Ibn 'Abbas (RAA) narrated, ‘A blind man had a pregnant slave, who used to abuse the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) and defame him. The blind man forbade her but she did not stop. One night she began to slander the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) so he took an axe, placed it on her belly, pressed it and killed her. The Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) was told about it, and thereupon he said, “Oh people! Be witnesses that no Diyah is to be paid for her blood.” Related by Abu Dawud with a trustworthy chain of narrators.

While passing in the mosque I found the people engrossed in talk, so I went to visit ‘Alī and told him. He asked if that was really so, and when I assured him that it was, he said he had heard God’s messenger say, “Dissension will certainly come,” and asked him how it could be avoided, to which he replied, “God’s Book is the way, for it contains information of what has happened before you, news of what will happen after you, and a decision regarding matters which occur among you (This is explained as a reference to such matters as unbelief and faith, obedience and dis-obedience, what is lawful and what is forbidden, etc.). It is the distinguisher and is not jesting, (Qur’ān, 86:13). If any overweening person abandons it God will break him, and if anyone seeks guidance elsewhere God will lead him astray. It is God’s strong cord, it is the wise reminder, it is the straight path, it is that by which the desires do not swerve nor the tongues become confused, and the learned cannot grasp it completely.* It does not become worn out by repetition and its wonders do not come to an end. It is that of which the jinn did not hesitate to say when they heard it, ‘We have heard a wonderful recital which guides to what is right, and we believe in it,’ (Qur’ān, 72). He who utters it speaks the truth, he who acts according to it is rewarded, he who pronounces judgment according to it is just, and he who invites people to it guides to a straight path.” *The verb used is one ordinarily meaning 'to be satisfied'. Here it is used to indicate that the learned can never learn all there is to be known about the teaching and meaning of the Qur’ān, so that they should be satisfied and feel no need to continue their study of it. Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmit­ted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a tradition whose isnād is unknown, and al-Hārith is adversely criticised.

'A’isha said the people complained to God’s Messenger of the lack of rain, so he gave orders for a pulpit, and when it was set up for him in the place of prayer he appointed a day for the people on which they should come out. ‘A’isha said God’s Messenger came out when the rim of the sun appeared and sat down on the pulpit. Having declared God’s greatness and expressed His praise, he said, “You have complained of drought in your abodes and of delay in receiving rain at the beginning of its season, but God has ordered you to supplicate Him and has promised that He would answer your prayers.” Then he said, “Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Master of the day of judgment. There is no god but God who does what He wishes. O God, Thou art God than whom there is no god, the Rich, while we are the poor. Send down rain upon us and make what Thou sendest down a strength and satisfaction for us for a time.” He then raised his hands and kept raising them till the whiteness under his armpits was visible. He then turned his back to the people and inverted (or, turned round) his cloak while keeping his hands aloft. He then faced the people, descended and prayed two rak'as. God then produced a cloud and a storm of thunder and lightning came on. Then it rained by God’s permission, and before he reached his mosque streams were flowing. When he saw the speed with which the people sought shelter he laughed till his back teeth were visible. Then he said, “I testify that God is omnipotent and that I am God’s servant and Messenger.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

"We went to Abu Hurairah (RA) regarding a friend of ours who was bankrupt. He said, "I shall certainly pronounce judgment about him in accordance with the judgement of Allah's Messenger (SAW). Whoever becomes bankrupt or dies, and a person finds his actual goods (remaining with that man), he has most right to them.'" [al-Hakim graded it Sahih (authentic); Abu Dawud graded it Da'if (weak). He also considered this addition of the mention of 'death' to be weak].

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Said ibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade the sale with uncertainty in it.

Malik said, "An example of one type of uncertain transaction and risk is that a man intends the price of a stray animal or escaped slave to be fifty dinars. A man says, 'I will take him from you for twenty dinars.' If the buyer finds him, thirty dinars goes from the seller, and if he does not find him, the seller takes twenty dinars from the buyer."

Malik said, "There is another fault in that. If that stray is found, it is not known whether it will have increased or decreased in value or what defects may have befallen it. This transaction is greatly uncertain and risky."

Malik said, "According to our way of doing things, one kind of uncertain transaction and risk is selling what is in the wombs of females - women and animals - because it is not known whether or not it will come out, and if it does come out, it is not known whether it will be beautiful or ugly, normal or disabled, male or female. All that is disparate. If it has that, its price is such-and-such, and if it has this, its price is such-and-such."

Malik said, "Females must not be sold with what is in their wombs excluded. That is that, for instance, a man says to another, 'The price of my sheep which has much milk is three dinars. She is yours for two dinars while I will have her future offspring.' This is disapproved because it is an uncertain transaction and a risk."

Malik said, "It is not halal to sell olives for olive oil or sesame for sesame oil, or butter for ghee because muzabana comes into that, because the person who buys the raw product for something specified which comes from it, does not know whether more or less will come out of that, so it is an uncertain transaction and a risk."

Malik said, "A similar case is the selling of ben-nuts for ben-nut oil. This is an uncertain transaction because what comes from the ben-nut is ben-oil. There is no harm in selling ben-nuts for perfumed ben because perfumed ben has been perfumed, mixed and changed from the state of raw ben-nut oil."

Malik, speaking about a man who sold goods to a man on the provision that there was to be no loss for the buyer, (i.e. if the buyer could not re-sell the goods they could go back to the seller), said, "This transaction is not permitted and it is part of risk. The explanation of why it is so, is that it is as if the seller hired the buyer for the profit if the goods make a profit. If he sells the stock at a loss, he has nothing, and his efforts are not compensated. This is not good. In such a transaction, the buyer should have a wage according to the work that he has contributed. Whatever there is of loss or profit in those goods is for and against the seller. This is only when the goods are gone and sold. If they do not go, the transaction between them is null and void."

Malik said, "As for a man who buys goods from a man and he concludes the sale and then the buyer regrets and asks to have the price reduced and the seller refuses and says, 'Sell it and I will compensate you for any loss.' There is no harm in this because there is no risk. It is something he proposes to him, and their transaction was not based on that. That is what is done among us."

“I heard the Prophet (saw) say, during the Farewell Pilgrimage: ‘O people! Which day is the most sacred?’ three times. They said: ‘The day of the greatest Hajj.’ He said: ‘Your blood and your wealth and your honor are sacred to one another, as sacred as this day of yours, in this land of your. No sinner commits a sin but it is against himself. No father is to be punished for the sins of his child, and no child is to be punished for the sins of his father. Satan has despaired of ever being worshipping in this land of yours, but he will be obeyed in some matters which you regard as insignificant, and he will be content with that. All the blood feuds of the Ignorance days are abolished, and the first of them that I abolish is the blood feud of Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib, who was nursed among Banu Laith and killed by Hudhail. All the usuries of the Ignorance days are abolished, but you will have your capital. Do not wrong others and you will not be wronged. O my nation, have I conveyed (the message)?’ (He asked this) three times. They said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘O Allah, bear witness!’ three times.”

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha that Anas ibn Malik had said that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went to Quba, he visited Umm Haram bint Milhan and she fed him. Umm Haram was the wife of Ubada ibn as-Samit. One day the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had called on her and she had fed him, and sat down to delouse his hair. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had dozed and woke up smiling. Umm Haram said, "What is making you smile, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Some of my community were presented to me, raiding in the way of Allah. They were riding in the middle of the sea, kings on thrones, or like kings on thrones." (Ishaq wasn't sure). She said, "O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah to put me among them!" So he had made a dua for her, and put his head down and slept. Then he had woken up smiling, and she said to him, "Messenger of Allah, why are you smiling?" He said, "Some of my community were presented to me, raiding in the way of Allah. They were kings on thrones or like kings on thrones," as he had said in the first one. She said, "O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah to put me among them!" He said, "You are among the first."

Ishaq added, "She travelled on the sea in the time of Muawiya, and when she landed, she was thrown from her mount and killed."

Yahya said that Malik said, "When the relatives of the deceased accept the blood-money then it is inherited according to the Book of Allah. Daughters of the dead man inherit and so do sisters, and whichever women would inherit from him ordinarily.

If the women do not take all his inheritance, then what remains goes to the agnatic relations who most deserve to inherit from him in conjunction with the women."

Malik said, "When one of the heirs of a man killed by mistake attempts to take his due from the blood-money while his companions are absent, he may not do that, and he has no right to any of the blood-money, however large or small, unless the qasama has been completed by him. If he swears fifty oaths then he has the right to his portion of the blood-money. That is because the blood-money is not established as due without there being fifty oaths, and the blood- money is not established as due unless the responsibility for the blood is established. If any one of the heirs comes after that he swears a number of the oaths commensurate with his fraction of the inheritance and takes his right until all the heirs exact their complete right. If a maternal uncle comes he has one sixth and must swear one sixth of the fifty oaths. So whoever swears may take his due from the blood-money and whoever abstains annuls his right. If one of the heirs is absent or is a child who has not reached puberty, those who are present swear fifty oaths and if the one who was absent comes after that or the child reaches puberty, they swear. and they swear according to their due of the blood-money and according to their shares of inheritance from it."

Yahya said that Malik said, "This is the best I have heard on the matter."

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) went out (of his house) one day, or one night, and there he met Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) also. He (PBUH) said, "What made you leave your houses at this hour?" They said, "It is hunger, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, what made you leave, made me also leave, so come along!" And he went along with them to a man from the Ansar, but they did not find him in his house. When the wife of that man saw the Prophet, she said, "You are most welcome." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to her, "Where is so-and-so?" She said, "He went to fetch some fresh water for us." In the meantime, the Ansari came back, saw Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and his two companions and said: "Praise be to Allah, today no one has more honourable guests than I." He then went out and brought them a bunch of date fruit, having dates, some still green, some ripe, and some fully ripe, and requested them to eat from it. He then took his knife (to slaughter a sheep). Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to him, "Do not kill a milch sheep." So he slaughtered a sheep for them. After they had eaten and drunk to their fill, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them), "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, you will certainly be questioned about this treat on the Day of Resurrection. Hunger brought you out of your homes, and you do not return to your homes till you have been blessed with this treat."

[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Yemen, and we came to some people who had built a trap for a lion. They began to push one another, and one man fell, so he grabbed onto another one, who then grabbed onto another one, until all four of them ended up in the trap and the lion wounded them. Then a man came and killed the lion with a spear, and they all died of their wounds, The next of kin of the first man went to the next of kin of the last man, and they took out weapons to fight, then `Ali came to them straight away and said: Do you want to fight one another when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is still alive? I will judge between you, and if you agree then that is the verdict, otherwise keep away from one another until you go to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he will be the one who judges between you, then whoever transgresses after that will have no right. Collect from the tribes of those who fell into the hole one quarter of the diyah [blood money], one third of the diyah, one half of the diyah and a complete diyah. For the first man (who fell in) there will be one quarter, because he caused the death of the one who came after him; for the second one there is one third of the diyah; and for the third one there is half of the diyah. They refused to accept that, so they went to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was at Maqam Ibraheem and told him the story, and he said: “I will judge between you.” One of the people said: `Ali has already passed judgement. They told him about it and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) approved it. It was narrated from Hanash that `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: The fourth one gets the diyah (blood money] in full.

the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Verily there are two things - words and guidance. The best words are the words of Allah, and the best guidance in the guidance of Muhammad. Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation (Bid'ah) and every innovation is a going-stray. Do not let the desire for a long life causes your hearts to grow hard. That which is bound to happen is close to you, and the only thing that is far away is that which is not going to happen. The one who is doomed to Hell is doomed from his mother's womb, and the one who is destined for Paradise is the one who learns from the lessons of others. Killing a believer constitutes disbelief (Kufr) and verbally abusing him is immorality (Fusuq). It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days. Beware of lying, for lying is never good, whether it is done seriously or in jest. A man should not make a promise to a child that he will not keep. Lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hell. Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. It will be said of the truthful person: 'He spoke the truth and was righteous', and it will be said of the liar, 'He told lies and was immoral.' "For a person continues to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a liar."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the raid on the Banu Ammar tribe." Jabir said, "I was resting under a tree when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came. I said, 'Messenger of Allah; come to the shade.' So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sat down, and I stood up and went to a sack of ours. I looked in it for something and found a small cucumber and broke it. Then I brought it to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said, 'From where did you get this?' I said, 'We brought it from Madina, Messenger of Allah.' "

Jabir continued, "We had a friend of ours with us whom we used to equip to go out to guard our mounts. I gave him what was necessary and then he turned about to go to the mounts and he was wearing two threadbare cloaks of his. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, looked at him and said, 'Does he have two garments other than these?' I said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah. He has two garments in the bag.' I gave them to him. He said, 'Let him go and put them on.' I let him go to put them on. As he turned to go, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, exclaimed, 'May Allah strike his neck. Isn't that better for him?' He said (taking him literally), 'Messenger of Allah, in the way of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'In the way of Allah.' " Jabir added, "The man was killed in the way of Allah."

Yazid b. Nu'aim b. Hazzal told on his father’s authority that Ma'iz b. Malik who was an orphan under his father's protection had intercourse with a slave girl belonging to the clan, so his father told him to go and inform God's Messenger what he had done, for he might perhaps ask forgiveness for him. His purpose in that was simply a hope that it might be a way of escape for him. He went to him and said, “Messenger of God, I have committed fornication, so inflict on me the punishment ordained by God.” He turned away from him, so he came back and said, “Messenger of God, I have committed fornication, so inflict on me the punishment ordained by God.” When he had said it four times God’s Messenger said, “You have said it four times. With whom did you commit it?” When he replied that it was with so and so he asked whether he had lain with her and he replied that he had. He asked whether his skin had been in contact with hers and he replied that it had. He then asked whether he had had intercourse with her and he replied that he had. He ordered him to be stoned to death and he was taken out to the harra, but when he felt the effect of the stones and could not bear it he went away quickly. But ‘Abdallah b. Unais encountered him when those who had been stoning him could not catch up on him, threw the bone of a camel’s foreleg at him, hit him and killed him. Then when he went to the Prophet and mentioned that to him he said, “Why did you not leave him alone,* for perhaps he might have repented and been forgiven by God.” Abu Dawud transmitted it. *The verb is in the plural.

Qatada quoted the authority of Anas b. Malik who quoted the authority of Malik b. Sa'sa'a to the effect that God's prophet told them about the night when he was taken up to heaven, saying, "While I was lying down at al-Hatim[2] (but perhaps he said al-Hijr), someone came to me and made a split from here to here (meaning from the pit of his chest to the hair below his navel), then took out my heart. I was next brought a gold dish full of faith, and my heart was washed, then filled up and put back. (A version says the inside was washed with Zamzam water, after which it was filled with faith and wisdom.) I was then brought a beast smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, which was white, was called al-Buraq, and stepped a distance equal to the range of its vision. I was mounted on it, and Gabriel went with me till he came to the lowest heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good,' and the gate was opened. When I entered Adam was there, and Gabriel said, `This is your father Adam, so give him a salutation. I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good son and the good prophet.' Gabriel then took me up till he came to the second heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good' and the gate was opened. When I entered John[3] and Jesus, who were cousins on the mother's side, were there, and Gabriel said, `These are John and Jesus, so give them a salutation I did so, and when they had returned my salutation they said, `Welcome to the good brother and the good prophet.' Gabriel then took me up to the third heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him, and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome, his coming is good and the gate was opened. When I entered Joseph was there, and. Gabriel said, this is Joseph, so give him a salutation.' I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good brother and the good prophet.' Gabriel then took me up till he came to the fourth heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied th at th at was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good,' and the gate was opened. When I entered Idris was there, and Gabriel said, `This is Idris, so give him a salutation.' I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good brother and the good prophet.' Gabriel then took me up till he came to the fifth heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good,' and the gate was opened. When I entered Aaron was there, and Gabriel said, `This is Aaron, so give him a salutation' I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good brother and the good prophet.' Gabriel then took me up till he came to the sixth heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for, and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good,' and the gate was opened. When I entered Moses was there, and Gabriel said, `This is Moses, so give him a salutation.' I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good brother and the good prophet.' Then when I passed on he wept, and when he was asked what was making him weep he replied, `I am weeping because more followers of a young man who was commissioned after my time will enter paradise than of mine.' Gabriel then took me up to the seventh heaven. He asked that the gate be opened, and when he was asked who he was he replied that he was Gabriel. He was asked who was with him and replied that it was Muhammad. He was asked whether he had been sent for and when he replied that that was so, the words were uttered, `Welcome; his coming is good.' When I entered Abraham was there, and Gabriel said, `This is your father Abraham, so give him a salutation.' I did so, and when he had returned my salutation he said, `Welcome to the good son and the good prophet.' I was then taken up to the lote tree of the boundary[4] and saw that its fruits were like the earthenware vessels of Hajar and its leaves like elephants' ears. He told me that this was the lote-tree of the boundary. I saw four rivers, two concealed and two apparent, and. when I asked Gabriel what these two pairs were, he replied, `The two concealed ones are rivers in paradise, and the two apparent ones are the Nile and the Euphrates.' After that I was shown the frequented house.[5] I was then brought a vessel of wine, a vessel of milk, and a vessel of honey, and when I took the milk he said, `It is the true religion[6] which you and your people follow.' Then fifty daily prayers were prescribed for me, but when I returned and passed Moses and on being asked by him what worship I had been commanded replied that I had been commanded to observe fifty daily prayers, he said, `Your people are not capable of observing fifty daily prayers. I swear by God that I have tested men before your time and have laboured most earnestly to prevail over the B. Isra'il, so go back to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter for your people.' I did so, and when He had reduced them by ten, I returned to Moses. He said the same as before, so I went back, and when He had reduced them by ten, I returned to Moses. He said the same as before, so I went back, and when He had reduced them by ten, I returned to Moses. He said the same as before, so I went back, and when He had reduced them by ten and I had been ordered to observe ten daily prayers I returned to Moses. He said the same as before, so I went back, and when I had been ordered to observe five daily prayers I returned to Moses. He asked what I had been ordered, and when I replied that I had been ordered to observe 'five daily prayers he said, `Your people are not capable of observing five daily prayers. I have tested men before your time and have laboured most earnestly to prevail over the B. Isra'il, so go back to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter for your people.' I replied, `I have asked my Lord till I am ashamed, but now I am satisfied and I submit.' Then when I passed on a crier called, `I have executed what I have made obligatory and have made things light for my servants'." 1. Literally 'the ascent'. The Prophet's night journey to heaven. 2. A semi-circular wall on the north-west side of the Ka'ba, the area between it and the Ka'ba being al-Hijr. 3. i.e., John the Baptist. 4. Cf. Quran; 53:14. 5. Cf. p. 929, n. 1. 6. Cf. Quran; 52:4. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

I heard Ka'b bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) narrating the story of his remaining behind instead of joining Messenger of Allah (PBUH) when he left for the battle of Tabuk. Ka'b said: "I accompanied Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in every expedition which he undertook excepting the battle of Tabuk and the battle of Badr. As for the battle of Badr, nobody was blamed for remaining behind as Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and the Muslims, when they set out, had in mind only to intercept the caravan of the Quraish. Allah made them confront their enemies unexpectedly. I had the honour of being with Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the night of 'Aqabah when we pledged our allegiance to Islam and it was dearer to me than participating in the battle of Badr, although Badr was more well-known among the people than that. And this is the account of my staying behind from the battle of Tabuk. I never had better means and more favourable circumstances than at the time of this expedition. And by Allah, I had never before possessed two riding-camels as I did during the time of this expedition. Whenever Messenger of Allah (PBUH) decided to go on a campaign, he would not disclose his real destination till the last moment (of departure). But on this expedition, he set out in extremely hot weather; the journey was long and the terrain was waterless desert; and he had to face a strong army, so he informed the Muslims about the actual position so that they should make full preparation for the campaign. And the Muslims who accompanied Messenger of Allah (PBUH) at that time were in large number but no proper record of them was maintained." Ka'b (further) said: "Few were the persons who chose to remain absent believing that they could easily hide themselves (and thus remain undetected) unless Revelation from Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious (revealed relating to them). And Messenger of Allah (PBUH) set out on this expedition when the fruit were ripe and their shade was sought. I had a weakness for them and it was during this season that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and the Muslims made preparations. I also would set out in the morning to make preparations along with them but would come back having done nothing and said to myself: 'I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like'. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) till the time of departure came and it was in the morning that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) set out along with the Muslims, but I had made no preparations. I would go early in the morning and come back, but with no decision. I went on doing so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. Then I wished to march on and join them. Would that I had done that! But perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Messenger of Allah (PBUH) whenever I went out, I was grieved to find no good example to follow but confirmed hypocrites or weak people whom Allah had exempted (from marching forth for Jihad). Messenger of Allah (PBUH) made no mention of me until he reached Tabuk. While he was sitting with the people in Tabuk, he said, 'What happened to Ka'b bin Malik?' A person from Banu Salimah said: "O Messenger of Allah, the (beauty) of his cloak and an appreciation of his finery have detained him.' Upon this Mu'adh bin Jabal (MatAllah be pleased with him) admonished him and said to Messenger of Allah (PBUH): "By Allah, we know nothing about him but good.' Messenger of Allah (PBUH), however, kept quiet. At that time he (the Prophet (PBUH)) saw a person dressed in white and said, 'Be Abu Khaithamah.' And was Abu Khaithamah Al- Ansari was the person who had contributed a Sa' of dates and was ridiculed by the hypocrites." Ka'b bin Malik further said: "When the news reached me that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was on his way back from Tabuk, I was greatly distressed. I thought of fabricating an excuse and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger the next day. In this connection, I sought the counsels of every prudent member of my family. When I was told that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was about to arrive, all the wicked ideas vanished (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing but the truth could save me. So I decided to tell him the truth. It was in the morning that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Al-Madinah. It was his habit that whenever he came back from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and perform two Rak'ah (of optional prayer) and would then sit with the people. When he sat, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him. They were more than eighty in number. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) accepted their excuses on the very face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their insights to Allah, until I appeared before him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He then said to me, 'Come forward'. I went forward and I sat in front of him. He said to me, 'What kept you back? Could you not afford to go in for a ride?' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, if I were to sit before anybody else, a man of the world, I would have definitely saved myself from his anger on one pretext or the other and I have a gifted skill in argumentation, but, by Allah, I am fully aware that if I were to put forward before you a lame excuse to please you, Allah would definitely provoke your wrath upon me. In case, I speak the truth, you may be angry with me, but I hope that Allah would be pleased with me (and accept my repentance). By Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I never possessed so good means, and I never had such favourable conditions for me as I had when I stayed behind.' Thereupon, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, 'This man spoke the truth, so get up (and wait) until Allah gives a decision about you.' I left and some people of Banu Salimah followed me. They said to me, 'By Allah, we do not know that you committed a sin before. You, however, showed inability to put forward an excuse before Messenger of Allah (PBUH) like those who stayed behind him. It would have been enough for the forgiveness of your sin that Messenger of Allah (PBUH) would have sought forgiveness for you.' By Allah, they kept on reproaching me until I thought of going back to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and retract my confession. Then I said to them, 'Has anyone else met the same fate?' They said, 'Yes, two persons have met the same fate. They made the same statement as you did and the same verdict was delivered in their case.' I asked, 'Who are they?' They said, 'Murarah bin Ar-Rabi' Al-'Amri and Hilal bin Umaiyyah Al- Waqifi.' They mentioned these two pious men who had taken part in the battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. I was confirmed in my original resolve. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) prohibited the Muslims to talk to the three of us from amongst those who had stayed behind. The people began to avoid us and their attitude towards us changed and it seemed as if the whole atmosphere had turned against us, and it was in fact the same atmosphere of which I was fully aware and in which I had lived (for a fairly long time). We spent fifty nights in this very state and my two friends confined themselves within their houses and spent (most of their) time weeping. As I was the youngest and the strongest, I would leave my house, attend the congregational Salat, move about in the bazaars, but none would speak to me. I would come to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) as he sat amongst (people) after the Salat, greet him and would ask myself whether or not his lips moved in response to my greetings. Then I would perform Salat near him and look at him stealthily. When I finish my Salat, he would look at me and when I would cast a glance at him he would turn away his eyes from me. When the harsh treatment of the Muslims to me continued for a (considerable) length of time, I walked and I climbed upon the wall of the garden of Abu Qatadah, who was my cousin, and I had a great love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not answer to my greeting. I said to him, 'O Abu Qatadah, I adjure you in the Name of Allah, are you not aware that I love Allah and His Messenger (PBUH)?' I asked him the same question again but he remained silent. I again adjured him, whereupon he said, 'Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) know better.' My eyes were filled with tears, and I came back climbing down the wall.

As I was walking in the bazaars of Al-Madinah, a man from the Syrian peasants, who had come to sell food grains in Al-Madinah, asked people to direct him to Ka'b bin Malik. People pointed towards me. He came to me and delivered a letter from the King of Ghassan, and as I was a scribe, I read that letter whose purport was: 'It has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Prophet (PBUH)) was treating you harshly. Allah has not created you for a place where you are to be degraded and where you cannot find your right place; so come to us and we shall receive you graciously.' As I read that letter I said: 'This is too a trial,' so I put it to fire in an oven. When forty days had elapsed and Messenger of Allah (PBUH) received no Revelation, there came to me a messenger of the Messenger of Allah and said, 'Verily, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has commanded you to keep away from your wife.' I said, 'Should I divorce her or what else should I do?' He said, 'No, but only keep away from her and don't have sexual contact with her.' The same message was sent to my companions. So, I said to my wife: 'You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case.' The wife of Hilal bin Umaiyyah came to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, Hilal bin Umaiyyah is a senile person and has no servant. Do you disapprove if I serve him?' He said, 'No, but don't let him have any sexual contact with you.' She said, 'By Allah, he has no such desire left in him. By Allah, he has been in tears since (this calamity) struck him.' Members of my family said to me, 'You should have sought permission from Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in regard to your wife. He has allowed the wife of Hilal bin Umaiyyah to serve him.' I said, 'I would not seek permission from Messenger of Allah (PBUH) for I do not know what Messenger of Allah might say in response to that, as I am a young man'. It was in this state that I spent ten more nights and thus fifty days had passed since people boycotted us and gave up talking to us. After I had offered my Fajr prayer on the early morning of the fiftieth day of this boycott on the roof of one of our houses, and had sat in the very state which Allah described as: 'The earth seemed constrained for me despite its vastness', I heard the voice of a proclaimer from the peak of the hill Sal' shouting at the top of his voice: 'O Ka'b bin Malik, rejoice.' I fell down in prostration and came to know that there was (a message of) relief for me. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) had informed the people about the acceptance of our repentance by Allah after he had offered the Fajr prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my companions in order to give them the glad tidings. A man spurred his horse towards me (to give the good news), and another one from the tribe of Aslam came running for the same purpose and, as he approached the mount, I received the good news which reached me before the rider did. When the one whose voice I had heard came to me to congratulate me, I took off my garments and gave them to him for the good news he brought to me. By Allah, I possessed nothing else (in the form of clothes) except these garments, at that time. Then I borrowed two garments, dressed myself and came to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) On my way, I met groups of people who greeted me for (the acceptance of) repentance and they said: 'Congratulations for acceptance of your repentance.' I reached the mosque where Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was sitting amidst people. Talhah bin 'Ubaidullah got up and rushed towards me, shook hands with me and greeted me. By Allah, no person stood up (to greet me) from amongst the Muhajirun besides him." Ka'b said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talhah. Ka'b further said: "I greeted Messenger of Allah (PBUH) with 'As-salamu 'alaikum' and his face was beaming with pleasure. He (PBUH) said, 'Rejoice with the best day you have ever seen since your mother gave you birth. 'I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Is this (good news) from you or from Allah?' He said, 'No, it is from Allah.' And it was common with Messenger of Allah (PBUH) that when ever he was happy, his face would glow as if it were a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognized it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said, I have placed a condition upon myself that if Allah accepts my Taubah, I would give up all of my property in charity for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (PBUH)!' Thereupon Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, 'Keep some property with you, as it is better for you.' I said, 'I shall keep with me that portion which is in Khaibar'. I added: 'O Messenger of Allah! Verily, Allah has granted me salvation because of my truthfulness, and therefore, repentance obliges me to speak nothing but the truth as long as I am alive." Ka'b added: "By Allah, I do not know anyone among the Muslims who has been granted truthfulness better than me since I said this to the Prophet (PBUH). By Allah! Since the time I made a pledge of this to Messenger of Allah (PBUH), I have never intended to tell a lie, and I hope that Allah would protect me (against telling lies) for the rest of my life. Allah, the Exalted, the Glorious, revealed these Verses:

'Allah has forgiven the Prophet (PBUH), the Muhajirun (Muslim Emigrants who left their homes and came to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (Muslims of Al- Madinah) who followed him (Muhammad (PBUH)) in the time of distress (Tabuk expedition), after the hearts of a party of them had nearly deviated (from the Right Path), but He accepted their repentance. Certainly, He is unto them full of kindness, Most Merciful. And (He did forgive also) the three who did not join [the Tabuk expedition and whose case was deferred (by the Prophet (PBUH)) for Allah's Decision] till for them the earth, vast as it is, was straitened and their ownselves were straitened to them, and they perceived that there is no fleeing from Allah, and no refuge but with Him. Then, He forgave them (accepted their repentance), that they might beg for His Pardon [repent (unto Him)]. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful. O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in word and deeds)." (9:117,118).

Ka'b said: "By Allah, since Allah guided me to Islam, there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and if I were to tell a lie I would have been ruined as were ruined those who had told lies, for Allah described those who told lies with the worst description He ever attributed to anybody else, as He sent down the Revelation:

They will swear by Allah to you (Muslims) when you return to them, that you may turn away from them. So turn away from them. Surely, they are Rijsun [i.e., Najasun (impure) because of their evil deeds], and Hell is their dwelling place - a recompense for that which they used to earn. They (the hypocrites) swear to you (Muslims) that you may be pleased with them, but if you are pleased with them, certainly Allah is not pleased with the people who are Al- Fa'siqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)". (9:95,96)

Ka'b further added: "The matter of the three of us remained pending for decision apart from the case of those who had made excuses on oath before Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he accepted those, took fresh oaths of allegiance from them and supplicated for their forgiveness. The Prophet (PBUH) kept our matter pending till Allah decided it. The three whose matter was deferred have been shown mercy. The reference here is not to our staying back from the expedition but to his delaying our matter and keeping it pending beyond the matter of those who made their excuses on oath which he accepted".

[Al- Bukhari and Muslim]

Another version adds: "Messenger of Allah (PBUH) set out for Tabuk on Thursday. He used to prefer to set out on journey on Thursday." Another version says: "Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to come back from a journey in the early forenoon and went straight to the mosque where he would perform two Rak'ah prayer. Afterwards he would seat himself there".

20 she-camels ‘hiqqah’ (in their fourth year), 20 she-camels ‘Jaz'ah’ (in their fifth year), 20 she-camels ‘bint makhad’ (in their second year), 20 she-camels ‘bint labun’ (in their third year) and 20 he-camels 'ibn labun' (in their third year).”Related by Ad-Daraqutni with a strong chain of narrators. The four Imams reported it with this version, “twenty ‘ibn makhad’ (twenty male camels which had entered their second year),” instead of “ibn labun.”

“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) passed by a Jew with a blackened face who had been flogged. He called them and said: 'Is this the punishment for the adulterer that you find in your Book?' They said: 'Yes.' Then he called one of their scholars and said: 'I adjure you by Allah (SWT) Who sent down the Tawrah (Torah) to Musa! Is this the punishment for the adulterer that you find in your Book?' He said: 'No; if you had not adjured me by Allah (SWT), I would not have told you. The punishment for the adulterer that we find in our Book is stoning, but many of our nobles were being stoned (because of the prevalence of adultery among them), so if we caught one of our nobles (committing adultery), we would let him go; but if we caught one of the weak among us, we would carry out the punishment on him. We said: “Come, let us agree upon something that we may impose on both noble and weak alike.” So we agreed to blacken the face and whip them, instead of stoning.' The Prophet (SAW) 'O Allah (SWT), I am the first of those who revive your command which they had killed off,' and he issued orders that (the man) be stoned.”

“When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) passed away, Abu Bakr was with his wife, the daughter of Kharijah, in villages surrounding Al-Madinah. They started to say: ‘The Prophet (SAW) has not died, rather he has been overcome with what used to overcome him at the time of Revelation.’ Then Abu Bakr came and uncovered his (the Prophet’s (SAW)) face, kissed him between the eyes and said: ‘You are too noble before Allah for Him to cause you to die twice. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) has indeed died.’ ‘Umar was in a corner of the mosque saying: ‘By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) has not died and he will never die until the hands and feet of most of the hypocrites are cut off.’ Then Abu Bakr stood up, ascended the pulpit and said: ‘Whoever used to worship Allah, Allah is alive and will never die. Whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. “Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who turns back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; and Allah will give reward to those who are grateful.’” [3:144] ‘Umar said: ‘It was as if I had never read (that Verse) before that day.’”

“The earth was brought together for me so that I could see the east and the west, and I was given two treasures, the yellow (or the red) and the white – meaning gold and silver. And it was said to me: ‘Your dominion will extend as far as has been shown to you.’ I asked Allah for three things: That my nation would not be overwhelmed by famine that would destroy them all, and that they would not be rent by schism and fight one another, but it was said to me: ‘When I (Allah) issue My decree it cannot be revoked. But I will never cause your nation to be overwhelmed by famine that would destroy them all, and I will not gather their enemies against them (and destroy them) until they annihilate one another and kill one another.’ Once they start to fight amongst themselves, that will continue until the Day of Resurrection. What I fear most for my nation is misguiding leaders. Some tribes among my nation will worship idols and some tribes among my nation will join the idolaters. Before the Hour comes there will be nearly thirty Dajjals (great liars), each of them claiming to be a Prophet. But a group among my nation will continue to adhere to the truth and be victorious, and those who oppose them will not harm them, until the command of Allah comes to pass.’”

"I said to Ibn 'Abbas: 'Nawf Al-Bikali claims that Musa, of Banu Isra'il is not the companion of Al-Khidr. He said: 'The enemy of Allah has lied. I heard Ubayy bin Ka'b saying: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say 'Musa stood to deliver a Khutbah to the children of Isra'il. He was asked: "Who is the most knowledgeable among the people?" He said: "I am the most knowledgeable." So Allah admonished him, since he did not refer the knowledge back to Him. Allah revealed to him: "A slave, among My slaves at the junction of the two seas, is more knowledgeable than you." So Musa said: "O Lord! How can I meet him?" He said to him: "Carry a fish in a basket, wherever you lose the fish, then he is there." So he set off, and his boy set off with him - and he was Yusha' bin Nun. Musa put a fish in a basket, he and the boy set off walking, until when they reached a rock, Musa and his boy fell asleep. The fish was flopping around in the basket, falling into the sea.' He said: 'Allah held back the flow of water until it was like a tunnel, and the fish could glide. Musa and his boy were amazed. They set off the remainder of the day and the night, and Musa's companion forgot to inform him (of the escape of the fish). When Musa arose in the morning, he said to his boy: Bring us our morning meal; truly we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey (18:62).' He said: 'He had not gotten tired until he passed the place which Allah had ordered him to go. He said: Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Shaitan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange way (18:63). Musa said: That is what we have been seeking. So they went back, retracing their tracks (18:64). He said: 'So they began retracing their tracks.'" Sufyan (one of the narrators) said: "People claim that there is a spring of life at that rock, no dying person has its water poured over him, but he becomes alive, and the fish came in contact with some of it, so when the water dropped on it he became alive." "He [the Prophet (SAW)] said: 'They retraced their tracks until they arrived at the rock to see a man covered in a garment. Musa greeted him, and he replied: Is there such a greeting in your land? He said: I am Musa. He said: Musa of the children of Isra'il? He said: Yes. He said: O Musa! Indeed you have some knowledge from Allah, which Allah taught you, which I have not been taught, and I have some knowledge from Allah, which Allah taught me, which you have not been taught.' So Musa said: May I follow you so that you may teach me something of the knowledge which you have been taught? (18:66) He said: Verily, you will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not? He said: If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you at all (18:67-69). Al-Khadir said to him: Then if you follow me, ask me not about anything until I myself mention it to you (18:70). Musa said: Yes. So Musa and Al-Khadir set off walking along the shore of the sea. A boat was passing by them, and they spoke to them (the crew) asking them to let them get on board. They recognized Al-Khadir so they let the two of them ride without charge. Al-Khadir took one of the planks (in the boat) and removed it, so Musa said to him: These people gave us a ride free of charge, yet you sabotaged their boat so that its people will drown. Indeed you have done a dreadful thing (18:71). He said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me? (18:72). He said call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (18:73). Then they exited the boat, and while they were walking upon the shore, they saw a boy playing with two other boys. So Al-Khadir took him by his head, pulling it off with his hands, and he killed him. So Musa said to him: Have you killed an innocent person who killed no one! Verily you have done a horrendous thing (18:74). He said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me? (18:75) - he (the narrator) said: - "This was more severe than the first one" - He said: If I ask you about anything after this, you have received an excuse from me. So they both proceeded until they came to the inhabitants of a town. They asked them for food but they refused to entertain them. There they found a wall on the verge of falling down (18:76 & 77). He (the narrator) said: - meaning leaning over - 'So Al-Khadir took his hand like this, so he set it up straight (18:77) so Musa said to him: We arrived at these people, they did not treat us as guests nor feed us. If you wished, surely you could have taken wages for it! He said: "This is the parting between you and I. I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things over which you were not able to be patient (18:77 & 78).'" The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'May Allah have mercy upon Musa! We wish that he would have had patience, so that we could have more knowledge about that two of them.' He said: 'So the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'The first time Musa had forgotten.' He said: 'And a sparrow came, until it perched on the edge of a boat, and pecked at the sea. So Al-Khadir said to him: My knowledge and your knowledge do not diminish anything from the knowledge of Allah, but like what this sparrow diminishes of the sea.' Sa'eed bin Jubair said: "and he would" - meaning Ibn 'Abbas - "recite: 'And there was before them a king who would take every useful boat by force (18:79).' And he would recite: 'As for the boy, he was a disbeliever (18:80).'"

"My father narrated to me that he attended the Farewell Hajj with the Messenger of Allah (SAW). He (SAW) expressed his gratitude to Allah and praised Him, and reminded and exhorted, then he said: 'Which day is most sacred? Which day is most sacred? Which day is most sacred?' He said: "So the people said: 'The day of Al-Hajj Al-Akbar O Messenger of Allah!' So he said: 'Indeed, your blood, your wealth, your honor, is as sacred for you as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this city of yours, in this month of yours. Behold! None commits a crime but against himself, none offends a father for a son, nor a son for a father. Behold! Indeed the Muslim is the brother of the Muslim, so it is not lawful for the Muslim to do anything to his brother, which is not lawful to be done to himself. Behold! All Riba from Jahiliyyah is invalid, for you is the principle of your wealth, but your are not to wrong nor be wronged - except in the case of Riba of Al-'Abbas bin 'Abdul-Muttalib - otherwise it is all invalid. Behold! All retribution regarding cases of blood during Jahiliyyah are invalid. The first case of blood retribution invalidated among those of Jahiliyyah, is the blood of Al-Harith bin 'Abdul-Muttalib who was nursed among Banu Laith and killed by Hudhail. Behold! I order you to treat women well, for they are but like captives with you, you have no sovereignty beyond this over them, unless they manifest lewdness. If they do that, then abandon their beds, and beat them with a beating that is not painful. Then if they obey you, then there is no cause for you against them beyond that. Behold! There are rights for you upon your women, and rights for your women upon you. As for your rights upon them,then they are not to allow anyone on your bedding whom you dislike, nor to permit anyone whom you dislike in your homes. Behold! Indeed their rights upon you are that you treat them well in clothing them and feeding them.'"

Abū Bakr sent for me after the slaughter of those who fought at al-Yamāma and ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb was with him. Abū Bakr told me that ‘Umar had come to him and drawn attention to the extensive slaughter among Qur’ān readers at the battle of al- Yamāma, saying he was afraid that if readers continued to be killed in large numbers at other battles a large amount of the Qur’ān would be lost, and that he therefore thought he should give command that the Qur’ān be collected. He had asked. ‘Umar how he could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done, and ‘Umar, swearing by God that this was best, had kept at him till God made him inclined to do that, and he came to hold ‘Umar’s opinion about the matter. Zaid told how Abū Bakr said to him, “You are an intelligent young man whom we do not suspect and you have been writing down the revelation which came to God’s messenger, so search for the Qur’ān and collect it,” adding: I swear by God that if they had imposed on me the transportation of a mountain it would not have been a heavier load for me than the collecting of the Qur’ān which he ordered me to undertake. I asked how they could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done and Abū Bakr, swearing by God that this was best, kept at me till God made me in­clined to do what He had made Abū Bakr and ‘Umar inclined to do. I therefore searched for the Qur’ān and collected it from leafless palm branches, white stones and the breasts of men till I found the end of sūra at-Tauba (Qur’ān, 9) with Abū Khuzaima al-Ansārī, not having found it with anyone else: "A messenger from among yourselves has come to you . . .” to the end of Barā'a* (Qur’ān, 9 128-129). The sheets were deposited with Abū Bakr till God took him, then with ‘Umar during his lifetime, then with Hafsa, ‘Umar’s daughter. *Tauba and Barā’a are alternative titles of sūra 9. Bukhārī transmitted it.

"Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) spent one whole night reciting a verse from the Qur’an.” Commentary: The aayah is the last aayah of Surah Maa-idah:

In tu-adh-dhib-hum fa-innahum 'ibaaduk. Wa in tagh-fir lahum fa-innaka antal azizul hakim.
Translation: "If Thou punish them, lo! they are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them, (lo! the are Thy slaves).Lo! Thou, only Thou, art Mighty, the wise".Surah Maa-idah, 118.

The Being that possesses great power, if He wills, He may forgive the criminal. The One that is all Wise, there is Wisdom and benefit in every act of His. The reason for Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam reciting this aayah while standing and also in the ruku and sajdah, and repeating it many times, is to bring to mind the two attributes of Allah, namely the attributes of justice and forgiveness. The whole scene on the day of qiyaamah will be of these two things. It is stated that Imaam Aa'zam Abu Hanifah RA. also recited the following aayah the whole night:

Wamtaazul yauma ayyuhal mujrimun.
Translation: "But avaunt ye, O ye guilty, this day!" Surah Yaseen, 58.

In this aayah too the scene of qiyaamah is portrayed. That today the sinners should separate and distinguish themselves. What a severe and nerve-chilling command this is. Today they are together with the pious and holy people and benefiting from the barakaat (blessings) they receive, but at this moment the sinners will be separated from them. May the Most Merciful Allah with His Grace keep those pious souls under His shadow, otherwise it is really a time for great trials.

AbdurRahman ibn Ka'b ibn Malik reported on the authority of a man from among the companions of the Prophet (saws): The infidels of the Quraysh wrote (a letter) to Ibn Ubayy and to those who worshipped idols from al-Aws and al-Khazraj, while the Messenger of Allah (saws) was at that time at Medina before the battle of Badr.

(They wrote): You gave protection to our companion. We swear by Allah, you should fight him or expel him, or we shall come to you in full force, until we kill your fighters and appropriate your women.

When this (news) reached Abdullah ibn Ubayy and those who were worshippers of idols, with him they gathered together to fight the Messenger of Allah (saws).

When this news reached the Messenger of Allah (saws), he visited them and said: The threat of the Quraysh to you has reached its end. They cannot contrive a plot against you, greater than what you yourselves intended to harm you. Are you willing to fight your sons and brethren? When they heard this from the Prophet (saws), they scattered. This reached the infidels of the Quraysh.

The infidels of the Quraysh again wrote (a letter) to the Jews after the battle of Badr: You are men of weapons and fortresses. You should fight our companion or we shall deal with you in a certain way. And nothing will come between us and the anklets of your women. When their letter reached the Prophet (saws), they gathered Banu an-Nadir to violate the treaty.

They sent a message to the Prophet (saws): Come out to us with thirty men from your companions, and thirty rabbis will come out from us till we meet at a central place where they will hear you. If they testify to you and believe in you, we shall believe in you. The narrator then narrated the whole story.

When the next day came, the Messenger of Allah (saws) went out in the morning with an army, and surrounded them.

He told them: I swear by Allah, you will have no peace from me until you conclude a treaty with me. But they refused to conclude a treaty with him. He therefore fought them the same day.

Next he attacked Banu Quraysh with an army in the morning, and left Banu an-Nadir. He asked them to sign a treaty and they signed it.

He turned away from them and attacked Banu an-Nadir with an army. He fought with them until they agreed to expulsion. Banu an-Nadir were deported, and they took with them whatever their camels could carry, that is, their property, the doors of their houses, and their wood. Palm-trees were exclusively reserved for the Messenger of Allah (saws). Allah bestowed them upon him and gave them him as a special portion.

He (Allah), the Exalted, said: What Allah has bestowed on His Apostle (and taken away) from them, for this ye made no expedition with either camel corps or cavalry." He said: "Without fighting." So the Prophet (saws) gave most of it to the emigrants and divided it among them; and he divided some of it between two men from the helpers, who were needy, and he did not divide it among any of the helpers except those two. The rest of it survived as the sadaqah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) which is in the hands of the descendants of Fatimah (Allah be pleased with her).

I divorced my wife. I then came to Medina to sell my land that was there so that I could buy arms and fight in battle. I met a group of the Companions of the Prophet (saws). They said: Six persons of us intended to do so (i.e. divorce their wives and purchase weapons), but the Prophet (saws) prohibited them. He said: For you in the Messenger of Allah there is an excellent model. I then came to Ibn 'Abbas and asked him about the witr observed by the Prophet (saws). He said: I point to you a person who is most familiar with the witr observed by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Go to 'Aishah. While going to her I asked Hakim b. Aflah to accompany me. He refused, but I adjured him. He, therefore, went along with me. We sought permission to enter upon 'Aishah. She said: Who is this ? He said: Hakim b. Aflah. She asked: Who is with you ? He replied: Sa'd b. Hisham. She said: Hisham son of 'Amir who was killed in the Battle of Uhud. I said: Yes. She said: What a good man 'Amir was! I said: Mother of faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (saws). She asked: Do you not recite the Quran ? The character of Messenger of Allah (saws) was the Qur'an. I asked: Tell me about his vigil and prayer at night. She replied: Do you not recite: "O thou folded in garments" (73:1). I said: Why not ?

When the opening of this Surah was revealed, the Companions stood praying (most of the night) until their fett swelled, and the concluding verses were not revealed for twelve months from heaven. At last the concluding verses were revealed and the prayer at night became voluntary after it was obligatory. I said: Tell me about the witr of the Prophet (saws). She replied: He used to pray eight rak'ahs, sitting only during the eighth of them. Then he would stand up and pray another rak'ahs. He would sit only after the eighth and the ninth rak'ahs. He would utter salutation only after the ninth rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting and that made eleven rak'ahs, O my son. But when he grew old and became fleshy he observed a witr of seven, sitting only in sixth and seventh rak'ahs, and would utter salutation only after the seventh rak'ah. He would then pray two rak'ahs sitting, and that made nine rak'ahs, O my son. The Messenger of Allah (saws) would not pray through a whole night, or recite the whole Qur'an in a night or fast a complete month except in Ramadan. When he offered prayer, he would do that regularly. When he was overtaken by sleep at night, he would pray twelve rak'ahs.

The narrator said: I came to Ibn 'Abbas and narrated all this to him. By Allah, this is really a tradition. Has I been on speaking terms with her, I would have come to her and heard it from her mouth. I said: If I knew that you were not on speaking terms with her, I would have never narrated it to you.

Ibn Shihab told on the authority of Anas that Abu Dharr used to tell that God's messenger said, "The roof of my house was cleft when I was in Mecca and Gabriel descended and opened my breast, after which he washed it with Zamzam water. He then brought a gold dish full of wisdom and faith, and after emptying it into my breast he closed it up. Then taking me by the hand he ascended with me to heaven, and when I came to the lowest heaven Gabriel said to the guardian of heaven, `Open.' He asked who was there, and when he replied that it was Gabriel, he asked whether anyone was with him. When he replied that he had Muhammad with him he was asked whether he had been sent for and replied that he had. When the gate was opened, we went up into the lowest heaven and I saw a man sitting with people on his right and people on his left. When he looked to his right he laughed, and when he looked to his left he wept. He said, `Welcome to the good prophet and the good son.' I asked Gabriel who this was and he replied, `This is Adam, and these people on his right and his left are the souls of his descendants. Those of them on his right are the inhabitants of paradise and those on his left are the inhabitants of hell, so when he looks to his right he laughs and when he looks to his left he weeps.' He then took me up to the second heaven and said to its guardian, `Open,' and its guardian said to him the same as the first one had said." Anas said he mentioned that he had found in the heavens Adam, Idris, Moses, Jesus and Abraham, hut did not specify the nature of their abodes, except th a t he mentioned he had found Adam in the lowest heaven and Abraham in the sixth. Ibn Shihab said he was told by Ibn Hazm that Ibn `Abbas and Abu Habba al-Ansar! used to say that the Prophet said, "I was then taken up till I mounted a height in which I heard the scraping of the pens." Ibn Hazm and Anas told that the Prophet said, ``God then made fifty prayers obligatory for my people and I returned with that. When I passed Moses, he asked what God had made it obligatory for me to impose on my people, and when I told him He had made fifty I prayers obligatory he said, `Go back to your Lord, for your people are | not capable.' So, he sent me back and half of them were remitted, and i! when I returned to Moses and told him that half of them had been i remitted, he said, `Go back to your Lord, for your people are not capable.' I went back and repeated what I had said, and half of them were remitted. I then returned to him and he said, `Go back to your Lord, for your I people are not capable of that.' I went back to Him and He said, `They are five and at the same time fifty. What has been said is not changed with Me.' I then returned to Moses, and when he told me to go back to my Lord I replied, `I am ashamed to face my Lord.' He then travelled; with me till he brought me to the lote-tree of the boundary covered with colours, what they were I do not know. I was then brought into paradise and saw in it domes of pearls, and its soil was musk." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

"From 'Ubaid bin As-Sabbaq, that Zaid bin Thabit narrated to him, he said: 'Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me - (regarding) those killed at Al-Yamamah - and 'Umar bin Al-Khattab was with him. He (Abu Bakr) said: "'Umar came to me and said: The fighting inflicted many casualties among the reciters of the Qur'an on the Day of Al-Yamamah, and I fear that there will be more casualties among the reciters in other parts of the land, such that much of the Qur'an may be lost. In my view, you should order that the Qur'an be collected.'" Abu Bakr said to 'Umar: "How can I do something which was not done my the Messenger of Allah (SAW)?" 'Umar said: 'By Allah! It is something good.' 'Umar continued trying to convince me until Allah opened up my chest to that which He had opened the chest of 'Umar, and I saw it as he saw it." Zaid said: 'Abu Bakr said: "You are a young wise man, and we have no suspicions of you. You used to write down the Revelation for the Messenger of Allah as the Qur'an was revealed." He (Zaid) said: 'By Allah! If they had ordered to move one of the mountains it would have been lighter on me than that.' He said: 'I said: "How will you do something which was not done by the Messenger of Allah (SAW)?" Abu Bakr said: "By Allah! It is something good." Abu Bakr and 'Umar continued trying to convince me, until Allah opened up my chest for that, just as He had opened their chests, the chest of Abu Bakr and the chest of 'Umar. So I began searching for Qur'anic material from parchments, leaf stalks of date-palms and Al-Likhaf - meaning stones - and the chests of men. I found the end of Surah Bara'ah with Khuzaimah bin Thabit: Verily, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He is eager for you; for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. But if they turn away, say: "Allah is sufficient for me. There is no god but He, in Him I put my trust, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne (9:128 & 129).'"

that his sister Furai'ah bint Malik said: "My husband went out to pursue some slaves of his. He caught up with them at the edge of Qadumttl and they killed him. News of his death reached me when I was in one of the houses of the Ansar, far away from the house of my family and my brothers. I went to the Prophet (SAW) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah (SAW), there has come to me news of my husband's death and I am in a house far away from the house of my people and the house of my brothers. He did not leave any money that could be spent on me, or any inheritance, or any house I may take possession of. If you think that you could give me permission to join my family and my brothers, then that is what I prefer and is better for me in some ways.' He said: 'Do that if you wish.' Then I went out, feeling happy with the ruling of Allah given upon the lips of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), until, when I was in the mosque, or, in one of the apartments, he called me and said: 'What did you say?' I told him the story, and he said: 'Stay in the house in which the news of your husband's death came to you, until your waiting period is ever."' She said: "So I observed the waiting period there for four months and ten (days)."

"I don't know of a deed closer to Allah, Exalted and Majestic, other than dutifulness to the mother."

""Some meat was brought to the Prophet (s.a.w) and a foreleg was presented to him, and he used to like it, so he bit from it. Then he said: 'I will be the 'Leader' of the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know why that is? Allah will gather the people, the first and the last, on one level ground where they will (all) be able to hear a caller, and all of them will be visible, and the sun will be brought near such that the people will suffer distress and trouble that they cannot tolerate nor bear. Then some people will say: "Don't you see the state you have reached? Why don't you look for a person who can intercede for you with your Lord? " Some of them will say to others: " You should go to Adam." So they will go to Adam and say, "You are the father of all mankind, Allah created you with His Own Hands, and breathed into you from His spirit (which He creted for you) and ordered the angels to prostrate for you. Will you not intercede for us with your Lord? Don't you see what has happened to us? Don't you see the state we have reached?" On that Adam will reply, "Today my Lord has become angry such that He has never before been angry, and will never be thereafter. He forbade me (to eat from) the tree, but I disobeyed(Him), Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to somebody else; Go to Nuh." They will go to Nuh and say: "O Nuh! You are the first among the Messengers to the people of the earth, and Allah named you a thankful slave. Will you not intercede for us with your Lord? Don't you see what has happened to us? Don't you see the state we have reached?" Nuh will say to them : "Today my Lord has become angry as He has never before been angry, and will never be thereafter. I had been given one supplication, and I supplicated against my own people. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else! Go to Ibrahim." They will go to Ibrahim and say: "O Ibrahim! You are Allah's Prophet and His Khalil among the people of the earth, so intercede for us with your Lord, don't you see what hads happened to us?" He will say: "Today my Lord has become angry as He has never before been angry and will never be thereafter. Indeed I uttered three lies."- Abu Hayyyan (a narrator) mentioned them in his narration - " Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else! Go to Musa." So they will go to Musa and say: "O Musa! You are the Messenger of Allah who Allah distinguished above the people with His Message and His Speech, intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see what has happened to us?" So he will say "Today my Lord has become angry as He has never before been angry and will never be thereafter. Indeed I killed a person whom I was ordered not to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; Go to 'Eisa." They will go to 'Eisa and say: "O 'Eisa ! You are the Messenger of Allah and His Word which He placed into Mariam, and a Spirit from Him, and you spoke to the people in the cradle. Intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see what has happened to us?" Then 'Eisa will say: "Today my Lord has become angry as He has never before been angry and will never be thereafter." He will not mention a sin, but will say: "Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else! Go to Muhammad." He said: 'They will go to Muhammad(s.a.w) and they say: "O Muhammad! You are the Messenger of Allah and the last of the Prophets, and your past and future sins have been pardoned. Will you not intercede for us with your Lord, don't you see what has happened to us?" Then I will depart until I come to under the Throne to fall prostrating before my Lord. Then Allah will guide me to such praises and beautiful statements of glorification which He did not guide anyone to before me. Then He will say: "O Muhammad! Raise your head. Ask,so that you may be granted and intercede so that your intercession may be accepted." I will raise my head and say: "O Lord! My Ummah! O Lord! My Ummah! O Lord! My Ummah!" He will say: "O Muhammad! Let those of your Ummah who have no accounts enter the gate on the right among the gates of Paradise, and they shall share in the gates other than that with the people.'" Then he (s.a.w) said: 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! What is between every two gate-posts in Paradise is as what is between Makkah and Hajar, and what is between Makkah and Busra.'"

Other chains report similar narrations.

When we came to Madinah we ate from its fruits and did not feel comfortable in it, and we became ill. The Prophet (ﷺ) was trying to find out about the well of Badr, and when we heard that the mushrikeen had come, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) marched to Badr, and Badr was a well. We got there before the mushrikeen and we found two of their men, a man from Quraish and a freed slave of “Uqbah bin Abi Mu`ait. As for the Qurashi, he managed to escape, but we caught the freed slave of ‘Uqbah and started asking him: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. When he said that, the Muslims began to beat him and they brought him to the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. The Prophet (ﷺ) tried hard to make him tell him how many they were, but he refused. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him: How many camels do they slaughter? He said: Ten each day. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: They are one thousand; each camel is for one hundred men. Then a shower of rain fell on us at night and we rushed to seek shelter beneath the trees and leather shields, sheltering from the rain. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spent the night calling upon his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, saying: “O Allah, if You cause this band to be destroyed, You will never be worshipped.” When dawn came, he called out: `Prayer, O slaves of Allah!” And the people came from beneath the trees and shields and the Messenger of Allah led us in prayer and encouraged us to fight. Then he said: `The army of Quraish is beneath this red outcrop of the mountain.` When the people drew close to us, and we stood in ranks facing one another, we saw one of their men, riding a red camel of his, going around among the people. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `O `Ali, call Hamzah for me` - as he was the closest of them to the mushrikeen - and said `Who is the one on the red camel and what is he saying to them?` Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `If there is anyone among the people who is enjoining good, then perhaps it is the one on the red camel.` Hamzah came and said: He is `Utbah bin Rabee`ah, and he is telling them not to fight; he is saying to them: O people, I can see people who are going to fight to the death and you will never be able to harm them, because it will cost you too dear to do so. O people, put the blame on me and say: `Utbah bin Rabee`ah is a coward, although you know that I am not the most cowardly among you. Abu Jahl heard that and said: Are you saying this? By Allah, if anyone else said this I would have insulted him; you are filled with fear, ‘Utbah said: Do you mean me, O you with the whistling rear end (i.e., one who breaks wind a great deal because of fear)? Today you will know which of us is the coward. Then ‘Utbah and his brother Shaibah and his son al-Waleed stepped forward in a display of courage and said: Who will come out to fight in single combat? Six young men of the Ansar stepped forward, but `Utbah said: We do not want these; let some of our cousins of Banu ‘Abdul-Muttalib come out. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Get up, O Ali, get up, O Hamzah, get up, O `Ubaidah bin al-Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib.` Allah caused `Utbah and Shaibah, the two sons of Rabee`ah, and al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah to be killed and ‘Ubaidah was wounded. We killed seventy of them and captured seventy. A short Ansari man brought al-Abbas bin `Abdul-Muttalib as a captive, and al-`Abbas said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), by Allah, this is not the one who captured me; I was captured by a bold man who was one of the most handsome of people, who was riding a piebald horse, but I do not see him among the people. The Ansari said: I captured him, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: `Be quiet! Allah, may He be exalted, supported you with a noble angel.` `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: We took prisoners, and from among Banu `Abdul-Muttalib, we captured al-`Abbas, ‘Aqeel and Nawfal bin al-Harith.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ata ibn Abdullah al-Khurasani said that an old man from Suq al-Buram in Kufa had related to him that Kab ibn Ujra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to me while I was blowing under a cooking pot belonging to my companions and my head and beard were full of lice. He took my forehead and said, 'Shave your hair and fast three days or feed six poor people.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was aware that I did not have anything with me to sacrifice.'"

Malik said, concerning paying compensation (fidya) for the relief of physical discomfort, "The custom concerning it is that no one pays compensation until he has done something which makes it obligatory to pay compensation just as making amends (kaffara) is only done when it has become obligatory for the one who owes it. The person can pay the compensation wherever he wishes, regardless of whether he has to sacrifice an animal or fast or give sadaqa -- in Makka or in any other town."

Malik said, "It is not correct for a person in ihram to pluck out any of his hair or to shave it or cut it until he has left ihram, unless he is suffering from an ailment of the head, in which case he owes the compensation Allah the Exalted has ordered. It is not correct for a person in ihram to cut his nails, or to kill his lice, or to remove them from his head or from his skin or his garment to the ground. If a person in ihram removes lice from his skin or his garment, he must give away the quantity of food that he can scoop up with both hands. "

Malik said,"Anyone who, while in ihram, plucks out hairs from his nose or armpit or rubs his body with a depilatory agent or shaves the hair from around a head wound out of necessity or shaves his neck for the place of the cupping glasses, regardless of whether it is in forgetfulness or in ignorance, owes compensation in all these instances, and he must not shave the place of the cupping glasses. Someone, who, out of ignorance, shaves his head before he stones the jamra. must also pay compensation."

“I was a man who had an issue with intercourse with a women that none other than me had. When (the month of) Ramadan entered, I pronounced Zihar upon my wife (to last) until the end of Ramadan, fearing that I might have an encounter with her during the night, and I would continue doing that until daylight came upon me, and I would not be able to stop. One night while she was serving me, something of her became exposed for me, so I rushed myself upon her. When the morning came I went to my people to inform them about what happened to me. I said: ‘Accompany me to the Messenger of Allah to inform him about my case.’ They said: ‘No by Allah! We shall not do that, we feat that something will be revealed about us in the Qur’an, or the Messenger of Allah might say something about us, the disgrace of which will remain upon us. But you do and do whatever you want.’” He said: “So I left and I went to the Messenger of Allah, and informed him of my case. He said: ‘You are the one who did that?” I said: ‘I am the one.’ He said: ‘You are the one who did that?” I said: ‘I am the one.’ He said: ‘You are the one who did that?” I said: ‘I am the one, it is before you, so give me Allah’s judgment, for I shall be patient with that.’ He said: ‘Free a slave.’” He said: “I struck the sides of my neck with me hands, and said: ‘No by the One Who sent you with the Truth! I possess nothing besides it.’ He said: ‘Then fast for two months’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Did this occur to me other than when I was fasting?’ He said: ‘Then feed sixty poor people.’ I said: ‘By the One Who sent you with the Truth! We have spent these nights of ours hungry without an evening meal.’ He said: ‘Go to the one with the charity from Banu Ruzaiq, tell him to give it to you, then feed a Wasq of it, on your behalf, to sixty poor people. Then help yourself and your dependants with the remainder of it.’” He said: “I returned to my people and said: ‘I found dejection and bad ideas with you, and I found liberalness and blessing with the Messenger of Allah. He ordered me to take your charity, so give it to me.’ So they gave it to me.”

The Prophet was seriously ill, and he asked whether the people had prayed. When I told him that they had not, but were waiting for him, he asked me to put some water for him in the tub, and I did so. He bathed, and when he was about to rise with difficulty he fainted. When he came round he asked if the people had prayed, and when I told him that they had not, but were waiting for him, he told me to put some water for him in the tub and sat down and bathed, but when he was about to rise with difficulty he fainted. On coming round he asked whether the people had prayed, and when I told him they had not, but were waiting for him, he asked me to put some water for him in the tub and sat down and bathed, but when he was about to rise with difficulty he fainted. When he came round he asked whether the people had prayed and I told him they had not, but were waiting for him. The people were staying in the mosque waiting for the Prophet for the last evening prayer, so the Prophet sent instructions to Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer. When the Messenger came to him and told him God’s Messenger was ordering him to lead the people in the prayer, Abu Bakr, who was a sensitive man, told ‘Umar to lead the people, but when ‘Umar replied, “You are more entitled to that,” Abu Bakr led the prayers during those days. Afterwards the Prophet experienced some improvement in his condition and went out between two men, one of whom was al-‘Abbas, to the noon prayer when Abu Bakr was leading the people. When Abu Bakr saw him he began to withdraw, but the Prophet signed to him not to do so. He told his two companions to set him down beside Abu Bakr, and they did so and he remained seated. ‘Ubaidallah said that he visited ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abbas and asked if he might submit to him what ‘A’isha had told him about the illness of God’s Messenger, and he said, “Go ahead.” He submitted to him what she had told and he objected to none of it, only asking whether she had named to him the man who accompanied al- ‘Abbas. When he replied that she had not, he said that he was ‘Ali. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

“What will you do, O Abu Dharr, when death overwhelms the people to such an extent that a grave will be equal in value to a slave?” I said: “Whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me, or Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said “Be patient.” He said: ‘What will you do when famine strikes the people so that you will go to the place where you pray and will not be able to return to your bed, or you will not be able to get up from your bed to go to the place where you pray?” He said: “I said: ‘Allah and His Messenger know best, or whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me.” He said: “You must refrain from forbidden things.” He said: “What will you do when killing befalls the people so that Hijaratuz-Zait*is covered with blood?” I said: “Whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me.” He said: “Stay with those whom you belong to.” He said: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I not take my sword and strike those who do that?’” He said: “Then you will be just like the people. Rather enter your house.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, what if they enter my house?” He said: “If you are afraid that the flashing of the sword will dazzle you, then put the edge of your garment over your face, and let him carry his own sin and your sin, and he will be one of the people of the Hellfire.”

Hisham ibn 'Amir al-Ansari, the cousin of Anas ibn Malik whose father was killed in the Battle of Uhud, that he heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "It is not lawful for a Muslim to snub another Muslim for more than three nights. As long as they are cut off from each other, they are turning away from the Truth. The first of them to return to a proper state has his expiation for that inasmuch as he was the first to return to a proper state. If they die while they are cut off from each other, neither of them will ever enter the Garden. If one of them greets the other and he refuses to return the greeting or accept his greeting, then an angel returns the greeting to him and Shaytan answers the other."

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that he came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he had a fever. He had a covering over him. He placed his hand on him and discovered that it was hot above the covering. Abu Sa'id exclaimed, 'How hot your fever is, Messenger of Allah!' He said, 'We are like that. The affliction is hard on us, but the reward is doubled for us.' He said, 'Messenger of Allah, which people have the greatest affliction?' He replied, 'The Prophets, and then the righteous. One of them was tested by poverty to such an extent that he could only find a robe to cover himself with and he wore it. Another was tested by fleas until they killed him. They have greater joy in affliction than one of you has in gifts."

Rifa'a az-Zurqi said, "In the Battle of Uhud when the idolaters retreated, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Form straight ranks so that I can praise my Almighty Lord.' They formed in ranks behind him. He said, 'O Allah, all praise is due to You. O Allah, none can contract what You expand nor bring near what you put far away. None can put far away what You bring near. None can give what You withhold nor withhold what You give. O Allah, expand to us some of Your blessings, mercy and favour and give us provision! O Allah, I ask You for the abiding blessing which is neither changed nor removed. O Allah, I ask You for blessing on the Day of Utter Poverty and security on the Day of Fear. O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the evil of what You give us. O Allah, make us love belief and adorn our hearts with it. Make us hate disbelief, deviance and rebellion. Place us among the rightly-guided. O Allah, make us die Muslims and make us live as Muslims and join us to the rightly, acting, who are neither disappointed nor afflicted. O Allah, fight the unbelievers who bar your path and who deny Your Messengers. Place You abasement and punishment over them. O Allah, fight the unbelievers who were given the Book, O Lord of Truth!'"

"Abu Talib departed to Ash-Sham, and the Prophet (SAW) left with him, along with some older men from the Quraish. When they came across the monk they stopped there and began setting up their camp, and the monk came out to them. Before that they used to pass by him and he wouldn't come out nor pay attention to them." He said: "They were setting up their camp when the monk was walking amidst them, until he came and took the hand of the Messenger of Allah (SAW). Then he said: 'This is the master of the men and jinn, this is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds. Allah will raise him as a mercy to the men and jinn.' So some of the older people from the Quraish said: 'What do you know?' He said: 'When you people came along from the road, not a rock nor a tree was left, except that it prostrated, and they do not prostrate except for a Prophet. And I can recognize him by the seal of the Prophethood which is below his shoulder blade, like an apple.' Then he went back, and made them some food, and when he brought it to them, he [the Prophet (SAW)] was tending to the camels. So he said: 'Send for him.' So he came, and there was a cloud over him that was shading him. When he came close to the people, he found that they had beaten him to the tree's shade. So when he sat down, the shade of the tree leaned towards him. He (the monk) said: 'Look at the shade of the tree leaning towards him.'" He said: "So while he was standing over them, telling them not to take him to Rome with him - because if the Romans were to see him, they would recognize him by his description, and they would kill him - he turned, and there were seven people who had come from Rome. So he faced them and said: 'Why have you come?' They said: 'We came because this Prophet is going to appear during this month, and there isn't a road left except that people have been sent to it, and we have been informed of him, and we have been send to this road of yours.' So he said: 'Is there anyone better than you behind you?' They said: 'We only have news of him from this road of yours.' He said: 'Do you think that if there is a matter which Allah wishes to bring about, there is anyone among the people who can turn it away?' They said: 'No.'" He said: "So they gave him their pledge, and they stayed with him. And he said: 'I ask you by Allah, which of you is his guardian?' They said: 'Abu Talib.' So he kept adjuring him until Abu Talib returned him (back to Makkah) and he sent Abu Bakr and Bilal with him. And the monk gave him provisions of Ka'k (a type of bread) and olive oil."

Ibrahim (PBUH) brought his wife and her son Isma'il (PBUH), while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka'bah under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. In those days, there was no human being in Makkah, nor was there any water. So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Isma'il's mother followed him saying: "O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him: "Has Allah commanded you to do so?" He said: "Yes." She said: "Then He will not neglect us." She returned while Ibrahim proceeded onwards. Having reached the Thaniya, where they could not see him, he faced Ka'bah, raised his both hands and supplicated: "O our Rubb! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka'bah at Makkah) in order, O our Rubb, that they may perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks." (14:37).

Isma'il's mother went on suckling Isma'il and drinking from the water which she had. When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at Isma'il, tossing in agony. She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of As-Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from As-Safa, and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble till she crossed the valley and reached Al-Marwah mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between As-Safa and Al-Marwah) seven times." Ibn 'Abbas further related: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "This is the source of the tradition of the Sa'y - i.e., the going of people between the two mountains. When she reached Al-Marwah (for the last time), she heard a voice and she exclaimed: 'Shshs!' (Silencing herself) and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said: 'O (whoever you may be) You have made me hear your voice; have you any succour for me?' And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or with his wing), till water flowed out from that place. She started to make something like of a basin around it, using her hands in this way and began to fill her water- skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out until she had scooped some of it." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "May Allah bestow mercy on Isma'il's mother! Had she let the Zamzam flow without trying to control it (or had she not scooped in that water) while filling her water-skin, Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet (PBUH) further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her: 'Do not be afraid of being neglected, for this is the site on which the House of Allah will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah will never let neglected His people.' The House of Allah (the Ka'bah) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She continued living in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed by her and her child. As they were coming from through the way of Kada', in the lower part of Makkah where they saw a bird that had a habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said: 'This bird must be flying over water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came towards the water." The Prophet (PBUH) added, "Isma'il's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her: 'Do you allow us to stay with you?' She replied: 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "Isma'il's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them. The child (i.e., Isma'il) grew up and learnt Arabic from them (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty, they gave him one of their daughters in marriage. After Isma'il's mother had died, Ibrahim came after Isma'il's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Isma'il there. When he asked Isma'il's wife about him, she replied: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied complaining to him: 'We are living in hardship, misery and destitution.' He said: 'When your husband returns, convey my salutations to him and tell him to change the threshold of the door of his house.' When Isma'il came, he seemed to have perceived something unusual. He asked his wife: 'Did anyone visit you?' She replied: 'Yes, an old man of such and such description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and, I told him that we were living in hardship and poverty.' Thereupon Isma'il said: 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied: 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutations to you and to change the threshold of your door.' Isma'il said: 'That was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So Isma'il divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (Jurhum). Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them again but did not find Isma'il. So he came to Isma'il's wife and asked her about him. She said: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Ibrahim asked her about their sustenance and living: 'How are you getting on?' She replied: 'We are prosperous and well off.' Then she praised Allah, the Exalted. Ibrahim asked: 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said: 'Meat.' He said: 'What do you drink?' She said: 'Water.' He said, 'O Allah! Bless their meat and water!"' The Prophet (PBUH) added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected because these things do not suit him unless he lives in Makkah." The Prophet (PBUH) added, "Then Ibrahim said to Isma'il's wife, 'When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his door.' When Isma'il came back, he asked his wife: 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied: 'Yes, a good looking old man came to me.' She praised him and added: 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in good condition.' Isma'il asked her: 'Did he give you a piece of advice?' She said: 'Yes, he told me to convey his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your door.' On that Isma'il said: 'He was my father and you are the threshold of the door. He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them afterwards. He saw Isma'il under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Ibrahim, he rose up to welcome him, and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father. Ibrahim said: 'O Isma'il! Allah has given me an order.' Isma'il said: 'Do what your Rubb has commanded you to do.' Ibrahim asked: 'Will you help me?' Isma'il said: 'I will help you.' Ibrahim said: 'Allah has ordered me to build a house here, pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it."' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e., Ka'bah). Isma'il brought the stones and Ibrahim was building (the house). When the walls became high, Isma'il brought stone and placed it for Ibrahim who stood over it and carried on building the House, while Isma'il was handing over the stones to him, both of them prayed: 'O our Rubb! Accept this service from us! Verily, You are the All- Hearer and the All-Knower."'

[Al-Bukhari].

There are some more narrations about this incident, some adding details and some with minor variations in the wordings.

'Do not associate anything with Allah, even if you are cut to pieces or burned. Do not abandon a prescribed prayer deliberately. Anyone who abandons it will forfeit Allah's protection. Do not drink wine - it is the key to every evil. Obey your parents. If they command you to abandon your worldly possessions, then leave them for them. Do not contend with those in power, even if you think that you are in the right. Do not run away from the army when it advances, even if you are killed while your companions run away. Spend on your wife out of your means. Do not raise a stick against your wife. Cause your family to fear Allah, the Almighty and Exalted.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'z-Zinad informed him that a governor of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz took some people in battle and had not killed any of them. He wanted to cut off their hands or kill them, so he wrote to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz about that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to him, "Better to take less than that."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What is done among us about a person who steals the goods of people which are placed under guard in the markets, and their owners put them in their containers and store them together is that if anyone steals any of that from where it is kept, and its value reaches that for which cutting off the hand is obliged, his hand must be cut off, whether or not the owner of the goods is with his goods and whether it is night or day."

Malik said about some one who stole something for which cutting off the hand was obliged and then what he stole was found with him and he returned it to its owner, "His hand is cut off."

Malik said, "If someon says, 'How can his hand be cut off when the goods have been taken from him and returned to their owner?', it is because he is in the same position as the wine drinker when the smell of the wine is found on his breath and he is not drunk. He is flogged with the hadd.

"The hadd is imposed for drinking wine even if it does not make the man intoxicated. That is because he drank it to become intoxicated. It is the same as that with cutting off the hand of the thief for theft when it is taken from him, even if he has not profited from it and it was returned to its owner. When he stole it, he stole it to take it away."

Malik said that if some people came to a house and robbed it together, and then they left with a sack or box or a board or basket or the like of that which they carried together, and when they took it out of its guarded place, they carried it together, and the price of what they took reached that for which cutting off the hand was obliged, and that was three dirhams and upwards, each of them had his hand cut off.

"If each of them takes out something by himself, whoever of them takes out something whose value reaches three dirhams and upwards must have his hand cut off. If any of them takes out something whose value does not reach three dirhams, he does not have his hand cut off."

Yahya said that Malik said, "What is done among us is that when a man's house is locked and he is the only one living in it, cutting off the hand is not obliged against the one who steals something from it until he takes it out of the house completely. That is because all of the house is a place of custody. If someone other than him lives in the house and each of them locks his door, and it is a place of custody for each of them, whoever steals anything from the apartments of that house must have his hand cut off when he leaves the apartment and goes into the main house. He has removed it from its place of custody to another place and he must have his hand cut off."

Malik said, "What is done in our community about a slave who steals from the property of his master is that if he is not in service and among those trusted in the house and he enters secretly and steals from his master something that for which cutting off the hand is obliged, his hand is not cut off. It is like that with a slave-girl when she steals from her master's property. Her hand is not cut off."

Malik then spoke about a slave who was not in service and not one of those trusted in the house, and he entered secretly and stole from the property of his master's wife that for which cutting off the hand was obliged. He said, "His hand is cut off."

"It is like that with the wife's slave-girl when she does not serve her or her husband nor is she trusted in the house and she enters secretly and steals from her mistress's property that for which cutting off the hand is obliged. Her hand is not cut off."

"It is like that with the wife's slave-girl who is not in her service and is not trusted in the house and she enters secretly and steals from the property of her mistress's husband something for which cutting off the hand is obliged. Her hand is cut off."

It is like that with the man who steals from his wife's goods or the wife who steals from her husband's goods something for which cutting off the hand is obliged. If the thing which one of them steals from his spouse's property is in a room other than the room which they both lock for themselves, or it is in a place of custody in a room other than the room which they are in, whichever of them steals something for which cutting off the hand is obliged, their hand should be cut off."

Malik spoke about a small child and a foreigner who does not speak clearly. He said, "If they are robbed of something from its place of custody or from under a lock, the one who stole it has his hand cut off. If the property is outside of its place of custody or locked room(when it is stolen), the one who robbed them does not have his hand cut off. It is then in the position of sheep stolen from the mountain and uncut fruit hanging on the trees "

Malik said, "What is done among us about a person who robs graves is that if what he takes from the grave reaches what cutting off the hand is obliged for, his hand is cut off . That is because the grave is a place of custody for what is in it just as houses are a place of custody for what is in them. "

Malik added, "Cutting off the hand is not obliged for him until he takes it out of the grave."

Meat was one day brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and a foreleg was offered to him, a part which he liked. He sliced with his teeth a piece out of it and said: I shall be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know why? Allah would gather in one plain the earlier and the later (of the human race) on the Day of Resurrection. Then the voice of the proclaimer would be heard by all of them and the eyesight would penetrate through all of them and the sun would come near. People would then experience a degree of anguish, anxiety and agony which they shall not be able to bear and they shall not be able to stand. Some people would say to the others: Don you see in which trouble you are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken you? Why don't you find one who should intercede for you with your Lord? Some would say to the others: Go to Adam. And they would go to Adam and say: O Adam, thou art the father of mankind. Allah created thee by His own Hand and breathed in thee of His spirit and ordered the angels to prostrate before thee. Intercede for us with thy Lord Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Adam would say: Verily, my Lord is angry, to an extent to which He had never been angry before nor would He be angry afterward. Verily, He forbade me (to go near) that tree and I disobeyed Him. I am concerned with my own self. Go to someone else; go to Noah. They would come to Noah and would say: O Noah, thou art the first of the Messengers (sent) on the earth (after Adam), and Allah named thee as a" Grateful Servant," intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? He would say: Verily, my Lord is angry today as He had never been angry before, and would never be angry afterwards. There had emanated a curse from me with which I cursed my people. I am concerned with only myself, I am concerned only with myself; you better go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him). They would go to Ibrahim and say: Thou art the apostle of Allah and His Friend amongst the inhabitants of the earth; intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in which (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Ibrahim would say to them: Verily, my Lord is today angry as He had never been angry before and would never be angry afterwards. and (Ibrahim) would mention his lies (and then say): I am concerned only with myself, I am concerned only with myself. You better go to someone else: go to Moses. They would come to Moses (peace be upon him) and say: O Moses, thou art Allah's messenger, Allah blessed thee with His messengership and His conversation amongst people. Intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Moses (peace be upon him) would say to them: Verily. my Lord is angry as He had never been angry before and would never be angry afterwards. I, in fact, killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. I am concerned with myself, I am concerned with myself. You better go to Jesus (peace be upon him). They would come to Jesus and would say: O Jesus, thou art the messenger of Allah and thou conversed with people in the cradle, (thou art) His Word which I-Ie sent down upon Mary. and (thou art) the Spirit from Him; so intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see (the trouble) in which we are? Don't you see (the misfortune) that has overtaken us? Jesus (peace be upon him) would say: Verily, my Lord is angry today as He had never been angry before or would ever be angry afterwards. He mentioned no sin of his. (He simply said: ) I am concerned with myself, I am concerned with myself; you go to someone else: better go to Muhammad (ﷺ). They would come to me and say: O Mahammad, thou art the messenger of Allah and the last of the apostles. Allah has pardoned thee all thy previous and later sins. Intercede for us with thy Lord; don't you see in which (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? I shall then set off and come below the Throne and fall down prostrate before my Lord; then Allah would reveal to me and inspire me with some of His Praises and Glorifications which He had not revealed to anyone before me. He would then say: Muhammad, raise thy head; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted I would then raise my head and say: O my Lord, my people, my people. It would be said: O Muhammad, bring in by the right gate of Paradise those of your people who would have no account to render. They would share with the people some other door besides this door. The Prophet then said: By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, verify the distance between two door leaves of the Paradise is as great as between Mecca and Hajar, or as between Mecca and Busra. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

I used to recite to ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf, and he found me waiting for him. That was in Mina during the last Hajj performed by `Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf said: A man came to `Umar bin al-Khattab and said: So and so is saying: If `Umar (رضي الله عنه) dies, I will swear allegiance to So and so. ʼUmar (رضي الله عنه) said: I will stand before the people today and warn them against these people who want to deprive them of their rights, `Abdur-Rahman said: I said: O Ameer al-Mu`mineen, do not do that, for the Hajj season brings together the riffraff and rabble among the people, and most of the people who gather around and listen to you will be of that type. Is you stand before the people, I am afraid that you will say something that they will spread and not understand it properly or interpret it properly. Rather wait until you come to Madinah, for it is the land of Hijrah and the Sunnah, and you will meet the most knowledgeable and noble people there, and you can say what you want to say with confidence; they wilt understand what you say and will interpret it correctly, `Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: If I reach Madinah safe and sound, I shall certainly talk to the people there in the first speech I deliver. When we came to Madinah at the end of Dhul-I-Iijah, it was a Friday. I set out early, ‘Umar did not care at what time he went out, because he did not pay attention to heat and cold and so on. I found Sa`eed bin Zaid at the right-hand corner of the minbar, he had got there before me. I sat down next to him, with my knee touching his knee, and it was not long before `Umar (رضي الله عنه)came. When I saw him, I said: He will certainly speak today on this minbar and say something that no one ever heard before. Sa`eed bin Zaid objected to that and said: What do you think he will say that no one said before? `Umar (رضي الله عنه)sat on the minbar, and when the mu`dhdhin fell silent, he stood up and praised and glorified Allah as He deserves, then he said: To proceed o people, I am going to tell you something that it has been decreed I should say. I do not know, perhaps it may signal my death. So whoever understands it and remembers it, let him narrate it to others wherever his mount takes him; whoever does not understand il, it is not permissible for him to tell lies about me. Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, sent Muhammad (ﷺ) with the truth and revealed the Book to him; among the things that were revealed to him was the verse of stoning [adulterers). We read it and understood it; the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stoned [adulterers] and we stoned adulterers] after him. But I fear that with the passage of time, some people will say: We do not find the verse of stoning in the Book of Allah, thus they will go astray by forsaking an obligation that Allah revealed. Stoning is the due punishment in the Book of Allah for those who commit zina, both men and women, if they have been married and if proof is established, or there is a pregnancy or a confession, And we used to recite: Do not claim to be the offspring of anyone other than your fathers, as it is disbelief (or ingratitude) on your part to claim to be the offspring of anyone other than your fathers, Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Do not praise me excessively as `Eesa, the son of Maryam, was praised; rather I am the slave of Allah, so say, the slave of Allah and His Messenger.` I have heard that some among you are saying. If `Umar (رضي الله عنه) dies, I shall swear allegiance to So and so. No man should deceive himself by saying that the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr was given suddenly and it was is successful. There is no doubt that this is the case, but Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, saved the to 2 people from its bad consequences and there is no one among you today who has the qualities of Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) What happened to us when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) died was that ‘Ali, az-Zubair and those who were with them stayed behind in the house of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and all the Ansar stayed behind and gathered in Saqeefat Banu Sa`idah, whilst the Muhajireen gathered around Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) I said to him; O Abu Bakr, let us go to our brothers, the Ansar. So we set out, looking for them, then we were met by two righteous men who told us what the people had done, and said: where are you going, O Muhajireen? I said: We are looking for these brothers of ours, the Ansar, They said. You should not go near them; do whatever you have already decided, O Muhajireen. I said: By Allah, we will go to them. So we carried on until we came to them in Saqeefat Banu Sa`idah, where we found them gathered and among them was a man wrapped up [in a garment. I said: Who is this? They said: Sa`d bin `Ubadah. ! said: What is the matter with him? They said: He is sick. After we sat down, their spokesman stood up and praised and glorified Allah, may He glorified and exalted, as He deserves, then he said: To proceed. We are the supporters (Ansar) of Allah and the majority of the Muslim army. You, O Muhajireen, are a small group among us. Some of you came to us, wanting to deny who we are and prevent us from attaining a position of authority. When he fell silent, I wanted to present a speech that I had prepared and that I liked in front of Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) I used to avoid provoking him and he was more forbearing and more dignified than me. But Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) said: Wait a while. I did not like to make him angry, and he was more knowledgeable and more dignified than me. By Allah, he did not omit any word that I liked in the speech I had prepared but he said something like it or better, speaking spontaneously, until he finished speaking. Then he said: To proceed. Whatever you have mentioned about your achievements and virtues, is correct. The Arabs would not acknowledge the leadership of anyone except someone from this tribe of Quraish, for they are the best of the Arabs in lineage and location. I am pleased to suggest to you one of these two men, whichever of them you want. Then he took hold of my hand and the hand of Abu `Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, and I disliked nothing of what he had said apart from this, for by Allah, I would rather have my neck struck for no sin on my part than to become the leader of people among whom was Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) unless my own self suggested something at the time of death. One of the Ansar said: I am the post on which the camel with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree [i.e., a noble]. [I suggest] a ruler from among us and a ruler from among you, O Quraish. - I the narrator said to Malik; What does ‘I am the post on which the cainc! with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree` mean? He said:It is as if he is saying, I am the smart one who has the answer. - Then there was a great deal of clamour and raised voices, to such an extent that I feared there would be a conflict, so I said: Hold out your hand, O Abu Bakr. So he held out his hand and I swore allegiance to him, and the Muhajireen swore allegiance to him, then the Ansar swore allegiance to him. Thus we surrounded Sa`d bin ‘Ubadah. One of them said: You have killed Sa`d i said: May Allah kill Sa’d! And `Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: By Allah, we never encountered any problem greater than the swearing of allegiance to Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) . We were afraid that if we left the people without having sworn allegiance to anyone, they might swear allegiance after we were gone, so we would either follow in their footsteps and swear allegiance to someone we were not pleased with, or we would disagree with them and that would cause trouble. If anyone swears allegiance to a leader without consulting the Muslims, there is no allegiance for him and no allegiance to the one who swore allegiance to him, lest both of them be killed. Malik said: Ibn Shihab told me, from `Urwah bin az-Zubair, that the men whom they met were `Uwaim bin Sa`idah and Ma`n bin `Adiyy. Ibn Shihab said. Sa`eed bin al-Musayyab told me that the one who said, I am the post on which the camel with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree, was al-lubab bin al-Mundhir.

`Abdallah b. `Umar told that `Umar b. al-Khattab went with God's messenger and some of his companions to Ibn Sayyad and found him playing with the boys in the fortress of the B. Maghala, Ibn Sayyid at that time being near the age of puberty. Before he was aware God's messenger gave him a clap on the back and said, "Do you testify that I am God's messenger?" He looked at him and said, "I testify that you are the messenger of the Gentiles," after which Ibn Sayyad said, "Do you testify that I am God's messenger?" The Prophet squeezed him and said, "I believe in God and His messengers." He then asked Ibn Sayyad what visions he had, and when he replied, "One who speaks the truth and one who lies comes to me," God's messenger said, "You are confused." He then said, "I have concealed something in my mind which I would like you to tell me" (referring to "the day when the sky will bring forth smoke (dukhan) clearly visible").[1] On his replying, "It is smoke (dukhkh)," he said, "Away with you! You cannot get farther than your rank."[2] `Umar then asked God's messenger if he would permit him to cut off his head, but he replied, "If he is the one[3] you will not be given power over him, and if he is not, you will not do well in killing him." Ibn `Umar told that sometime afterwards God's messenger and Ubayy b. Ka'b went towards the palm trees where Ibn Sayyid was, and God's messenger hid behind the palm trunks seeking stealthily to hear something from Ibn Sayyid before he could see him. Ibn Sayyid was lying on his bed in a wrapper from which a murmur issued, and when his mother saw the Prophet hiding behind the palm trunks she said, "Saf '(that being his name), here is Muhammad," whereupon Ibn Sayyad stopped the murmuring, and God's messenger said, "If you had left him alone, he would have made things clear." `Abdallah b. `Umar told that God's messenger stood up among the people, and when he had extolled God - in a fitting manner he mentioned the dajjal and said, "I warn you of him, and there is no prophet who has not warned his people. Noah warned his people, but I shall tell you something about him which no prophet has told his people. You must know that he is one-eyed, whereas God is not one-eyed." 1. Quran, 44:10. 2. The idea is that Ibn Sayyid was being tested to see whether he had any supernatural knowledge of what the Prophet had in mind. His use of a different form of the word for smoke put him on the level of a kahin with a defective source of information. 3. i.e., the dajjal. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Qais b. Abu Hazim told that the grant to those who were present at Badr was five thousand each and that `Umar said, "I shall certainly give them precedence over those who come after them." Bukhari transmitted it. List of names of those present at Badr whose names are given in the Jami' by Bukhari. The Prophet, Muhammad b. `Abdallah al-Hashimi, `Abdallah b. `Uthman Abu Bakr as-Siddiq al-Qurashi, `Umar b. al-Khattab al-`Adawi, `Uthman b, `Affan al-Qurashi whom the Prophet left behind to look after his daughter Ruqayya but to whom he appointed his portion, `Ali b. Abu Talib al-Hashimi, Iyas b. al-Bukair, Bilal b. Rabah client of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Hamza b. `Abd al-Muttalib al-Hashimi, Hatib b. Abu Balta'a the ally of Quraish, Abu Hudhaifa b. `Utba b. Rabi'a al Qurashi, Haritha b. ar-Rubayyi' al-Ansari who was killed at the battle of Badr, and he was Haritha b. Suraqa[1] who was one of the look-out, Khubaib b. `Adi al-Ansari, Khunais b. Hudhafa as-Sahmi, Riafa'a b. Rafi' al-Ansari, Rifa'a b. `Abd al-Mundhir Abu Lubaba al-Ansari, az-Zubair b. al-`Awwam al-Qurashi, Zaid b. Sahl Abu Talha al-Ansari, Abu Zaid al-Ansari, Sa'd b. Malik az-Zuhri, Sa'd b. Khaula al-Qurashi, Sa'id b. Zaid b. `Amr b. Nufail al-Qurashi, Sahl b. Hunaif al-Ansari, Zuair b. Rafi' al-Ansari and his brother[2], 'Abdallah b. Mas'ud al-Hudhali[3], 'Abd ar-Rahman b. ` Auf az Zuhri, `Ubaida b. al-Harith al-Qurashi, `Ubada b. as Samit al-Ansari, `Amr b. 'Auf the ally of the B. `Amir b. Lu'ayy, 'Uqba b. `Amr al-Ansari, `Amir b. Rabi'a al-'Anzi, `Asim b. Thabit al Ansari, `Uwaim b. Sa'ida al-Ansari, `Itban b. Malik al-Ansari, Qudama b. Maz'un, Qatada b. an-Nu`man al-Ansari, Mu'adh b. `Amr b. al-Jamuh, Mu'awwidh b. `Afra and his brother[4], Malik b. Rabi'a Abu Usaid al Ansari, Mistah b. Uthatha b. 'Abbad b. al-Muttalib b. 'Abd Manaf, Murara b. ar-Rabi' al-Anaari, Ma'n b. `Adi al-Ansari, Miqdad b. 'Amr al-Kindi the ally of the B. Zuhra, Hilal b. Umayya al-Ansari. God be pleased with them all![5] 1. Cf. p. 810. 2. His name was Muzahhir. 3. Bukhari, Maghazi, 13, adds here 'Utba b. Mas'ud al-Hudhali. 4. His name was Mu'adh. 5. Bukhari, Maghazi, 13, does not give `all'.

Malik related to me that he heard that Abu Salama ibn Abd ar- Rahman and Sulayman ibn Yasar were both asked, "Does one pronounce judgement on the basis of an oath with one witness?" They both said, "Yes."

Malik said, "The precedent of the sunna in judging by an oath with one witness is that if the plaintiff takes an oath with his witness, he is confirmed in his right. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the defendant is made to take an oath. If he takes an oath, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claim is confirmed against him."

Malik said, "This procedure pertains to property cases in particular. It does not occur in any of the hadd-punishments, nor in marriage, divorce, freeing slaves, theft or slander. If some one says, 'Freeing slaves comes under property,' he has erred. It is not as he said. Had it been as he said, a slave could take an oath with one witness, if he could find one, that his master had freed him.

"However, when a slave lays claim to a piece of property, he can take an oath with one witness and demand his right as the freeman demands his right."

Malik said, "The sunna with us is that when a slave brings somebody who witnesses that he has been set free, his master is made to take an oath that he has not freed him, and the slave's claim is dropped."

Malik said, "The sunna about divorce is also like that with us. When a woman brings somebody who witnesses that her husband has divorced her, the husband is made to take an oath that he has not divorced her. If he takes the oath, the divorce does not proceed . "

Malik said, "There is only one sunna of bringing a witness in cases of divorce and freeing a slave. The right to make an oath only belongs to the husband of the woman, and the master of the slave. Freeing is a hadd matter, and the testimony of women is not permitted in it because when a slave is freed, his inviolability is affirmed and the hadd punishments are applied for and against him. If he commits fornication and he is a muhsan, he is stoned. If he kills a slave, he is killed for it. Inheritance is established for him, between him and whoever inherits from him. If somebody disputes this, arguing that if a man frees his slave and then a man comes to demand from the master of the slave payment of a debt, and a man and two women testify to his right, that establishes the right against the master of the slave so that his freeing him is cancelled if he only has the slave as property, inferring by this case that the testimony of women is permitted in cases of setting free. The case is not as he suggests (i.e. it is a case of property not freeing). It is like a man who frees his slave, and then the claimant of a debt comes to the master and takes an oath with one witness, demanding his right. By that, the freeing of the slave would be cancelled. Or else a man comes who has frequent dealings and transactions with the master of the slave. He claims that he is owed money by the master of the slave. Someone says to the master of the slave, 'Take an oath that you don't owe what he claims'. If he draws back and refuses to take an oath, the one making the claim takes an oath and his right against the master of the slave is confirmed. That would cancel the freeing of the slave if it is confirmed that property is owed by the master."

Malik said, "It is the same case with a man who marries a slave-girl and then the master of the slave-girl comes to the man who has married her and claims, 'You and so-and-so have bought my slave-girl from me for such an amount of dinars. The husband of the slave-girl denies that. The master of the slave-girl brings a man and two women and they testify to what he has said. The sale is confirmed and his claim is considered true. So the slave-girl is haram for her husband and they have to separate, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in divorce."

Malik said, "It is also the same case with a man who accuses a free man, so the hadd falls on him. A man and two women come and testify that the one accused is a slave. That would remove the hadd from the accused after it had befallen him, even though the testimony of women is not accepted in accusations involving hadd punishments."

Malik said, "Another similar case in which judgement appears to go against the precedent of the sunna is that two women testify that a child is born alive and so it is necessary for him to inherit if a situation arises where he is entitled to inherit, and the child's property goes to those who inherit from him, if he dies, and it is not necessary that the two women witnesses should be accompanied by a man or an oath even though it may involve vast properties of gold, silver, live-stock, gardens and slaves and other properties. However, had two women testified to one dirham or more or less than that in a property case, their testimony would not affect anything and would not be permitted unless there was a witness or an oath with them."

Malik said, "There are people who say that an oath is not acceptable with only one witness and they argue by the word of Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, and His word is the Truth, 'And call in to witness two witnesses, men; or if the two be not men, then one man and two women, such witnesses as you approve of.' (Sura 2 ayat 282). Such people argue that if he does not bring one man and two women, he has no claim and he is not allowed to take an oath with one witness."

Malik said, "Part of the proof against those who argue this, is to reply to them, 'Do you think that if a man claimed property from a man, the one claimed from would not swear that the claim was false?' If he swears, the claim against him is dropped. If he refuses to take an oath, the claimant is made to take an oath that his claim is true, and his right against his companion is established. There is no dispute about this with any of the people nor in any country. By what does he take this? In what place in the Book of Allah does he find it? So if he confirms this, let him confirm the oath with one witness, even if it is not in the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic! It is enough that this is the precedent of the sunna. However, man wants to recognise the proper course of action and the location of the proof. In this there is a clarification for what is obscure about that, if Allah ta'ala wills."

associating others with Allah, killing someone, desertion from the army when it is advancing, slandering a chaste woman, usury, consuming an orphan's property, heresy in the mosque, scoffing, and causing one's parents to weep through disobedience.' Ibn 'Umar then said to me, 'Do you wish to separate yourself from the Fire? Would you like to enter Paradise?' 'By Allah, yes!' I replied. He asked, 'Are your parents still alive?' I replied, 'My mother is.' He said, 'By Allah, if you speak gently to her and feed her, then you will enter the Garden as long as you avoid the major wrong actions.'"

“I came to ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘As when he was sitting in the shade of the Ka’bah, and the people were gathered around him, and I heard him say: ‘While we were with the Messenger of Allah (saw) on a journey, he stopped to camp and some of us were pitching tents, some were competing in shooting arrows and some were taking the animals out to graze them. Then his caller called out: “As-Salatu Jami’ah (prayer is about to begin).” So we gathered, and the Messenger of Allah (saw) stood up and addressed us. He said: “There has never been a Prophet before me who was not obliged to tell his nation of what he knew was good for them, and to warn against what he knew was bad for them. With regard to this nation of yours, soundness (of religious commitment) and well-being has been placed in its earlier generations and the last of them will be afflicted with calamities and things that you dislike. Then there will come tribulations which will make the earlier ones pale into significance, and the believer will say: ‘This will be the end of me,’ then relief will come. Then (more) tribulations will come and the believer will say: ‘This will be the end of me,’ then relief will come. Whoever would like to be taken far away from Hell and admitted to Paradise, let him die believing in Allah and the Last Day, and let him treat people as he would like to be treated. Whoever gives his oath of allegiance to a ruler and gives a sincere promise, let him obey him as much as he can, and if another comes and challenges him, let them strike the neck (i.e., kill) the second one.’” He the narrator said: “I raised my head among the people and said: 'I adjure you by Allah, did you hear that from the Messenger of Allah (SAW)?' He ('Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As) pointed with his hand to his ears and said: I heard it directly from him and memorized it.'”

Malik said, The best of what I have heard about a mukatab whose master frees him at death, is that the mukatab is valued according to what he would fetch if he were sold. If that value is less than what remains against him of his kitaba, his freedom is taken from the third that the deceased can bequeath. One does not look at the number of dirhams which remain against him in his kitaba. That is because had he been killed, his killer would not be in debt for other than his value on the day he killed him. Had he been injured, the one who injured him would not be liable for other than the blood-money of the injury on the day of his injury. One does not look at how much he has paid of dinars and dirhams of the contract he has written because he is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains. If what remains in his kitaba is less than his value, only whatever of his kitaba remains owing from him is taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. That is because the deceased left him what remains of his kitaba and so it becomes a bequest which the deceased made."

Malik said, "The illustration of that is that if the price of the mukatab is one thousand dirhams, and only one hundred dirhams remain of his kitaba, his master leaves him the one hundred dirhams which complete it for him. It is taken into account in the third of his master and by it he becomes free."

Malik said that if a man wrote his slave a kitaba at his death, the value of the slave was estimated. If there was enough to cover the price of the slave in one third of his property, that was permitted for him.

Malik said, "The illustration of that is that the price of the slave is one thousand dinars. His master writes him a kitaba for two hundred dinars at his death. The third of the property of his master is one thousand dinars, so that is permitted for him. It is only a bequest which he makes from one third of his property. If the master has left bequests to people, and there is no surplus in the third after the value of the mukatab, one begins with the mukatab because the kitaba is setting free, and setting free has priority over bequests. When those bequests are paid from the kitaba of the mukatab, they follow it. The heirs of the testator have a choice. If they want to give the people with bequests all their bequests and the kitaba of the mukatab is theirs, they have that. If they refuse and hand over the mukatab and what he owes to the people with bequests they can do that, because the third commences with the mukatab and because all the bequests which he makes are as one."

If the heirs then say, "What our fellow bequeathed was more than one third of his property and he has taken what was not his," Malik said, "His heirs choose. It is said to them, 'Your companion has made the bequests you know about and if you would like to give them to those who are to receive them according to the deceased's bequests, then do so. If not, hand over to the people with bequests one third of the total property of the deceased.' "

Malik continued, "If the heirs surrender the mukatab to the people with bequests, the people with bequests have what he owes of his kitaba. If the mukatab pays what he owes of his kitaba, they take that in their bequests according to their shares. If the mukatab cannot pay, he is a slave of the people with bequests and does not return to the heirs because they gave him up when they made their choice, and because when he was surrendered to the people with bequests, they were liable. If he died, they would not have anything against the heirs. If the mukatab dies before he pays his kitaba and he leaves property which is more than what he owes, his property goes to the people with bequests. If the mukatab pays what he owes, he is free and his wala' returns to the paternal relations of the one who wrote the kitaba for him."

Malik spoke about a mukatab who owed his master ten thousand dirhams in his kitaba, and when he died he remitted one thousand dirhams from it. He said, "The mukatab is valued and his value is taken into consideration. If his value is one thousand dirhams and the reduction is a tenth of the kitaba, that portion of the slave's price is one hundred dirhams. It is a tenth of the price. A tenth of the kitaba is therefore reduced for him. That is converted to a tenth of the price in cash. That is as if he had had all of what he owed reduced for him. Had he done that, only the value of the slave - one thousand dirhams - would have been taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. If that which he had remitted is half of the kitaba, half the price is taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. If it is more or less than that, it is according to this reckoning."

Malik said, "When a man reduces the kitaba of his mukatab by one thousand dirhams at his death from a kitaba of ten thousand dirhams, and he does not stipulate whether it is from the beginning or the end of his kitaba, each instalment is reduced for him by one tenth."

Malik said, "If a man remits one thousand dirhams from his mukatab at his death from the beginning or end of his kitaba, and the original basis of the kitaba is three thousand dirhams, the mukatab's cash value is estimated. Then that value is divided. That thousand which is from the beginning of the kitaba is converted into its portion of the price according to its proximity to the term and its precedence and then the thousand which follows the first thousand is according to its precedence also until it comes to its end, and every thousand is paid according to its place in advancing and deferring the term because what is deferred of that is less in respect of its price. Then it is placed in the third of the deceased according to whatever of the price befalls that thousand according to the difference in preference of that, whether it is more or less, then it is according to this reckoning."

Malik spoke about a man who willed a man a fourth of a mukatab or freed a fourth, and then the man died and the mukatab died and left a lot of property, more than he owed. He said, "The heirs of the first master and the one who was willed a fourth of the mukatab are given what they are still owed by the mukatab. Then they divide what is left over, and the one willed a fourth has a third of what is left after the kitaba is paid. The heirs of his master gets two-thirds. That is because the mukatab is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains to be paid. He is inherited from by the possession of his person."

Malik said about a mukatab whose master freed him at death, "If the third of the deceased will not cover him, he is freed from it according to what the third will cover and his kitaba is decreased according to that. If the mukatab owed five thousand dirhams and his value is two thousand dirhams cash, and the third of the deceased is one thousand dirhams, half of him is freed and half of the kitaba has been reduced for him." Malik said about a man who said in his will, "My slave so-and-so is free and write a kitaba for so-and- so", that the setting free had priority over the kitaba.