We came upon the Messenger of Allah (saws) in Medina. He would postpone the afternoon prayer as long as the sun remained white and clear.

Salama b. al-Akwa' reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to pray the evening prayer when the sun had set and disappeared (behind the horizon).

Allah's Apostle forbade the offering of two prayers: -1. after the morning prayer till the sunrises. -2. after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets.

Allah's Apostle said: "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse because of the death of someone but Allah frightens His devotees with them."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to send ahead the weak members of his family in darkness (to Mina), and command them not to throw pebbles at jamrahs until the sun rose.

Qais quoted his father as saying that he (his father) came when the Messenger of Allah (saws) was addressing. He stood in the sun. He ordered him (to shift) and he shifted to the shade.

I asked the Prophet regarding the Verse:--'And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term decreed for it.' (36.28) He said, "Its fixed course is underneath Allah's Throne."

The Prophet had a she camel called Al Adba which could not be excelled in a race. (Humaid, a subnarrator said, "Or could hardly be excelled.") Once a bedouin came riding a camel below six years of age which surpasses it (i.e. Al-`Adba') in the race. The Muslims felt it so much that the Prophet noticed their distress. He then said, "It is Allah's Law that He brings down whatever rises high in the world."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas said, "There was an eclipse of the sun and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed, and the people prayed with him. He stood for a long time, nearly as long as (it takes to recite) Surat al-Baqara (Sura 2), and then went into ruku for a long time. Then he rose and stood for a long time, though less than the first time.Then he went into ruku for a long time, though less than the first time. Then he went down into sajda. Then he stood for a long time, though less than the first time. Then he went into ruku for a long time, though less than the first time. Then he rose and stood for a long time, though less than the firsttime. Then he went into ruku for a long time, though less than the first time. Then he went down into sajda, and by the time he had finished the sun had appeared. Then he said, 'The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs. They do not eclipse for anyone's death nor for anyone's life. When you see an eclipse, remember Allah.' They said, 'Messenger of Allah, we saw you reach out for something while you were standing here and then we saw you withdraw.' He said, 'I saw the Garden and I reached out for a bunch of grapes from it, and if I had taken it you would have been able to eat from it for as long as this world lasted. Then I saw the Fire - and I have never seen anything more hideous than what I saw today - and I saw that most of its people were women.' They said, 'Why, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Because of their ungratefulness (kufr).' Someone said, 'Are they ungrateful toAllah?' He said, 'They are ungrateful to their husbands and they are ungrateful for good behaviour (towards them) . Even if you were to behave well towards one of them for a whole lifetime and then she were to see you do something (that she did not like) she would say that she had never seen anything good from you.' "

The sun eclipsed in the lifetime of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) . Allah's Apostle offered the eclipse prayer and stood for a long period equal to the period in which one could recite Surat-al-Baqara. Then he bowed for a long time and then stood up for a long period which was shorter than that of the first standing, then bowed again for a long time but for a shorter period than the first; then he prostrated twice and then stood up for a long period which was shorter than that of the first standing; then he bowed for a long time which was shorter than the previous one, and then he raised his head and stood up for a long period which was shorter than the first standing, then he bowed for a long time which was shorter than the first bowing, and then prostrated (twice) and finished the prayer. By then, the sun (eclipse) had cleared. The Prophet then said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They eclipse neither because of the death of somebody nor because of his life (i.e. birth). So when you see them, remember Allah." The people say, "O Allah's Apostle! We saw you taking something from your place and then we saw you retreating." The Prophet replied, "I saw Paradise and stretched my hands towards a bunch (of its fruits) and had I taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains. I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Why is it so?" The Prophet replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was asked whether they are ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet said, "They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, 'I have never had any good from you.' "

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud that one of the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a black slave- girl of his. He said, "Messenger of Allah, I must set a slave free who is a mumina. If you think that she is mumina, I will free her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, "Do you testify that there is no god but Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Are you certain about the rising after death?" She said, "Yes." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Free her."

Simak narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura that when the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed the dawn prayer, he sat at the place of worship till the sun had risen enough.

The Prophet (saws) had a bowl called gharra'. It was carried by four persons. When the sun rose high, and they performed the forenoon prayer, the bowl in which tharid was prepared was brought, and the people gathered round it. When they were numerous, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Allah has made me a respectable servant, and He did not make me an obstinate tyrant. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Eat from it sides and leave its top, the blessing will be conferred on it

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the people of knowledge say, "Women do not have to raise their voices when they are doing talbiya, and a woman should only speak loudly enough to hear herself."

Malik said, "Some one who is in ihram should not raise his voice when doing talbiya if he is in a mosque where there are groups of people. He should only speak loudly enough for himself and those who are near him to be able to hear, except in the Masjid alHaram and the mosque at Mina, where he should raise his voice."

Malik said, "I have heard some of the people of knowledge recommending (people to do) talbiya at the end of every prayer and at every rise on the route."

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

Allah's Apostle said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's death or life but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah, so pray whenever you see them."

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

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."

In the lifetime of Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) the sun eclipsed, so he led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a long Qiyam, then bowed for a long while. He stood up again and performed a long Qiyam but this time the period of standing was shorter than the first. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one, then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second rak`a as he did in the first and then finished the prayer; by then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutba (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah he said, "The sun and the moon are two signs against the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse on the death or life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir, pray and give Sadaqa." The Prophet then said, "O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more ghaira (selfrespect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His slaves, male or female commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow is twice your height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha in the first third of the night, and subh in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely come.

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.' "

I was present at fighting along with the Messenger of Allah (saws), and when he did not fight at the beginning of the day, he waited till the sun had passed the meridian, the winds blew, and help came down.

I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (saws) on eighteen journeys and I never saw him fail to pray two rak'ahs when the sun had passed the meridian before offering the noon prayer.

Malik related to me from Nafi from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that she bought a cushion which had pictures on it. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw it, he stopped at the door and did not enter. She recognised disapproval on his face and said, "Messenger of Allah, I turn in repentance to Allah and His Messenger. What have I done wrong?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "What is the meaning of this cushion?" She said, "I bought it for you to sit and recline on." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those who make such pictures will be punished on the Day of Rising. It will be said to them, 'Bring to life what you have created'. Then he said, 'The angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures.' "

`Aisha said that the Prophet said to her, "O Aisha! Were your nation not close to the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, I would have had the Ka`ba demolished and would have included in it the portion which had been left, and would have made it at a level with the ground and would have made two doors for it, one towards the east and the other towards the west, and then by doing this it would have been built on the foundations laid by Abraham." That was what urged Ibn-Az-Zubair to demolish the Ka`ba. Jazz said, "I saw Ibn-Az-Zubair when he demolished and rebuilt the Ka`ba and included in it a portion of Al-Hijr (the unroofed portion of Ka`ba which is at present in the form of a compound towards the northwest of the Ka`ba). I saw the original foundations of Abraham which were of stones resembling the humps of camels." So Jarir asked Yazid, "Where was the place of those stones?" Jazz said, "I will just now show it to you." So Jarir accompanied Yazid and entered Al-Hijr, and Jazz pointed to a place and said, "Here it is." Jarir said, "It appeared to me about six cubits from Al-Hijr or so."

'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle (may peace be upon him), said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said the afternoon prayer (at the time) when the sun shone in her apartment and its shadow did not extend beyond her apartment.