Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abdullah ibn Amir ibn Rabia that Umar ibn al-Khattab went out to ash-Sham. When he came to Sargh, near Tabuk, he heard that the plague had broken out in ash-Sham. Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf told him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you hear that a land has a plague in it, do not go forward to it. If it comes upon a land which you are in, do not depart in flight from it." Umar ibn al- Khattab came back from Sargh.

The Prophet was given some clothes including a black Khamisa. The Prophet said, "To whom shall we give this to wear?" The people kept silent whereupon the Prophet said, "Fetch Um Khalid for me." I (Um Khalid) was brought carried (as I was small girl at that time). The Prophet took the Khamisa in his hands and made me wear it and said, "May you live so long that your dress will wear out and you will mend it many times." On the Khamisa there were some green or pale designs (The Prophet saw these designs) and said, "O Um Khalid! This is Sanah." (Sanah in a Ethiopian word meaning beautiful).

(the wife of the Prophet) I bought a cushion having pictures on it. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he stopped at the gate and did not enter. I noticed the signs of hatred (for that) on his face! I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I turn to Allah and His Apostle in repentance! What sin have I committed?" He said, "What about this cushion?" I said, 'I bought it for you to sit on and recline on." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished (severely) on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said to them, 'Make alive what you have created.'" He added, "Angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures."

Aisha told me, "Allah's Apostle used to examine them according to this Verse: "O you who believe! When the believing women come to you, as emigrants test them . . . for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful." (60.10-12) Aisha said, "When any of them agreed to that condition Allah's Apostle would say to her, 'I have accepted your pledge of allegiance.' He would only say that, but, by Allah he never touched the hand of any women (i.e. never shook hands with them) while taking the pledge of allegiance and he never took their pledge of allegiance except by his words (only).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd arRahman ibn Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abu Sasaca al-Ansari, and later al-Mazini, that his father told him that Abu Said al-Khudri had said to him, "I see that you love sheep and the desert. When you are among your sheep or in your desert, call the prayer and raise your voice in the adhan, because I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No jinn or man or anything within range hears the voice of the muadhdhin except that it bears witness for him on the day of rising.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ayyub ibn Abi Tamima as- Sakhtayani from Muhammad ibn Sirin that Umm Atiyya al-Ansariyya said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to us when his daughter died and said, 'Wash her three times, or five, or more than that if you think it necessary, with water and lotus leaves, and at the end put on some camphor, or a little camphor, and when you have finished let me know.' When we finished we told him, and he gave us his waist-wrapper and said, 'Shroud her with this.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Karim ibn Malik al- Jazari from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla from Kab ibn Ujra that one time he was with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in ihram, and he was suffering from lice on his head. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him to shave his head, saying, "Fast three days, or feed six poor people, two mudds for each person, or sacrifice a sheep. If you do any of those it will be enough for you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said over the martyrs of Uhud, "I testify for them." Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, "Messenger of Allah! Are we not their brothers? We entered Islam as they entered Islam and we did jihad as they did jihad." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes, but I do not know what you will do after me." Abu Bakr wept profusely and said, "Are we really going to out-live you!"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Nufay, a mukatab of Umm Salama the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or her slave, had a free woman as a wife. He divorced her twice, and then he wanted to return to her. The wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to go to Uthman ibn Affan to ask him about it. He found him at ad-Daraj with Zayd ibn Thabit. He asked them, and they both anticipated him and said, "She is haram for you. She is haram for you."

Allah's Apostle stood beside me at Al-Hudaibiya and the lice were falling from my head in great number. He asked me, "Have your lice troubled you?" I replied in the affirmative. He ordered me to get my head shaved. Ka`b added, "This Holy Verse:--'And if any of you is ill, or has ailment in his scalp (2.196), etc. was revealed regarding me. "The Prophet then ordered me either to fast three days, or to feed six poor persons with one Faraq (three Sas) (of dates), or to slaughter a sheep, etc. (sacrifice) whatever was available.

Yazid prayed along with the Messenger of Allah (saws) when he was a young boy. When he (the Prophet) had prayed there were two persons (sitting) in the corner of the mosque; they did not pray (along with the Prophet). He called for them. They were brought trembling (before him). He asked: What prevented you from praying along with us? They replied: We have already prayed in our houses. He said: Do not do so. If any of you prays in his house and finds that the imam has not prayed, he should pray along with him; and that will be a supererogatory prayer for him.

From 'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah, that he entered upon Abu Talhah Al-Ansari to pay him a visit (while he was ill), and he found Sahl bin Hunaif with him. He said: "Abu Talhah called for someone to remove a sheet that was under him. Sahl said to him: 'Why did you remove it?' He replied: 'Because it contains images on it, and the Prophet (saws) said about them what you know.' Sahl said: 'Do he not say: Except for markings on a garment?' He said: 'Yes, but this is better to me.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

Allah's Apostle said, "Both of them (Moses and Al-Khadir) proceeded on till they reached a wall which was about to fall." Sa`d said [?? or Sa`id], "(Al-Khadir pointed) with his hands (towards the wall) and then raised his hands and the wall became straightened up." Ya`la said, "I think Sa`id [?? or Sa`d] said, 'He (Khadir) passed his hand over it and it was straightened up." (Moses said to him), "if you had wanted, you could have taken wages for it." Sa`id [?? or Sa`d] said, "Wages with which to buy food . "

I asked Abu Wail, "Did you take part in the battle of Siffin?" He said, 'Yes, and I heard Sahl bin Hunaif (when he was blamed for lack of zeal for fighting) saying, "You'd better blame your wrong opinions. I wish you had seen me on the day of Abu Jandal. If I had the courage to disobey the Prophet's orders, I would have done so. We had kept out swords on our necks and shoulders, for a thing which frightened us. And we did so, we found it easier for us, except in the case of the above battle (of ours).' "

Al-Aqra' bin Habis said to the Prophet "Nobody gave you the pledge of allegiance but the robbers of the pilgrims (i.e. those who used to rob the pilgrims) from the tribes of Aslam, Ghifar, Muzaina." (Ibn Abi Ya'qub is in doubt whether Al-Aqra' added. 'And Juhaina.') The Prophet said, "Don't you think that the tribes of Aslam, Ghifar, Muzaina (and also perhaps) Juhaina are better than the tribes of Bani Tamim, Bani Amir, Asad, and Ghatafan?" Somebody said, "They were unsuccessful and losers!" The Prophet said, "Yes, by Him in Whose Hands my life is, they (i.e. the former) are better than they (i.e. the latter).

The Prophet used to talk so clearly that if somebody wanted to count the number of his words, he could do so. Narrated `Urwa bin Az-Zubair: `Aisha said (to me), "Don't you wonder at Abu so-and-so who came and sat by my dwelling and started relating the traditions of Allah's Apostle intending to let me hear that, while I was performing an optional prayer. He left before I finished my optional prayer. Had I found him still there. I would have said to him, 'Allah's Apostle never talked so quickly and vaguely as you do.' "

The Prophet said, "I saw myself (in a dream) entering Paradise, and behold! I saw Ar-Rumaisa', Abu Talha's wife. I heard footsteps. I asked, Who is it? Somebody said, 'It is Bilal ' Then I saw a palace and a lady sitting in its courtyard. I asked, 'For whom is this palace?' Somebody replied, 'It is for `Umar.' I intended to enter it and see it, but I thought of your (`Umar's) Ghira (and gave up the attempt)." `Umar said, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! How dare I think of my Ghira (self-respect) being offended by you?

I heard Az-Zuhri saying, "I heard `Urwa bin Az-Zubair. Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Alqama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah each narrating part of the narrative concerning `Aisha the wife of the Prophet. `Aisha said: When I and Um Mistah were returning, Um Mistah stumbled by treading on the end of her robe, and on that she said, 'May Mistah be ruined.' I said, 'You have said a bad thing, you curse a man who took part in the battle of Badr!." Az-Zuhri then narrated the narration of the Lie (forged against `Aisha).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Muhammad Sirin used to say, "Do not sell grain on the ears until it is white."

Malik said, "If someone buys food for a known price to be delivered at a stated date, and when the date comes, the one who owes the food says, 'I do not have any food, sell me the food which I owe you with delayed terms.' The owner of the food says, 'This is not good, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade selling food until the deal was completed.' The one who owes the food says to his creditor, 'Sell me any kind of food on delayed terms until I discharge the debt to you.' This is not good because he gives him food and then he returns it to him. The gold which he gave him becomes the price of that which is his right against him and the food which he gave him becomes what clears what is between them. If they do that, it becomes the sale of food before the deal is complete."

Malik spoke about a man who was owed food which he had purchased from a man and this man was owed the like of that food by another man. The one who owed the food said to his creditor, "I will refer you to my debtor who owes me the same amount of food as I owe you, so that you may obtain the food which I owe you ."

Malik said, "If the man who had to deliver the food, had gone out, and bought the food to pay off his creditor, that is not good. That is selling food before taking possession of it. If the food is an advance which falls due at that particular time, there is no harm in paying off his creditor with it because that is nota sale. It is not halal to sell food before receiving it in full since the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade that. However, the people of knowledge agree that there is no harm in partnership, transfer of responsibility and revocation in sales of food and other goods."

Malik said, "That is because the people of knowledge consider it as a favour rendered. They do not consider it as a sale. It is like a man lending light dirhams. He is then paid back in dirhams of full weight, and so gets back more than he lent. That is halal for him and permitted. Had a man bought defective dirhams from him as being the full weight, that would not be halal. Had it been stipulated to him that he lend full weight in dirhams, and then he gave faulty ones, that would not be halal for him."

I heard Ka`b bin Malik who was one of the three who were forgiven, saying that he had never remained behind Allah's Apostle in any Ghazwa which he had fought except two Ghazwat Ghazwat- Al-`Usra (Tabuk) and Ghazwat-Badr. He added. "I decided to tell the truth to Allah's Apostle in the forenoon, and scarcely did he return from a journey he made, except in the forenoon, he would go first to the mosque and offer a two-rak`at prayer. The Prophet forbade others to speak to me or to my two companions, but he did not prohibit speaking to any of those who had remained behind excepting us. So the people avoided speaking to us, and I stayed in that state till I could no longer bear it, and the only thing that worried me was that I might die and the Prophet would not offer the funeral prayer for me, or Allah's Apostle might die and I would be left in that social status among the people that nobody would speak to me or offer the funeral prayer for me. But Allah revealed His Forgiveness for us to the Prophet in the last third of the night while Allah's Apostle was with Um Salama. Um Salama sympathized with me and helped me in my disaster. Allah's Apostle said, 'O Um Salama! Ka`b has been forgiven!' She said, 'Shall I send someone to him to give him the good tidings?' He said, 'If you did so, the people would not let you sleep the rest of the night.' So when the Prophet had offered the Fajr prayer, he announced Allah's Forgiveness for us. His face used to look as bright as a piece of the (full) moon whenever he was pleased. When Allah revealed His Forgiveness for us, we were the three whose case had been deferred while the excuse presented by those who had apologized had been accepted. But when there were mentioned those who had told the Prophet lies and remained behind (the battle of Tabuk) and had given false excuses, they were described with the worse description one may be described with. Allah said: 'They will present their excuses to you (Muslims) when you return to them. Say: Present no excuses; we shall not believe you. Allah has already informed us of the true state of matters concerning you. Allah and His Apostle will observe your actions." (9.94)

We were digging (the trench) on the day of (Al-Khandaq ( i.e. Trench )) and we came across a big solid rock. We went to the Prophet and said, "Here is a rock appearing across the trench." He said, "I am coming down." Then he got up, and a stone was tied to his belly for we had not eaten anything for three days. So the Prophet took the spade and struck the big solid rock and it became like sand. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to go home." (When the Prophet allowed me) I said to my wife, "I saw the Prophet in a state that I cannot treat lightly. Have you got something (for him to eat?" She replied, "I have barley and a she goat." So I slaughtered the she-kid and she ground the barley; then we put the meat in the earthenware cooking pot. Then I came to the Prophet when the dough had become soft and fermented and (the meat in) the pot over the stone trivet had nearly been well-cooked, and said, "I have got a little food prepared, so get up O Allah's Apostle, you and one or two men along with you (for the food)." The Prophet asked, "How much is that food?" I told him about it. He said, "It is abundant and good. Tell your wife not to remove the earthenware pot from the fire and not to take out any bread from the oven till I reach there." Then he said (to all his companions), "Get up." So the Muhajirn (i.e. Emigrants) and the Ansar got up. When I came to my wife, I said, "Allah's Mercy be upon you! The Prophet came along with the Muhajirin and the Ansar and those who were present with them." She said, "Did the Prophet ask you (how much food you had)?" I replied, "Yes." Then the Prophet said, "Enter and do not throng." The Prophet started cutting the bread (into pieces) and put the cooked meat over it. He covered the earthenware pot and the oven whenever he took something out of them. He would give the food to his companions and take the meat out of the pot. He went on cutting the bread and scooping the meat (for his companions) till they all ate their fill, and even then, some food remained. Then the Prophet said (to my wife), "Eat and present to others as the people are struck with hunger."

Whenever the Prophet finished the (morning) prayer, he would face us and ask, "Who amongst you had a dream last night?" So if anyone had seen a dream he would narrate it. The Prophet would say: "Ma sha'a-llah" (An Arabic maxim meaning literally, 'What Allah wished,' and it indicates a good omen.) One day, he asked us whether anyone of us had seen a dream. We replied in the negative. The Prophet said, "But I had seen (a dream) last night that two men came to me, caught hold of my hands, and took me to the Sacred Land (Jerusalem). There, I saw a person sitting and another standing with an iron hook in his hand pushing it inside the mouth of the former till it reached the jawbone, and then tore off one side of his cheek, and then did the same with the other side; in the meantime the first side of his cheek became normal again and then he repeated the same operation again. I said, 'What is this?' They told me to proceed on and we went on till we came to a man Lying flat on his back, and another man standing at his head carrying a stone or a piece of rock, and crushing the head of the Lying man, with that stone. Whenever he struck him, the stone rolled away. The man went to pick it up and by the time he returned to him, the crushed head had returned to its normal state and the man came back and struck him again (and so on). I said, 'Who is this?' They told me to proceed on; so we proceeded on and passed by a hole like an oven; with a narrow top and wide bottom, and the fire was kindling underneath that hole. Whenever the fire-flame went up, the people were lifted up to such an extent that they about to get out of it, and whenever the fire got quieter, the people went down into it, and there were naked men and women in it. I said, 'Who is this?' They told me to proceed on. So we proceeded on till we reached a river of blood and a man was in it, and another man was standing at its bank with stones in front of him, facing the man standing in the river. Whenever the man in the river wanted to come out, the other one threw a stone in his mouth and caused him to retreat to his original position; and so whenever he wanted to come out the other would throw a stone in his mouth, and he would retreat to his original position. I asked, 'What is this?' They told me to proceed on and we did so till we reached a well-flourished green garden having a huge tree and near its root was sitting an old man with some children. (I saw) Another man near the tree with fire in front of him and he was kindling it up. Then they (i.e. my two companions) made me climb up the tree and made me enter a house, better than which I have ever seen. In it were some old men and young men, women and children. Then they took me out of this house and made me climb up the tree and made me enter another house that was better and superior (to the first) containing old and young people. I said to them (i.e. my two companions), 'You have made me ramble all the night. Tell me all about that I have seen.' They said, 'Yes. As for the one whose cheek you saw being torn away, he was a liar and he used to tell lies, and the people would report those lies on his authority till they spread all over the world. So, he will be punished like that till the Day of Resurrection. The one whose head you saw being crushed is the one whom Allah had given the knowledge of Qur'an (i.e. knowing it by heart) but he used to sleep at night (i.e. he did not recite it then) and did not use to act upon it (i.e. upon its orders etc.) by day; and so this punishment will go on till the Day of Resurrection. And those you saw in the hole (like oven) were adulterers (those men and women who commit illegal sexual intercourse). And those you saw in the river of blood were those dealing in Riba (usury). And the old man who was sitting at the base of the tree was Abraham and the little children around him were the offspring of the people. And the one who was kindling the fire was Malik, the gatekeeper of the Hell-fire. And the first house in which you have gone was the house of the common believers, and the second house was of the martyrs. I am Gabriel and this is Michael. Raise your head.' I raised my head and saw a thing like a cloud over me. They said, 'That is your place.' I said, 'Let me enter my place.' They said, 'You still have some life which you have not yet completed, and when you complete (that remaining portion of your life) you will then enter your place.' "

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) appeared as a prophet, Hamdan said to me: Will you go to this man and negotiate for us (with him)? If you accept something, we shall accept it, and if you disapprove of something, we shall disapprove of it.

I said: Yes. So I proceeded until I came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). I liked his motive and my people embraced Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saws) wrote the document for Umayr Dhu Marran. He also sent Malik ibn Murarah ar-Rahawi to all the (people of) Yemen. So Akk Dhu Khaywan embraced Islam.

Akk was told: Go to the Messenger of Allah (saws), and obtain his protection for your town and property. He therefore came (to him) and the Messenger of Allah (saws) wrote a document for him:

"In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Akk Dhu Khaywan. If he is true his land, property and slave, he has the security and the protection of Allah, and Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. Written by Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As."

I heard Hudhaifa saying, "While we were sitting with `Umar, he said, 'Who among you remembers the statement of the Prophet about the afflictions?' Hudhaifa said, "The affliction of a man in his family, his property, his children and his neighbors are expiated by his prayers, Zakat (and alms) and enjoining good and forbidding evil." `Umar said, "I do not ask you about these afflictions, but about those afflictions which will move like the waves of the sea." Hudhaifa said, "Don't worry about it, O chief of the believers, for there is a closed door between you and them." `Umar said, "Will that door be broken or opened?" I said, "No. it will be broken." `Umar said, "Then it will never be closed," I said, "Yes." We asked Hudhaifa, "Did `Umar know what that door meant?" He replied, "Yes, as I know that there will be night before tomorrow morning, that is because I narrated to him a true narration free from errors." We dared not ask Hudhaifa as to whom the door represented so we ordered Masruq to ask him what does the door stand for? He replied, "`Umar."

A bedouin came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Book (Laws)." His opponent stood up and said, "He has said the truth, so judge between us according to Allah's Laws." The bedouin said, "My son was a laborer for this man and committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people said to me, 'Your son is to be stoned to death,' so I ransomed my son for one hundred sheep and a slave girl. Then I asked the religious learned men and they said to me, 'Your son has to receive one hundred lashes plus one year of exile.' " The Prophet said, "I shall judge between you according to Allah's Book (Laws)! As for the slave girl and the sheep, it shall be returned to you, and your son shall receive one-hundred lashes and be exiled for one year. O you, Unais!" The Prophet addressed some man, "Go in the morning to the wife of this man and stone her to death." So Unais went to her the next morning and stoned her to death.

The Prophet delivered the Khutba after offering the prayer on the Day of Nahr and said, "Whoever offers the prayer like us and slaughters like us then his Nusuk (sacrifice) will be accepted by Allah. And whoever slaughters his sacrifice before the `Id prayer then he has not done the sacrifice." Abi Burda bin Niyar, the uncle of Al-Bara' said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have slaughtered my sheep before the `Id prayer and I thought today as a day of eating and drinking (not alcoholic drinks), and I liked that my sheep should be the first to be slaughtered in my house. So slaughtered my sheep and took my food before coming for the prayer." The Prophet said, "The sheep which you have slaughtered is just mutton (not a Nusuk)." He (Abu Burda) said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have a young she-goat which is dearer to me than two sheep. Will that be sufficient as a Nusuk on my behalf? "The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Yes, it will be sufficient for you but it will not be sufficient (as a Nusuk) for anyone else after you."

When `Abdullah bin Ubai (the chief of hypocrites) died, his son came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Please give me your shirt to shroud him in it, offer his funeral prayer and ask for Allah's forgiveness for him." So Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) gave his shirt to him and said, "Inform me (When the funeral is ready) so that I may offer the funeral prayer." So, he informed him and when the Prophet intended to offer the funeral prayer, `Umar took hold of his hand and said, "Has Allah not forbidden you to offer the funeral prayer for the hypocrites? The Prophet said, "I have been given the choice for Allah says: '(It does not avail) Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites), or do not ask for forgiveness for them. Even though you ask for their forgiveness seventy times, Allah will not forgive them. (9.80)" So the Prophet offered the funeral prayer and on that the revelation came: "And never (O Muhammad) pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (i.e. hypocrites) that dies." (9. 84)

At Mina, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Do you know what is the day today?" The people replied, "Allah and His Apostle know it better." He said, "It is the forbidden (sacred) day. And do you know what town is this?" They replied, "Allah and His Apostle know it better." He said, "This is the forbidden (Sacred) town (Mecca). And do you know which month is this?" The people replied, "Allah and His Apostle know it better." He said, "This is the forbidden (sacred) month." The Prophet added, "No doubt, Allah made your blood, your properties, and your honor sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours in this month of yours in this town of yours." Narrated Ibn `Umar: On the Day of Nahr (10th of Dhul-Hijja), the Prophet stood in between the Jamrat during his Hajj which he performed (as in the previous Hadith) and said, "This is the greatest Day (i.e. 10th of Dhul-Hijjah)." The Prophet started saying repeatedly, "O Allah! Be Witness (I have conveyed Your Message)." He then bade the people farewell. The people said, "This is Hajjat-al-Wada`)."

Safiya got her menses on the night of Nafr (departure from Hajj), and she said, "I see that I will detain you." The Prophet said, "Aqra Halqa! Did she perform the Tawaf on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering)?" Somebody replied in the affirmative. He said, "Then depart." (Different narrators mentioned that) `Aisha said, "We set out with Allah''s Apostle (from Medina) with the intention of performing Hajj only. When we reached Mecca, he ordered us to finish the Ihram. When it was the night of Nafr (departure), Safiya bint Huyay got her menses. The Prophet said, "Halqa Aqra! I think that she will detain you," and added, "Did you perform the Tawaf (Al-Ifada) on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering)?" She replied, "Yes." He said, "Then depart." I said, "O Allah''s Apostle! I have not (done the Umra)." He replied, "Perform `Umra from Tan`im." My brother went with me and we came across the Prophet in the last part of the night. He said, "Wait at such and such a place."

"A man came to the Prophet while he was at Ji'rana. The man was wearing a cloak which had traces of Khaluq or Sufra (a kind of perfume). The man asked (the Prophet ), 'What do you order me to perform in my `Umra?' So, Allah inspired the Prophet divinely and he was screened by a place of cloth. I wished to see the Prophet being divinely inspired. `Umar said to me, 'Come! Will you be pleased to look at the Prophet while Allah is inspiring him?' I replied in the affirmative. `Umar lifted one corner of the cloth and I looked at the Prophet who was snoring. (The sub-narrator thought that he said: The snoring was like that of a camel). When that state was over, the Prophet asked, "Where is the questioner who asked about `Umra? Put off your cloak and wash away the traces of Khaluq from your body and clean the Sufra (yellow color) and perform in your Umra what you perform in your Hajj (i.e. the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and the Sa`i between Safa and Marwa). "

Ghudayf ibn al-Harith reported: I asked Aisha: Have you seen the Messenger of Allah (saws) washing (because of defilement) at the beginning of the night or at the end?

She replied: Sometimes he would take a bath at the beginning of the night and sometimes at the end.

Thereupon I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All Praise be to Allah Who made this matter accommodative.

I again asked her: What do you think, did the Messenger of Allah (saws) say the witr prayer (additional prayer after obligatory prayer at night) in the beginning of the night or at the end?

She replied: Sometimes he would say the witr prayer at the beginning of the night and sometimes at the end.

I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All praise be to Allah Who made the matter accommodative.

Again I asked her: What do you think, did the Messenger of Allah (saws) recite the Qur'an (in the prayer) loudly or softly?

She replied: Sometimes he would recite loudly and sometimes softly.

I exclaimed: Allah is most Great. All praise be to Allah Who made the matter flexible.

We came to Jabir ibn Abdullah who was sitting in his mosque. He said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us in this mosque and he had a twig of date-palm of the kind of Ibn Tab. He looked and saw phlegm on the wall towards qiblah. He turned to it and scraped it with the twig.

He then said: Who of you likes that Allah turns His face from him? He further said: When any of you stands for praying, Allah faces him. So he should not spit before him, nor on his right side. He should spit on his left side under his left foot. If he is in a hurry (i.e. forced to spit immediately), he should do with his cloth in this manner. He then placed the cloth on his mouth and rubbed it off.

He then said: Bring perfume. A young man of the tribe stood and hurried to his house and returned with perfume in his palm. The Messenger of Allah (saws) took it and put it at the end of the twig. He then stained the mark of phlegm with it.

Jabir said: This is the reason you use perfume in your mosques.