I used to accompany Allah's Apostle to fill my stomach; and that was when I did not eat baked bread, nor wear silk. Neither a male nor a female slave used to serve me, and I used to bind stones over my belly and ask somebody to recite a Qur'anic Verse for me though I knew it, so that he might take me to his house and feed me. Ja`far bin Abi Talib was very kind to the poor, and he used to take us and feed us with what ever was available in his house, (and if nothing was available), he used to give us the empty (honey or butter) skin which we would tear and lick whatever was in it.

[Muslim].

I sat with Ka`b bin 'Ujra and asked him about the Fidya. He replied, "This revelation was revealed concerning my case especially, but it is also for you in general. I was carried to Allah's Apostle and the lice were falling in great number on my face. The Prophet said, "I have never thought that your ailment (or struggle) has reached to such an extent as I see. Can you afford a sheep?" I replied in the negative. He then said, "Fast for three days, or feed six poor persons each with half a Sa of food." (1 Sa = 3 Kilograms approx.)

I was the butler of the people in the house of Abu Talha, and in those days drinks were prepared from dates. Allah's Apostle ordered somebody to announce that alcoholic drinks had been prohibited. Abu Talha ordered me to go out and spill the wine. I went out and spilled it, and it flowed in the streets of Medina. Some people said, "Some people were killed and wine was still in their stomachs." On that the Divine revelation came:-- "On those who believe And do good deeds There is no blame For what they ate (in the past)." (5.93)

I saw Abu Sa`id and asked him about coitus interruptus. Abu Sa`id said, "We went with Allah's Apostle, in the Ghazwa of Bani Al-Mustaliq and we captured some of the 'Arabs as captives, and the long separation from our wives was pressing us hard and we wanted to practice coitus interruptus. We asked Allah's Apostle (whether it was permissible). He said, "It is better for you not to do so. No soul, (that which Allah has) destined to exist, up to the Day of Resurrection, but will definitely come, into existence."

(the daughter of Khalid bin Sa`id) I went to Allah's Apostle with my father and I was Nearing a yellow shirt. Allah's Apostle said, "Sanah, Sanah!" (`Abdullah, the narrator, said that 'Sanah' meant 'good' in the Ethiopian language). I then started playing with the seal of Prophethood (in between the Prophet's shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah's Apostle said. "Leave her," and then Allah's Apostle (invoked Allah to grant me a long life) by saying (thrice), "Wear this dress till it is worn out and then wear it till it is worn out, and then wear it till it is worn out." (The narrator adds, "It is said that she lived for a long period, wearing that (yellow) dress till its color became dark because of long wear.")

That he heard the Prophet delivering a sermon on the pulpit saying, "Kill snakes and kill Dhu-at- Tufyatain (i.e. a snake with two white lines on its back) and Al-Abtar (i.e. a snake with short or mutilated tail) for they destroy the sight of one's eyes and bring about abortion." (`Abdullah bin `Umar further added): Once while I was chasing a snake in order, to kill it, Abu Lubaba called me saying: "Don't kill it," I said. "Allah's Apostle ordered us to kill snakes." He said, "But later on he prohibited the killing of snakes living in the houses." (Az-Zuhri said. "Such snakes are called Al-Awamir.")

Al-Muhajirun (i.e. the Emigrants) and the Ansar were digging the trench around Medina and were carrying the earth on their backs while saying, "We are those who have given the pledge of allegiance to Muhammad for Islam as long as we live." The Prophet said in reply to their saying, "O Allah! There is no goodness except the goodness of the Hereafter; so please grant Your Blessing to the Ansar and the Emigrants." The people used to bring a handful of barley, and a meal used to be prepared thereof by cooking it with a cooking material (i.e. oil, fat and butter having a change in color and smell) and it used to be presented to the people (i.e. workers) who were hungry, and it used to stick to their throats and had a nasty smell.

I sat with Ka`b bin Ujra in this mosque, i.e. Kufa Mosque, and asked him about the meaning of: "Pay a ransom (i.e. Fidya) of either fasting or . . . . (2.196)" He said, "I was taken to the Prophet while lice were falling on my face. The Prophet said, 'I did not think that your trouble reached to such an extent. Can you afford to slaughter a sheep (as a ransom for shaving your head)?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Then fast for three days, or feed six poor persons by giving half a Sa of food for each and shave your head.' So the above Verse was revealed especially for me and generally for all of you."

A man of Kindah and a man of Hadramawt brought their dispute to the Prophet (saws) about a land in the Yemen. Al-Hadrami said: Messenger of Allah, the father of this (man) usurped my land and it is in his possession.

The Prophet asked: Have you any evidence?

Al-Hadrami replied: No, but I make him swear (that he should say) that he does not know that it is my land which his father usurped from me.

Al-Kindi became ready to take the oath.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: If anyone usurps the property by taking an oath, he will meet Allah while his hand is mutilated.

Al-Kindi then said: It is his land.

(the wife of the Prophet) A lady from Bani Aslam, called Subai'a, become a widow while she was pregnant. Abu As-Sanabil bin Ba'kak demanded her hand in marriage, but she refused to marry him and said, "By Allah, I cannot marry him unless I have completed one of the two prescribed periods." About ten days later (after having delivered her child), she went to the Prophet and he said (to her), "You can marry now."

Um Khalid bint Khalid bin Sa`id said, "I came to Allah's Apostle along with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah's Apostle said, "Sanah Sanah!" (`Abdullah, the sub-narrator said, "It means, 'Nice, nice!' in the Ethiopian language.") Um Khalid added, "Then I started playing with the seal of Prophethood. My father admonished me. But Allah's Apostle said (to my father), "Leave her," Allah's Apostle (then addressing me) said, "May you live so long that your dress gets worn out, and you will mend it many times, and then wear another till it gets worn out (i.e. May Allah prolong your life)." (The sub-narrator, `Abdullah aid, "That garment (which she was wearing remained usable for a long period.").

Once Allah's Apostle 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 but felt shy (to answer). The others asked, "O Allah's Apostle! inform us of it." He replied, "it is the date-palm tree." I told my father what had come to my mind and on that he said, "Had you said it I would have preferred it to such and such a thing that I might possess."

Anas bin Malik said, that once a domestic sheep was milked for Allah's Apostle while he was in the house of Anas bin Malik. The milk was mixed with water drawn from the well in Anas's house. A tumbler of it was presented to Allah's Apostle who drank from it. Then Abu Bakr was sitting on his left side and a bedouin on his right side. When the Prophet removed the tumbler from his mouth, `Umar was afraid that the Prophet might give it to the bedouin, so he said. "O Allah's Apostle! Give it to Abu Bakr who is sitting by your side." But the Prophet gave it to the bedouin, who was to his right and said, "You should start with the one on your right side."

Ar-Rabi, the daughter of An-Nadr broke the tooth of a girl, and the relatives of Ar-Rabi` requested the girl's relatives to accept the Irsh (compensation for wounds etc.) and forgive (the offender), but they refused. So, they went to the Prophet who ordered them to bring about retaliation. Anas bin An-Nadr asked, "O Allah"; Apostle! Will the tooth of Ar-Rabi` be broken? No, by Him Who has sent you with the Truth, her tooth will not be broken." The Prophet said, "O Anas! Allah"; law ordains retaliation." Later the relatives of the girl agreed and forgave her. The Prophet said, "There are some of Allah's slaves who, if they take an oath by Allah, are responded to by Allah i.e. their oath is fulfilled). Anas added, "The people agreed and accepted the Irsh."

A woman called Umm Khallad came to the Prophet (saws) while she was veiled. She was searching for her son who had been killed (in the battle) Some of the Companions of the Prophet (saws) said to her: You have come here asking for your son while veiling your face? She said: If I am afflicted with the loss of my son, I shall not suffer the loss of my modesty. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: You will get the reward of two martyrs for your son. She asked: Why is that so, Messenger of Allah? He replied: Because the people of the Book have killed him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban that Ibn Muhayriz said, "I went into the mosque and saw Abu Said al-Khudri and so I sat by him and asked him about coitus interruptus. Abu Said al-Khudri said, 'We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the expedition to the Banu al-Mustaliq. We took some Arabs prisoner, and we desired the women as celibacy was hard for us. We wanted the ransom, so we wanted to practise coitus interruptus. We said, 'Shall we practise coitus interruptus while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is among us before we ask him?' We asked him about that and he said, 'You don't have to not do it. There is no self which is to come into existence up to the Day of Rising but that it will come into existence.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafic that Saffiyya bint Abi Ubayd suffered from an eye-complaint while she was in mourning for her husband, Abdullah ibn Umar. She did not apply kohl until her eyes almost had ramas (a dry white secretion in the corners of the eye).

Malik said, "A woman whose husband has died should anoint her eyes with olive oil and sesame oil and the like of that since there is no perfume in it."

Malik said, "A woman in mourning for her husband should not put on any jewellery - rings, anklets, or such- like, neither should she dress in any sort of colourful, striped garment unless it is coarse. She should not wear any cloth dyed with anything except black, and she should only dress her hair with things like lotus-tree leaves which do not dye the hair."

Ar-Rubai (the paternal aunt of Anas bin Malik) broke the incisor tooth of young Ansari girl. Her family demanded the Qisas and they came to the Prophet who passed the judgment of Qisas. Anas bin An-Nadr (the paternal uncle of Anas bin Malik) said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, her tooth will not be broken." The Prophet said, "O Anas! (The law prescribed in) Allah's Book is Qisas." But the people (i.e. the relatives of the girl) gave up their claim and accepted a compensation. On that Allah's Apostle said, "Some of Allah's worshippers are such that if they take an oath, Allah will fulfill it for them."

The alcoholic drink which was spilled was Al-Fadikh. I used to offer alcoholic drinks to the people at the residence of Abu Talha. Then the order of prohibiting Alcoholic drinks was revealed, and the Prophet ordered somebody to announce that: Abu Talha said to me, "Go out and see what this voice (this announcement ) is." I went out and (on coming back) said, "This is somebody announcing that alcoholic beverages have been prohibited." Abu Talha said to me, "Go and spill it (i.e. the wine)," Then it (alcoholic drinks) was seen flowing through the streets of Medina. At that time the wine was Al-Fadikh. The people said, "Some people (Muslims) were killed (during the battle of Uhud) while wine was in their stomachs." So Allah revealed: "On those who believe and do good deeds there is no blame for what they ate (in the past)." (5.93)

Ibn `Abbas asked permission to visit Aisha before her death, and at that time she was in a state of agony. She then said. "I am afraid that he will praise me too much." And then it was said to her, "He is the cousin of Allah's Apostle and one of the prominent Muslims." Then she said, "Allow him to enter." (When he entered) he said, "How are you?" She replied, "I am Alright if I fear (Allah)." Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah willing, you are Alright as you are the wife of Allah's Apostle and he did not marry any virgin except you and proof of your innocence was revealed from the Heaven." Later on Ibn Az-Zubair entered after him and `Aisha said to him, "Ibn `Abbas came to me and praised me greatly, but I wish that I was a thing forgotten and out of sight."

A man came to Ibn `Abbas while Abu Huraira was sitting with him and said, "Give me your verdict regarding a lady who delivered a baby forty days after the death of her husband." Ibn `Abbas said, "This indicates the end of one of the two prescribed periods." I said "For those who are pregnant, their prescribed period is until they deliver their burdens." Abu Huraira said, I agree with my cousin (Abu Salama)." Then Ibn `Abbas sent his slave, Kuraib to Um Salama to ask her (regarding this matter). She replied. "The husband of Subai'a al Aslamiya was killed while she was pregnant, and she delivered a baby forty days after his death. Then her hand was asked in marriage and Allah's Apostle married her (to somebody). Abu As-Sanabil was one of those who asked for her hand in marriage".

I married a woman and then a black lady came to us and said, "I have suckled you both (you and your wife)." So I came to the Prophet and said, "I married so-and-so and then a black lady came to us and said to me, 'I have suckled both of you.' But I think she is a liar." The Prophet turned his face away from me and I moved to face his face, and said, "She is a liar." The Prophet said, "How (can you keep her as your wife) when that lady has said that she has suckled both of you? So abandon (i.e., divorce) her (your wife).

that she took to Allah's Apostle one of her sons whose palate and tonsils she had pressed because he had throat trouble. The Prophet said, "Why do you pain your children by getting the palate pressed like that? Use the Ud Al-Hindi (certain Indian incense) for it cures seven diseases one of which is pleurisy."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir ibn Atik said that Abdullah ibn Umar had come to them in Bani Muawiya, one of the villages of the Ansar, and said, "Do you know where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed in this mosque of yours? "I told him, "Yes," and I pointed out a place near where he was. He said, "Do you know the three things for which he made dua here?" I said "Yes." He said, "Tell me them then." I said, "He asked that He would not make an enemy from among the non- believers triumph over the believers and that He would not destroy the believers by bad harvests, and he was given both these things. And he asked that He would not make the believers fight among themselves, and that was refused." Ibn Umar said, "You have told the truth," and he added, "Turmoil will not cease until the day of rising."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr made an aqiqa for his male and female children of a sheep each.

Malik said, "What we do about the aqiqa is that if someone makes an aqiqa for his children, he gives a sheep for both male and female. The aqiqa is not obligatory but it is desirable to do it, and people continue to come to us about it. If someone makes an aqiqa for his children, the same rules apply as with all sacrificial animals - one-eyed, emaciated, injured, or sick animals must not be used, and neither the meat or the skin is to be sold. The bones are broken and the family eat the meat and give some of it away as sadaqa. The child is not smeared with any of the blood .''

My father and I went to Abi Barza Al-Aslami and my father said to him, "Tell us how Allah's Apostle used to offer the compulsory congregational prayers." He said, "He used to pray the Zuhr prayer, which you call the first prayer, as the sun declined at noon, the `Asr at a time when one of US could go to his family at the farthest place in Medina while the sun was still hot. (The narrator forgot what Abu Barza had said about the Maghrib prayer), and the Prophet preferred to pray the `Isha' late and disliked to sleep before it or talk after it. And he used to return after finishing the morning prayer at such a time when it was possible for one to recognize the person sitting by his side and he (the Prophet) used to recite 60 to 100 'Ayat' (verses) of the Qur'an in it."

That the Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed each of you is a shepherd and all of you will be questioned regarding your flock. The commander who is in authority over the Muslims is responsible and he will be questioned regarding his responsibility. The man is responsible over the inhabitants of his house and he is the one who will be questioned about them. The wife is responsible in her husband's house and she will be questioned about it. The slave is responsible regarding his master's property, and he will be questioned about it. Indeed each of you is a shepherd and each of you will be questioned about his flock."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] There are narrations on this topic from Abu Hurairah, Anas, and Abu Musa. The Hadith of Abu Musa is not preserved, and the Hadith of Anas is not preserved. And the Hadith of Ibn 'Umar is Hasan Sahih Hadith.

When I visited Aisha she said, "Barirah who had a written contract for her emancipation for a certain amount came to me and said, "O mother of the believers! Buy me and manumit me, as my masters will sell me." Aisha agreed to it. Barirah said, 'My masters will sell me on the condition that my Wala will go to them." Aisha said to her, 'Then I am not in need of you.' The Prophet heard of that or was told about it and so he asked Aisha, 'What is the problem of Barirah?' He said, 'Buy her and manumit her, no matter what they stipulate.' Aisha added, 'I bought and manumitted her, though her masters had stipulated that her Wala would be for them.' The Prophet said, The Wala is for the liberator, even if the other stipulated a hundred conditions."

That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "While a lady was nursing her child, a rider passed by and she said, 'O Allah! Don't let my child die till he becomes like this (rider).' The child said, 'O Allah! Don't make me like him,' and then returned to her breast (sucking it). (After a while) they passed by a lady who was being pulled and teased (by the people). The child's mother said, 'O Allah! Do not make my child like her.' The child said, 'O Allah! Make me like her.' Then he said, 'As for the rider, he is an infidel, while the lady is accused of illegal sexual intercourse (falsely) and she says: Allah is sufficient for me (He knows the truth).

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to attach the children of the Jahiliyya to whoever claimed them in Islam. Two men came and each of them claimed a woman's child. Umar ibn al-Khattab summoned a person who scrutinized features and he looked at them. The scrutinizer said, "They both share in him." Umar ibn al-Khattab hit him with a whip. Then he summoned the woman, and said, "Tell me your tale." She said, "It was this one (indicating one of the two men) who used to come to me while I was with my people's camels. He did not leave me until he thought and I thought that I was pregnant. Then he left me, and blood flowed from me, and this other one took his place. I do not know from which of them the child is." The scrutinizer said, "Allah is greater." Umar said to the child, "Go to whichever of them you wish."

I heard the Prophet describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration. He said in his talk, "While I was walking, I heard voices from the sky. I looked up, and behold ! I saw the same Angel who came to me in the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was too much afraid of him (so I returned to my house) and said, 'Fold me up in garments!' They wrapped me up. Then Allah revealed: 'O you wrapped...and desert the idols before the prayer became compulsory.' Rujz means idols.

During the lifetime of Allah's Apostle a Jew attacked a girl and took some silver ornaments she was wearing and crushed her head. Her relative brought her to the Prophet while she was in her last breaths, and she was unable to speak. Allah's Apostle asked her, "Who has hit you? So-and so?", mentioning somebody other than her murderer. She moved her head, indicating denial. The Prophet mentioned another person other than the murderer, and she again moved her head indicating denial. Then he asked, "Was it so-and-so?", mentioning the name of her killer. She nodded, agreeing. Then Allah's Apostle; ordered that the head of that Jew be crushed between two stones.

Allah's Apostle gave his verdict about two ladies of the Hudhail tribe who had fought each other and one of them had hit the other with a stone. The stone hit her `Abdomen and as she was pregnant, the blow killed the child in her womb. They both filed their case with the Prophet and he judged that the blood money for what was in her womb. was a slave or a female slave. The guardian of the lady who was fined said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I be fined for a creature that has neither drunk nor eaten, neither spoke nor cried? A case like that should be nullified." On that the Prophet said, "This is one of the brothers of soothsayers.

Anas bin Malik said to a woman of his family, "Do you know such-and-such a woman?" She replied, "Yes." He said, "The Prophet passed by her while she was weeping over a grave, and he said to her, 'Be afraid of Allah and be patient.' The woman said (to the Prophet). 'Go away from me, for you do not know my calamity.'" Anas added, "The Prophet left her and proceeded. A man passed by her and asked her, 'What has Allah's Apostle said to you?' She replied, 'I did not recognize him.' The man said, 'He was Allah's Apostle."' Anas added, "So that woman came to the gate of the Prophet and she did not find a gate-keeper there, and she said, 'O Allah's Apostle! By Allah. I did not recognize you!' The Prophet said, 'No doubt, patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abd ar- Rahman say that a slave could marry four women.

Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about the matter."

Malik said, "The slave differs with the muhallil if the slave is given permission by his master for his ex-wife. If his master does not give him permission, he separates them. The muhallil is separated in any case if he intends to make the woman halal by marriage."

Malik said, "When a slave is owned by his wife or a husband owns his wife, the possession of each of them is rendered void without divorce. If a man, for instance, is married to a slave-girl, and then he buys her, he must divorce her as a matter of course. They can then re- marry. If they re-marry afterwards, that separation was not divorce."

Malik said, "When a slave is freed by his wife who owns him and she is in the idda-period from him, they can only return to each other after she has made another marriage."

In the lifetime of the Prophet the sun eclipsed and the Prophet (p.b.u.h) stood up to offer the prayer with the people and recited a long recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, and then lifted his head and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first and then lifted his head and performed two prostrations. He then stood up for the second rak`a and offered it like the first. Then he stood up and said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's life or death but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah which He shows to His worshipers. So whenever you see them, make haste for the prayer."