Once I stayed overnight at the house of (my aunt ) Maimuna while the Prophet was with her, to see how was the night prayer of Allah s Apostle Allah's Apostle talked to his wife for a while and then slept. When it was the last third of the night (or part of it), the Prophet got up and looked towards the sky and recited the Verse:-- 'Verily! In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth....there are indeed signs for the men of understanding.' (3.190) Then He got up and performed the ablution, brushed his teeth and offered eleven rak`at. Then Bilal pronounced the Adhan whereupon the Prophet offered a two-rak`at (Sunna) prayer and went out to lead the people in Fajr (morning compulsory congregational prayer.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazim from his father that Amr ibn Sulaym az-Zuraqi said, "Abu Humayd as-Saidi told me that they asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, how they were to ask for blessings upon him and he replied that they should say, 'O Allah, bless Muhammad and his wives and his descendants asYou blessed the family of Ibrahim, and give baraka to Muhammad and his wives and his descendants as You gave baraka to the family of Ibrahim. You are worthy of Praise and Glorious.'"

Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa azwajihi wa alihi kama sallaita ala ali Ibrahim, wa barakaala Muhammad wa azwajihi wa alihi kama baraktaalaali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidu'm - Majid.

The Prophet (saws) said: The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah. Abdullah ibn Ja'far said: I heard AbulMalih praising Ali ibn Nufayl and describing his good qualities.

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah's Hand is full, and (its fullness) is not affected by the continuous spending, day and night." He also said, "Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Hand." He also said, "His Throne is over the water and in His other Hand is the balance (of Justice) and He raises and lowers (whomever He will)." (See Hadith No. 206, Vol. 6)

We used to say the greeting, name and greet each other in the prayer. Allah's Apostle heard it and said:--"Say, 'at-tahiyyatu lil-lahi was-salawatu wat-taiyibatu . Assalamu 'Alaika aiyuha-n-Nabiyu warahmatu- l-lahi wa-barakatuhu. _ Assalamu alaina wa-'ala 'ibadi-l-lahi as-salihin.. Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-l-lah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan `Abdu hu wa Rasuluh. (All the compliments are for Allah and all the prayers and all the good things (are for Allah). Peace be on you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings (are on you). And peace be on us and on the good (pious) worshipers of Allah. I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Apostle.) So, when you have said this, then you have surely sent the greetings to every good (pious) worshipper of Allah, whether he be in the Heaven or on the Earth . "

Allah's Apostle got up on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and said, "Allah has made Mecca a sanctuary since the day He created the Heavens and the Earth, and it will remain a sanctuary by virtue of the sanctity Allah has bestowed on it till the Day of Resurrection. It (i.e. fighting in it) was not made lawful to anyone before me!, nor will it be made lawful to anyone after me, and it was not made lawful for me except for a short period of time. Its game should not be chased, nor should its trees be cut, nor its vegetation or grass uprooted, not its Luqata (i.e. Most things) picked up except by one who makes a public announcement about it." Al-Abbas bin `Abdul Muttalib said, "Except the Idhkhir, O Allah's Apostle, as it is indispensable for blacksmiths and houses." On that, the Prophet kept quiet and then said, "Except the Idhkhir as it is lawful to cut."

When Allah's Apostle arrived at Medina, he prayed facing Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months but he wished that he would be ordered to face the Ka`ba. So Allah revealed: -- 'Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven; surely we shall turn you to a prayer direction (Qibla) that shall please you.' (2.144) Thus he was directed towards the Ka`ba. A man prayed the `Asr prayer with the Prophet and then went out, and passing by some people from the Ansar, he said, "I testify. that I have prayed with the Prophet and he (the Prophet) has prayed facing the Ka`ba." Thereupon they, who were bowing in the `Asr prayer, turned towards the Ka`ba.

Allah's Apostle prayed facing Baitul-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months but he loved to face the Ka`ba (at Mecca) so Allah revealed: "Verily, We have seen the turning of your face to the heaven!" (2:144) So the Prophet faced the Ka`ba and the fools amongst the people namely "the Jews" said, "What has turned them from their Qibla (Baitul-Maqdis) which they formerly observed"" (Allah revealed): "Say: 'To Allah belongs the East and the West. He guides whom he will to a straight path'." (2:142) A man prayed with the Prophet (facing the Ka`ba) and went out. He saw some of the Ansar praying the `Asr prayer with their faces towards Baitul-Maqdis, he said, "I bear witness that I prayed with Allah's Apostle facing the Ka`ba." So all the people turned their faces towards the Ka`ba.

When we prayed with the Prophet we used to say: As-Salam be on Allah from His worshipers, As- Salam be on Gabriel, As-Salam be on Michael, As-Salam be on so-and-so. When the Prophet finished his prayer, he faced us and said, "Allah Himself is As-Salam (Peace), so when one sits in the prayer, one should say, 'at-Tahiyatu-li l-lahi Was-Salawatu, Wat-Taiyibatu, As-Salamu 'Alaika aiyuhan- Nabiyyu wa Rah-matul-iahi wa Barakatuhu, As-Salamu 'Alaina wa 'ala 'Ibadillahi assalihin, for if he says so, then it will be for all the pious slave of Allah in the Heavens and the Earth. (Then he should say), 'Ash-hadu an la ilaha illalllahu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `Abduhu wa rasulu-hu,' and then he can choose whatever speech (i.e. invocation) he wishes " (See Hadith No. 797, Vol. 1).

There was a disagreement between them (i.e. Ibn `Abbas and Ibn Az-Zubair) so I went to Ibn `Abbas in the morning and said (to him), "Do you want to fight against Ibn Zubair and thus make lawful what Allah has made unlawful (i.e. fighting in Meccas?" Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah forbid! Allah ordained that Ibn Zubair and Bani Umaiya would permit (fighting in Mecca), but by Allah, I will never regard it as permissible." Ibn `Abbas added. "The people asked me to take the oath of allegiance to Ibn AzZubair. I said, 'He is really entitled to assume authority for his father, Az-Zubair was the helper of the Prophet, his (maternal) grandfather, Abu Bakr was (the Prophet's) companion in the cave, his mother, Asma' was 'Dhatun-Nitaq', his aunt, `Aisha was the mother of the Believers, his paternal aunt, Khadija was the wife of the Prophet , and the paternal aunt of the Prophet was his grandmother. He himself is pious and chaste in Islam, well versed in the Knowledge of the Qur'an. By Allah! (Really, I left my relatives, Bani Umaiya for his sake though) they are my close relatives, and if they should be my rulers, they are equally apt to be so and are descended from a noble family.

`Ali bin Abi Talib sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle distributed that amongst four Persons: 'Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin H`Abis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin at-Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, "We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons)." When that news reached the Prophet , he said, "Don't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?" There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, "O Allah's Apostle! Be afraid of Allah." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?" Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?" The Prophet said, "No, for he may offer prayers." Khalid said, "Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts." Allah's Apostle said, "I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies." Then the Prophet looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, "From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur'an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game's body." I think he also said, "If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations a Thamud were killed."