That he asked `Aisha "How was the prayer of Allah's Apostle in the month of Ramadan?" She replied, "He used not to pray more than eleven rak`at whether in Ramadan or in any other month. He used to offer four rak`at, let alone their beauty and length, and then four rak`at, let alone their beauty and length. Afterwards he would offer three rak`at. I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Do you go to bed before offering the witr prayer?' He said, 'My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep."'

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "While a shepherd was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked them and took away one sheep. When the shepherd chased the wolf, the wolf turned towards him and said, 'Who will be its guard on the day of wild animals when nobody except I will be its shepherd. And while a man was driving a cow with a load on it, it turned towards him and spoke to him saying, 'I have not been created for this purpose, but for ploughing." The people said, "Glorified be Allah." The Prophet said, "But I believe in it and so does Abu Bakr end `Umar."

The Prophet assumed the state of Ihram for Umra and Hajj, and we to assumed it for Hajj with him. When we arrived at Mecca, the Prophet said, "Whoever does not possess a Hadi should regard his Ihram for Umra only." The Prophet had a Hadi with him. `Ali bin Abi Talib came to us from Yemen with the intention of performing Hajj. The Prophet said (to him), "With what intention have you assumed the Ihram, for your wife is with us?" `Ali said, "I assumed the lhram with the same intention as that of the Prophet ." The Prophet said, "Keep on the state of lhram, as we have got the Hadi."

The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ) passed by two graves. He said : Both (the dead) are being punished, but they are not being punished for a major (sin). One did not safeguard himself from urine. The other carried tales. He then called for a fresh twig and split it into two parts and planted one part on each grave and said: Perhaps their punishment may be mitigated as long as the twigs remain fresh.

Another version of Hannad has: "One of them did not cover himself while urinating." This version does not have the words: "He did not safeguard himself from urine."

Magic was worked on Allah's Apostle so that he used to think that he had sexual relations with his wives while he actually had not (Sufyan said: That is the hardest kind of magic as it has such an effect). Then one day he said, "O `Aisha do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I asked Him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other sat near my feet. The one near my head asked the other. What is wrong with this man?' The latter replied the is under the effect of magic The first one asked, Who has worked magic on him?' The other replied Labid bin Al-A'sam, a man from Bani Zuraiq who was an ally of the Jews and was a hypocrite.' The first one asked, What material did he use)?' The other replied, 'A comb and the hair stuck to it.' The first one asked, 'Where (is that)?' The other replied. 'In a skin of pollen of a male date palm tree kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan' '' So the Prophet went to that well and took out those things and said "That was the well which was shown to me (in a dream) Its water looked like the infusion of Henna leaves and its date-palm trees looked like the heads of devils." The Prophet added, "Then that thing was taken out' I said (to the Prophet ) "Why do you not treat yourself with Nashra?" He said, "Allah has cured me; I dislike to let evil spread among my people."

Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whomever Allah protects from the evil of two things will enter the Garden." A man said, "Messenger of Allah, do not tell us!" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was silent. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, repeated what he had said the first time. The man said to him, "Do not tell us, Messenger of Allah!" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was silent. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said the same thing again. The man said, "Do not tell us, Messenger of Allah!" Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said the same thing again. Then the man began to say what he had said previously and a man at his side silenced him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whomever Allah protects from the evil of two things will enter the Garden. They are what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, what is between his jaws and what is between his legs."

Allah's Apostle and one of his companions entered upon an Ansari man and the Prophet said to him, "If you have water kept overnight in a water skin, (give us), otherwise we will drink water by putting our mouth in it." The man was watering his garden then. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have water kept overnight; let us go to the shade." So he took them both there and poured water into a bowl and milked a domestic goat of his in it. Allah's Apostle drank, and then the man who had come along with him, drank.

One day the Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed and gave the salutation while a rak'ah of the prayer remained to be offered. A man went to him and said: You forgot to offer one rak'ah of prayer. Then he returned and entered the mosque and ordered Bilal (to utter the Iqamah). He uttered the Iqamah for prayer. He then led the people in one rak'ah of prayer. I stated it to the people. They asked me: Do you know who he was? I said: No, but I can recognise him if I see him. Then the man passed by me, I said: It is he. The people said: This is Talhah ibn Ubaydullah.

While the Muslims were offering the Fajr prayer on Monday and Abu Bakr was leading them in prayer, suddenly Allah's Apostle lifted the curtain of `Aisha's dwelling and looked at them while they were in the rows of the prayers and smiled. Abu Bakr retreated to join the row, thinking that Allah's Apostle wanted to come out for the prayer. The Muslims were about to be put to trial in their prayer (i.e. were about to give up praying) because of being overjoyed at seeing Allah's Apostle. But Allah's Apostle beckoned them with his hand to complete their prayer and then entered the dwelling and let fall the curtain.

The people of pre-Islamic times used to eat some things and leave others alone, considering them unclean. Then Allah sent His Prophet (saws) and sent down His Book, marking some things lawful and others unlawful; so what He made lawful is lawful, what he made unlawful is unlawful, and what he said nothing about is allowable. And he recited: "Say: I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it...." up to the end of the verse.

Another chain reports a similar hadith.

We were in the company of the Prophet and he said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him, either in Paradise or in the Hell-Fire." We said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend (on this fact and give up work)?" He replied, "No! Carry on doing good deeds, for everybody will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to his destined place." Then the Prophet recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the Best reward. We will make smooth for him the path of ease....the path for evil.' (92.5-10)

Jarir said, "We were with the Prophet and he looked at the moon--full-moon--and said, 'Certainly you will see your Lord as you see this moon and you will have no trouble in seeing Him. So if you can avoid missing (through sleep or business, etc.) a prayer before the sunrise (Fajr) and a prayer before sunset (`Asr), you must do so.' He then recited Allah's Statement: And celebrate the praises Of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting." (50.39) Isma`il said, "Offer those prayers and do not miss them."

Abu Qilaba said, "Malik bin Huwairith used to demonstrate to us the prayer of the Prophet at times other than that of the compulsory prayers. So (once) he stood up for prayer and performed a perfect Qiyam (standing and reciting from the Holy Qur'an) and then bowed and performed bowing perfectly; then he raised his head and stood straight for a while." Abu Qilaba added, "Malik bin Huwairith in that demonstration prayed like this Sheikh of ours, Abu Yazid." Abu, Yazid used to sit (for a while) on raising his head from the second prostration before getting up.

Allah's Apostle said, "Every child is born with a true faith of Islam (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone) but his parents convert him to Judaism, Christianity or Magainism, as an animal delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited the holy verses: "The pure Allah's Islamic nature (true faith of Islam) (i.e. worshipping none but Allah) with which He has created human beings. No change let there be in the religion of Allah (i.e. joining none in worship with Allah). That is the straight religion (Islam) but most of men know, not." (30.30)

When Abu Huraira accompanied by his slave set out intending to embrace Islam they lost each other on the way. The slave then came while Abu Huraira was sitting with the Prophet. The Prophet said, "O Abu Huraira! Your slave has come back." Abu Huraira said, "Indeed, I would like you to witness that I have manumitted him." That happened at the time when Abu Huraira recited (the following poetic verse):-- 'What a long tedious tiresome night! Nevertheless, it has delivered us From the land of Kufr (disbelief).

The Prophet invoked evil upon those (people) who killed his companions at Bir Mauna for 30 days (in the morning prayer). He invoked evil upon (tribes of) Ril, Lihyan and Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and His Apostle. Allah revealed a Qur'anic Verse to His Prophet regarding those who had been killed, i.e. the Muslims killed at Bir Ma'una, and we recited the Verse till later it was cancelled. (The Verse was:) 'Inform our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and we are pleased with Him."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) married me when I was seven or six. When we came to Medina, some women came. according to Bishr's version: Umm Ruman came to me when I was swinging. They took me, made me prepared and decorated me. I was then brought to the Messenger of Allah (saws), and he took up cohabitation with me when I was nine. She halted me at the door, and I burst into laughter.

Abu Dawud said: That is to say: I menstruated, and I was brought in a house, and there were some women of the Ansari in it. They said: With good luck and blessing. The tradition of one of them has been included in the other.

While we were waiting for `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud). Yazid bin Muawiya came. I said (to him), "Will you sit down?" He said, "No, but I will go into the house (of Ibn Mas`ud) and let your companion (Ibn Mas`ud) come out to you; and if he should not (come out), I will come out and sit (with you)." Then `Abdullah came out, holding the hand of Yazid, addressed us, saying, "I know that you are assembled here, but the reason that prevents me from coming out to you, is that Allah's Apostle used to preach to us at intervals during the days, lest we should become bored."

During the lifetime of Allah's Apostle I asked Ibn Abi Hadrad in the mosque to pay the debts which he owed to me and our voices grew so loud that Allah's Apostle heard them while he was in his house. So he came to us after raising the curtain of his room. The Prophet said, "O Ka`b bin Malik!" I replied, "Labaik, O Allah's Apostle." He gestured with his hand to me to reduce the debt to one half. I said, "O Allah's Apostle have done it." Allah's Apostle said (to Ibn Hadrad), "Get up and pay it."

Ka`b demanded his debt back from Ibn Abi Hadrad in the Mosque and their voices grew louder till Allah's Apostle heard them while he was in his house. He came out to them raising the curtain of his room and addressed Ka`b, "O Ka`b!" Ka`b replied, "Labaik, O Allah's Apostle." (He said to him), "Reduce your debt to one half," gesturing with his hand. Ka`b said, "I have done so, O Allah's Apostle!" On that the Prophet said to Ibn Abi Hadrad, "Get up and repay the debt, to him."

We poured medicine in one side of the Prophet's mouth during his illness and he started pointing to us, meaning to say, "Don't pour medicine in my mouth." We said, "(He says so) because a patient dislikes medicines." When he improved and felt a little better, he said, "Didn't I forbid you to pour medicine in my mouth ?" We said, " ( We thought it was because of) the dislike, patients have for medicines. He said, "Let everyone present in the house be given medicine by pouring it in his mouth while I am looking at him, except `Abbas as he has not witnessed you (doing the same to me).

Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad ibn Abi Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf heard his father say, "My father, Sahl ibn Hunayf did a ghusl at al-Kharrar. He removed the jubbah he had on while Amir ibn Rabia was watching, and Sahl was a man with beautiful white skin. Amir said to him, 'I have never seen anything like what I have seen today, not even the skin of a virgin.' Sahl fell ill on the spot, and his condition grew worse. Somebody went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and told him that Sahl was ill, and could not go with him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to him, and Sahl told him what had happened with Amir. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Why does one of you kill his brother? Why did you not say, "May Allah bless you?" (ta baraka-llah) The evil eye is true. Do wudu from it.' Amir did wudu from it and Sahl went with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and there was nothing wrong with him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Talhafrom Uthman ibn Abd ar-Rahman that his father related to him that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to wash what was beneath his waist wrapper with water.

Yahya said that Malik was asked what a man should do if, when he did wudu, he forgot and washed his face before he had rinsed his mouth, or washed his forearms before he had washed his face. He said, "If someone washes his face before rinsing his mouth, he should rinse his mouth and not wash his face again. If someone washes his forearms before his face, however, he should wash his forearms again so that he has washed them after his face. This is if he is still near the place (of wudu)."

Yahya said that Malik was asked about what a man should do if he had forgotten to rinse his mouth and nose until he had prayed, and he said, "He does not have to repeat the prayer, but should rinse his mouth and nose if he wishes to do any more prayers after that."

Once `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, said, "Who amongst you remembers the statement of Allah's Apostle regarding the afflictions?" Hudhaifa replied, "I remember what he said exactly." `Umar said. "Tell (us), you are really a daring man!'' Hudhaifa said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'A man's afflictions (i.e. wrong deeds) concerning his relation to his family, his property and his neighbors are expiated by his prayers, giving in charity and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.' " `Umar said, "I don't mean these afflictions but the afflictions that will be heaving up and down like waves of the sea." Hudhaifa replied, "O chief of the believers! You need not fear those (afflictions) as there is a closed door between you and them." `Umar asked, "Will that door be opened or broken?" Hudhaifa replied, "No, it will be broken." `Umar said, "Then it is very likely that the door will not be closed again." Later on the people asked Hudhaifa, "Did `Umar know what that door meant?" He said. "Yes, `Umar knew it as everyone knows that there will be night before the tomorrow morning. I narrated to `Umar an authentic narration, not lies." We dared not ask Hudhaifa; therefore we requested Masruq who asked him, "What does the door stand for?" He said, "`Umar."

Al-Adawi that he said to `Amr bin Sa`id while the latter was sending troops in batches to Mecca, "O chief! Allow me to tell you a statement which Allah's Apostle said on the second day of the Conquest of Mecca. My two ears heard it and my heart remembered it and my two eyes saw him when he said it. He (i.e. the Prophet) praised Allah and then said, 'Mecca has been made a sanctuary by Allah and not by the people, so it is not lawful for a person, who believes in Allah and the Last Day to shed blood in it, or to cut its trees and if someone asks the permission to fight in Mecca because Allah's Apostle was allowed to fight in it, say to him; Allah permitted His Apostle and did not allow you, and even he (i.e. the Apostle) was allowed for a short period of the day, and today its (Mecca's sanctity has become the same as it was before (of old) so those who are present should inform those who are absent (this Hadith)." Then Abu Shuraih, was asked, "What did `Amr say to you? Abu Shuraih said, "He said, "I knew that better than you, O Abu Shuraih! The Haram (i.e. Mecca) does not give refuge to a sinner or a fleeing murderer or a person running away after causing destruction."

Once we were traveling with the Prophet and we carried on traveling till the last part of the night and then we (halted at a place) and slept (deeply). There is nothing sweeter than sleep for a traveler in the last part of the night. So it was only the heat of the sun that made us to wake up and the first to wake up was so and so, then so and so and then so and so (the narrator `Auf said that Abu Raja' had told him their names but he had forgotten them) and the fourth person to wake up was `Umar bin Al- Khattab. And whenever the Prophet used to sleep, nobody would wake up him till he himself used to get up as we did not know what was happening (being revealed) to him in his sleep. So, `Umar got up and saw the condition of the people, and he was a strict man, so he said, "Allahu Akbar" and raised his voice with Takbir, and kept on saying loudly till the Prophet got up because of it. When he got up, the people informed him about what had happened to them. He said, "There is no harm (or it will not be harmful). Depart!" So they departed from that place, and after covering some distance the Prophet stopped and asked for some water to perform the ablution. So he performed the ablution and the call for the prayer was pronounced and he led the people in prayer. After he finished from the prayer, he saw a man sitting aloof who had not prayed with the people. He asked, "O so and so! What has prevented you from praying with us?" He replied, "I am Junub and there is no water. " The Prophet said, "Perform Tayammum with (clean) earth and that is sufficient for you." Then the Prophet proceeded on and the people complained to him of thirst. Thereupon he got down and called a person (the narrator `Auf added that Abu Raja' had named him but he had forgotten) and `Ali, and ordered them to go and bring water. So they went in search of water and met a woman who was sitting on her camel between two bags of water. They asked, "Where can we find water?" She replied, "I was there (at the place of water) this hour yesterday and my people are behind me." They requested her to accompany them. She asked, "Where?" They said, "To Allah's Apostle ." She said, "Do you mean the man who is called the Sabi, (with a new religion)?" They replied, "Yes, the same person. So come along." They brought her to the Prophet and narrated the whole story. He said, "Help her to dismount." The Prophet asked for a pot, then he opened the mouths of the bags and poured some water into the pot. Then he closed the big openings of the bags and opened the small ones and the people were called upon to drink and water their animals. So they all watered their animals and they (too) all quenched their thirst and also gave water to others and last of all the Prophet gave a pot full of water to the person who was Junub and told him to pour it over his body. The woman was standing and watching all that which they were doing with her water. By Allah, when her water bags were returned the looked like as if they were more full (of water) than they had been before (Miracle of Allah's Apostle) Then the Prophet ordered us to collect something for her; so dates, flour and Sawiq were collected which amounted to a good meal that was put in a piece of cloth. She was helped to ride on her camel and that cloth full of foodstuff was also placed in front of her and then the Prophet said to her, "We have not taken your water but Allah has given water to us." She returned home late. Her relatives asked her: "O so and so what has delayed you?" She said, "A strange thing! Two men met me and took me to the man who is called the Sabi' and he did such and such a thing. By Allah, he is either the greatest magician between this and this (gesturing with her index and middle fingers raising them towards the sky indicating the heaven and the earth) or he is Allah's true Apostle." Afterwards the Muslims used to attack the pagans around her abode but never touched her village. One day she said to her people, "I think that these people leave you purposely. Have you got any inclination to Islam?" They obeyed her and all of them embraced Islam. Abu `Abdullah said: The word Saba'a means "The one who has deserted his old religion and embraced a new religion." Abul 'Ailya [??] said, "The S`Abis are a sect of people of the Scripture who recite the Book of Psalms."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Abu Idris al-Khawlani said, "I entered the Damascus mosque and there was a young man with a beautiful mouth and white teeth sitting with some people. When they disagreed about something, they referred it to him and proceeded from his statement. I inquired about him, and it was said, 'This is Muadh ibn Jabal.' The next day I went to the noon-prayer, and I found that he had preceded me to the noon prayer and I found him praying."

Abu Idris continued, "I waited for him until he had finished the prayer. Then I came to him from in front of him and greeted him and said, 'By Allah! I love you for Allah!' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' "

He continued, "He took me by the upper part of my cloak and pulled me to him and said, 'Rejoice! I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said, 'My love is obliged for those who love each other in Me, and those who sit with each other in Me, and those who visit each other in Me, and those who give to each other generously in Me.' " ' "

Malik said, "The best of what I have heard about a mukatab who injures a man so that blood-money must be paid, is that if the mukatab can pay the blood-money for the injury with his kitaba, he does so, and it is against his kitaba. If he cannot do that, and he cannot pay his kitaba because he must pay the blood-money of that injury before the kitaba, and he cannot pay the blood-money of that injury, then his master has an option. If he prefers to pay the blood-money of that injury, he does so and keeps his slave and he becomes an owned slave. If he wishes to surrender the slave to the injured, he surrenders him. The master does not have to do more than surrender his slave."

Malik spoke about people who were in a general kitaba and one of them caused an injury which entailed blood-money. He said, "If any of them does an injury involving blood-money, he and those who are with him in the kitaba are asked to pay all the blood-money of that injury. If they pay, they are confirmed in their kitaba. If they do not pay, and they are incapable then their master has an option. If he wishes, he can pay all the blood-money of that injury and all the slaves revert to him. If he wishes, he can surrender the one who did the injury alone and all the others revert to being his slaves since they could not pay the blood-money of the injury which their companion caused."

Malik said, "The way of doing things about which there is no dispute among us, is that when a mukatab is injured in some way which entails blood-money or one of the mukatab's children who is written with him in the kitaba is injured, their blood-money is the blood-money of slaves of their value, and what is appointed to them as their blood-money is paid to the master who has the kitaba and he reckons that for the mukatab at the end of his kitaba and there is a reduction for the blood-money that the master has taken for the injury."

Malik said, "The explanation of that is say, for example, he has written his kitaba for three thousand dirhams and the blood-money taken by the master for his injury is one thousand dirhams. When the mukatab has paid his master two thousand dirhams he is free. If what remains of his kitaba is one thousand dirhams and the blood-money for his injury is one thousand dirhams, he is free straightaway. If the blood-money of the injury is more than what remains of the kitaba, the master of the mukatab takes what remains of his kitaba and frees him. What remains after the payment of the kitaba belongs to the mukatab. One must not pay the mukatab any of the blood- money of his injury in case he might consume it and use it up. If he could not pay his kitaba completely he would then return to his master one eyed, with a hand cut off, or crippled in body. His master only wrote his kitaba against his property and earnings, and he did not write his kitaba so that he would take the blood-money for what happened to his child or to himself and use it up and consume it. One pays the blood-money of injuries to a mukatab and his children who are born in his kitaba, or their kitaba is written, to the master and he takes it into account for him at the end of his kitaba."

A man came to the Prophet and said, "I am ruined!" The Prophet said, "Why?" He said, "I had sexual intercourse with my wife while fasting (in the month of Ramadan)." The Prophet said to him, "Manumit a slave (as expiation)." He replied, "I cannot afford that." The Prophet said, "Then fast for two successive months." He said, "I cannot." The Prophet said, "Then feed sixty poor persons." He said, "I have nothing to do that." In the meantime a basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet . He said, "Where is the questioner." The man said, "I am here." The Prophet said (to him), "Give this (basket of dates) in charity (as expiation)." He said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I give it to poorer people than us? By Him Who sent you with the Truth, there is no family between Medina's two mountains poorer than us." The Prophet smiled till his pre-molar teeth became visible. He then said, "Then take it."

The jews came to Allah's Apostle and mentioned to him that a man and a lady among them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah's Apostle said to them, "What do you find in the Torah regarding the Rajam?" They replied, "We only disgrace and flog them with stripes." `Abdullah bin Salam said to them, 'You have told a lie the penalty of Rajam is in the Torah.' They brought the Torah and opened it. One of them put his hand over the verse of the Rajam and read what was before and after it. `Abdullah bin Salam said to him, "Lift up your hand." Where he lifted it there appeared the verse of the Rajam. So they said, "O Muhammad! He has said the truth, the verse of the Rajam is in it (Torah)." Then Allah's Apostle ordered that the two persons (guilty of illegal sexual intercourse) be stoned to death, and so they were stoned, and I saw the man bending over the woman so as to protect her from the stones.

His uncle (Anas bin An-Nadr) was absent from the battle of Badr and he said, "I was absent from the first battle of the Prophet (i.e. Badr battle), and if Allah should let me participate in (a battle) with the Prophet, Allah will see how strongly I will fight." So he encountered the day of Uhud battle. The Muslims fled and he said, "O Allah ! I appeal to You to excuse me for what these people (i.e. the Muslims) have done, and I am clear from what the pagans have done." Then he went forward with his sword and met Sad bin Mu'adh (fleeing), and asked him, "Where are you going, O Sad? I detect a smell of Paradise before Uhud." Then he proceeded on and was martyred. No-body was able to recognize him till his sister recognized him by a mole on his body or by the tips of his fingers. He had over 80 wounds caused by stabbing, striking or shooting with arrows.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that Abasa (Sura 80) was sent down about Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and began to say, "O Muhammad, show me a place near you (where I can sit)," whilst one of the leading men of the idol worshippers was in audience with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to turn away from him and give his attention to the other man, and he said to him, "Father of so-and-so, do you see any harm in what I am saying?" and he said, "No, by the blood (of our sacrifices) I see no harm in what you are saying." And Abasa - "He frowned and turned away when the blind man came" - was sent down.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban mentioning that a certain man passed Abu Dharr at ar-Rabadha (which was about 30 miles from Madina) and Abu Dharr asked him, "Where are you heading to?" and he replied, "I am intending to do hajj." Abu Dharr questioned, "Has anything else brought you out?" and he said, "No," so Abu Dharr said "Resume what you are doing wholeheartedly."

The man related, "I went on till I came to Makka and I stayed as long as Allah willed. Suddenly, one time, I was with a crowd of people thronging about a man and I pushed through the people to him and it was the old man that I had come across at ar- Rabadha. When he saw me, he recognized me and said, 'Ah, you have done what I told you.' "