask him for some mounts. He said, "By Allah! I will not mount you on anything!" When I met him, he was in an angry mood, but when I met him (again), he said, "Tell your companions that Allah or Allah's Apostle will provide you with mounts."

The Prophet stood before Musailama (the liar) who was sitting with his companions then, and said to him, "If you ask me for this piece (of palm-leaf stalk), even then I would not give it to you. You cannot avoid what Allah has ordained for you, and if you turn away from Islam, Allah will surely ruin you! "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'zZinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you do wudu, snuff water into your nose and blow it out, and if you use stones to clean your private parts use an odd number."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "If you have intercourse with your wife and then wish to go to sleep before doing ghusl, do not sleep until you have done wudu as for prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Umar sent a question to A'isha asking her, "May a man fondle his wife when she is menstruating?" She replied, "Let her wrap her waist-wrapper around her lower part and then he may fondle her if he wishes."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ibn as-Sabbaq that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in a jumua, "Muslims! Allah has made this day a festival day (id) so do ghusl, and it will not harm whoever has perfume to apply some of it, and use a tooth-stick . "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Humayd ibn Abdar-Rahman ibn Awf that Abu Hurayra said, "Were it not that he would be overburdening his community he (the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,) would have ordered them to use a tooth-stick with each wudu."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar called the adhan on a cold and windy night and included the phrase, "Do the prayer in shelter." Then he said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to orderthe muadhdhin to say, 'Do the prayerin shelter' when it was a cold, rainy night "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you says 'Amin' and the angels in the sky say 'Amin' so that one coincides with the other, his previous wrong actions are forgiven him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab, and from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman, the same as that.

Malik said, "Every forgetfulness which decreases from the prayer, prostrations for it come before the greeting, and every forgetfulness which is an addition to the prayer, prostrations for it come after the greeting."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that Umar ibn Abi Salama saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praying in one garment in the house of Umm Salama. He was completely covered by it, and had put both ends over his shoulders.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said ibn al- Musayyab said that Abu Hurayra was asked, "May a man pray in one garment?" He said, "Yes." The man then said to him "Do you do that?" and he replied, "Yes, I pray in one garment while my clothes are on the clothes-rack."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn Qunfudh that his mother asked Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "What clothes can a woman wear in prayer?" She said, "She can pray in a shift that reaches down and covers the top of her feet."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Salih ibn Kaysan from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The prayer was prescribed as two rakas, both when settled and when travelling. Then the travelling prayer was kept as it was, and an increase was made in the prayer when settled. "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he said to Salim ibn Abdullah, "What is the latest you have seen your father delay maghrib while on a journey?" and Salim replied, "One time the sun set when we were at Dhat al-Jaysh and he prayed maghrib at al- Aqiq."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Musa ibn Maysara from Abu Murra, the mawla of Aqil ibn Abi Talib, that Umm Hani bint Abi Talib told him that in the year of the conquest the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed eight rakas, covering himself with one garment.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "When one of you puts his forehead on the ground he should put his palms on the place where he puts his forehead. Then, when he rises, he should raise them, for the hands prostrate just as the face prostrates."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar passed by a man who was praying and said, "Peace be upon you," and the man replied to him. Abdullah ibn Umar returned to him and said, "When someone says, 'Peace be upon you' to you while you are praying do not reply, but give a signal with your hand."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The actions which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, loved most were those which were done most constantly."