Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that a son of al-Mutawakkil had a mukatab who died at Makka and left (enough to pay) the rest of his kitaba and he owed some debts to people. He also left a daughter. The governor of Makka was not certain about how to judge in the case, so he wrote to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to ask him about it. Abd al-Malik wrote to him, "Begin with the debts owed to people, and then pay what remains of his kitaba. Then divide what remains of the property between the daughter and the master."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that the master of a slave does not have to give his slave a kitaba if he asks for it. I have not heard of any of the Imams forcing a man to give a kitaba to his slave. I heard that one of the people of knowledge, when someone asked about that and mentioned that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'Give them their kitaba, if you know some good in them' (Sura 24 ayat 33) recited these two ayats, 'When you are free of the state of ihram, then hunt for game.' (Sura 5 ayat 3) 'When the prayer is finished, scatter in the land and seek Allah's favour.' " (Sura 62 ayat 10)

Malik commented, "It is a way of doing things for which Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic, has given permission to people, and it is not obligatory for them." Malik said, "I heard one of the people of knowledge say about the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, 'Give them of the wealth which Allah has given you,' that it meant that a man give his slave a kitaba and then reduce the end of his kitaba for him by some specific amount."

Malik said, "This is what I have heard from the people of knowledge and what I see people doing here."

Malik said, "I have heard that Abdullah ibn Umar gave one of his slaves his kitaba for 35,000 dirhams, and then reduced the end of his kitaba by 5,000 dirhams."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that when a master gives a mukatab his kitaba, the mukatab's property goes with him but his children do not go with him unless he stipulates that in his kitaba."

Yahya said, "I heard Malik say that if a mukatab whose master had given him a kitaba had a slave- girl who was pregnant by him, and neither he nor his master knew that on the day he was given his kitaba, the child did not follow him because he was not included in the kitaba. He belonged to the master. As for the slave-girl, she belonged to the mukatab because she was his property."

Malik said that if a man and his wife's son (by another husband) inherited a mukatab from the wife and the mukatab died before he had completed his kitaba, they divided his inheritance between them according to the Book of Allah. If the slave paid his kitaba and then died, his inheritance went to the son of the woman, and the husband had nothing of his inheritance.

Malik said that if a mukatab gave his own slave a kitaba, the situation was looked at. If he wanted to do his slave a favour and it was obvious by his making it easy for him, that was not permitted. If he was giving him a kitaba from desire to find money to pay off his own kitaba, that was permitted for him.

Malik said that if a man had intercourse with a mukataba of his and she became pregnant by him, she had an option. If she liked she could be an umm walad. If she wished, she could confirm her kitaba. If she did not conceive, she still had her kitaba.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us about a slave who is owned by two men is that one of them does not give a kitaba for his share, whether or not his companion gives him permission to do so, unless they both write the kitaba together, because that alone would effect setting him free. If the slave were to fulfil what he had agreed on to free half of himself, and then the one who had given a kitaba for half of him was not obliged to complete his setting free, that would be in opposition to the words of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. 'If someone frees his share in a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave, justly evaluated for him, he must give his partners their shares, so the slave is completely free . ' "

Malik said, "If he is not aware of that until the mukatab has met the terms or before he has met them the owner who has written him the kitaba returns what he has taken from the mukatab to him, and then he and his partner divide him according to their original shares and the kitaba is invalid. He is the slave of both of them in his original state."

Malik spoke about a mukatab who was owned by two men and one of them granted him a delay in the payment of the right which he was owed, and the other refused to defer it, and so the one who refused to defer the payment exacted his part of the due. Malik said that if the mukatab then died and left property which did not complete his kitaba, "They divide it according to what they are still owed by him. Each of them takes according to his share. If the mukatab leaves more than his kitaba, each of them takes what remains to them of the kitaba, and what remains after that is divided equally between them. If the mukatab is unable to pay his kitaba fully and the one who did not allow him to defer his payment has exacted more than his associate did, the slave is still divided equally between them, and he does not return to his associates the excess of what he has exacted, because he only exacted his right with the permission of his associate. If one of them remits what is owed to him and then his associate exacts part of what he is owed by him and then the mukatab is unable to pay, he belongs to both of them. And the one who has exacted something does not return anything because he only demanded what he was owed. That is like the debt of two men in one writing against one man. One of them grants him time to pay and the other is greedy and exacts his due. Then the debtor goes bankrupt. The one who exacted his due does not have to return any of what he took."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab fixed a grant of 4000 (Dirhams) for every Early Emigrant (i.e. Muhajir) and fixed a grant of 3500 (Dirhams) only for Ibn `Umar. Somebody said to `Umar, "Ibn `Umar is also one of the Early Emigrants; why do you give him less than four-thousand?" `Umar replied, "His parents took him with them when they migrated, so he was not like the one who had migrated by himself.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) commissioned me as a collector of zakat. I visited a man. When he had collected his property of camels, I found that a she-camel in her second year was due from him.

I said to him: Pay a she-camel in her second year, for she is to be paid as sadaqah (zakat) by you.

He said: That one is not worthy of milking and riding. Here is another she-camel which is young, grand and fat. So take it.

I said to him: I shall not take an animal for which I have not been commanded. The Messenger of Allah (saws) is here near to you. If you like, go to him, and present to him what you presented to me. Do that; if he accepts it from you, I shall accept it; if he rejects it, I shall reject it.

He said: I shall do it. He accompanied me and took with him the she-camel which he had presented to me. We came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). He said to him: Prophet of Allah, your messenger came to me to collect zakat on my property. By Allah, neither the Messenger of Allah nor his messenger has ever seen my property before. I gathered my property (camels), and he estimated that a she-camel in her second year would be payable by me. But that has neither milk nor is it worth riding. So I presented to him a grand young she-camel for acceptance as zakat. But he has refused to take her. Look, she is here; I have brought her to you, Messenger of Allah. Take her.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: That is what is due from you. If you give voluntarily a better (animal) Allah will give a reward to you for it. We accept her from you.

She is here, Messenger of Allah; I have brought her to you. So take her. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then ordered me to take possession of it, and he prayed for a blessing on his property.

Yahya related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam that his father said that he had heard Umar ibn al-Khattab say, "I once gave a noble horse to carry somebody in the way of Allah, and the man neglected it. I wished to buy it back from him and I thought that he would sell it cheaply. I asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about it and he said, 'Do not buy it, even if he gives it to you for one dirham, for someone who takes back his sadaqa is like a dog swallowing its own vomit.' "

The Prophet visited me during Hajjat ul-Wada` while I was suffering from a disease which brought me to the verge of death. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! My ailment has reached such a (bad) state as you see, and I have much wealth, but I have no-one to inherit from me except my only daughter. Shall I give 2/3 of my property as alms (in charity)?" The Prophet said, "No," I said, "Shall I give half of my property as alms?" He said, "No." I said, "(Shall I give) 1/3 of it? " He replied, " 1/3, and even 1/3 is too much. It is better for you to leave your inheritors wealthy rather than to leave them poor, begging people (for their sustenance); and whatever you spend for Allah's Sake, you will get reward for it even for the morsel of food which you put in your wives mouth." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Should I remain (in Mecca) behind my companions (who are going with you to Medina)?" The Prophet said, "If you remain behind, any good deed which you will do for Allah's Sake, will upgrade and elevate you. May be you will live longer so that some people may benefit by you and some other (i.e. infidels) may get harmed by you." The Prophet then added, "O Allah! Complete the Migration of my companions and do not turn them on their heels. But the poor Sa`d bin Khaula (not the above mentioned Sa`d) (died in Mecca) ." Allah's Apostle pitied Sa`d for he died in Mecca.

Sa`d bin 'Ubada said, "If I saw a man with my wife, I would strike him (behead him) with the blade of my sword." This news reached Allah's Apostle who then said, "You people are astonished at Sa`d's Ghira. By Allah, I have more Ghira than he, and Allah has more Ghira than I, and because of Allah's Ghira, He has made unlawful Shameful deeds and sins (illegal sexual intercourse etc.) done in open and in secret. And there is none who likes that the people should repent to Him and beg His pardon than Allah, and for this reason He sent the warners and the givers of good news. And there is none who likes to be praised more than Allah does, and for this reason, Allah promised to grant Paradise (to the doers of good)." `Abdul Malik said, "No person has more Ghira than Allah."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.' Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hands my soul is' The unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting."

The Prophet (saws) said: The similitude of the one who takes back what he gifted is like that of a dog which vomits and then it eats vomit. When a donor seeks to take back (his gift), it should be made known and he informed why he sought to take it back. Then whatever he donated should be returned to him.

`Abdullah (bin Masud) said. "Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah's creation." His saying reached a lady from Bani Asd called Um Yaqub who came (to `Abdullah) and said, "I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?" He replied, "Why should I not curse these whom Allah's Apostle has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah's Book!" Um Yaqub said, "I have read the whole Qur'an, but I did not find in it what you say." He said, "Verily, if you have read it (i.e. the Qur'an), you have found it. Didn't you read: 'And whatsoever the Apostle gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you, you abstain (from it). (59.7) She replied, "Yes, I did," He said, "Verily, Allah's Apostle forbade such things." "She said, "But I see your wife doing these things?" He said, "Go and watch her." She went and watched her but could not see anything in support of her statement. On that he said, "If my wife was as you thought, I would not keep her in my company."

We used to salt some of the meat of sacrifice and present it to the Prophet at Medina. Once he said, "Do not eat (of that meat) for more than three days." That was not a final order, but (that year) he wanted us to feed of it to others, Allah knows better.

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of, Allah (may peace be upon him) said. He who takes a bath on Friday, the bath which is obligatory after the sexual discharge and then goes (to the mosque), he is like one who offers a she-camel as a sacrifice, and he who comes at the second hour would be like one who offers a cow, and he who comes at the third hour is live one who offers a ram with horns, and he who comes at the fourth hour is like one who offers a hen, and he who comes at the fifth hour is like one who offers an egg. And when the Imam comes out, the angels are also present and listen to the mention of God (the sermon).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: He who swears an oath in which he tells a lie to take the property of a Muslim by unfair means, will meet Allah while He is angry with him.

Al-Ash'ath said: I swear by Allah, he said this about me. There was some land between me and a Jew, but he denied it to me; so I presented him to the Prophet (saws).

The Prophet (saws) asked me: Have you any evidence? I replied: No. He said to the Jew: Take an oath. I said: Messenger of Allah, now he will take an oath and take my property. So Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse, "As for those who sell the faith they owe to Allah and their own plighted word for a small price, they shall have no portion in the hereafter."

The Prophet did something and allowed his people to do it, but some people refrained from doing it. When the Prophet learned of that, he delivered a sermon, and after having sent Praises to Allah, he said, "What is wrong with such people as refrain from doing a thing that I do? By Allah, I know Allah better than they, and I am more afraid of Him than they."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) once delayed the congregational night prayer.

He came out and said: The talk of Tamim ad-Dari detained me. He transmitted it to me from a man who was on of of the islands of the sea. All of a sudden he found a woman who was trailing her hair. He asked: Who are you?

She said: I am the Jassasah. Go to that castle. So I came to it and found a man who was trailing his hair, chained in iron collars, and leaping between Heaven and Earth.

I asked: Who are you? He replied: I am the Dajjal (Antichrist). Has the Prophet of the unlettered people come forth now? I replied: Yes. He said: Have they obeyed him or disobeyed him? I said: No, they have obeyed him. He said: That is better for them.

A man from Banu Abdullah ibn Ka'b brethren of Banu Qushayr (not Anas ibn Malik, the well-known Companion), said: A contingent from the cavalry of the Messenger of Allah (saws) raided us. I reached (for he said went) to the Messenger of Allah (saws) who was taking his meals. He said: Sit down, and take some from this meal of ours. I said: I am fasting, he said: Sit down, I shall tell you about prayer and fasting. Allah has remitted half the prayer to a traveller, and fasting to the traveller, the woman who is suckling an infant and the woman who is pregnant, I swear by Allah, he mentioned both (i.e. suckling and pregnant women) or one of them. I was grieved for not taking the food of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

The Prophet said, "If somebody on the demand of a judge takes an oath to grab (a Muslim's) property and he is liar in it, he will meet Allah Who will be angry with him". So Allah revealed,:-- 'Verily! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah's Covenant and their oaths..' (3.77) 'Al- Ashath came while `Abdullah was narrating (this) to the people. Al-Ashath said, "This verse was revealed regarding me and another man with whom I had a quarrel about a well. The Prophet said (to me), "Do you have any evidence?' I replied, 'No.' He said, 'Let your opponent take an oath.' I said: I am sure he would take a (false) oath." Thereupon it was revealed: 'Verily! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah's Covenant....' (3.77) (See Hadith No. 72, Vol 6).

Malik said that it was not permissible for a slave to buy himself from his master on the provision that he could give the wala' to whomever he wished as the wala' was for the one who set him free, and that had a man given permission to his mawla to give the wala' to whomever he wished, that would not have been permitted, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said, "The wala' is for the one who sets free. " The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade selling or giving away the wala'. For if it was permitted to the master to stipulate that for him and to give him permission to give the wala' to whomever he liked, that would be a gift.

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr that Sufyan ibn Abi Zuhayr said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Yemen will be conquered and the people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known. Ash-Sham will be conquered and people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known. Iraq will be conquered and people will be attracted to it, taking their families and whoever obeys them. Madina would have been better for them, had they but known.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever makes an oath and then sees that something else would be better than it, should do kaffara for his oath and do what is better."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "Anyone who says that he has a vow but does not mention the name of Allah, is still obliged to make the kaffara for an oath (if he breaks it)".

Malik said, "Emphasis is when a man swears one thing several times, repeating the oath in his speech time after time. For instance, the statement, 'By Allah, I will not decrease it from such-and-such,' sworn three times or more. The kaffara of that is like the kaffara of one oath. If a man swears, 'I will not eat this food or wear these clothes or enter this house,' that is all in one oath, and he is only obliged to do one kaffara. It is the same for a man who says to his wife, 'You are divorced if I clothe you in this garment or let you go to the mosque,' and it is one entire statement in the normal pattern of speech. If he breaks any of that oath, divorce is necessary, and there is no breaking of oath after that in whatever he does. There is only one oath to be broken in that."

Malik said, "What we do about a woman who makes a vow without her husband's permission is that she is allowed to do so and she must fulfill it, if it only concerns her own person and will not harm her husband. If, however, it will harm her husband, he may forbid her to fulfill it, but it remains an obligation against her until she has the opportunity to complete it."

Ibn `Abbas addressed us on a (rainy and) muddy day and when the Mu'adh-dhin said, "Come for the prayer" Ibn `Abbas ordered him to say, "Pray in your homes." The people began to look at one another with surprise as if they did not like it. Ibn `Abbas said, "It seems that you thought ill of it but no doubt it was done by one who was better than I (i.e. the Prophet). It (the prayer) is a strict order and I disliked to bring you out." Ibn `Abbas narrated the same as above but he said, "I did not like you to make you sinful (in refraining from coming to the mosque) and to come (to the mosque) covered with mud up to the knees."

The Prophet delivered the Khutba on the day of Nahr (`Id-ul-Adha) and said, "The first thing we should do on this day of ours is to pray and then return and slaughter (our sacrifices). So anyone who does so he acted according to our Sunna; and whoever slaughtered before the prayer then it was just meat that he offered to his family and would not be considered as a sacrifice in any way. My uncle Abu Burda bin Niyyar got up and said, "O, Allah's Apostle! I slaughtered the sacrifice before the prayer but I have a young she-goat which is better than an older sheep." The Prophet said, "Slaughter it in lieu of the first and such a goat will not be considered as a sacrifice for anybody else after you."

I heard the Prophet saying, "O people! Give in charity as a time will come upon you when a person will wander about with his object of charity and will not find anybody to accept it, and one (who will be requested to take it) will say, "If you had brought it yesterday, would have taken it, but today I am not in need of it."

Ubaydullah ibn Salman reported on the authority of a man from the Companions of the Prophet (saws): When we conquered Khaybar, they (the people) took out their spoils which contained equipment and captives. The people began to buy and sell their spoils. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed, a man came to him and said: Messenger of Allah, I have gained today so much so that no one gained from this valley. He asked: Woe unto you, how much did you gain? He replied: I kept on selling and buying until I gained three hundred uqiyahs. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I tell you a man who gained better than you. He asked: What is that, Messenger of Allah? He replied! Two rak'ahs (of supererogatory prayer) after the (obligatory) prayer.

There were good relations and brotherhood between this tribe of Jurm and the Ash`ariyyin. Once, while we were sitting with Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, there was brought to him a meal which contained chicken meat, and there was sitting beside him, a man from the tribe of Bani Taimul-lah who looked like one of the Mawali. Abu Musa invited the man to eat but the man said, "I have seen chicken eating some dirty things, and I have taken an oath not to eat chicken." Abu Musa said to him, "Come along, let me tell you something in this regard. Once I went to the Prophet with a few men from Ash`ariyyin and we asked him for mounts. The Prophet said, By Allah, I will not mount you on anything; besides I do not have anything to mount you on.' Then a few camels from the war booty were brought to the Prophet, and he asked about us, saying, 'Where are the group of Ash`ariyyin?' So he ordered for five fat camels to be given to us and then we set out. We said, 'What have we done? Allah's Apostle took an oath that he would not give us anything to ride and that he had nothing for us to ride, yet he provided us with mounts. We made Allah's Apostle forget his oath! By Allah, we will never be successful.' So we returned to him and reminded him of his oath. He said, 'I have not provided you with the mount, but Allah has done so. By Allah, I may take an oath to do something, but on finding something else which is better, I do that which is better and make the expiation for my oath.' "

While `Umar bin Al-Khattab was standing and delivering the sermon on a Friday, one of the companions of the Prophet, who was one of the foremost Muhajirs (emigrants) came. `Umar said to him, "What is the time now?" He replied, "I was busy and could not go back to my house till I heard the Adhan. I did not perform more than the ablution." Thereupon `Umar said to him, "Did you perform only the ablution although you know that Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) used to order us to take a bath (on Fridays)?"

'Abdullah (b. Umar) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) found, Umar b. al-Khattab amongst the riders and he was taking oath by his father Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called them (saying) ; Our Allah, the Exated and Majestic, has forbidden you that you take oath by your father. He who bag to take an oath, he must take it by Allah or keep quiet.

Allah's Apostle came to visit me during my ailment which had been aggravated during Hajjat-al- Wada`. I said to him, "You see how sick I am. I have much property but have no heir except my only daughter May I give two thirds of my property in charity?"! He said, "No." I said, "Half of it?" He said, "No." I said "One third?" He said, "One third is too much, for to leave your heirs rich is better than to leave them poor, begging of others. Nothing you spend seeking Allah's pleasure but you shall get a reward for it, even for what you put in the mouth of your wife."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the muadhdhin came to Umar ibn al-Khattab to call him to the subh prayer and found him sleeping, so he said, "Prayer is better than sleep," and Umar ordered him to put that in the adhan for subh .

My father said, "I heard Ibn `Umar reciting the poetic verses of Abu Talib: And a white (person) (i.e. the Prophet) who is requested to pray for rain and who takes care of the orphans and is the guardian of widows." Salim's father (Ibn `Umar) said, "The following poetic verse occurred to my mind while I was looking at the face of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) while he was praying for rain. He did not get down till the rain water flowed profusely from every roof-gutter: And a white (person) who is requested to pray for rain and who takes care of the orphans and is the guardian of widows . . . And these were the words of Abu Talib."

By Allah except Whom none has the right to- be worshipped, (sometimes) I used to lay (sleep) on the ground on my liver (abdomen) because of hunger, and (sometimes) I used to bind a stone over my belly because of hunger. One day I sat by the way from where they (the Prophet and his companions) used to come out. When Abu Bakr passed by, I asked him about a Verse from Allah's Book and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by and did not do so. Then `Umar passed by me and I asked him about a Verse from Allah's Book, and I asked him only that he might satisfy my hunger, but he passed by without doing so. Finally Abu-l-Qasim (the Prophet ) passed by me and he smiled when he saw me, for he knew what was in my heart and on my face. He said, "O Aba Hirr (Abu Huraira)!" I replied, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said to me, "Follow me." He left and I followed him. Then he entered the house and I asked permission to enter and was admitted. He found milk in a bowl and said, "From where is this milk?" They said, "It has been presented to you by such-and-such man (or by such and such woman)." He said, "O Aba Hirr!" I said, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Go and call the people of Suffa to me." These people of Suffa were the guests of Islam who had no families, nor money, nor anybody to depend upon, and whenever an object of charity was brought to the Prophet, he would send it to them and would not take anything from it, and whenever any present was given to him, he used to send some for them and take some of it for himself. The order of the Prophet upset me, and I said to myself, "How will this little milk be enough for the people of As- Suffa? though I was more entitled to drink from that milk in order to strengthen myself", but behold! The Prophet came to order me to give that milk to them. I wondered what will remain of that milk for me, but anyway, I could not but obey Allah and His Apostle so I went to the people of As-Suffa and called them, and they came and asked the Prophet's permission to enter. They were admitted and took their seats in the house. The Prophet said, "O Aba-Hirr!" I said, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Take it and give it to them." So I took the bowl (of milk) and started giving it to one man who would drink his fill and return it to me, whereupon I would give it to another man who, in his turn, would drink his fill and return it to me, and I would then offer it to another man who would drink his fill and return it to me. Finally, after the whole group had drunk their fill, I reached the Prophet who took the bowl and put it on his hand, looked at me and smiled and said. "O Aba Hirr!" I replied, "Labbaik, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "There remain you and I." I said, "You have said the truth, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Sit down and drink." I sat down and drank. He said, "Drink," and I drank. He kept on telling me repeatedly to drink, till I said, "No. by Allah Who sent you with the Truth, I have no space for it (in my stomach)." He said, "Hand it over to me." When I gave him the bowl, he praised Allah and pronounced Allah's Name on it and drank the remaining milk.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that he had heard that Abu Dharr used to say, "Brush away the small stones with one sweep, but if you leave them it is better than a red camel."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Masud used to say, "If someone makes a loan, they should not stipulate better than it. Even if it is a handful of grass, it is usury."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us is that there is no harm in borrowing any animals with a set description and itemisation, and one must return the like of them. This is not done in the case of female slaves. It is feared about that that it will lead to making halal what is not halal, so it is not good. The explanation of what is disapproved of in that, is that a man borrow a slave-girl and have intercourse with her as seems proper to him. Then he returns her to her owner. That is not good and it is not halal. The people of knowledge still forbid it and do not give an indulgence to any one in it."

My father got me married to a lady of a noble family, and often used to ask my wife about me, and she used to reply, "What a wonderful man he is! He never comes to my bed, nor has he approached me since he married me." When this state continued for a long period, my father told the story to the Prophet who said to my father, "Let me meet him." Then I met him and he asked me, "How do you fast?" I replied, "I fast daily," He asked, "How long does it take you to finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an?" I replied, "I finish it every night." On that he said, "Fast for three days every month and recite the Qur'an (and finish it) in one month." I said, "But I have power to do more than that." He said, "Then fast for three days per week." I said, "i have the power to do more than that." He said, "Therefore, fast the most superior type of fasting, (that is, the fasting of (prophet) David who used to fast every alternate day; and finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an In seven days." I wish I had accepted the permission of Allah's Apostle as I have become a weak old man. It is said that `Abdullah used to recite one-seventh of the Qur'an during the day-time to some of his family members, for he used to check his memorization of what he would recite at night during the daytime so that it would be easier for him to read at night. And whenever he wanted to gain some strength, he used to give up fasting for some days and count those days to fast for a similar period, for he disliked to leave those things which he used to do during the lifetime of the Prophet.

Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody takes a false oath in order to get the property of a Muslim (unjustly) by that oath, then Allah will be angry with him when he will meet Him." Al-Ash'ath informed me, "By Allah! This was said regarding me. There was a dispute about a piece of land between me and a man from the Jews who denied my right. I took him to the Prophet. Allah's Apostle asked me, 'Do you have an evidence?' I replied in the negative. He said to the Jew, 'Take an oath.' I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! He will surely take an oath and take my property unjustly." So, Allah revealed: "Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah's covenant and their oaths . . . " (3.77)