Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that AIi ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn Abbas used to say, "The middle prayer is the prayer of subh."

Malik said, "Out of all that I have heard about the matter, I prefer what Ali ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn Abbas said."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "I pray the prayerof a traveller as long as I am undecided whether to remain somewhere or not, even if I am detained for twelve nights."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Were it not for some men who dislike to be left behind and for whom I do not have means of conveyance, I would not stay away (from any Holy Battle). I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and come to life and then get, martyred and then come to life and then get martyred and then get resurrected and then get martyred.

Allah's Apostle said, "While I was sleeping I saw (in a dream) some people wearing shirts of which some were reaching up to the breasts only while others were even shorter than that. Umar bin Al-Khattab was shown wearing a shirt that he was dragging." The people asked, "How did you interpret it? (What is its interpretation) O Allah's Apostle?" He (the Prophet ) replied, "It is the Religion."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered the mosque and found Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab there. He questioned them and they said, "Hunger has driven us out." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "And hunger has brought me out." They went to Abu'l-Haytham ibn at- Tayyihan al-Ansari. He ordered that some barley that was in the house be prepared and he got up to slaughter a sheep for them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Leave the one with milk." He slaughtered a sheep for them and brought them sweet water and it was hung on a palm-tree. Then they were brought the food and ate it and drank the water. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited, "Then, on that day, you will be asked concerning pleasure." (Sura 102 ayat 8).

Abu Hurairah said: O Allah, Thou art its Lord. Thou didst create it, Thou didst guide it to Islam, Thou hast taken its spirit, and Thou knowest best its inner nature and outer aspect. We have come as intercessors, so forgive him.

Abu Dawud said: Shu'bah made a mistake in mentioning the name of 'Ali b. Shammakh. He said in his version: 'Uthman b. Shammas.

Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad b. Ibrahim al-Mawsili say that Ahmad b. Hanbal said: In every meeting which I attended with Hammad b. Zaid he forbade to narrate this traditions from 'Abd al-Warith and Ja'far b. Sulaiman.

Some of the companions of the Prophet passed by some people staying at a place where there was water, and one of those people had been stung by a scorpion. A man from those staying near the water, came and said to the companions of the Prophet, "Is there anyone among you who can do Ruqya as near the water there is a person who has been stung by a scorpion." So one of the Prophet's companions went to him and recited Surat-al-Fatiha for a sheep as his fees. The patient got cured and the man brought the sheep to his companions who disliked that and said, "You have taken wages for reciting Allah's Book." When they arrived at Medina, they said, ' O Allah's Apostle! (This person) has taken wages for reciting Allah's Book" On that Allah's Apostle said, "You are most entitled to take wages for doing a Ruqya with Allah's Book."

Sa'd ibn Hisham said: I came to Medina and called upon Aisha, and said to her: Tell me about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

She said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to lead the people in the night prayer, and then go to his bed and sleep. When midnight came he got up, went to answer the call of nature and to perform ablution with water. Having performed ablution, he entered the mosque and prayed eight rak'ahs.

To my mind he performed the recitation of the Qur'an, bowing and prostrating equally. He then observed witr with one rak'ah and prayed two rak'ahs sitting. Then he lay down on the ground. Sometimes Bilal came to him and called him for prayer. He then dozed, and sometimes I doubted whether he dozed or not, till he (Bilal) called him for prayer.

This is the prayer he offered till he grew old or put on weight. She then mentioned how he put on weight as Allah wished.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab gave a mawla of his called Hunayy charge over the hima. He said, "Hunayy! Do not harm the people. Fear the supplication of the wronged, for the supplication of the wronged is answered. Let the one with a small herd of camels and the one with a small herd of sheep enter, but be wary of the livestock of Ibn Awf and the livestock of Ibn Affan. If their livestock are destroyed, they will return to palm-trees and agriculture. If the livestock of the one with a small herd of camels and the one with a small herd of sheep are destroyed, he will bring his children to me crying, 'Amir al-muminin! Amir al-Muminin!' Shall I neglect them? Water and pasturage are of less value to me than gold and silver. By Allah, they think that I have wronged them. This is their land and their water. They fought for it in the jahiliyya and became muslims on it in Islam. By He in whose hand my self is! Were it not for the mounts which I give to be ridden in the way of Allah, I would not have turned a span of their land into hima."

I was with the Prophet and the time for the `Asr prayer became due. We had no water with us except a little which was put in a vessel and was brought to the Prophet . He put his hand into it and spread out his fingers and then said, "Come along! Hurry up! All those who want to perform ablution. The blessing is from Allah.'' I saw the water gushing out from his fingers. So the people performed the ablution and drank, and I tried to drink more of that water (beyond my thirst and capacity), for I knew that it was a blessing. The sub-narrator said: I asked Jabir, "How many persons were you then?" He replied, "We were one-thousand four hundred men." Salim said: Jabir said, 1500.

I gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet with a group of people, and he said, "I take your pledge that you will not worship anything besides Allah, will not steal, will not commit infanticide, will not slander others by forging false statements and spreading it, and will not disobey me in anything good. And whoever among you fulfill all these (obligations of the pledge), his reward is with Allah. And whoever commits any of the above crimes and receives his legal punishment in this world, that will be his expiation and purification. But if Allah screens his sin, it will be up to Allah, Who will either punish or forgive him according to His wish." Abu `Abdullah said: "If a thief repents after his hand has been cut off, the his witness well be accepted. Similarly, if any person upon whom any legal punishment has been inflicted, repents, his witness will be accepted."

`Umar bin Al-Khattab saw a silken cloak (being sold) at the gate of the Mosque and said to Allah's Apostle, "I wish you would buy this to wear on Fridays and also on occasions of the arrivals of the delegations." Allah's Apostle replied, "This will be worn by a person who will have no share (reward) in the Hereafter." Later on similar cloaks were given to Allah's Apostle and he gave one of them to `Umar bin Al-Khattab. On that `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! You have given me this cloak although on the cloak of Atarid (a cloak merchant who was selling that silken cloak at the gate of the mosque) you passed such and such a remark." Allah's Apostle replied, "I have not given you this to wear". And so `Umar bin Al-Khattab gave it to his pagan brother in Mecca to wear.

I offered with the Prophet two rak`at before the Zuhr and two rak`at after the Zuhr prayer; two rak`at after Maghrib, `Isha' and the Jumua prayers. Those of the Maghrib and `Isha' were offered in his house. My sister Hafsa told me that the Prophet used to offer two light rak`at after dawn and it was the time when I never went to the Prophet."

`Abdullah bin Shaddad and Abu Burda sent me to `Abdullah bin Abi `Aufa and told me to ask `Abdullah whether the people in the lifetime of the Prophet used to pay in advance for wheat (to be delivered later). `Abdullah replied, "We used to pay in advance to the peasants of Sham for wheat, barley and olive oil of a known specified measure to be delivered in a specified period." I asked (him), "Was the price paid (in advance) to those who had the things to be delivered later?" `Abdullah bin `Aufa replied, "We did not use to ask them about that." Then they sent me to `Abdur Rahman bin Abza and I asked him. He replied, "The companions of the Prophet used to practice Salam in the lifetime of the Prophet; and we did not use to ask them whether they had standing crops or not."

I went to Allah's Apostle while he was at Khaibar after it had fallen in the Muslims' hands. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Give me a share (from the land of Khaibar)."

One of the sons of Sa'id bin Al-'As said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do not give him a share." I said, "This is the murderer of Ibn Qauqal." The son of Said bin Al-As said, "Strange! A Wabr (i.e. guinea pig) who has come down to us from the mountain of Qaduim (i.e. grazing place of sheep) blames me for killing a Muslim who was given superiority by Allah because of me, and Allah did not disgrace me at his hands (i.e. was not killed as an infidel)." (The sub-narrator said "I do not know whether the Prophet gave him a share or not.")

(A man broke his fast intentionally) during Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded him to emancipate a slave, or fast for two months, or feed sixty poor men. He said: I cannot provide. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Sit down. Thereafter a huge basket of dates ('araq) was brought to the Messenger of Allah (saws). He said: Take this and give it as sadaqah (alms). He said: Messenger of Allah, there is no poorer than I. The Messenger of Allah (saws) thereupon laughed so that his canine teeth became visible and said: Eat it yourself.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn Juraij narrated it from al-Zuhri in the wordings of the narrator Malik that a man broke his fast. This version says: You should either free a slave, or fast for two months, or provide food for sixty poor men.

I asked: Messenger of Allah! what is party spirit? He replied: That you should help your people in wrongdoing.

The Prophet said, "None has the right to say that I am better than Jonah bin Matta."

The Prophet was of a modest height. I saw him wearing a red suit, and I did not see anything better than him.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn Qusayt al-Laythi that Said ibn al- Musayyab said, "The slaughter of what is in the womb is included in the slaughter of the mother if it is perfectly formed and its hair has begun to grow."

That `Aisha told him that Barirah came to seek her help in her writing of emancipation (for a certain sum) and that time she had not paid anything of it. `Aisha said to her, "Go back to your masters, and if they agree that I will pay the amount of your writing of emancipation and get your Wala', I will do so." Barirah informed her masters of that but they refused and said, "If she (i.e. `Aisha) is seeking Allah's reward, then she can do so, but your Wala' will be for us." `Aisha mentioned that to Allah's Apostle who said to her, "Buy and manumit (free) her, as the Wala' is for the liberator." Allah's Apostle then got up and said, "What about the people who stipulate conditions which are not present in Allah's Laws? Whoever imposes conditions which are not present in Allah's Laws, then those conditions will be invalid, even if he imposed these conditions a hundred times. Allah's conditions (Laws) are the truth and are more solid."

Allah's Apostle used to say at the time of difficulty, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Majestic, the Most Forbearing. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Honourable Throne. (See Hadith No. 357, Vol. 8)

The Prophet said, "A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue or his hands. And a Muhajir (an emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden."

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) proceeded on journey, he would say: O Allah, Thou art the Companion in the journey, and the One Who looks after the family; O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the difficulty of travelling, finding harm when I return, and unhappiness in what I see coming to my family and property. O Allah, make the length of his journey short for us, and the journey easy for us.