Bilal bin Al-Harith (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) took Zakah from the mines of Qabaliyah.

“I heard Ibn ‘Abbas say: ‘I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (saw) prayed before the sermon, then he delivered the sermon. And he thought that the women had not heard, so he went over to them and reminded them (of Allah) and preached to them and enjoined them to give in charity, and Bilal was spreading his hands like this, and the women started giving their earrings, rings and things.’”

"I saw Bilal calling the Adhan, and turning, and his (face) was following here and there, and his (index) fingers were in his ears, and Allah's Messenger was in a small red tent" - "I think," he (one of the narrators) said, "it was made from a hide" - so Bilal went out in front of him with an Anazah which he planted (in the ground) at Batha. Allah's Messenger prayed facing it, and a dog and a donkey passed in front of him; he was wearing a red Hullah, and it is as if I am now looking at the radiance of his shins." Sufyan said: "We think that it was a Hibrah."

Bilal b. Harith al-Muzani reported God’s messenger as saying, “Whoever revives a sunna of mine which has been neglected after my time will have a reward equal to the rewards of those who act upon it, without their rewards being diminished in any way. But whoever invents a misleading innovation with which God and His messenger are not pleased will be charged with a sin equal to the sins of those who act upon it without that diminishing their loads in any way.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it from Kathir b. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr from his father from his grandfather.

When Messenger of Allah (PBUH) told the women that they should give Sadaqah (charity), even if it should be some of their jewellery, I returned to 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud and said, "You are a man who does not possess much, and Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has commanded us to give Sadaqah. So go and ask him if giving to you will serve the purpose; otherwise, I shall give it to someone else." He asked me that I should better go myself. I went and found a woman of the Ansar at the door of Messenger of Allah (PBUH), waiting to ask a similar question as mine. The Prophet (PBUH) was endowed with dignity, and so we could not go in. When Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) came out to us, we said to him: "Go to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and tell him that there are two women at the door who have come to ask him whether it will serve them to give Sadaqah to their husbands and to orphans who are in their charge, but do not tell him who we are. Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) went in and asked him, and Messenger of Allah (PBUH) asked him who the women were. When he told him that they were a woman of the Ansar and Zainab, he asked him which Zainab it was, and when he was told it was the wife of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, he (PBUH) said, "They will have a double reward, one for maintaining the ties of kinship and another for Sadaqah".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Jabir stated that God’s Messenger said to Bilal, “When you call the adhan speak deliberately, when you utter the iqama speak quickly, and leave between your adhan and your iqama time for one who eats to finish his food and one who drinks to finish his drink, and one who needs to relieve himself to do so. And do not get up to pray* till you see me do so.” * This sentence is addressed not only to Bilal, as the plural is used. Tirmidhi transmitted it and said, “I know it only from the tradition of ‘Abd al-Mun‘im, and it is an unknown isnad”

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) "Tell me about the most hopeful act (i.e., one which you deem the most rewarding with Allah) you have done since your acceptance of Islam because I heard the sound of the steps of your shoes in front of me in Jannah." Bilal said: "I do not consider any act more hopeful than that whenever I make Wudu' (or took a bath) in an hour of night or day, I would immediately perform Salat (prayer) for as long as was destined for me to perform."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

"I stayed overnight with my maternal aunt Maimunah bin Al-Harith, and the Messenger of Allah (SAW) stayed overnight with her. I saw him get up to relieve himself and he went to the waterskin and undid its string, then he performed wudu and that was moderate (in the amount of water used). Then he went to his bed and slept. Then he got up again and went to the waterskin and undid its string, and performed wudu again, like the first time. Then he stood and prayed, and when he prostrated he said: 'Allahummaj'al fi qalbi nuran waj'al fi sami' nuran waj'al fi basri nuran, waj'al min tahti nuran waj'al min fawqi nuran, wa 'an yamii nuran wa 'an yasari nuran waj'al amami nuran, waj'al khalfi nuran wa a'zimli nura (O Allah, place light in my heart, and place light in my hearing, and place light in my seeing, and place light beneath me, and place light above me, and light on my right, and light on my left, and place light behind me, and make the light greater for me.') Then he slept until he started to snore, then Bilal came and woke him up for the prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Ata ibn Abi Rabah that a mawla of Asma bint Abi Bakr told him, "We arrived at Mina with Asma bint Abi Bakr at the end of the night, and I said to her, 'We have arrived at Mina at the end of the night,' and she said, 'We used to do that with one who was better than you.' "

Abu Juhaifa said, “I saw God's Messenger in Mecca at al-Abtah in a red leather tent, I saw Bilal take the ablution water left by God’s Messenger, and I saw the people racing one another to get to that ablution water. If anyone got any of it he rubbed himself with it, and anyone who did not get any got some of the moisture from his companion’s hand. I then saw Bilal take a staff and fix it in the ground, after which God’s Messenger came out quickly in a red mantle and led the people in two rak'as facing the staff. And I saw people and animals passing in front of the staff.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

“A Bedouin came to the Prophet (saw) and said: ‘I have seen the new crescent tonight.’ He said: ‘Do you bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (saw)?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Get up, O Bilal, and announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow.’”

Abu 'Ali said: "This is how it was narrated from Walid bin Abu Thawr and Hasan bin 'Ali. It was also narrated from Hammad bin Salamah, but he did not mention Ibn 'Abbas. He said: 'And he announced that they should perform the prayer and that they should fast.'"

When God’s Messenger ordered a bell to be made so that it might be struck to gather the people for prayer, a man carrying a bell in his hand appeared to me while I was asleep, and I said, “Servant of God, will you sell the bell ?” When he asked what I would do with it and I replied that we would use it to call people to prayer, he said, “Shall I not guide you to something better than that?" I replied, “Certainly”; so he told me to say, “God is most great ...” and similarly in the iqama. When I told God’s Messenger in the morning what I had seen he said, “It is a genuine vision, if God will; so get up along with Bilal, and when you have taught him what you have seen let him use it in making the call to prayer, for he has a stronger voice than you have. So I got up along with Bilal and began to teach it to him, and he used it in making the call to prayer. ‘Umar b, al-Khattab heard that when he was in his house, and he came out trailing his cloak and said, “Messenger of God, by Him who has sent you with the truth, I have seen the same kind of thing as has been revealed," to which God’s Messenger replied, “To God be the praise!” Abu Dawud, Darimi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, but Ibn Majah did not mention the iqama. Tirmidhi said that this is a sahih, tradition, but that it did not make the story of the bell explicit.

We were with God’s Messenger when Bilal got up and made the call to prayer. When he finished, God’s Messenger said, “If anyone says the same as this sincerely, he will enter paradise.” Nasa’i transmitted it.

“I heard 'Utbah bin Nuddar say: 'We were with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and he recited Ta-Sin. When he reached the story of Musa, he said: 'Musa (A.S) hired himself out for eight years, or ten, in return for his chastity and food in his stomach.' ”

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told that when God’s Messenger gained booty he ordered Bilal to make a public announcement, and when the people brought their booty he would take a fifth and divide it. One day a man brought a halter of hair after that and said, “Messenger of God, this is part of the booty we got.” He asked whether he had heard Bilal making announcement three times, and when he replied that he had, he asked what had prevented him from bringing it. He made some excuse, so he said, “You must bring it yourself on the day of resurrection, for I shall never accept it from you.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

When there was on any day windstorm or dark cloud (its effects) could be read on the face of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and he moved forward and backward (in a state of anxiety) ; and when it rained, he was delighted and it (the state of restlessness) disappeared. 'A'isha said: I asked him the reason of this anxiety and he said: I was afraid that it might be a calamity that might fall upon my Ummah, and when he saw rainfall he said: It is the mercy (of Allah).

When we were with the Messenger of Allah (saws) on an expedition, he saw some people collected together over something and sent a man and said: See, what are these people collected around? He then came and said: They are round a woman who has been killed. He said: This is not one with whom fighting should have taken place. Khalid ibn al-Walid was in charge of the van; so he sent a man and said: Tell Khalid not to kill a woman or a hired servant.

Qais b. Abu Hazim told that Bilal said to Abu Bakr, "If you bought me only for your own sake keep me, but if you bought me only for God's sake let me go and undertake God's work." Bukhari transmitted it.

"Bilal was commanded to say the phrases of the Adhan twice and the phrases of the Iqamah once."

Umm al-Husain said she saw Usama and Bilal, one of them holding the halter of God’s messenger’s she-camel, while the other raised his garment and sheltered him from the heat till he had thrown pebbles at the jamra of the ‘Aqaba. Muslim transmitted it.

Bilal ibn Sa'd al-Ash'ari related that Mu'awiya wrote to Abu Dharr, "Write down for me the deviants of Damascus." Abu Dharr said, "What do I have to do with the deviants of Damascus and how would I know them?" His son Bilal said, "I will write them," so he wrote them. Abu Dharr said, "How do you know? You would only know that they are deviants if you were one of them. Begin with yourself and do not send their names."

‘Abdallah confronted him, and reviling him in terms the like of which I have never heard at any other time, he said, “I give you information on the authority of God’s Messenger, yet you say, ‘I swear by God I will certainly prevent them’!” * He is Salim b. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. Muslim transmitted it.

"Allah's Messenger said [to me]: 'Do not say the Tathwib for any prayer except the Fajr prayer.'" [He said:] There is something on this topic from Abu Mahdhurah. Abu `Eisa said: We do not know of the Hadith of Bilal except as a narration of Abu Isra'il Al-Mula'i. Abu Isra'il did not hear this Hadith from Al-Hakam bin `Utaibah. He said: He only reported it from Al-Hasan bin `Umarah, from Al-Hakam bin `Utaibah. Abu Isra'il's name is [Isma`il bin Abi Ishaq, and he is not strong according to the people of Hadith. The people of knowledge have differed over the interpretation of At-Tathwib. Some of them say that At-Tathwib is when one says "As-Salatu Khairummin An-Nawm, (prayer is better than sleep)" for the Adhan of Fajr. This is the saying of Ibn Al-Mubarak and Ahmad. Ishaq said something different about At-Tathwib, he said: "[The disliked Tathwib] is something that the people started after the Prophet; when the Mu'adh-dhin calls the Adhan and the people are slow in coming, so between the Adhan and the Iqamah he says: 'Qad Qamatis-Salat, Hayya `Alasalat, Hayya `AlalFalah. (Prayer is ready, come to prayer, come to success.)" [He said:] This Tathwib, which Ishaq mentioned, is the one that the people of knowledge dislike, which they innovated after the Prophet. But Ibn Al-Mubarak and Ahmad explained that At-Tathwib is when the Mu'adh-dhin says: "As-Salatu Khairum minan-Nawm, (prayer is better than sleep)" for the Adhan of Fajr. And this is the correct saying, and it is called At-Tathawwub as well, and this is the one chosen by the people of knowledge, and it is their opinion. It has been reported from `Abdullah bin `Umar that he would say: "As-Salatu Khairum-minan-Nawm, (prayer is better than sleep)" for Fajr. It has been reported from Mujahid that he said: "I entered a Masjid with `Abdullah bin `Umar in which the Adhan was called, and we wanted to pray in it. Then the Mu'adh-dhin said the Tathwib. So `Abdullah bin `Umar left the Masjid and said: 'Let us leave the place of this innovator' And he did not pray in it." [He said:] `Abdullah only disliked the Tathwib that the people invented later on.

“This Verse was revealed concerning us six: Myself, Ibn Mas’ud, Suhaib, ‘Ammar, Miqdad and Bilal. The Quraish said to the Messenger of Allah (saw): ‘We do not want to join them, send them away.’ Thoughts of that entered the heart of the Messenger of Allah (saw) as much as Allah willed, then Allah revealed: “And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the unjust.” [6:52]

How would the Messenger of Allah (saws) pray during the night ? He replied: I spent a night with him when he was with Maimunah. He slept and awoke when half the night or one-third of it had passed. He stood up and went to a leather bad containing water. He performed ablution and I also performed ablution with him. He then stood up and I also stood at his left side. He made me stand at his right side. He then put his hand upon my head, as he was touching my ear and awakening me. He then prayed two light rak'ahs and recited Surah al-Fatihah in each of them, and uttered the salutation. He then prayed eleven rak'ahs observing the witr and slept. Then Bilal came to him and said: Prayer, Messenger of Allah. He got up and prayed two rak'ahs, and then led the people in the prayer.

"The Messenger of Allah(SAW) forbade giving our slaves four names: Aflah (successful), Nafi' (beneficial), Rabah (profit) and Yasar(prosperity)."

Once the people doubted the appearance of the moon of Ramadan, and intended neither to offer the tarawih prayer nor to keep fast. A bedouin came from al-Harrah and testified that he had sighted the moon. He was brought to the Prophet (saws). He asked: Do you testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah? He said: Yes; and he testified that he had sighted the moon. He commanded Bilal who announced to the people to offer the tarawih prayer and to keep fast.

Yazid b. Salih (instead of Yazid b. Sulaih).

"The Messenger of Allah caught up with me when I was riding a bad camel of ours, and I said: 'We have a bad camel, mare's the pit! The Prophet said: Will you sell it to me, O Jabir?' I Said, 'No, It is yours, O Messenger of Allah.; He said: 'O Allah forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him. I will buy it for such and such, and I will lend it to you to ride until (we reach) al-Madinah.' When Reached al-Madinah, I prepared it, and brought it to him, and he said: O Bilal, give him its price,' When I turned to leave, he called me back, and I was afraid that he would give it back at he said: 'It is yours.

Abu Sufyan passed by Salman, Suhaib and Bilal and some other Companions (May Allah be pleased with them). They said to him: "Did not the swords of Allah exact their due from the foes of Allah?" Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said to them: "Do you speak like this to the chief of the Quraish and their master?" Then he went to the Prophet (PBUH) and related this to him. He (PBUH) said, "Abu Bakr, perhaps you have angered them. If so, you have angered your Rubb". Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) went back to them and said: "Brothers, did I offend you?" They replied: "No. May Allah forgive you, brother".

[Muslim].

When six of us were with the Prophet the polytheists said to him, "Drive these people away and let them not have the audacity to address us[1]." I was present, also Ibn Mas'ud, a man of Hudhail, Bilal, and two men whose names I cannot remember. Then what God willed occurred to God's messenger's mind and he thought about it. God most high then sent down, "Do not drive away those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face[2]." 1. They were clients and poor people despised by Quraish who refused to listen to the Prophet unless he sent them away. 2. i.e., His good pleasure. Quran, 6:52. Muslim transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah wiped over his leather socks and his head cover (i.e., over the Imamah).

"A man came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and asked him about the times of prayer. He said: 'Stay with us for these two days.' Then he told Bilal to say the Iqamah at dawn and he prayed Fajr. Then he told him to do that when the sun had passed its zenith and he prayed Zuhr. Then he told him to do that when the sun was still bright, and he said the Iqamah for 'Asr. Then he told him to do that when the last part of the sun had dissapeared, and he said the Iqamah for Maghrib. Then he told him to do that when the twilight had disappeared and he said the Iqamah for 'Isha'. The following day, he prayed Fajr when there was light, then he delayed Zuhr until it was cooler, and waited until it was much cooler before praying 'Asr but the sun was still clear, so he prayed 'Asr later than on the first day. Then he prayed Maghrib before the twilight disappeared. Then he told him to say the Iqamah for 'Isha' when one-third of the night had passed, and he prayed, then he said: 'Where is the one who was asking about the times of prayer? The times of your prayer are between the times you have seen.'"

"A man came to the Prophet (PBUH) asking him about the times of prayer, and he did not answer him. He told Bilal to say the Iqamah at dawn broke, then he told him to say the Iqamah for Zuhr when the sun had passed its zenith and a person would say: 'It is the middle of the day,' but he (the Prophet (PBUH)) knew better. Then he told him to say the Iqamah for 'Asr when the sun was still high. Then he told him to say the Iqamah for Maghrib when the sun had set. Then he told him to say the Iqamah for 'Isha' when the twilight had dissapeared. Then the next day he told him to say the Iqamah for Fajr, at a time such that when after he had finished one would say: 'The sun has risen.' Then he delayed Zuhr until it was nearly the time of 'Asr compared to the day before. Then he delayed 'Asr, to a time such that when he finished one would say: 'The su has turned red.' Then he delayed Maghrib until the twilight was about to disappear. Then he delayed 'Isha' until one-third of the night had passed. Then he said: 'The time (for prayer) is between these times.'"

"The Messenger of Allah commanded me (with Tathwib) in the Adhan for Fajr, and he forbade me to do so in the Adhan for 'Isha'."

Abu Umama, or one of the companions of God’s Messenger, said that Bilal began the iqama, and when he said, “The time for prayer has come,” God’s Messenger said, “May God establish it and cause it to continue!” During the whole of the iqama he made such responses as are found in ‘Umar’s tradition about the adhan. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

I was a guest one night along with God's messenger and he ordered a haunch to be roasted, then took a broad knife and began to cut off slices for me. Bilal then came to tell him the time for prayer had come, and he threw down the knife saying, “What is the m atter with him! May his hands be covered with dust!”* My moustache was long, so he said, “I shall clip it for you over a tooth-stick,” or, “Clip it over a tooth-stick.” *Taribat yadahu. I have here translated the phrase literally, but cf. p. 658. It is not normally to be taken literally. In this tradition the Prophet is evidently displeased because the call to prayer has been made so soon, but it should not be understood that he is calling down a curse on Bilal. In its use here it may indicate some degree of displeasure, but nothing more. Tirmidhi transmitted it*

Raise your voice a litte ; or he said to 'Umar: Lower your voice a little. But this version adds: (The Prophet said:) I heard you, Bilal, (reciting) ; you were reciting partly from this surah and partly from that surah. He said: This is all good speech ; Allah has combined one part with the other; The Prophet (saws) said: All of you were correct.

Pray with us these two, meaning two days. When the sun passed the meridian, he gave command to Bilal who uttered the call to prayer. Then he commanded him and pronounced Iqama for noon prayer (Then at the time of the afternoon prayer) he again commanded and Iqama for the afternoon prayer was pronounced when the sun was high, white and clear. He then commanded and Iqama for the evening prayer was pronounced, when the sun had set. He then commanded him and the Iqama for the night prayer was pronounced when the twilight had disappeared. He then commanded him and the Iqama for the morning prayer was pronounced, when the dawn had appeared. When it was the next day, he commanded him to delay the noon prayer till the extreme heat had passed and he did so, and he allowed it to be delayed till the extreme heat had passed. He observed the afternoon prayer when the sun was high, delaying it beyond the time he had previously observed it. He observed the evening prayer before the twilight had vanished; he observed the night prayer when a third of the night had passed; and he observed the dawn prayer when there was clear daylight. He (the Holy Prophet) then said: Where is the man who inquired about the time of prayer? He (the inquirer) said: Messenger of Allah, here I am. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The time for your prayer is within the limits of what you have seen.

“It is permissible to offer a Jadha’a* among sheep as a sacrifice.”

Do not call your servant Yasar (wealth), Rabah (profit), Nijih(prosperous) and Aflah (successful), for you may ask; Is he there? And someone says: No. Samurah said: These are four (names), so do not attribute more to me.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: The summons (adhan) of Bilal should not restrain one of you from taking a meal shortly before dawn, for he utters adhan or calls (for prayer) so that the man at prayer may return, and the man asleep may get up. Dawn is not (the whiteness) which indicates thus (in perpendicular) - the narrator Musaddad said: Yahya joined his palms (indicating the spread of whiteness vertically - until it indicates thus - and Yahya spread out two ring-fingers of his (demonstrating the spread of whiteness horizontally)l

"I saw Bilal calling the Adhan in fron of Allah's Messenger, (saying the phrases) two by two, and saying each phrase once in the Iqamah."

There was some quarrel among the members of Banu 'Amr bin 'Auf. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) went with some of his Companions to bring about peace between them and he was detained. The time for Salat approached and Bilal (May Allah be pleased with them) went to Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: "Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has got late and it is the time for Salat. Will you lead Salat?" He said: "Yes, if you desire". Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) proclaimed the Adhan and then pronounced Iqamah. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) stepped forward and commenced As- Salat. (He recited Takbir and the people followed him). In the meantime, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived and, passing through the rows, took his stand in the first row. The people started clapping. It was the habit of Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) that whenever he started praying, he would never look round. He paid no heed (to the clapping). When the clapping increased, he turned round and saw Messenger of Allah (PBUH). He (the Prophet (PBUH)) beckoned him to continue performing Salat. But Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) raised his hands and praised Allah. Then he retreated, taking his steps backwards. When Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saw that, he went ahead and led Salat. When he finished Salat, he faced the congregation and said, "Why do you clap when something happens during the Salat. Clapping is only for women. If something happens in the course of Salat you should say, Subhan Allah. It is bound to attract attention. And you, Abu Bakr, what prevented you from carrying on with Salat, after I beckoned to do so?" He said, "It was not becoming for the son of Abu Quhafah to lead Salat in the presence of Messenger of Allah (PBUH)".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays from Ata ibn Abi Rabah that 'Umar ibn alKhattab once asked Yala ibn Munya, who was pouring out water for him while he was having a ghusl, to pour some on his head. Ya'la said, "Are you trying to make me responsible? I will only pour it out if you tell me to do so." Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Pour. It will only make (my head) more unkempt."

When God’s messenger came to Medina Abu Bakr and Bilal were prostrated with fever and when I went to God’s messenger and told him he said, "O God, make Medina as dear to us as Mecca, or more so, make it healthy, bless us in its sa' and its mudd, and transfer its fever and put it in al-Juhfa." Bukhari and Muslim.

Salim b. Abul Ja'd told of a man of Khuza'a saying, “I wish I had prayed and been at rest.” When the people seemed to disapprove of his saying that, he replied that he had heard God’s Messenger say, “Declare that the time for prayer has come, Bilal, and give us rest by it.”* * This probably means that prayer brings peace of mind. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

“I arrived in Makkah and met Ata bin Abi Rabah. I said: ‘O Abu Muhammad! Some people with us speak about Al-Qadar.’ Ata said: ‘I met Al-Walid bin Ubadah bin As-Samit and he said: “My father narrated to me, he said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “Verily the first of what Allah created was the Pen. He said to it: “Write.” So it wrote what will be forever.’”

When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) kept himself away from his wives, I entered the mosque, and found people striking the ground with pebblesand saying: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has divorced his wives, and that was before they were commanded to observe seclusion 'Umar said to himself: I must find this (actual position) today. So I went to 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) and said (to her): Daughter of Abu Bakr, have you gone to the extent of giving trouble to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Thereupon she said: Son of Khattab, you have nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with you. You should look to your own receptacle. He ('Umar) said: I visited Hafsa daughter of 'Umar, and said to her: Hafsa, the (news) has reached me that you cause Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) trouble. You know that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) does not love you, and had I not been (your father) he would have divorced you. (On hearing this) she wept bitterly. I said to her: Where is Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Shesaid: He is in the attic room. I went in and found Rabah, the servant of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), sitting on the thresholds of the window dangling his feet on the hollow wood of the date-palm with the help of which Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) climbed (to the apartment) and came down. I cried: 0 Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him). Rabah cast a glance at the apartment and then looked toward me but said nothing. I again said: Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Rabah looked towards the apartment and then cast a glance at me, but said nothig. I then raised my voice and said: 0 Rabah, seek permission for me from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I think that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is under the impression that I have come for the sake of Hafsa. By Allah, if Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) would command me to strike her neck, I would certainly strike her neck. I raised my voice and he pointed me to climb up (and get into his apartment). I visited Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he was lying on a mat. I sat down and he drew up his lower garment over him and he had nothing (else) over him, and that the mat had left its marks on his sides. I looked with my eyes in the store room of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I found only a handful of barley equal to one sa' and an equal quantity of the leaves of Mimosa Flava placed in the nook of the cell, and a semi-tanned leather bag hanging (in one side), and I was moved to tears (on seeing this extremely austere living of the Holy Piophet), and he said: Ibn Khattab, what wakes you weep? I said: Apostle of Allah, why should I not shed tears? This mat has left its marks on your sides and I do not see in your store room (except these few things) that I have seen; Ceasar and Closroes are leading their lives in plenty whereas you are Allah's Messenger. His chosen one, and that is your store! He said: Ibn Khattab, aren't you satisfied that for us (there should be the prosperity) of the Hereafter, and for them (there should be the prosperity of) this world? I said: Yes. And as I had entered I had seen the signs of anger on his face, and I therefore, said: Messenger of Allah, what trouble do you feel from your wives, and if youhave divorced them, verily Allah is with you, His angels, Gabriel, Mika'il, I and Abu Bakr and the believers are with you. And seldom I talked and (which I uttered on that day) I hoped that Allah would testify to my words that I uttered. And so the verse of option (Ayat al-Takhyir) was revealed. Maybe his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you..." (Ixv. 5). And if you back up one another against him, then surely Allah is his Patron, and Gabriel and the righteous believers, and the angels after that are the aidera (lvi. 4). And it was 'A'isha, daughter of Abu Bakr, and Hafsa who had prevailed upon all the wives of Allah's Prophet (way peace be upon him) for (pressing them for mote money). I said: Messenger of Allah, have you divorced them? He said: No. I said: Messenger of Allah, I entered the mosque and found the Muslims playing with pebbles (absorbed in thought) and saying: Allah's Messenger has divorced his wives. Should I get down and inform there that you have not divorced them? He said: Yes, if you so like. And I went on talking to him until I (found) the signs of anger disappeared on his face and (his seriousness was changed to a happy mood and as a result thereof) his face had the natural tranquillity upon it and he laughed and his teeth were the most charming (among the teeth) of all people. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) climbed down and I also climbed down and catching hold of the wood of the palm-tree and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came down (with such ease) as if he was walking on the ground, not touching anything with his hand (to get support). I said: Messenger of Allah, you remained in your apartment for twenty-nine days. He said: (At times) the month consists of twenty-nine days. I stood at the door of the mosque and I called out at the top of my voice: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has not divorced his wives (and it was on this occasion that this) verse was revealed:" And if any matter pertaining to peace or alarm comes within their ken, they broadcast it; whereas, if they would refer it to the Apostle and those who have been entrusted with authority amongst them, those of them who are engaged in obtaining intelligence would indeed know (what to do with) it" (iv 83). And it was I who understood this matter, and Allah revealed the verse pertaining to option (given to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him in regard to the retaining or divorcing of his wives).

'Abd Rabbihi and Yahya b. Sa'id also narrated this tradition from the Prophet (saws) omitting the name of the Companion (mursal). Their grandfather Zaid prayed along with the Prophet (saws).