Allah's Apostle went out towards the Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and saw the Emigrants and the Ansar digging the trench in the cold morning. They had no slaves to do that (work) for them. When the Prophet saw their hardship and hunger, he said, 'O Allah! The real life is the life of the Hereafter, so please forgive Ansar and the Emigrants." They said in reply to him, "We are those who have given the Pledge of allegiances to Muhammad for to observe Jihad as long as we live."

I asked the Prophet "Which deed is the dearest to Allah?" He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents" I again asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, 'To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause." `Abdullah added, "I asked only that much and if I had asked more, the Prophet would have told me more."

Allah's Apostle was the (most handsome), most generous and the bravest of all the people. Once the people of Medina got frightened having heard an uproar at night. So, the Prophet met the people while he was riding an unsaddled horse belonging to Abu Talha and carrying his sword (slung over his shoulder). He said (to them), "Don't get scared, don't get scared." Then he added, "I found it (i.e the horse) very fast."

Allah's Apostle returned from the Ghazwa of Tabuk, and when he approached Medina, he said, "There are some people in Medina who were with you all the time, you did not travel any portion of the journey nor crossed any valley, but they were with you they (i.e. the people) said, "O Allah's Apostle! Even though they were at Medina?" He said, "Yes, because they were stopped by a genuine excuse."

Allah's Apostle used to invoke Allah in the prayer saying, "O Allah, I seek refuge with you from all sins, and from being in debt." Someone said, O Allah's Apostle! (I see you) very often you seek refuge with Allah from being in debt. He replied, "If a person is in debt, he tells lies when he speaks, and breaks his promises when he promises."

I asked Allah's Apostle. "We hunt with the help of these hounds." He said, "If you let loose your trained hounds after a game, and mention the name of Allah, then you can eat what the hounds catch for you, even if they killed the game. But you should not eat of it if the hound has eaten of it, for then it is likely that the hound has caught the game for itself. And if other hounds join your hound in hunting the game, then do not eat of it."

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri told my father, "I see you liking sheep and the wilderness. So whenever you are with your sheep or in the wilderness and you want to pronounce Adhan for the prayer raise your voice in doing so, for whoever hears the Adhan, whether a human being, a jinn or any other creature, will be a witness for you on the Day of Resurrection." Abu Sa`id added, "I heard it (this narration) from Allah's Apostle."

Sometimes Allah's Apostle would not fast (for so many days) that we thought that he would not fast that month and he sometimes used to fast (for so many days) that we thought he would not leave fasting throughout that month and (as regards his prayer and sleep at night), if you wanted to see him praying at night, you could see him praying and if you wanted to see him sleeping, you could see him sleeping.

Allah's Apostle said thrice, "Shall I not inform you of the biggest of the great sins?" We said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle" He said, "To join partners in worship with Allah: to be undutiful to one's parents." The Prophet sat up after he had been reclining and added, "And I warn you against giving forged statement and a false witness; I warn you against giving a forged statement and a false witness." The Prophet kept on saying that warning till we thought that he would not stop.

The Prophet passed by some people of the tribe of Bani Aslam who were practicing archery. The Prophet said, "O Bani Isma`il ! Practice archery as your father Isma`il was a great archer. Keep on throwing arrows and I am with Bani so-and-so." So one of the parties ceased throwing. Allah's Apostle said, "Why do you not throw?" They replied, "How should we throw while you are with them (i.e. on their side)?" On that the Prophet said, "Throw, and I am with all of you."

Once Allah's Apostle was asked, "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He said, "The most righteous (i.e. Allah-fearing) amongst you." They said, "We do not ask you about this." He said, "Then Joseph, the prophet of Allah."

When Allah's Apostle decided to leave Mecca after the Hajj, he saw Safiyya, sad and standing at the entrance of her tent. He said to her, "Aqr (or) Halq! You will detain us. Did you perform Tawaf-al- Ifada on the day of Nahr? She said, "Yes." He said, "Then you can depart."

I married a woman and later on a woman came and said, "I suckled you both." So, I went to the Prophet (to ask him about it). He said, "How can you (keep her as a wife) when it has been said (that you were foster brother and sister)? Leave (divorce) her.

The Prophet said "There is a tree in Paradise (which is so big and huge that) a rider could travel in its shade for a hundred years. And if you wish, you can recite:--'In shade long extended..' (56. 30) and a place in Paradise equal to an arrow bow of one of you, is better than (the whole earth) on which the sun rises and sets."

Once the Prophet was narrating (a story), while a bedouin was sitting with him. "One of the inhabitants of Paradise will ask Allah to allow him to cultivate the land. Allah will ask him, 'Are you not living in the pleasures you like?' He will say, 'Yes, but I like to cultivate the land.' " The Prophet added, "When the man (will be permitted he) will sow the seeds and the plants will grow up and get ripe, ready for reaping and so on till it will be as huge as mountains within a wink. Allah will then say to him, 'O son of Adam! Take here you are, gather (the yield); nothing satisfies you.' " On that, the bedouin said, "The man must be either from Quraish (i.e. an emigrant) or an Ansari, for they are farmers, whereas we are not farmers." The Prophet smiled (at this).

On the day of the Conquest of Mecca, when the Prophet had given (from the booty) the Quraish, the Ansar said, "By Allah, this is indeed very strange: While our swords are still dribbling with the blood of Quraish, our war booty are distributed amongst them." When this news reached the Prophet he called the Ansar and said, "What is this news that has reached me from you?" They used not to tell lies, so they replied, "What has reached you is true." He said, "Doesn't it please you that the people take the booty to their homes and you take Allah's Apostle to your homes? If the Ansar took their way through a valley or a mountain pass, I would take the Ansar's valley or a mountain pass."

Anas said, 'When Allah's Apostle invaded Khaibar, we offered the Fajr prayer there (early in the morning) when it was still dark. The Prophet rode and Abu Talha rode too and I was riding behind Abu Talha. The Prophet passed through the lane of Khaibar quickly and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet . He uncovered his thigh and I saw the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet. When he entered the town, he said, 'Allahu Akbar! Khaibar is ruined. Whenever we approach near a (hostile) nation (to fight) then evil will be the morning of those who have been warned.' He repeated this thrice. The people came out for their jobs and some of them said, 'Muhammad (has come).' (Some of our companions added, "With his army.") We conquered Khaibar, took the captives, and the booty was collected. Dihya came and said, 'O Allah's Prophet! Give me a slave girl from the captives.' The Prophet said, 'Go and take any slave girl.' He took Safiya bint Huyai. A man came to the Prophet and said, 'O Allah's Apostles! You gave Safiya bint Huyai to Dihya and she is the chief mistress of the tribes of Quraidha and An-Nadir and she befits none but you.' So the Prophet said, 'Bring him along with her.' So Dihya came with her and when the Prophet saw her, he said to Dihya, 'Take any slave girl other than her from the captives.' Anas added: The Prophet then manumitted her and married her." Thabit asked Anas, "O Abu Hamza! What did the Prophet pay her (as Mahr)?" He said, "Her self was her Mahr for he manumitted her and then married her." Anas added, "While on the way, Um Sulaim dressed her for marriage (ceremony) and at night she sent her as a bride to the Prophet . So the Prophet was a bridegroom and he said, 'Whoever has anything (food) should bring it.' He spread out a leather sheet (for the food) and some brought dates and others cooking butter. (I think he (Anas) mentioned As-Sawaq). So they prepared a dish of Hais (a kind of meal). And that was Walima (the marriage banquet) of Allah's Apostle ."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban that his paternal uncle Wasi ibn Habban said, "I was praying, and Abdullah ibn Umar was resting his back on the wall of the qibla. When I had finished the prayer I turned towards him on my left hand side. Abdullah ibn Umar said, 'What stopped you from turning away to your right?' I replied, 'I saw you and turned towards you.' Abdullah said, 'You have spoken correctly. People say that you should turn away to your right, but when you pray, you can turn whichever way you wish. If you like, to your right, and if you like, to your left.' "

If someone says to his wife, "You are unlawful to me." he must make an expiation (for his oath). Ibn `Abbas added: There is for you in Allah's Apostle, an excellent example to follow.

The Prophet used to say, "I seek refuge (with YOU) by Your 'Izzat, None has the right to be worshipped but You Who does not die while the Jinns and the human beings die."

The Prophet said, "Perform the bowing and the prostrations properly. By Allah, I see you from behind me (or from behind my back) when you bow or prostrate."

The Prophet said, "When you see a funeral procession, you should stand up, and whoever accompanies it should not sit till the coffin is put down."

On my departure from the Prophet he said to me and to a friend of mine, "You two, pronounce the Adhan and the Iqama for the prayer and let the elder of you lead the prayer."

I saw Abu Bakr carrying Al-Hasan and saying, "Let my father be sacrificed for you; you resemble the Prophet and not `Ali," while `Ali was laughing at this.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abu Bakr ibn Sulayman ibn Abi Hathma said, "I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed two rakas of one of the two day-ti me prayers, dhuhr or asr, and said the taslim after two rakas. Dhu'sh-Shamalayn said to him, 'Has the prayer been shortened, Messenger of Allah, or have you forgotten?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The prayer has not been shortened and I have not forgotten.' Dhu'shShamalayn said, 'It was certainly one of those, Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, approached the people and said, 'Has Dh u'sh-Shamalayn spoken the truth?' They said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah,' and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, completed what remained of the prayer, and then said, 'Peace be upon you.' "

The Prophet concluded a contract with the people of Khaibar to utilize the land on the condition that half the products of fruits or vegetation would be their share. The Prophet used to give his wives one hundred Wasqs each, eighty Wasqs of dates and twenty Wasqs of barley. (When `Umar became the Caliph) he gave the wives of the Prophet the option of either having the land and water as their shares, or carrying on the previous practice. Some of them chose the land and some chose the Wasqs, and `Aisha chose the land.

I asked Allah's Apostle, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the best deed?" He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is next in goodness?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I further asked, what is next in goodness?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." I did not ask Allah's Apostle anymore and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more.

Allah's Apostle said to Abu Talha, "Seek one of your boys to serve me." Abu Talha mounted me behind him (on his riding animal) and took me (to the Prophet ). So I used to serve Allah's Apostle whenever he dismounted (to stay somewhere). I used to hear him saying very often, "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from, having worries sadness, helplessness, laziness, miserliness, cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by other persons unjustly." I kept on serving till we -returned from the battle of Khaibar. The Prophet then brought Safiyya bint Huyai whom he had won from the war booty. I saw him folding up a gown or a garment for her to sit on behind him (on his shecamel). When he reached As-Sahba', he prepared Hais and placed it on a dining sheet. Then he sent me to invite men, who (came and) ate; and that was his and Safiyya's wedding banquet. Then the Prophet proceeded, and when he saw (noticed) the mountain of Uhud, he said, "This mountain loves us, and we love it." When we approached Medina, he said, "O Allah! I make the area between its two mountains a sanctuary as Abraham has made Mecca a sanctuary. O Allah! Bless their Mudd and Sa (special kinds of measure).

I was a blacksmith In the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance, and 'Asi bin Wail owed me some money. I went to him to demand it, but he said to me, "I will not pay you unless you reject faith in Muhammad." I replied, "By Allah, I will never disbelieve Muhammad till Allah let you die and then resurrect you." He said, "Then wait till I die and come to life again, for then I will be given property and offspring and will pay your right." So, thus revelation came: "Have you seen him who disbelieved in Our signs and yet says, 'I will be given property and offspring?' " (19.77)

The Prophet saw a man driving a Badana (i.e. camel for sacrifice) and said to him, "Ride on it." The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! It is a Bandana." (The Prophet repeated his order) and on the third or fourth time he said, "Ride it, (woe to you" or said: "May Allah be merciful to you).

AbuHind cupped the Prophet (saws) in the middle of his head. The Prophet (saws) said: Banu Bayadah, marry AbuHind (to your daughter), and ask him to marry (his daughter) to you. He said: The best thing by which you treat yourself is cupping.

A man asked permission to enter upon Allah's Apostle. The Prophet said, "Admit him. What an evil brother of his people or a son of his people." But when the man entered, the Prophet spoke to him in a very polite manner. (And when that person left) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! You had said what you had said, yet you spoke to him in a very polite manner?" The Prophet said, "O `Aisha! The worst people are those whom the people desert or leave in order to save themselves from their dirty language or from their transgression."

Aisha said, "I borrowed a necklace from Asma' and it was lost. So Allah's Apostle sent a man to search for it and he found it. Then the time of the prayer became due and there was no water. They prayed (without ablution) and informed Allah's Apostle about it, so the verse of Tayammum was revealed." Usaid bin Hudair said to `Aisha, "May Allah reward you. By Allah, whenever anything happened which you did not like, Allah brought good for you and for the Muslims in that."

A woman who used to practise tattooing was brought to `Umar. `Umar got up and said, "I beseech you by Allah, which of you heard the Prophet saying something about tattooing?" l got up and said, "0 chief of the Believers! l heard something." He said, "What did you hear?" I said, "I heard the Prophet (addressing the ladies), saying, 'Do not practise tattooing and do not get yourselves tattooed.'"

A man asked the Prophet, "O Allah's Apostle! What kind of charity is the best?" He replied. "To give in charity when you are healthy and greedy hoping to be wealthy and afraid of becoming poor. Don't delay giving in charity till the time when you are on the death bed when you say, 'Give so much to soand- so and so much to so-and so,' and at that time the property is not yours but it belongs to so-and-so (i.e. your inheritors).

The Prophet said, "O Bani `Abd Munaf! Buy yourselves from Allah; O Bani `Abdul-Muttalib! Buy yourselves from Allah; O mother of Az-Zubair bin Al-Awwam, the aunt of Allah's Apostle, and O Fatima bint Muhammad! Buy yourselves from Allah, for I cannot defend you before Allah. You (both) can ask me from my property as much as you like. "

Allah's Apostle forbade Al-Wisal. The people said (to him), "But you practice it?" He said, "I am not like you, for I am given food and drink by Allah."

Allah's Apostle said, "Journey is a piece of torture, for it disturbs one's sleep, eating and drinking. So, when you fulfill your job, you should hurry up to your family."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Near the Hour you will fight with people who will wear hairy shoes; and you will also fight people with flat faces like shields."

Umar came to the Prophet (saws) when he was in his wooden oriel, and said to him: Peace be upon you. Messenger of Allah, peace be upon you! May Umar enter ?

The Prophet (saws) went out at night and found AbuBakr praying in a low voice, and he passed Umar ibn al-Khattab who was raising his voice while praying.

When they both met the Prophet (saws) together, the Prophet (saws) said: I passed by you, AbuBakr, when you were praying in a low voice. He replied: I made Him hear with Whom I was holding intimate converse, Messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) said to Umar: I passed by you when you were praying in a loud voice. He replied: Messenger of Allah, I was awakening the drowsy and driving away the Devil.

Al-Hasan added in his version: The Prophet (saws) said: Raise your voice a little, AbuBakr, and he said to Umar: Lower your voice a little.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Hakim ibn Hizam traded in food for people as Umar ibn al-Khattab had ordered him to do. Hakim re-sold the food before he had taken delivery of it. That reached Umar ibn al-Khattab and he revoked the sale and said, "Do not sell food which you have purchased until you take delivery of it."

When the deputation of Thaqif came to the Messenger of Allah (saws), he made them stay in the mosque, so that it might soften their hearts. They stipulated to him that they would not be called to participate in Jihad, to pay zakat and to offer prayer. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: You may have the concession that you will not be called to participate in jihad and pay zakat, but there is no good in a religion which has no bowing (i.e. prayer).