(the freed slave of 'Umar bin 'Ubaidullah) I was Umar's clerk. Once Abdullah bin Abi Aufa wrote a letter to 'Umar when he proceeded to Al-Haruriya. I read in it that Allah's Apostle in one of his military expeditions against the enemy, waited till the sun declined and then he got up amongst the people saying, "O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask Allah for safety, but when you face the enemy, be patient, and remember that Paradise is under the shades of swords." Then he said, "O Allah, the Revealer of the Holy Book, and the Mover of the clouds and the Defeater of the clans, defeat them, and grant us victory over them."

I asked Anas bin Malik about the Qunut. Anas replied, "Definitely it was (recited)". I asked, "Before bowing or after it?" Anas replied, "Before bowing." I added, "So and so has told me that you had informed him that it had been after bowing." Anas said, "He told an untruth (i.e. "was mistaken," according to the Hijazi dialect). Allah's Apostle recited Qunut after bowing for a period of one month." Anas added, "The Prophet sent about seventy men (who knew the Qur'an by heart) towards the pagans (of Najd) who were less than they in number and there was a peace treaty between them and Allah's Apostle (but the Pagans broke the treaty and killed the seventy men). So Allah's Apostle recited Qunut for a period of one month asking Allah to punish them."

The Prophet and Abu Bakr came on foot to pay me a visit (during my illness) at Banu Salama's (dwellings). The Prophet found me unconscious, so he asked for water and performed the ablution from it and sprinkled some water over it. I came to my senses and said, "O Allah's Apostle! What do you order me to do as regards my wealth?" So there was revealed:-- "Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance):" (4.11)

My father and I went to Abi Barza Al-Aslami and my father said to him, "Tell us how Allah's Apostle used to offer the compulsory congregational prayers." He said, "He used to pray the Zuhr prayer, which you call the first prayer, as the sun declined at noon, the `Asr at a time when one of US could go to his family at the farthest place in Medina while the sun was still hot. (The narrator forgot what Abu Barza had said about the Maghrib prayer), and the Prophet preferred to pray the `Isha' late and disliked to sleep before it or talk after it. And he used to return after finishing the morning prayer at such a time when it was possible for one to recognize the person sitting by his side and he (the Prophet) used to recite 60 to 100 'Ayat' (verses) of the Qur'an in it."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) passed Hamzah who was killed and disfigured. He said: If Safiyyah were not grieved, I would have left him until the birds and beasts of prey would have eaten him, and he would have been resurrected from their bellies. The garments were scanty and the slain were in great number. So one, two and three persons were shrouded in one garment. The narrator Qutaybah added: They were then buried in one grave. The Messenger of Allah (saws) asked: Which of the two learnt the Qur'an more? He then advanced him toward the qiblah (direction of prayer).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayr from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, "I was racing a friend on horseback towards a narrow mountain trail and we killed a gazelle accidently and we were in ihram. What is your opinion?" Umar said to a man by his side, "Come, so that you and I may make an assessment." They decided on a female goat for him, and the man turned away saying, "This amir al-muminin cannot even make an assessment in the case of a gazelle until he calls a man to decide with him." Umar overheard the man's words and called him and asked him, "Do you recite surat al-Ma'ida?" and he said, "No." He said, "Then do you recognize this man who has taken the decision with me?" and he said, "No." He said, "If you had told me that you did recite surat al-Ma'ida, I would have dealt you a blow." Then he said, "Allah the Blessed, the Exalted says in His Book, 'as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal to reach the Kaba' (Sura 5 ayat 95), and this is Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf."

We were in our country when flags and banners were raised. I said: What is this?

The (the people) said: This is the banner of the Messenger of Allah (saws). So I came to him. He was (sitting) under a tree. A sheet of cloth was spread for him and he was sitting on it. His Companions were gathered around him. I sat with them.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) mentioned illness and said: When a believer is afflicted by illness and Allah cures him of it, it serves as an atonement for his previous sins and a warning to him for the future.

But when a hypocrite becomes ill and is then cured, he is like a camel which has been tethered and then let loose by its owners, but does not know why they tethered it and why they let it loose.

A man from among those around him asked: Messenger of Allah, what are illnesses? I swear by Allah, I never fell ill.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Get up and leave us. You do not belong to our number. When we were with him, a man came to him. He had a sheet of cloth and something in his hand.

He turned his attention to him and said: Messenger of Allah, when I saw you, I turned towards you. I saw a group of trees and heard the sound of fledglings. I took them and put them in my garment. Their mother then came and began to hover round my head. I showed them to her, and she fell on them. I wrapped them with my garment. They are now with me.

He said: Put them away from you. So I put them away, but their mother stayed with them.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to his companions: Are you surprised at the affection of the mother for her young?

They said: Yes, Messenger of Allah. He said: I swear by Him Who has sent me with the Truth, Allah is more affectionate to His servants than a mother to her young ones. Take them back put them and where you took them from when their mother should have been with them. So he took them back.

The Prophet embraced me and said, "O Allah! Teach him (the knowledge of) the Book (Qur'an)."

Ibn Shihab informed me of Lian and the tradition related to it, referring to the narration of Sahl bin Sa`d, the brother of Bani Sa`idi He said, "An Ansari man came to Allah's Apostle and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! If a man saw another man with his wife, should he kill him, or what should he do?' So Allah revealed concerning his affair what is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an about the affair of those involved in a case of Lian. The Prophet said, 'Allah has given His verdict regarding you and your wife.' So they carried out Lian in the mosque while I was present there. When they had finished, the man said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I should now keep her with me as a wife then I have told a lie about her. Then he divorced her thrice before Allah's Apostle ordered him, when they had finished the Lian process. So he divorced her in front of the Prophet ." Ibn Shihab added, "After their case, it became a tradition that a couple involved in a case of Lian should be separated by divorce. That lady was pregnant then, and later on her son was called by his mother's name. The tradition concerning their inheritance was that she would be his heir and he would inherit of her property the share Allah had prescribed for him." Ibn Shihab said that Sahl bin Sa`d As'Saidi said that the Prophet said (in the above narration), "If that lady delivers a small red child like a lizard, then the lady has spoken the truth and the man was a liar, but if she delivers a child with black eyes and huge lips, then her husband has spoken the truth." Then she delivered it in the shape one would dislike (as it proved her guilty).

Once the Prophet embraced me and said, "O Allah! Bestow on him the knowledge of the Book (Qur'an).

A man fell ill and a cry was raised (for his death). So his neighbour came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said to him: He has died. He asked: Who told you? He said: I have seen him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: He has not died. He then returned.

A cry was again raised (for his death). He came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said: He has died. The Prophet (saws) said: He has not died. He then returned.

A cry was again raised over him. His wife said: Go to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and inform him. The man said: O Allah, curse him.

He said: The man then went and saw that he had killed himself with an arrowhead. So he went to the Prophet (saws) and informed him that he had died.

He asked: Who told you? He replied: I myself saw that he had killed himself with arrowheads. He asked: Have you seen him? He replied: Yes. He then said: Then I shall not pray over him.

Salih ibn Muhammad ibn Za'idah (AbuDawud said: This Salih is AbuWaqid) said: We entered the Byzantine territory with Maslamah. A man who had been dishonest about booty was brought.

He (Maslamah) asked Salim about him. He said: I heard my father narrating from Umar ibn al-Khattab from the Prophet (saws). He said: When you find a man who has been dishonest about booty, burn his property, and beat him. He beat him. He said: We found in his property a copy of the Qur'an. He again asked Salim about it. He said: Sell it and give its price in charity.

The Prophet I said, "Allah does not listen to a prophet as He listens to a prophet who recites the Qur'an in a loud and pleasant tone." Sufyan said, "This saying means: a prophet who regards the Qur'an as something that makes him dispense with many worldly pleasures."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah never listens to anything as He listens to the Prophet reciting Qur'an in a pleasant sweet sounding voice." A companion of Abu Huraira said, "He means, reciting the Qur'an aloud."

"Allah's Apostle in his fatal illness came out with a piece of cloth tied round his head and sat on the pulpit. After thanking and praising Allah he said, "There is no one who had done more favor to me with life and property than Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafa. If I were to take a Khalil, I would certainly have taken Abu- Bakr but the Islamic brotherhood is superior. Close all the small doors in this mosque except that of Abu Bakr."

(The tribes of) Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Lihyan asked Allah's Apostle to provide them with some men to support them against their enemy. He therefore provided them with seventy men from the Ansar whom we used to call Al-Qurra' in their lifetime. They used to collect wood by daytime and pray at night. When they were at the well of Ma'una, the infidels killed them by betraying them. When this news reached the Prophet , he said Al-Qunut for one month In the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes, upon Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usaiya and Bani Libyan. We used to read a verse of the Qur'an revealed in their connection, but later the verse was cancelled. It was: "convey to our people on our behalf the information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us pleased." (Anas bin Malik added:) Allah's Prophet said Qunut for one month in the morning prayer, invoking evil upon some of the 'Arab tribes (namely), Ril, Dhakwan, Usaiya, and Bani Libyan. (Anas added:) Those seventy Ansari men were killed at the well of Mauna.

AbuUmamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf said that some companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) told that one of their men suffered so much from some illness that he pined away until he was skin and bone (i.e. only a skeleton). A slave-girl of someone visited him, and he was cheered by her and had unlawful intercourse with her. When his people came to visit the patient, he told them about it.

He said: Ask the Messenger of Allah (saws) about the legal verdict for me, for I have had unlawful intercourse with a slave-girl who visited me.

So they mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying: We have never seen anyone (so weak) from illness as he is. If we bring him to you, his bones will disintegrate. He is only skin and bone. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded them to take one hundred twigs and strike him once.

Let the best among you call the adhan for you, and the Qur'an-readers act as your imams.

Allah's Apostle said, "The Um (substance) of the Qur'an is the seven oft-repeated verses (Al- Mathaini) and is the Great Qur'an (i.e. Surat-al-Fatiha).

Al-Aqra', the mu'adhdhin (announcer) of Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Umar sent me to a bishop and I called him.

Umar said to him: Do you find me in the Book? He said: Yes. He asked: How do you find me? He said: I find you (like a) castle. Then he raised a whip to him, saying: What do you mean by castle? He replied: An iron castle and severely trustworthy. He asked: How do you find the one who will come after me? He said: I find him a pious caliph, except that he will prefer his relatives. Umar said: May Allah have mercy on Uthman: He said it three times. He then asked: How do you find the one who will come after him?

He replied: I find him like rusty iron. Umar then put his hand on his head, and said: O filthy! O filthy! He said: Commander of the Faithful! He is a pious caliph, but when he is made caliph, the sword will be unsheathed and blood will be shed.

Abu Dawud said: Al-dafr means filth or evil smell.

Malik said, "The imam does not come down and prostrate when he recites a piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration while he is on the mimbar."

Malik said, "The position with us is that there are eleven prescribed prostrations in the Qur'an, none of which are in the mufassal."

Malik said, "No-one should recite any of the pieces of Qur'an that require a prostration after the prayers of subh and asr. This is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade prayer after subh until after the sun had risen, and after asr until the sun had set, and prostration is part of the prayer. So no-one should recite any piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration during these two periods of time."

Malik was asked whether a menstruating woman could prostrate if she heard some-one reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration, and he said, "Neither a man nor a woman should prostrate unless they are ritually pure."

Malik was asked whether a man in the company of a woman who was reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration should prostrate with her, and he said, "He does not have to prostrate with her. The prostration is only obligatory for people who are with a man who is leading them. He recites the piece and they prostrate with him. Some one who hears a piece of Qur'an that requires a prostration being recited by a man who is not leading him in prayer does not have to do the prostration."

Allah's Apostle said to us, "Honesty descended from the Heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Qur'an was revealed and the people read the Qur'an, (and learnt it from it) and also learnt it from the Sunna." Both Qur'an and Sunna strengthened their (the faithful believers') honesty. (See Hadith No. 208)

A man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (saws) and begged from him.

He (the Prophet) asked: Have you nothing in your house? He replied: Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water.

He said: Bring them to me. He then brought these articles to him and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked: Who will buy these? A man said: I shall buy them for one dirham. He said twice or thrice: Who will offer more than one dirham? A man said: I shall buy them for two dirhams.

He gave these to him and took the two dirhams and, giving them to the Ansari, he said: Buy food with one of them and hand it to your family, and buy an axe and bring it to me. He then brought it to him. The Messenger of Allah (saws) fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight. The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten dirhams, he came to him and bought a garment with some of them and food with the others.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: This is better for you than that begging should come as a spot on your face on the Day of Judgment. Begging is right only for three people: one who is in grinding poverty, one who is seriously in debt, or one who is responsible for compensation and finds it difficult to pay.

Abu Dawud said: In this tradition Ma’mar on the authority of al-Zuhrl said: The words “wa la yun iyannaka” instead of “wa la yuthniyannaka,” with the same meaning: “it may not distract you” salih b. Kaisan on the authority of al-Zurhrl said in this tradition the words “al-mushtaharat” (well-know things). He also said the word “La yuthniyannaka” as ‘Uqail mentioned. Ibn ishaq, on the authority of al-Zuhri, said: Yes, if you are doubtful about the speech of a scholar until you say: WHAT did he mean by this word?

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Amra al-Ansari said that Uthman ibn Affan came to the isha prayer and seeing only a few people in the mosque, he lay down at the back of the mosque to wait for the number of people to increase. Ibn Abi Amra went and sat down beside him and Uthman asked him who he was, so he told him. Uthman said, "What have you memorised of the Qur'an?", and he told him. Uthman said, "If someone is present at isha, it is as if he had stood in prayer for half a night, and if some one is present at subh, it is as if he had stood in prayer for a whole night.

I asked `Abdullah bin Abu `Aufa "Did the Prophet make a will?" He replied, "No," I asked him, "How is it then that the making of a will has been enjoined on people, (or that they are ordered to make a will)?" He replied, "The Prophet bequeathed Allah's Book (i.e. Qur'an).

Shaddad bin Ma'qil and I entered upon Ibn `Abbas. Shaddad bin Ma'qil asked him, "Did the Prophet leave anything (besides the Qur'an)?" He replied. "He did not leave anything except what is Between the two bindings (of the Qur'an)." Then we visited Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyya and asked him (the same question). He replied, "The Prophet did not leave except what is between the bindings (of the Qur'an).

While some people were offering Fajr prayer at Quba' (mosque), some-one came to them and said, "Tonight some Qur'anic Verses have been revealed to the Prophet and he has been ordered to face the Ka`ba (at Mecca) (during prayers), so you too should turn your faces towards it." At that time their faces were towards Sham (Jerusalem) so they turned towards the Ka`ba (at Mecca).

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.' "

The Prophet in his fatal illness, called his daughter Fatima and told her a secret because of which she started weeping. Then he called her and told her another secret, and she started laughing. When I asked her about that, she replied, The Prophet told me that he would die in his fatal illness, and so I wept, but then he secretly told me that from amongst his family, I would be the first to join him, and so I laughed."

A man came to perform the Hajj to (Allah's) House. Seeing some people sitting, he said, "Who are these sitting people?" Somebody said, "They are the people of Quraish." He said, "Who is the old man?" They said, "Ibn `Umar." He went to him and said, "I want to ask you about something; will you tell me about it? I ask you with the respect due to the sanctity of this (Sacred) House, do you know that `Uthman bin `Affan fled on the day of Uhud?" Ibn `Umar said, "Yes." He said, "Do you know that he (i.e. `Uthman) was absent from the Badr (battle) and did not join it?" Ibn `Umar said, "Yes." He said, "Do you know that he failed to be present at the Ridwan Pledge of allegiance (i.e. Pledge of allegiance at Hudaibiya) and did not witness it?" Ibn `Umar replied, "Yes," He then said, "Allahu- Akbar!" Ibn `Umar said, "Come along; I will inform you and explain to you what you have asked. As for the flight (of `Uthman) on the day of Uhud, I testify that Allah forgave him. As regards his absence from the Badr (battle), he was married to the daughter of Allah's Apostle and she was ill, so the Prophet said to him, 'You will have such reward as a man who has fought the Badr battle will get, and will also have the same share of the booty.' As for his absence from the Ridwan Pledge of allegiance if there had been anybody more respected by the Meccans than `Uthman bin `Affan, the Prophet would surely have sent that man instead of `Uthman. So the Prophet sent him (i.e. `Uthman to Mecca) and the Ridwan Pledge of allegiance took place after `Uthman had gone to Mecca. The Prophet raised his right hand saying. 'This is the hand of `Uthman,' and clapped it over his other hand and said, "This is for `Uthman.'" Ibn `Umar then said (to the man), "Go now, after taking this information."

The Prophet was hiding himself in Mecca and used to recite the (Qur'an) in a loud voice. When the pagans heard him they would abuse the Qur'an and the one who brought it, so Allah said to His Prophet: 'Neither say your prayer aloud, nor say it in a low tone.' (17.110)

The Verse of Hajj-at-Tamatu was revealed in Allah's Book, so we performed it with Allah's Apostle, and nothing was revealed in Qur'an to make it illegal, nor did the Prophet prohibit it till he died. But the man (who regarded it illegal) just expressed what his own mind suggested.

While a man from the companions of the Prophet was reciting (Qur'an) and his horse was tied in the house, the horse got startled and started jumping. The man came out, looked around but could not find anything, yet the horse went on jumping. The next morning he mentioned that to the Prophet. The Prophet said, "That was the tranquility (calmness) which descended because of the recitation of the Qur'an."

We used to practice coitus interrupt us while the Qur'an was being revealed. Jabir added: We used to practice coitus interrupt us during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle while the Qur'an was being Revealed.

Allah's Apostle said, "The example of a Believer who recites the Qur'an, is that of a citron which smells good and tastes good; And the example of a Believer who does not recite the Qur'an, is that of a date which has no smell but tastes sweet; and the example of a hypocrite who recites the Qur'an, is that of an aromatic plant which smells good but tastes bitter; and the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an, is that of a colocynth plant which has no smell and is bitter in taste."

The Prophet said, 'The example of a believer who recites the Qur'an is that of a citron (a citrus fruit) which is good in taste and good in smell. And the believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which has a good taste but no smell. And the example of an impious person who recites the Qur'an is that of Ar-Rihana (an aromatic plant) which smells good but is bitter in taste. And the example of an impious person who does not recite the Qur'an is that of a colocynth which is bitter in taste and has no smell."