One night the Prophet delayed the `Isha' prayer whereupon `Umar went to him and said, "The prayer, O Allah's Apostle! The women and children had slept." The Prophet came out with water dropping from his head, and said, "Were I not afraid that it would be hard for my followers (or for the people), I would order them to pray `Isha prayer at this time." (Various versions of this Hadith are given by the narrators with slight differences in expression but not in content).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata al-Khurasani that he heard Said ibn al Musayyab say, "A traveller who has decided to remain somewhere for four nights does the prayer in full."

Malik said, "That is what I prefer most out of what I have heard."

Malik when asked about the prayer of a prisoner, said, "It is the same as the prayer of a person who remains in one place, except if he is travelling."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah guarantees either the Garden or a safe return to his home with whatever he has obtained of reward or booty, for the one who does jihad in His way, if it is solely jihad and trust in his promise that brings him out of his house."

Malik said about enemy soldiers who were found on the seashore of a Muslim land, and they claimed that they were merchants and that the sea had driven them ashore, while the Muslims were not able to verify any of that except that their ships were damaged, or they were thirsty and had disembarked without the permission of the Muslims, "I think that it is up to the imam to give his opinion about them, and I do not think that the tax of one fifth is taken from them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "If someone breaks an oath which he has stressed, he has to free a slave, or clothe ten poor people. If someone breaks an oath, but has not stressed it, he only has to feed ten poor people and each poor person is fed a mudd of wheat. Some one who does not have the means for that, should fast for three days."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from a man of the Ansar from Muadh ibn Sad or Sad ibn Muadh that a slave-girl of Kab ibn Malik was herding some sheep at Sal (a mountain near Madina). One of the sheep was about to die, so she went over to it and slaughtered it with a stone. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about that, and he said, "There is no harm in it, so eat it."

A man came to the Prophet while he was delivering the sermon and asked him how to offer the night prayers. The Prophet replied, 'Pray two rak`at at a time and then two and then two and so on and if you are afraid of dawn (the approach of the time of the Fajr prayer) pray one rak`a and that will be the witr for all the rak`at which you have prayed." Narrated 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah bin `Umar: A man called the Prophet while he was in the mosque.

"The Prophet used to make his she-camel sit across and he would pray facing it (as a Sutra)." I asked, "What would the Prophet do if the she-camel was provoked and moved?" He said, "He would take its camel-saddle and put it in front of him and pray facing its back part (as a Sutra). And Ibn `Umar used to do the same." (This indicates that one should not pray except behind a Sutra).

I went to visit `Abdullah bin `Umar at his house which contained many tents made of cotton cloth and these were encircled with Suradik (part of the tent). I asked him from where, should one assume Ihram for Umra. He said, "Allah's Apostle had fixed as Miqat (singular of Mawaqit) Qarn for the people of Najd, Dhul-Hulaifa for the people of Medina, and Al-Juhfa for the people of Sham."

That he had heard the Prophet saying, "Do not fast continuously (practice Al-Wisal), and if you intend to lengthen your fast, then carry it on only till the Suhur (before the following dawn)." The people said to him, "But you practice (Al-Wisal), O Allah's Apostle!" He replied, "I am not similar to you, for during my sleep I have One Who makes me eat and drink."

Allah's Apostle said, "Do not fast continuously day and night (practice Al-Wisal) and if anyone of you intends to fast continuously day and night, he should continue till the Suhur time." They said, "But you practice Al-Wisal, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "I am not similar to you;. during my sleep I have One Who makes me eat and drink."

The Prophet never fasted in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban. He used to say, "Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing religious deeds)." The most beloved prayer to the Prophet was the one that was done regularly (throughout the life) even if it were little. And whenever the Prophet offered a prayer he used to offer it regularly .

Urwah ibn az-Zubayr said that Fatimah daughter of AbuHubaysh narrated to him that she asked the Messenger of Allah (saws) and complained to him about the flowing of (her) blood. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to her: That is only (due to) a vein: look, when your menstruation comes, do not pray; and when your menstruation ends, wash yourself and then offer prayer during the period from one menstruation to another.

"The Prophet (saws) was met by some affair that made him happy, so he prostrated to Allah."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib, we do not know of it except from this route, as a narration of Bakkar bin 'Abdul-'Aziz.

This is acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge, they held the view that one could perform the prostration of gratitude. And Bakkar bin 'Adbul-'Aziz bin Abi Bakrah is Muqarib (average) in Hadith.

I said to Tawus, "I wish you would give up Mukhabara (Sharecropping), for the people say that the Prophet forbade it." On that Tawus replied, "O `Amr! I give the land to sharecroppers and help them. No doubt; the most learned man, namely Ibn `Abbas told me that the Prophet had not forbidden it but said, 'It is more beneficial for one to give his land free to one's brother than to charge him a fixed rental."

Allah's Apostle sent horsemen to Najd and they arrested and brought a man called Thumama bin Uthal, the chief of Yamama, and they fastened him to one of the pillars of the Mosque. When Allah's Apostle came up to him; he asked, "What have you to say, O Thumama?" He replied, "I have good news, O Muhammad!" Abu Huraira narrated the whole narration which ended with the order of the Prophet "Release him!"

The Prophet said, "Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will save all the parts of his body from the (Hell) Fire as he has freed the body-parts of the slave." Sa`id bin Marjana said that he narrated that Hadith to `Ali bin Al-Husain and he freed his slave for whom `Abdullah bin Ja`far had offered him ten thousand Dirhams or one-thousand Dinars.

I gave a horse in Allah's Cause. The person to whom it was given, did not look after it. I intended to buy it from him, thinking that he would sell it cheap. When I asked the Prophet he said, "Don't buy it, even if he gives it to you for one Dirham, as the person who takes back what he has given in charity, is like a dog that swallows back its vomit."

That he was asked about the wound of the Prophet on the day (of the battle) of Uhud. He said, "The face of the Prophet as wounded and one of his front teeth as broken and the helmet over his head was smashed. Fatima washed of the blood while `Ali held water. When she saw that bleeding was increasing continuously, she burnt a mat (of date-palm leaves) till it turned into ashes which she put over the wound and thus the bleeding ceased."

The Prophet said, "One should not say that I am better than Jonah (i.e. Yunus) bin Matta." So, he mentioned his father Matta. The Prophet mentioned the night of his Ascension and said, "The prophet Moses was brown, a tall person as if from the people of the tribe of Shanu'a. Jesus was a curly-haired man of moderate height." He also mentioned Malik, the gate-keeper of the (Hell) Fire, and Ad-Dajjal.

Allah's Apostle said, "You see that the people are of different natures. Those who were the best in the pre-lslamic period, are also the best in Islam if they comprehend religious knowledge. You see that the best amongst the people in this respect (i.e. ambition of ruling) are those who hate it most. And you see that the worst among people is the double faced (person) who appears to these with one face and to the others with another face (i.e a hypocrite).

The Prophet had informed the people about the death of Zaid, Ja`far and Ibn Rawaha before the news of their death reached them. He said with his eyes flowing with tears, "Zaid took the flag and was martyred; then Ja`far took the flag and was martyred, and then Ibn Rawaha took the flag and was martyred. Finally the flag was taken by one of Allah's Swords (i.e. Khalid bin Al-Walid) and Allah gave them (i.e. the Muslims) victory."

On the day of Badr, the Prophet said, "Who will go and see what has happened to Abu Jahl?" Ibn Mas`ud went and found that the two sons of 'Afra had struck him fatally. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud got hold of his beard and said, "'Are you Abu Jahl?" He replied, "Can there be a man more superior to one whom his own folk have killed (or you have killed)?"

When it was the day (of the battle) of Al-Harra the people were giving Pledge of allegiance to `Abdullah bin Hanzala. Ibn Zaid said, "For what are the people giving Pledge of allegiance to `Abdullah bin Hanzala?" It was said to him, "For death." Ibn Zaid said, "I will never give the Pledge of allegiance for that to anybody else after Allah's Apostle ." Ibn Zaid was one of those who had witnessed the day of Al-Hudaibiya with the Prophet.

Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah's Apostle travelled in the month of Ramadan and he fasted till he reached (a place called) 'Usfan, then he asked for a tumbler of water and drank it by the daytime so that the people might see him. He broke his fast till he reached Mecca." Ibn `Abbas used to say, "Allah's Apostle fasted and sometimes did not fast while traveling, so one may fast or may not (on journeys)"

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).

The reading of the following verse by the Prophet (saws) goes: "Nay, but there came to thee (ja'atki) my signs, and thou didst reject them (fakadhdhabti biha) ; thou wast haughty (wastakbarti) and became one of those who reject Faith (wa kunti).

Abu Dawud said: This is a mursal tradition, i.e. the link of the Companion has been omitted, for the narrator al-Rabi' did not meet Umm Salamah.

Ibn ‘Abbas said I heard the Apostle of Allaah(saws) say When one who is wearing ihram cannot get a lower garment(loin cloth) he may ear trousers and when he cannot get sandals he may wear shoes.

Abu Dawud said This is the tradition narrated by the narrators of Makkah. Its narrator from Basrah is Jabir bin Zaid. He mentioned only trousers and omitted the mention of cutting of the shoes.

Musaddad said: Abu 'Awanah used the word firsah (i.e. a piece of cloth), but Abu Al-Ahwas used the word qasrah (i.e. a small piece of cloth).

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.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab whether someone doing itikaf could go into a house to relieve himself, and he said, "Yes, there is no harm in that."

Malik said, "The situation that we are all agreed upon here is that there is no disapproval of anyone doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is held. The only reason I see for disapproving of doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held is that the man doing itikaf would have to leave the mosque where he was doing itikaf in order to go to jumua, or else not go there at all. If, however, he is doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held, and he does not have to go to jumua in any other mosque, then I see no harm in him doing itikaf there, because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says, 'While you are doing itikaf in mosques,' and refers to all mosques in general, without specifying any particular kind."

Malik continued, "Accordingly, it is permissiblefor a man to do itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not held if he does not have to leave it to go to a mosque where jumua is held."

Malik said, "A person doing itikaf should spend the night only in the mosque where he is doing itikaf, except if his tent is in one of the courtyards of the mosque. I have never heard that someone doing itikaf can put up a shelter anywhere except in the mosque itself or in one of the courtyards of the mosque.

Part of what shows that he must spend the night in the mosque is the saying of A'isha, 'When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was doing itikaf, he would only go into the house to relieve himself.' Nor should he do itikaf on the roof of the mosque or in the minaret."

Malik said, "The person who is going to do itikaf should enter the place where he wishes to do itikaf before the sun sets on the night when he wishes to begin his itikaf, so that he is ready to begin the itikaf at the beginning of the night when he is going to start his itikaf. A person doing itikaf should be occupied with his itikaf, and not turn his attention to other things which might occupy him, such as trading or whatever. There is no harm, however, if some one doing itikaf tells some one to do something for him regarding his estate, or the affairs of his family, or tells someone to sell some property of his, or something else that does not occupy him directly. There is no harm in him arranging for someone else to do that for him if it is a simple matter."

Malik said, "I have never heard any of the people of knowledge mentioning any modification as far as how to do itikaf is concerned. Itikaf is an act of ibada like the prayer, fasting, the hajj, and such like acts, whether they are obligatory or voluntary. Anyone who begins doing any of these acts should do them according to what has come down in the sunna. He should not start doing anything in them that the muslims have not done, whether it is a modification that he imposes on others, or one that he begins doing himself. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, practised itikaf, and the muslims know what the sunna of itikaf is."

Malik said, "Itikaf and jiwar are the same, and Itikaf is the same for a village-dweller as it is for a nomad."

It was narrated from Qais or Ibn Qais, a man from Ju`fi, from `Umar bin al-Khattab and he mentioned a Hadeeth similar to that of Affan.