When Abu Huraira accompanied by his slave set out intending to embrace Islam they lost each other on the way. The slave then came while Abu Huraira was sitting with the Prophet. The Prophet said, "O Abu Huraira! Your slave has come back." Abu Huraira said, "Indeed, I would like you to witness that I have manumitted him." That happened at the time when Abu Huraira recited (the following poetic verse):-- 'What a long tedious tiresome night! Nevertheless, it has delivered us From the land of Kufr (disbelief).

The Prophet said, "The Hour will not be established till you fight a nation wearing hairy shoes, and till you fight the Turks, who will have small eyes, red faces and flat noses; and their faces will be like flat shields. And you will find that the best people are those who hate responsibility of ruling most of all till they are chosen to be the rulers. And the people are of different natures: The best in the pre-lslamic period are the best in Islam. A time will come when any of you will love to see me rather than to have his family and property doubled."

A man belonging to Usbadhiyin of the people of Bahrayn, who were the Magians of Hajar, came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and remained with him (for some time), and then came out. I asked him: What have Allah and His Messenger of Allah decided for you? He replied: Evil. I said: Silent. He said: Islam or killing. AbdurRahman ibn Awf said: He accepted jizyah from them. Ibn Abbas said: The people followed the statement of AbdurRahman ibn Awf, and they left that which I heard from the Usbadhi.

I heard Sa`id bin Zaid bin `Amr bin Nufail saying in the mosque of Al-Kufa. "By Allah, I have seen myself tied and forced by `Umar to leave Islam before `Umar himself embraced Islam. And if the mountain of Uhud could move from its place for the evil which you people have done to `Uthman, then it would have the right to move from its place."

`Umar used to admit me (into his house) along with the old men who had fought in the Badr battle. Some of them said (to `Umar), "Why do you allow this young man to enter with us, while we have sons of his own age? " `Umar said, "You know what person he is." One day `Umar called them and called me along with them, I had thought he called me on that day to show them something about me (i.e. my knowledge). `Umar asked them, "What do you say about (the Sura): "When comes the help of Allah and the Conquest (of Mecca) And you see mankind entering the Religion of Allah (i.e. Islam) in crowds. 'So celebrate the Praises Of your Lord and ask for His forgiveness, Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance and forgives." (110.1-3) Some of them replied, "We are ordered to praise Allah and repent to Him if we are helped and granted victory." Some said, "We do not know." Others kept quiet. `Umar then said to me, "Do you say similarly?" I said, "No." `Umar said "What do you say then?" I said, "This Verse indicates the approaching of the death of Allah's Apostle of which Allah informed him. When comes the help of Allah and the Conquest, i.e. the Conquest of Mecca, that will be the sign of your Prophet's) approaching death, so testify the uniqueness of your Lord (i.e. Allah) and praise Him and repent to Him as He is ready to forgive." On that, `Umar said, "I do not know about it anything other than what you know."

My father told me that Hakim bin Hizam manumitted one-hundred slaves in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance and slaughtered one-hundred camels (and distributed them in charity). When he embraced Islam he again slaughtered one-hundred camels and manumitted one-hundred slaves. Hakim said, "I asked Allah's Apostle, 'O Allah's Apostle! What do you think about some good deeds I used to practice in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance regarding them as deeds of righteousness?' Allah's Apostle said, "You have embraced Islam along with all those good deeds you did."

A man from the companions of the Prophet said, "Two men abused each other in front of the Prophet and one of them became angry and his anger became so intense that his face became swollen and changed. The Prophet said, "I know a word the saying of which will cause him to relax if he does say it." Then a man went to him and informed him of the statement of the Prophet and said, "Seek refuge with Allah from Satan." On that, angry man said, 'Do you find anything wrong with me? Am I insane? Go away!"

Once the Prophet went out during the day. Neither did he talk to me nor I to him till he reached the market of Bani Qainuqa and then he sat in the compound of Fatima's house and asked about the small boy (his grandson Al-Hasan) but Fatima kept the boy in for a while. I thought she was either changing his clothes or giving the boy a bath. After a while the boy came out running and the Prophet embraced and kissed him and then said, 'O Allah! Love him, and love whoever loves him.'

`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."

That Allah's Apostle rode over a donkey covered with a Fadakiya (velvet sheet) and Usama was riding behind him. He was visiting Sa`d bin 'Ubada (who was sick) in the dwelling place of Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj and this incident happened before the battle of Badr. They proceeded till they passed by a gathering in which `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul was present., and that was before `Abdullah bin Ubat embraced Islam. In that gathering there were Muslims, pagan idolators and Jews, and among the Muslims there was `Abdullah bin Rawaha. When a cloud of dust raised by (the movement of ) the animal covered that gathering, `Abdullah bin Ubai covered his nose with his garment and said, "Do not cover us with dust." Allah's Apostle greeted them, stopped, dismounted and invited them to Allah (i.e. to embrace Islam) and recited to them the Holy Qur'an. On that `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul said to him, "O man! There is nothing better than what you say, if it is the truth. So do not trouble us with it in our gatherings, but if somebody comes to you, you can preach to him." On that `Abdullah bin Rawaha said "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! Call on us in our gathering, for we love that." So the Muslims, the pagans and the Jews started abusing one another till they were about to fight with one another. Allah's Apostle kept on quietening them till all of them became quiet, and then Allah's Apostle rode his animal and proceeded till he entered upon Sa`d bin 'Ubada. Allah's Apostle said, "O Sa`d! Didn't you hear what Abu Habab said?" (meaning `Abdullah bin Unbar). "He said so-and-so." Sa`d bin Ubada said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you ! Excuse and forgive him for, by Him Who revealed to you the Book, Allah sent the Truth which was revealed to you at the time when the people of this town had decided to crown him (`Abdullah bin Ubai) as their ruler. So when Allah had prevented that with the Truth He had given you, he was choked by that, and that caused him to behave in such an impolite manner which you had noticed." So Allah's Apostle excused him. (It was the custom of) Allah's Apostle and his companions to excuse the pagans and the people of the scripture (Christians and Jews) as Allah ordered them, and they used to be patient when annoyed (by them). Allah said: 'You shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you.....and from the pagans (3.186) He also said: 'Many of the people of the scripture wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed. .... (2.109) So Allah's Apostle used to apply what Allah had ordered him by excusing them till he was allowed to fight against them. When Allah's Apostle had fought the battle of Badr and Allah killed whomever He killed among the chiefs of the infidels and the nobles of Quraish, and Allah's Apostle and his companions had returned with victory and booty, bringing with them some of the chiefs of the infidels and the nobles of the Quraish as captives. `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul and the pagan idolators who were with him, said, "This matter (Islam) has now brought out its face (triumphed), so give Allah's Apostle the pledge of allegiance (for embracing Islam.)". Then they became Muslims.

Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody innovates something which is not in harmony with the principles of our religion, that thing is rejected."

I never heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) attributing anyone to anything except to religion.

One day Allah's Apostle came out (before the people) and `Abdullah bin Hudhafa stood up and asked (him) "Who is my father?" The Prophet replied, "Your father is Hudhafa." The Prophet told them repeatedly (in anger) to ask him anything they liked. `Umar knelt down before the Prophet and said thrice, "We accept Allah as (our) Lord and Islam as (our) religion and Muhammad as (our) Prophet." After that the Prophet became silent.

The Prophet said, "There will emerge from the East some people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not exceed their throats and who will go out of (renounce) the religion (Islam) as an arrow passes through the game, and they will never come back to it unless the arrow, comes back to the middle of the bow (by itself) (i.e., impossible). The people asked, "What will their signs be?" He said, "Their sign will be the habit of shaving (of their beards and their heads). (Fath-ul-Bari, Page 322, Vol. 17th)

That he said, "O Allah's Apostle! What do you think about my good deeds which I used to do during the period of ignorance (before embracing Islam) like keeping good relations with my Kith and kin, manumitting of slaves and giving alms etc; Shall I receive the reward for that?" Allah's Apostle said, "You have embraced Islam with all those good deeds which you did.

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported. In the pre-Islamic days fast was observed on the day of Ashura, but with the advent of Islam (its position was ascertained as that of a voluntary fast). Then he who wished to fast fasted, and he who liked to abandon it abandoned it.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent an army to Banu al-Anbar. They captured them at Rukbah in the suburbs of at-Ta'if and drove them to the Holy Prophet (saws).

I rode hurriedly to the Holy Prophet (saws) and said: Peace be on you, Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Your contingent came to us and arrested us, but we had already embraced Islam and cut the sides of the ears of our cattle.

When Banu al-Anbar arrived, the Holy Prophet (saws) said to me: Have you any evidence that you had embraced Islam before you were captured today?

I said: Yes. He said: Who is your witness? I said: Samurah, a man from Banu al-Anbar, and another man whom he named. The man testified but Samurah refused to testify. The Holy Prophet (saws) said: He (Samurah) has refused to testify for you, so take an oath with your other witness. I said: Yes. He then dictated an oath to me and I swore to the effect that we had embraced Islam on a certain day, and that we had cut the sides of the ears of the cattle.

The Holy Prophet (saws) said: Go and divide half of their property, but do not touch their children. Had Allah not disliked the wastage of action, we should not have taxed you even a rope.

Zubayb said: My mother called me and said: This man has taken my mattress. I then went to the Holy Prophet (saws) and informed him.

He said to me: Detain him. So I caught him with a garment around his neck, and stood there with him . Then the Holy Prophet (saws) looked at us standing there. He asked: What do you intend (doing) with your captive?

I said: I shall let him go free if he returns to this (man) the mattress of his mother which he has taken from her.

He said: Prophet of Allah (saws), I no longer have it.

He said: The Holy Prophet (saws) took the sword of the man and gave it to me, and said to him: Go and give him some sa's of cereal. So he gave me some sa's of barley.

`Urwa said, "Aisha told me that Allah's Apostle used to examine the women emigrants. We have been told also that when Allah revealed the order that the Muslims should return to the pagans what they had spent on their wives who emigrated (after embracing Islam) and that the Muslims should not keep unbelieving women as their wives, `Umar divorced two of his wives, Qariba, the daughter of Abu Umayyah and the daughter of Jarwal Al-Khuza`i. Later on Mu`awiya married Qariba and Abu Jahm married the other." When the pagans refused to pay what the Muslims had spent on their wives, Allah revealed: "And if any of your wives have gone from you to the unbelievers and you have an accession (by the coming over of a woman from the other side) (then pay to those whose wives have gone) the equivalent of what they had spent (on their Mahr)." (60.11) So, Allah ordered that the Muslim whose wife has gone, should be given, as a compensation of the Mahr he had given to his wife, from the Mahr of the wives of the pagans who had emigrated deserting their husbands. We do not know any of the women emigrants who deserted Islam after embracing it. We have also been told that Abu Basir bin Asid Ath-Thaqafi came to the Prophet as a Muslim emigrant during the truce. Al-Akhnas bin Shariq wrote to the Prophet requesting him to return Abu Basir.

As-Salami: Allah's Apostle used to teach his companions to perform the prayer of Istikhara for each and every matter just as he used to teach them the Suras from the Qur'an He used to say, "If anyone of you intends to do some thing, he should offer a two rak`at prayer other than the compulsory prayers, and after finishing it, he should say: O Allah! I consult You, for You have all knowledge, and appeal to You to support me with Your Power and ask for Your Bounty, for You are able to do things while I am not, and You know while I do not; and You are the Knower of the Unseen. O Allah If You know It this matter (name your matter) is good for me both at present and in the future, (or in my religion), in my this life and in the Hereafter, then fulfill it for me and make it easy for me, and then bestow Your Blessings on me in that matter. O Allah! If You know that this matter is not good for me in my religion, in my this life and in my coming Hereafter (or at present or in the future), then divert me from it and choose for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me be pleased with it." (See Hadith No. 391, Vol. 8)

Regarding Al-Harauriyya: The Prophet said, "They will go out of Islam as an arrow darts out of the game's body.'

Who was Ka`b's guide when Ka`b turned blind: I heard Ka`b bin Malik narrating: When he remained behind (i.e. did not Join) the Prophet in the Ghazwa of Tabuk. Ibn Bukair, in his narration stated that Ka`b said, " I witnessed the Al-`Aqaba pledge of allegiance at night with the Prophet when we jointly agreed to support Islam with all our efforts I would not like to have attended the Badr battle instead of that 'Aqaba pledge although Badr is more well-known than it, amongst the people."

(the wife of the Prophet) I had seen my parents following Islam since I attained the age of puberty. Not a day passed but the Prophet visited us, both in the mornings and evenings. My father Abu Bakr thought of building a mosque in the courtyard of his house and he did so. He used to pray and recite the Qur'an in it. The pagan women and their children used to stand by him and look at him with surprise. Abu Bakr was a Softhearted person and could not help weeping while reciting the Qur'an. The chiefs of the Quraish pagans became afraid of that (i.e. that their children and women might be affected by the recitation of Qur'an).

That he visited Al-Hajjaj (bin Yusuf). Al-Hajjaj said, "O son of Al-Akwa`! You have turned on your heels (i.e., deserted Islam) by staying (in the desert) with the bedouins." Salama replied, "No, but Allah's Apostle allowed me to stay with the bedouin in the desert." Narrated Yazid bin Abi Ubaid: When `Uthman bin `Affan was killed (martyred), Salama bin Al-Akwa` went out to a place called Ar- Rabadha and married there and begot children, and he stayed there till a few nights before his death when he came to Medina.

`Umar saw a silken cloak over a man for sale and requested the Prophet to buy it in order to wear it on Fridays and while meeting delegates. The Prophet said, "This is worn by the one who will have no share in the Hereafter." Later on Allah's Apostle got some silken cloaks similar to that one, and he sent one to `Umar. `Umar said to the Prophet "How can I wear it, while you said about it what you said?" The Prophet said, "I have not given it to you to wear, but to sell or to give to someone else." So, `Umar sent it to his brother at Mecca before he embraced Islam.

I heard Sa`d saying, "I was the first amongst the 'Arabs who shot an arrow for Allah's Cause. We used to fight along with the Prophets, while we had nothing to eat except the leaves of trees so that one's excrete would look like the excrete balls of camel or a sheep, containing nothing to mix them together. Today Banu Asad tribe blame me for not having understood Islam. I would be a loser if my deeds were in vain." Those people complained about Sa`d to `Umar, claiming that he did not offer his prayers perfectly.

That he gave the Prophet (saws) a gift or a camel, so the Prophet (saws) said: "Have you accepted Islam?" He said: "No." He said: "Then I have been prohibited from the Zabd (gift) of the idolaters."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. And the meaning of his saying: "I haven been prohibited from the Zabd (gifts) of the idolaters" is their gifts.

It has been reported about the Messenger (saws) that he used to accept the gifts of the idolaters while a dislike for that is mentioned in this Hadith.

And the implication is that this was after he used to accept from them, and then he later forbade their gifts.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed over a dead person, he said: O Allah, forgive those of us who are living and those of us who are dead, those of us who are present and those of us who are absent, our young and our old, our male and our female. O Allah, to whomsoever of us Thou givest life grant him life as a believer, and whomsoever of us Thou takest in death take him in death as a follower of Islam. O Allah, do not withhold from us the reward (of faith) and do not lead us astray after his death.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with them) through another chain of transmitters but with this change that in tba hadith narrated by al-Thaqafi from Ubaidullah there is only a mention of selling (or right of inheritance, al-Wala' ) but not that of making a gift.

Once Malik bin Huwairith said to his friends, "Shall I show you how Allah's Apostle used to offer his prayers?" And it was not the time for any of the compulsory congregational prayers. So he stood up (for the prayer) bowed and said the Takbir, then he raised his head and remained standing for a while and then prostrated and raised his head for a while (sat up for a while). He prayed like our Sheikh `Amr Ibn Salama. (Aiyub said, "The latter used to do a thing which I did not see the people doing i.e. he used to sit between the third and the fourth rak`a). Malik bin Huwairith said, "We came to the Prophet (after embracing Islam) and stayed with him. He said to us, 'When you go back to your families, pray such and such a prayer at such and such a time, pray such and such a prayer at such and such a time, and when there is the time for the prayer then only of you should pronounce the Adhan for the prayer and the oldest of you should lead the prayer."

The Prophet said, "Isn't it true that a woman does not pray and does not fast on menstruating? And that is the defect (a loss) in her religion."