I came to Khabbab who had been branded with seven brands(1) and he said, "Had Allah's Apostle not forbidden us to invoke (Allah) for death, I would have invoked (Allah) for it."

Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel read the Qur'an to me in one way (i.e. dialect) and I continued asking him to read it in different ways till he read it in seven different ways."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata ibn Abdullah al-Khurasani that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "A bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, beating his breast and tearing out his hair and saying, 'I am destroyed.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Why is that?', and he said, 'I had intercourse with my wife while fasting in Ramadan.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked him, 'Are you able to free a slave?', and the man said, 'No.' Then he asked him, 'Are you able to give away a camel?', and the man replied, 'No.' He said, 'Sit own,' and someone brought a large basket of dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said to the man, 'Take this and give it away as sadaqa.' The man said, 'There is no one more needy than me,' and (the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, 'Eat them, and fast one day for the day when you had intercourse.' "

Malik said that Ata said that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab how many dates there were in that basket, and he said, "Between fifteen and twenty sas.''

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) had a disbeliever as a guest. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) ordered that a sheep be milked so he could drink. Then another was milked so he could drink, then another, so he drank until he had drank the milk of seven sheep. The he awoke the next morning and accepted Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saws) ordered that a sheep be milked so he could drink its milk, then he ordered for another but he could not finish it. So the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'The believer drinks with one intestine and the disbeliever drinks with seven.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Sahih Hasan Gharib as a narration of Suhail.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade muzabana and muhaqala. Muzabana was selling fresh dates for dried dates. Muhaqala was buying unharvested wheat in exchange for threshed wheat and renting land in exchange for wheat.

Ibn Shihab added that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab about renting land for gold and silver. He said, "There is no harm in it."

Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade muzabana. The explanation of muzabana is that it is buying something whose number, weight and measure is not known with something whose number, weight or measure is known, for instance, if a man has a stack of food whose measure is not known, either of wheat, dates, or whatever food, or the man has goods of wheat, date kernels, herbs, safflower, cotton, flax, silk, and does not know its measure or weight or number and then a buyer approaches him and proposes that he weigh or measure or count the goods, but, before he does, he specifies a certain weight, or measure, or number and guarantees to pay the price for that amount, agreeing that whatever falls short of that amount is a loss against him and whatever is in excess of that amount is a gain for him. That is not a sale. It is taking risks and it is an uncertain transaction. It falls into the category of gambling because he is not buying something from him for something definite which he pays. Everything which resembles this is also forbidden."

Malik said that another example of that was, for instance, a man proposing to another man, "You have cloth. I will guarantee you from this cloth of yours so many hooded cloaks, the measureof each cloak to be such-and-such, (naming a measurement). Whatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill you the specified amount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhaps the man proposed, "I will guarantee you from this cloth of yours so many shirts, the measurement of each shirt to be such-and-such, and whatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill the specified amount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhaps a man proposed to a man who had cattle or camel hides, "I will cut up these hides of yours into sandals on a pattern I will show you. Whatever falls short of a hundred pairs, I will make up its loss and whatever is over is mine because I guaranteed you." Another example was that a man say to a man who had ben-nuts, "I will press these nuts of yours. Whatever falls short of such-and-such a weight by the pound, I will make it up, and whatever is more than that is mine."

Malik said that all this and whatever else was like it or resembled it was in the category of muzabana, which was neither good nor permitted. It was also the same case for a man to say to a man, who had fodder leaves, date kernels, cotton, flax, herbs or safflower, "I will buy these leaves from you in exchange for such-and-such a sa, (indicating leaves which are pounded like his leaves) . . or these date kernels for such-and-such a sa of kernels like them, and the like of that in the case of safflower, cotton, flax and herbs."

Malik said, "All this is what we have described of muzabana."

I saw Allah's Apostle eating fresh dates with snake cucumbers.

"Alcoholic drinks are prepared from five things, i.e., raisins, dates. wheat, barley and honey."

While I was praying, the Prophet passed by and called me, but I did not go to him till I had finished my prayer. When I went to him, he said, "What prevented you from coming?" I said, "I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say" "O you who believes Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle." (8.24) Then he added, "Shall I tell you the most superior Sura in the Qur'an before I go out of the mosque?" When the Prophet intended to go out (of the Mosque), I reminded him and he said, "That is: "Al hamdu-li l-lahi Rabbil-`alamin (Surat-al-fatiha)' which is the seven oft repeated verses (Al-Mathani) and the Grand Qur'an which has been given to me."

Abu Nahik was avaricious eater. Ibn `Umar said to him, "Allah's Apostle said, "A Kafir (unbeliever) eats in seven intestines (eats much)." On that Abu Nahik said, "But I believe in Allah and His Apostle ."

The Prophet was ordered (by Allah) to prostrate on seven parts and not to tuck up the clothes or hair (while praying). Those parts are: the forehead (along with the tip of nose), both hands, both knees, and (toes of) both feet.

Allah's Apostle said, "The Night of Qadr is in the last ten nights of the month (Ramadan), either on the first nine or in the last (remaining) seven nights (of Ramadan)." Ibn `Abbas added, "Search for it on the twenty-fourth (of Ramadan).

Ibn Abbas reported the Prophet (saws) as saying: I have been commanded - according to the version of Hammad: Your Prophet (saws) was commanded - to prostrate on seven (bones), and not to fold back the hair or the clothing.

I was a boy. I used to throw stones at the palm-trees of the Ansar. So I was brought to the Prophet (saws) who said: O boy, why do you throw stones at the palm-trees? I said: eat (dates). He said: Do not throw stones at the palm trees, but eat what falls beneath them. He then wiped his head and said: O Allah, fill his belly.

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."

That the Prophet (saws) said: "A house without dates, its inhabitants will be hungry."

He said: There are narrations on this topic from Salma the wife of Abu Rafi'.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib from this route. We do not know of it to be a narration of Hisham bin 'Urwah except through this route. He said: I asked Al-Bukhari about this Hadith and he said: "I do not know of anyone who reported it other than Yahya bin Hassan."

Muhammad or `Abdullah bin Abu Al-Mujalid said, "Abdullah bin Shaddad and Abu Burda differed regarding As-Salam, so they sent me to Ibn Abi `Aufa and I asked him about it. He replied, 'In the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, Abu Bakr and `Umar, we used to pay in advance the prices of wheat, barley, dried grapes and dates to be delivered later. I also asked Ibn Abza and he, too, replied as above.' "

Malik said, "If a man has four awsuq of dates he has harvested, four awsuq of grapes he has picked, or four awsuq of wheat he has reaped or four awsuq of pulses he has harvested, the different categories are not added together, and he does not have to pay zakat on any of the categ ries - the dates, the grapes, the wheat or the pulses - until any one of them comes to five awsuq using the sa of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is no zakat (to pay) on anything less than five awsuq of dates. 'lf any of the categories comes to five awsuq, then zakat must be paid. If none of the categories comes to five awsuq, then there is no zakat to pay. The explanation of this is that when a man harvests five awsuq of dates (from his palms), he adds them all together and deducts the zakat from them even if they are all of different kinds and varieties. It is the same with different kinds of cereal, such as brown wheat, white wheat, barley and sult, which are all considered as one category. If a man reaps five awsuq of any of these, he adds it all together and pays zakat on it. If it does not come to that amount he does not have to pay any zakat. It is the same (also) with grapes, whether they be black or red. If a man picks five awsuq of them he has to pay zakat on them, but if they do not come to that amount he does not have to pay any zakat. Pulses also are considered as one category, like cereals, dates and grapes, even if they are of different varieties and are called by different names. Pulses include chick- peas, lentils, beans, peas, and anything which is agreed by everybody to be a pulse. If a man harvests five awsuq of pulses, measuring by the aforementioned sa, the sa of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he collects them all together and must pay zakat on them, even if they are of every kind of pulse and not just one kind."

Malik said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab drew a distinction between pulses and wheat when he took zakat from the Nabatean christians. He considered all pulses to be one category and took a tenth from them, and from cereals and raisins he took a twentieth."

Malik said, "If some one asks, 'How can pulses be added up all together when assessing the zakat so that there is just one payment, when a man can barter two of one kind for one of another, while cereals can not be bartered at a rate of two to one?', then tell him, 'Gold and silver are collected together when assessing the zakat, even though an amount of gold dinars can be exchanged for many times tha tamount of silver dirhams.' "

Malik said, regarding date palms which are shared equally between two men, and from which eight awsuq of dates are harvested, "They do not have to pay any zakat on them. If one man owns five awsuq of what is harvested from one piece of land, and the other owns four awsuq or less, the one who owns the five awsuq has to pay zakat, and the other one, who harvested four awsuq or less, does not have to pay zakat. This is how things are done whenever there are associates in any crop, whether the crop is grain or seeds that are reaped, or dates that are harvested, or grapes that are picked . Any one of them that harvests five awsuq of dates, or picks five awsuq of grapes, or reaps five awsuq of wheat, has to pay zakat, and whoever's portion is less than five awsuq does not have to pay zakat. Zakat only has to be paid by someone whose harvesting or picking or reaping comes to five awsuq."

Malik said, "The sunna with us regarding anything from any of these categories, i.e. wheat, dates, grapes and any kind of grain o rseed, which has had the zakat deducted from it and is then stored by its owner for a number of years after he has paid the zakat on it until he sell sit, is that he does not have to pay any zakat on the price he sells it for until a year has elapsed over it from the day he made the sale, as long as he got it through (chance) acquisition or some other means and it was not intended for trading. Cereals, seeds and trade-goods are the same, in that if a man acquires some and keeps them for a number of years and then sells them for gold or silver, he does not have to pay zakat on their price until a year has elapsed over it from the day of sale. If, however, the goods were intended for trade then the owner must pay zakat on them when he sells them, as long as he has had them for a year from the day when he paid zakat on the property with which he bought them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from as-Salt ibn Zubayd from more than one of his family that Umar ibn al-Khattab discovered the smell of perfume while he was at ash-Shajara. Kathir ibn as-Salt was at his side, and Umar asked, "Who is this smell of perfume coming from?", and Kathir said, "From me, amir al-muminin. I matted my hair with perfume and I intended not to shave it.'' Umar said, "Go to a sharaba and rub your head until it is clean," and Kathir did so.

Malik explained, "A sharaba is the ditch at the base of a date-palm."

The Prophet (saws) forbade selling animals for animals when payment was to be made at a later date.

The Prophet said, "There is a tree among the trees which is similar to a Muslim (in goodness), and that is the date palm tree."

'Abdullah b. Umar reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) burnt the date-palms of Banu Nadir.

The Prophet forbade the s of (date) fruits till they were red or yellow and fit for eating.

The Prophet said, "Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan ,' on the night when nine or seven or five nights remain out of the last ten nights of Ramadan (i.e. 21, 23, 25, respectively).

Allah's Apostle said, "Inform me of a tree which resembles a Muslim, giving its fruits at every season by the permission of its Lord, and the leaves of which do not fall." I thought of the date-palm tree, but I disliked to speak because Abu Bakr and `Umar were present there. When nobody spoke, the Prophet said, "It is the date-palm tree" When I came out with my father, I said, "O father! It came to my mind that it was the date-palm tree." He said, "What prevented you from saying it?" Had you said it, it would have been more dearer to me than such-and-such a thing (fortune)." I said, "Nothing prevented me but the fact that neither you nor Abu Bakr spoke, so I disliked to speak (in your presence).

"I was throwing stones at a date-palm belonging to some of the Ansar. They took me along with them to the Prophet (saws). He said: "O Rafi'! Why were you throwing stones at their date-palm?'" He said: "I said: 'Out of hunger, O Messenger of Allah! He said: 'Do not throw stones at them, eat what falls. May Allah fill you and quench your thirst.'"

This Hadith is Hasan Gharib Sahih.

Alcoholic drinks were prohibited. At that time these drinks used to be prepared from unripe and ripe dates.

I came to Khabbab who had been branded with seven brands over his `Abdomen, and I heard him saying, "If the Prophet: had not forbidden us to invoke (Allah) for death, I would have invoked Allah for it."

Allah's Apostle said, "If any one of you improve (follows strictly) his Islamic religion then his good deeds will be rewarded ten times to seven hundred times for each good deed and a bad deed will be recorded as it is."

Once I went to Abu- Sa`id Al-Khudri and asked him, "Won't you come with us to the date-palm trees to have a talk?" So Abu Sa`id went out and I asked him, "Tell me what you heard from the Prophet about the Night of Qadr." Abu Sa`id replied, "Once Allah's Apostle performed I`tikaf (seclusion) on the first ten days of the month of Ramadan and we did the same with him. Gabriel came to him and said, 'The night you are looking for is ahead of you.' So the Prophet performed the I`tikaf in the middle (second) ten days of the month of Ramadan and we too performed I`tikaf with him. Gabriel came to him and said, 'The night which you are looking for is ahead of you.' In the morning of the 20th of Ramadan the Prophet delivered a sermon saying, 'Whoever has performed I`tikaf with me should continue it. I have been shown the Night of "Qadr", but have forgotten its date, but it is in the odd nights of the last ten nights. I saw in my dream that I was prostrating in mud and water.' In those days the roof of the mosque was made of branches of date-palm trees. At that time the sky was clear and no cloud was visible, but suddenly a cloud came and it rained. The Prophet led us in the prayer and I saw the traces of mud on the forehead and on the nose of Allah's Apostle. So it was the confirmation of that dream."