I went to Abu Wail to ask him (about those who had rebelled against `Ali). On that Abu Wail said, "We were at Siffin (a city on the bank of the Euphrates, the place where me battle took place between `Ali and Muawiya) A man said, "Will you be on the side of those who are called to consult Allah's Book (to settle the dispute)?" `Ali said, 'Yes (I agree that we should settle the matter in the light of the Qur'an)." ' Some people objected to `Ali's agreement and wanted to fight. On that Sahl bin Hunaif said, 'Blame yourselves! I remember how, on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (i.e. the peace treaty between the Prophet and the Quraish pagans), if we had been allowed to choose fighting, we would have fought (the pagans). At that time `Umar came (to the Prophet) and said, "Aren't we on the right (path) and they (pagans) in the wrong? Won't our killed persons go to Paradise, and theirs in the Fire?" The Prophet replied, "Yes." `Umar further said, "Then why should we let our religion be degraded and return before Allah has settled the matter between us?" The Prophet said, "O the son of Al-Khattab! No doubt, I am Allah's Apostle and Allah will never neglect me." So `Umar left the place angrily and he was so impatient that he went to Abu Bakr and said, "O Abu Bakr! Aren't we on the right (path) and they (pagans) on the wrong?" Abu Bakr said, "O the son of Al-Khattab! He is Allah's Apostle, and Allah will never neglect him." Then Sura Al-Fath (The Victory) was revealed."

Allah's Apostle said, "A time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take on the top of mountains and the places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his religion from afflictions."

We came to `Umar in a delegation (during his rule). He started calling the men one by one, calling each by his name. (As he did not call me early) I said to him. "Don't you know me, O chief of the Believers?" He said, "Yes, you embraced Islam when they (i.e. your people) disbelieved; you have come (to the Truth) when they ran away; you fulfilled your promises when they broke theirs; and you recognized it (i.e. the Truth of Islam) when they denied it." On that, `Adi said, "I therefore don't care."

(the wife of the Prophet) I never remembered my parents believing in any religion other than the true religion (i.e. Islam), and (I don't remember) a single day passing without our being visited by Allah's Apostle in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were put to test (i.e. troubled by the pagans), Abu Bakr set out migrating to the land of Ethiopia, and when he reached Bark-al-Ghimad, Ibn Ad-Daghina, the chief of the tribe of Qara, met him and said, "O Abu Bakr! Where are you going?" Abu Bakr replied, "My people have turned me out (of my country), so I want to wander on the earth and worship my Lord." Ibn Ad-Daghina said, "O Abu Bakr! A man like you should not leave his home-land, nor should he be driven out, because you help the destitute, earn their livings, and you keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the weak and poor, entertain guests generously, and help the calamity-stricken persons. Therefore I am your protector. Go back and worship your Lord in your town."

So Abu Bakr returned and Ibn Ad-Daghina accompanied him. In the evening Ibn Ad-Daghina visited the nobles of Quraish and said to them. "A man like Abu Bakr should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out. Do you (i.e. Quraish) drive out a man who helps the destitute, earns their living, keeps good relations with his Kith and kin, helps the weak and poor, entertains guests generously and helps the calamity-stricken persons?" So the people of Quraish could not refuse Ibn Ad-Daghina's protection, and they said to Ibn Ad-Daghina, "Let Abu Bakr worship his Lord in his house. He can pray and recite there whatever he likes, but he should not hurt us with it, and should not do it publicly, because we are afraid that he may affect our women and children." Ibn Ad-Daghina told Abu Bakr of all that. Abu Bakr stayed in that state, worshipping his Lord in his house. He did not pray publicly, nor did he recite Quran outside his house.

Then a thought occurred to Abu Bakr to build a mosque in front of his house, and there he used to pray and recite the Quran. The women and children of the pagans began to gather around him in great number. They used to wonder at him and look at him. Abu Bakr was a man who used to weep too much, and he could not help weeping on reciting the Quran. That situation scared the nobles of the pagans of Quraish, so they sent for Ibn Ad-Daghina. When he came to them, they said, "We accepted your protection of Abu Bakr on condition that he should worship his Lord in his house, but he has violated the conditions and he has built a mosque in front of his house where he prays and recites the Quran publicly. We are now afraid that he may affect our women and children unfavorably. So, prevent him from that. If he likes to confine the worship of his Lord to his house, he may do so, but if he insists on doing that openly, ask him to release you from your obligation to protect him, for we dislike to break our pact with you, but we deny Abu Bakr the right to announce his act publicly." Ibn Ad-Daghina went to Abu- Bakr and said, ("O Abu Bakr!) You know well what contract I have made on your behalf; now, you are either to abide by it, or else release me from my obligation of protecting you, because I do not want the 'Arabs hear that my people have dishonored a contract I have made on behalf of another man." Abu Bakr replied, "I release you from your pact to protect me, and am pleased with the protection from Allah."

At that time the Prophet was in Mecca, and he said to the Muslims, "In a dream I have been shown your migration place, a land of date palm trees, between two mountains, the two stony tracts." So, some people migrated to Medina, and most of those people who had previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Medina. Abu Bakr also prepared to leave for Medina, but Allah's Apostle said to him, "Wait for a while, because I hope that I will be allowed to migrate also." Abu Bakr said, "Do you indeed expect this? Let my father be sacrificed for you!" The Prophet said, "Yes." So Abu Bakr did not migrate for the sake of Allah's Apostle in order to accompany him. He fed two she-camels he possessed with the leaves of As-Samur tree that fell on being struck by a stick for four months.

One day, while we were sitting in Abu Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, "This is Allah's Apostle with his head covered coming at a time at which he never used to visit us before." Abu Bakr said, "May my parents be sacrificed for him. By Allah, he has not come at this hour except for a great necessity." So Allah's Apostle came and asked permission to enter, and he was allowed to enter. When he entered, he said to Abu Bakr. "Tell everyone who is present with you to go away." Abu Bakr replied, "There are none but your family. May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "i have been given permission to migrate." Abu Bakr said, "Shall I accompany you? May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle said, "Yes." Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! May my father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels of mine." Allah's Apostle replied, "(I will accept it) with payment." So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey food in a leather bag for them. Asma, Abu Bakr's daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it, and for that reason she was named Dhat-un-Nitaqain (i.e. the owner of two belts).

Then Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr reached a cave on the mountain of Thaur and stayed there for three nights. 'Abdullah bin Abi Bakr who was intelligent and a sagacious youth, used to stay (with them) aver night. He used to leave them before day break so that in the morning he would be with Quraish as if he had spent the night in Mecca. He would keep in mind any plot made against them, and when it became dark he would (go and) inform them of it. 'Amir bin Fuhaira, the freed slave of Abu Bakr, used to bring the milch sheep (of his master, Abu Bakr) to them a little while after nightfall in order to rest the sheep there. So they always had fresh milk at night, the milk of their sheep, and the milk which they warmed by throwing heated stones in it. 'Amir bin Fuhaira would then call the herd away when it was still dark (before daybreak). He did the same in each of those three nights. Allah's Apostle and Abu Bakr had hired a man from the tribe of Bani Ad-Dail from the family of Bani Abd bin Adi as an expert guide, and he was in alliance with the family of Al-'As bin Wail As-Sahmi and he was on the religion of the infidels of Quraish. The Prophet and Abu Bakr trusted him and gave him their two she-camels and took his promise to bring their two she camels to the cave of the mountain of Thaur in the morning after three nights later. And (when they set out), 'Amir bin Fuhaira and the guide went along with them and the guide led them along the sea-shore.

One of the Companions of the Prophet (may peace be upon), came upon us in Egypt. When he was narrating traditions in the Mosque of Egypt, I heard him say: I was the seventh or the sixth person in the company of the Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) in the house of a person.

In the meantime Bilal came and called him for prayer. He came out and passed by a person who had his fire-pan on the fire. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to him: Has the food in the fire-pan been cooked? He replied: Yes, my parents be sacrificed upon you. He then took a piece out of it and continued to chew it until he uttered the first takbir (AllahuAkbar) of the prayer. All this time I was looking at him.

Nafi' reported on the authority of Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) that a person invoked curse on the wife during the lifetime of Allah s Messenger (may peace be upon him), so he effected separation between them and traced the lineage of the son to his mother.

I heard from the Prophet saying, "There will come a time upon the people when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and to the places of rainfall, run away with his religion (in order to save it) from afflictions."

`AbdurRahman bin Abza said, "Ask Ibn `Abbas about these two Qur'anic Verses: 'Nor kill such life as Allah has made sacred, Except for just cause.' (25.168) "And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell. (4.93) So I asked Ibn `Abbas who said, "When the Verse that is in Sura-al-Furqan was revealed, the pagans of Mecca said, 'But we have slain such life as Allah has made sacred, and we have invoked other gods along with Allah, and we have also committed fornication.' So Allah revealed:-- 'Except those who repent, believe, and do good-- (25.70) So this Verse was concerned with those people. As for the Verse in Surat-an-Nisa (4-93), it means that if a man, after understanding Islam and its laws and obligations, murders somebody, then his punishment is to dwell in the (Hell) Fire forever." Then I mentioned this to Mujahid who said, "Except the one who regrets (one's crime) . "

We entered upon Ibn `Abbas and he said "Are you not astonished at Ibn Az-Zubair's assuming the caliphate?" I said (to myself), "I will support him and speak of his good traits as I did not do even for Abu Bakr and `Umar though they were more entitled to receive al I good than he was." I said "He (i.e Ibn Az-Zubair) is the son of the aunt of the Prophet and the son of AzZubair, and the grandson of Abu Bakr and the son of Khadija's brother, and the son of `Aisha's sister." Nevertheless, he considers himself to be superior to me and does not want me to be one of his friends. So I said, "I never expected that he would refuse my offer to support him, and I don't think he intends to do me any good, therefore, if my cousins should inevitably be my rulers, it will be better for me to be ruled by them than by some others."

A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I saw in a dream, a cloud having shade. Butter and honey were dropping from it and I saw the people gathering it in their hands, some gathering much and some a little. And behold, there was a rope extending from the earth to the sky, and I saw that you (the Prophet) held it and went up, and then another man held it and went up and (after that) another (third) held it and went up, and then after another (fourth) man held it, but it broke and then got connected again." Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you! Allow me to interpret this dream." The Prophet said to him, "Interpret it." Abu Bakr said, "The cloud with shade symbolizes Islam, and the butter and honey dropping from it, symbolizes the Qur'an, its sweetness dropping and some people learning much of the Qur'an and some a little. The rope which is extended from the sky to the earth is the Truth which you (the Prophet) are following. You follow it and Allah will raise you high with it, and then another man will follow it and will rise up with it and another person will follow it and then another man will follow it but it will break and then it will be connected for him and he will rise up with it. O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you! Am I right or wrong?" The Prophet replied, "You are right in some of it and wrong in some." Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Prophet! By Allah, you must tell me in what I was wrong." The Prophet said, "Do not swear."

On the day of Khaibar, Allah's Apostle said, "Tomorrow I will give this flag to a man through whose hands Allah will give us victory. He loves Allah and His Apostle, and he is loved by Allah and His Apostle." The people remained that night, wondering as to who would be given it. In the morning the people went to Allah's Apostle and everyone of them was hopeful to receive it (i.e. the flag). The Prophet said, "Where is `Ali bin Abi Talib?" It was said, "He is suffering from eye trouble O Allah's Apostle." He said, "Send for him." `Ali was brought and Allah's Apostle spat in his eye and invoked good upon him. So `Ali was cured as if he never had any trouble. Then the Prophet gave him the flag. `Ali said "O Allah's Apostle! I will fight with them till they become like us." Allah's Apostle said, "Proceed and do not hurry. When you enter their territory, call them to embrace Islam and inform them of Allah's Rights which they should observe, for by Allah, even if a single man is led on the right path (of Islam) by Allah through you, then that will be better for you than the nice red camels.

The people used to say that Ibn `Umar had embraced Islam before `Umar. This is not true. What happened is that `Umar sent `Abdullah to bring his horse from an Ansari man so as to fight on it. At that time the people were giving the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle near the Tree, and `Umar was not aware of that. So `Abdullah (bin `Umar) gave the Pledge of Allegiance (to the Prophet) and went to take the horse and brought it to `Umar. While `Umar was putting on the armor to get ready for fighting, `Abdullah informed him that the people were giving the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle beneath the Tree. So `Umar set out and `Abdullah accompanied him till he gave the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle, and it was this event that made people say that Ibn `Umar had embraced Islam before `Umar.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) raided Thaqif. When Sakhr heard this, he proceeded on his horse along with some horsemen to support the Prophet (saws). He found the Prophet of Allah (saws) had returned and he did not conquer (Ta'if).

On that day Sakhr made a covenant with Allah and had His protection that he would not depart from that fortress until they (the inhabitants) surrendered to the command of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He did not leave them until they had surrendered to the command of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Sakhr then wrote to him: To proceed: Thaqif have surrendered to your command, Messenger of Allah, and I am on my way to them. They have horses with them.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then ordered prayers to be offered in congregation. He then prayed for Ahmas ten times: O Allah, send blessings the horses and the men of Ahmas.

The people came and Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said to him: Prophet of Allah, Sakhr took my paternal aunt while she embraced Islam like other Muslims.

He called him and said: Sakhr, when people embrace Islam, they have security of their blood and property. Give back to Mughirah his paternal aunt.

So he returned his aunt to him and asked the Prophet of Allah (saws): What about Banu Sulaym who have run away for (fear of) Islam and left that water? He said: Prophet of Allah, allow me and my people to settle there.

He said: Yes. So he allowed him to settle there. Banu Sulaym then embraced Islam, and they came to Sakhr. They asked him to return their water to them. But he refused.

So they came to the Prophet (saws) and said: Prophet of Allah, we embraced Islam and came to Sakhr so that he might return our water to us. But he has refused.

He (the Prophet) then came to him and said: When people embrace Islam, they secure their properties and blood. Return to the people their water.

He said: Yes, Prophet of Allah. I saw that the face of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was reddening at that moment, being ashamed of taking back from him the slave-girl and the water.

[Al-Bukhari].

`Abdullah bin `Umar came to us and we hoped that he would narrate to us a good Hadith. But before we asked him, a man got up and said to him, "O Abu `Abdur-Rahman! Narrate to us about the battles during the time of the afflictions, as Allah says:-- 'And fight them until there is no more afflictions (i.e. no more worshipping of others besides Allah).'" (2.193) Ibn `Umar said (to the man), "Do you know what is meant by afflictions? Let your mother bereave you! Muhammad used to fight against the pagans, for a Muslim was put to trial in his religion (The pagans will either kill him or chain him as a captive). His fighting was not like your fighting which is carried on for the sake of ruling."

Some people asked Allah's Apostle, "Whose Islam is the best? i.e. (Who is a very good Muslim)?" He replied, "One who avoids harming the Muslims with his tongue and hands."

I came upon `Abdullah and he said, "When Allah's Apostle invited Quraish (to Islam), they disbelieved him and stood against him. So he (the Prophet) said, "O Allah! Help me against them by afflicting them with seven years of famine similar to the seven years of Joseph.' So they were stricken with a year of drought that destroyed everything, and they started eating dead animals, and if one of them got up he would see something like smoke between him and the sky from the severe fatigue and hunger." `Abdullah then recited:-- 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people. This is a painful torment... (till he reached) ........ We shall indeed remove the punishment for a while, but truly you will revert (to heathenism): (44.10-15) `Abdullah added: "Will the punishment be removed from them on the Day of Resurrection?" He added," The severe grasp" was the Day of the Battle of Badr."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "Between the Islam of Safwan and the Islam of his wife there was about one month."

Ibn Shihab said, "We have not heard about any woman doing hijra for Allah and His Messenger while her husband was a kafir abiding in the land of kufr, but that her hijra separated her and her husband unless her husband came in hijra before her period of idda had been completed."

The Prophet said, "Time has come back to its original state which it had on the day Allah created the Heavens and the Earth. The year is twelve months, four of which are sacred, three of them are in succession, namely Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul Hijja and Muharram, (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar which is between Juma'da (ath-thamj and Sha'ban. The Prophet then asked, "Which month is this?" We said, "Allah and his Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, "Isn't it the month of Dhul-Hijja?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Which town is this?" We said, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it t,y a name other than its real name. He said, "isn't it the town (of Mecca)?" We replied, "Yes." He said, "What day is today?" We replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, "Isn't it the day of Nahr?" We replied, "Yes." He then said, "Your blood, properties and honor are as sacred to one another as this day of yours in this town of yours in this month of yours. You will meet your Lord, and He will ask you about your deeds. Beware! Do not go astray after me by cutting the necks of each other. It is incumbent upon those who are present to convey this message to those who are absent, for some of those to whom it is conveyed may comprehend it better than some of those who have heard it directly." (Muhammad, the sub-narrator, on mentioning this used to say: The Prophet then said, "No doubt! Haven't I delivered (Allah's) Message (to you)? Haven't I delivered Allah's message (to you)?"

A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah (saws) to Quff. So he visited them in their school.

They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (saws) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee.

He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. The transmitter then mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi'(No. 4431).

The people started asking the Prophet too many questions importunately. So one day he ascended the pulpit and said, "You will not ask me any question but I will explain it to you." I looked right and left, and behold, every man was covering his head with his garment and weeping. Then got up a man who, whenever quarreling with somebody, used to be accused of not being the son of his father. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is my father?" The Prophet replied, "Your father is Hudhaifa." Then `Umar got up and said, "We accept Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion and Muhammad as our Apostle and we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of afflictions." The Prophet said, " I have never seen the good and bad like on this day. No doubt, Paradise and Hell was displayed in front of me till I saw them in front of that wall," Qatada said: This Hadith used to be mentioned as an explanation of this Verse:-- 'O you who believe! Ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.' (5.101)

Some people asked Allah's Apostle about the fore-tellers He said. ' They are nothing" They said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Sometimes they tell us of a thing which turns out to be true." Allah's Apostle said, "A Jinn snatches that true word and pours it Into the ear of his friend (the fore-teller) (as one puts something into a bottle) The foreteller then mixes with that word one hundred lies."

Allah's Apostle said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intention and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle. And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

Allah's Apostle passed by two graves and said, "Both of them (persons in the grave) are being tortured, and they are not being tortured for a major sin. This one used not to save himself from being soiled with his urine, and the other used to go about with calumnies (among the people to rouse hostilities, e.g., one goes to a person and tells him that so-and-so says about him such-and-such evil things). The Prophet then asked for a green leaf of a date-palm tree, split it into two pieces and planted one on each grave and said, "It is hoped that their punishment may be abated till those two pieces of the leaf get dried." (See Hadith No 215, Vol 1).

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

I will narrate to you a narration which nobody will narrate to you after me. I heard that from the Prophet. I heard the Prophet saying, "The Hour will not be established" or said: "From among the portents of the Hour is that the religious knowledge will betaken away (by the death of religious Scholars) and general ignorance (of religion) will appear; and the drinking of alcoholic drinks will be very common, and (open) illegal sexual intercourse will prevail, and men will decrease in number while women will increase so much so that, for fifty women there will only be one man to look after them."