Allah's Apostle said, "When it is the last third of the night, our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends every night to the heaven of the world and says, 'Is there anyone who invokes Me (demand anything from Me), that I may respond to his invocation; Is there anyone who asks Me for something that I may give (it to) him; Is there anyone who asks My forgiveness that I may forgive him?' "

I heard the Prophet saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle."

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying (the version of Sulayman has: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to say) after his prayer:-

"O Allah, our Lord and Lord of everything, I bear witness that Thou art the Lord alone Who hast no partner; O Allah, Our Lord and Lord of everything, I bear witness that Muhammad is Thy servant and Thy apostle ; O Allah, our Lord and Lord of everything, I bear witness that all the servants are brethren; O Allah, our Lord and Lord of everything make me sincere to Thee, and my family too at every moment, in this world and in the world hereafter, O Possessor of glory and honour, listen to me and answer. Allah is incomparably great. O Allah, Light of the heavens and of the earth".

The narrator Sulaiman b. Dawud said: "Lord of the heavens and of the earth, Allah is incomparably great. Allah is sufficient for me; and the excellent guardian is He; Allah is incomparably great.

Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to `Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to `Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as Jews and the Christians did before." So `Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to `Uthman. `Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, `Abdullah bin AzZubair, Sa`id bin Al-As and `AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. `Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, `Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. `Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.

That a man came to him (while two groups of Muslims were fighting) and said, "O Abu `Abdur Rahman! Don't you hear what Allah has mentioned in His Book: 'And if two groups of believers fight against each other...' (49.9) So what prevents you from fighting as Allah has mentioned in His Book?"' Ibn `Umar said, "O son of my brother! I would rather be blamed for not fighting because of this Verse than to be blamed because of another Verse where Allah says: 'And whoever kills a believer intentionally..." (4.93) Then that man said, "Allah says:-- 'And fight them until there is no more afflictions (worshipping other besides Allah) and the religion (i.e. worship) will be all for Allah (Alone)" (8.39) Ibn `Umar said, "We did this during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle when the number of Muslims was small, and a man was put to trial because of his religion, the pagans would either kill or chain him; but when the Muslims increased (and Islam spread), there was no persecution." When that man saw that Ibn `Umar did not agree to his proposal, he said, "What is your opinion regarding `Ali and `Uthman?" Ibn `Umar said, "What is my opinion regarding `Ali and `Uthman? As for `Uthman, Allah forgave him and you disliked to forgive him, and `Ali is the cousin and son-in-law of Allah's Apostle ." Then he pointed out with his hand and said, "And that is his daughter's (house) which you can see."

That his father had told him that Allah's Apostle set out for Hajj and so did his companions. He sent a batch of his companions by another route and Abu Qatada was one of them. The Prophet said to them, "Proceed along the seashore till we meet all together." So, they took the route of the seashore, and when they started all of them assumed Ihram except Abu Qatada. While they were proceeding on, his companions saw a group of onagers. Abu Qatada chased the onagers and attacked and wounded a sheonager. They got down and ate some of its meat and said to each other: "How do we eat the meat of the game while we are in a state of Ihram?" So, we (they) carried the rest of the she-onager's meat, and when they met Allah's Apostle they asked, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! We assumed Ihram with the exception of Abu Qatada and we saw (a group) of onagers. Abu Qatada attacked them and wounded a she-onager from them. Then we got down and ate from its meat. Later, we said, (to each other), 'How do we eat the meat of the game and we are in a state of Ihram?' So, we carried the rest of its meat. The Prophet asked, "Did anyone of you order Abu Qatada to attack it or point at it?" They replied in the negative. He said, "Then eat what is left of its meat."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from al-Qaqa ibn Hakim that Abu Yunus, the mawla of A'isha, umm al-muminin said, ''A'isha ordered me to write out a Qur'an for her. She said, 'When you reach this ayat, let me know, "Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and stand obedient to Allah." ' When I reached it I told her, and she dictated to me, 'Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and the asr prayer and stand obedient to Allah.' A'isha said, 'I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.' "

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that a Syrian man called Ibn Khaybari found a man with his wife and killed him, or killed them both. Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan found it difficult to make a decision and he wrote to Abu Musa al-Ashari to ask Ali ibn Abi Talib for him about that. So Abu Musa asked Ali ibn Abi Talib and AIi said to him, "Is this thing in my land? I adjure you, you must tell me." Abu Musa explained to him how Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan had written him to ask Ali about it. Ali said, "I am Abu Hasan. If he does not bring four witnesses, then let him be completely handed over," (to the relatives of the murdered man).

The people of Medina were forced to prepare an army (to fight against the people of Sham during the caliphate of `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair at Mecca), and I was enlisted in it; Then I met `Ikrima, the freed slave of Ibn `Abbas, and informed him (about it), and he forbade me strongly to do so (i.e. to enlist in that army), and then said, "Ibn `Abbas informed me that some Muslim people were with the pagans, increasing the number of the pagans against Allah's Apostle. An arrow used to be shot which would hit one of them (the Muslims in the company of the pagans) and kill him, or he would be struck and killed (with a sword)." Then Allah revealed:-- "Verily! as for those whom the angels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (by staying among the disbelievers)" (4.97) Abu AlAswad also narrated it.

The Prophet said, "Paradise and Hell (Fire) quarrelled in the presence of their Lord. Paradise said, 'O Lord! What is wrong with me that only the poor and humble people enter me ?' Hell (Fire) said, I have been favored with the arrogant people.' So Allah said to Paradise, 'You are My Mercy,' and said to Hell, 'You are My Punishment which I inflict upon whom I wish, and I shall fill both of you.'" The Prophet added, "As for Paradise, (it will be filled with good people) because Allah does not wrong any of His created things, and He creates for Hell (Fire) whomever He will, and they will be thrown into it, and it will say thrice, 'Is there any more, till Allah (will put) His Foot over it and it will become full and its sides will come close to each other and it will say, 'Qat! Qat! Qat! (Enough! Enough! Enough!) .

"A man from the Muslims and a man from the Jews quarrelled, and the Muslim said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Muhammad over all the people!" The Jew said, "By Him Who gave superiority to Moses over all the people!' On that the Muslim lifted his hand and slapped the Jew. The Jew went to Allah's Apostle and informed him of all that had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over Moses, for the people will fall unconscious on the Day of Resurrection, I will be the first to regain consciousness and behold, Moses will be standing there, holding the side of the Throne. I will not know whether he has been one of those who have fallen unconscious and then regained consciousness before me, or if he has been one of those exempted by Allah (from falling unconscious)." (See Hadith No. 524, Vol. 8)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Mahmud ibn Rabi al-Ansari that Utban ibn Malik, who was a blind man, used to lead his people in prayer, and he said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Sometimes it is dark and rainy and there is a lot of water around outside, and I am a man who has lost his sight. Messenger of Allah, pray in a certain place in my house so that I can take it as a place to pray." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to him and said, "Where would you like me to pray?" He indicated a place to him and the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed there.

AbuSalamah said: Zaynab daughter of AbuSalamah reported to me that a woman had a copious flow of blood. She was the wife of AbdurRahman ibn Awf. The Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded her to take a bath at the time of every prayer, and then to pray. He reported to me that Umm Bakr told him that Aisha said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said about a woman who was doubtful of her menstruation after purification that it was a vein or veins.

Abu Dawud said: The two commands (of which the Prophet gave option) were as follows in the version reported by Ibn 'Aqil: He said: If you are strong enough, then take a bath for every prayer; otherwise combine the (two prayers), as al-Qasim reported in his version. This statement was also narrated by Sa'id b. Jubair from 'Ali and Ibn 'Abbas.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed, he began with himself and said: May the mercy of Allah be upon us and upon Moses. If he had patience, he would have seen marvels from his Companion. But he said: "(Moses) said: If ever I ask thee about anything after this, keep me not in they company: then wouldst thou have received (full) excuse from my side". Hamzah lengthened it.

Allah's Apostle offered prayer while he was wearing a Khamisa of his that had printed marks. He looked at its marks and when he finished prayer, he said, "Take this Khamisa of mine to Abu Jahm, for it has just now diverted my attention from my prayer, and bring to me the Anbijania (a plain thick sheet) of Abu Jahm bin Hudhaifa bin Ghanim who belonged to Bani Adi bin Ka`b."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to Abu Musa al-Ashari that he should pray asr when the sun was still pure white so that a man could ride three farsakhs (before maghrib) and that he should pray Isha during the first third of the night, or, if he delayed it, then up until the middle of the night, and he warned him not to be forgetful.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab prayed two rakas with everybody when he arrived in Makka. Then, when he had finished, he said, "People of Makka, complete your prayer, because we are a group of travellers." Later, Umar ibn al-Khattab prayed two rakas with them at Mina, but we have not heard that he said anything to them on that occasion.

Once I passed the night in the house of my aunt Maimuna. Allah's Apostle offered the `Isha' prayer and then came to the house and offered four rak`at an slept. Later on, he woke up and stood for the prayer and I stood on his left side. He drew me to his right and prayed five rak`at and then two. He then slept till I heard him snoring (or heard his breath sounds). Afterwards he went out for the morning prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) entered the mosque and saw a man who had finished his prayer, and was reciting the tashahhud saying: O Allah, I ask you, O Allah, the One, the eternally besought of all, He begetteth not, nor was He begotten, and there is none comparable unto Him, that you may forgive me my sins, you are Most Forgiving, Merciful.

He (the Prophet) said: He was forgiven (repeating three times.)

The Prophet heard a man (reciting Qur'an) in the Mosque, and he said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy upon him. No doubt, he made me remember such-and such Verses of such-and-such Sura which I dropped (from my memory). Narrated Aisha: The Prophet performed the Tahajjud prayer in my house, and then he heard the voice of `Abbad who was praying in the Mosque, and said, "O `Aisha! Is this `Abbad's voice?" I said, "Yes." He said, "O Allah! Be merciful to `Abbad!"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that as-Sa'ib ibn Yazid informed him that Umar ibn al-Khattab came out to them. He said, "I have found the smell of wine on so-and-so, and he claimed that it was the drink of boiled fruit juice, and I am inquiring about what he has drunk. If it intoxicates, I will flog him." Umar then flogged him with the complete hadd.

Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "If a man frees his share of a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave justly evaluated for him, he must buy out his partners so that the slave is completely freed. If he doesn't have the money, he partially frees him.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Masud, Salim ibn Abdullah, al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, Ibn Shihab,and Sulayman ibn Yasar all said, "If a man has vowed to divorce his wife before marrying her and then he breaks his vow, divorce is obligatory for him when he marries her."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "Two grandmothers came to Abu Bakr asSiddiq, and he wanted to give the sixth to the one who was from the mother's side, and a man of the Ansar said, 'What? Are you omitting the one from whom he would inherit if she died while he was alive?' Abu Bakr divided the sixth between them.~

A man came and said: Messenger of Allah, fix prices. He said: (No), but I shall pray. Again the man came and said: Messenger of Allah, fix prices. He said: It is but Allah Who makes the prices low and high. I hope that when I meet Allah, none of you has any claim on me for doing wrong regarding blood or property.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Marwan ibn al-Hakam was brought a man who had snatched some goods and he wanted to cut off his hand. He sent to Zayd ibn Thabit to ask him about it. Zayd ibn Thabit said to him, "The hand is not cut off for what is stolen by chance, openly, in haste."

Malik related to me from Yunus ibn Yusuf from Ata ibn Yasar that Abu Ayyub al-Ansari found some boys who had driven a fox into a corner, and he chased them away from it.

Malik said, "I only know that he said, 'Is this done in the Haram of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?' "

Malik related to me that Amir ibn Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr would stop speaking when he heard thunder and say, "Glory be to Allah whom the thunder glorifies with His praise and the angels from the fear of Him." (Subhana-aladhee yusabihu ar-radu bi hamdihi wa mala'ikatu min khiyfatihi.) Then he would say, "This is a severe warning to the people of the earth."

I asked Ubai bin Ka`b regarding the two Muwwidhat (Surats of taking refuge with Allah). He said, "I asked the Prophet about them, He said, 'These two Surats have been recited to me and I have recited them (and are present in the Qur'an).' So, we say as Allah's Apostle said (i.e., they are part of the Qur'an."

A lady came to Allah's Apostle and she talked to him about something, and he gave her some order. She said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I should not find you?" He said, "If you should not find me, then go to Abu Bakr." Ibrahim bin Sa`d said, "As if she meant the death (of the Prophet).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "Someone who prays maghrib or subh and then catches them with the imam should not repeat them."

Malik said, "I do not see any harm in someone who has already prayed in his house praying with the imam, except for maghrib, because if he repeats it, he makes it even."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said once at Mina, "This place (where I have just sacrificed), and the whole of Mina, is a place of sacrifice," and he said once during umra, "This place of sacrifice" meaning Marwa, "and all the pathways of Makka and its roads are a place of sacrifice."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him about some locusts he had killed while he was in ihram. Umar said to Kab, "Come, let's decide." Kab said, "A dirham," and Umar said to Kab, "You can find dirhams. A date is better than a locust."

A person died and Allah's Apostle used to visit him. He died at night and (the people) buried him at night. In the morning they informed the Prophet (about his death). He said, "What prevented you from informing me?" They replied, "It was night and it was a dark night and so we disliked to trouble you." The Prophet went to his grave and offered the (funeral) prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: If anyone does not abandon falsehood and action is accordance with it, Allah has no need that he should abandon his food and drink.

The narrator Ahmad (b. Yunus) said: I learnt the chain of narrators from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, and a man by his side made me understand the tradition. I think he was his cousin.

One day the Messenger of Allah (saws) entered the mosque. He saw there a man from the Ansar called AbuUmamah.

He said: What is the matter that I am seeing you sitting in the mosque when there is no time of prayer?

He said: I am entangled in cares and debts, Messenger of Allah.

He replied: Shall I not teach you words by which, when you say them, Allah will remove your care, and settle your debt?

He said: Why not, Messenger of Allah?

He said: Say in the morning and evening: "O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from care and grief, I seek refuge in Thee from incapacity and slackness, I seek refuge in Thee from cowardice and niggardliness, and I seek in Thee from being overcome by debt and being put in subjection by men."

He said: When I did that Allah removed my care and settled my debt.

Allah's Apostle came to `Abdullah bin Ubai (a hypocrite) after his death and he has been laid in his pit (grave). He ordered (that he be taken out of the grave) and he was taken out. Then he placed him on his knees and threw some of his saliva on him and clothed him in his (the Prophet's) own shirt. Allah knows better (why he did so). `Abdullah bin Ubai had given his shirt to Al-Abbas to wear. Abu Harun said, "Allah's Apostle at that time had two shirts and the son of `Abdullah bin Ubai said to him, 'O Allah's Apostle! Clothe my father in your shirt which has been in contact with your skin.' ' Sufyan added, "Thus people think that the Prophet clothed `Abdullah bin Tubal in his shirt in lieu of what he (Abdullah) had done (for Al `Abbas, the Prophet's uncle.)"

Ziyadah al-Kindi reported on the authority of Bilal that he (Bilal) came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) to inform him about the dawn prayer. Aisha kept Bilal engaged in a matter which she asked him till the day was bright and it became fairly light. Bilal then stood up and called him to prayer and called him repeatedly. The Messenger of Allah (saws) did not yet come out. When he came out, he led the people in prayer and he (Bilal) informed him that Aisha had kept him engaged in a matter which she asked him till it became fairly light; hence he became late in reaching him (in time). He (Bilal) said: Messenger of Allah, the dawn became fairly bright. He said: If the dawn became brighter than it is now, I would pray them (the two rak'ahs of the sunnah prayer), offer them well and in a more beautiful manner.

We counted that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would say a hundred times during a meeting: "My Lord, forgive me and pardon me; Thou art the Pardoning and forgiving One".

The Prophet (saws) said: Do not make your houses graves, and do not make my grave a place of festivity. But invoke blessings on me, for your blessings reach me wherever you may be.