He then placed his hand on my forehead and passed it over my face and stomach and made this supplication. "O Allah, cure sad and completed his emigration." Ever since I have not ceased to sense the pleasant cool of his hand on my liver."

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."

While we were returning from a Ghazwa (Holy Battle) with the Prophet, I started driving my camel fast, as it was a lazy camel A rider came behind me and pricked my camel with a spear he had with him, and then my camel started running as fast as the best camel you may see. Behold! The rider was the Prophet himself. He said, 'What makes you in such a hurry?" I replied, I am newly married " He said, "Did you marry a virgin or a matron? I replied, "A matron." He said, "Why didn't you marry a young girl so that you may play with her and she with you?" When we were about to enter (Medina), the Prophet said, "Wait so that you may enter (Medina) at night so that the lady of unkempt hair may comb her hair and the one whose husband has been absent may shave her pubic region.

I became seriously ill at Mecca and the Prophet came to visit me. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I shall leave behind me a good fortune, but my heir is my only daughter; shall I bequeath two third of my property to be spent in charity and leave one third (for my heir)?" He said, "No." I said, "Shall I bequeath half and leave half?" He said, "No." I said, "Shall I bequeath one third and leave two thirds?" He said, "One third is alright, though even one third is too much." Then he placed his hand on his forehead and passed it over my face and `Abdomen and said, "O Allah! Cure Sa`d and complete his emigration." I feel as if I have been feeling the coldness of his hand on my liver ever since.

Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established till the sun rises from the west, and when it rises (from the west) and the people see it, then all of them will believe (in Allah). But that will be the time when 'No good it will do to a soul to believe then. If it believed not before.."' (6.158) The Hour will be established (so suddenly) that two persons spreading a garment between them will not be able to finish their bargain, nor will they be able to fold it up. The Hour will be established while a man is carrying the milk of his she-camel, but cannot drink it; and the Hour will be established when someone is not able to prepare the tank to water his livestock from it; and the Hour will be established when some of you has raised his food to his mouth but cannot eat it."

`Uqba said to Hudhaifa, "Won't you narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Apostle ?" Hudhaifa said, "I heard him saying, 'Death approached a man and when he had no hope of surviving, he said to his family, 'When I die, gather for me much wood and build a fire (to burn me),. When the fire has eaten my flesh and reached my bones, take the bones and grind them and scatter the resulting powder in the sea on a hot (or windy) day.' (That was done.) But Allah collected his particles and asked (him), 'Why did you do so?' He replied, 'For fear of You.' So Allah forgave him."

Narrated `Abdu Malik:

As above, saying, "On a windy day."

The Prophet said, "The prayer offered in congregation is twenty five times more superior (in reward) to the prayer offered alone in one's house or in a business center, because if one performs ablution and does it perfectly, and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of praying, then for each step which he takes towards the mosque, Allah upgrades him a degree in reward and (forgives) crosses out one sin till he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque he is considered in prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer and the angels keep on asking for Allah's forgiveness for him and they keep on saying: 'O Allah! Be Merciful to him, O Allah! Forgive him, as long as he keeps on sitting at his praying place and does not pass wind. (See Hadith No. 620).

When I visited Aisha she said, "Barirah who had a written contract for her emancipation for a certain amount came to me and said, "O mother of the believers! Buy me and manumit me, as my masters will sell me." Aisha agreed to it. Barirah said, 'My masters will sell me on the condition that my Wala will go to them." Aisha said to her, 'Then I am not in need of you.' The Prophet heard of that or was told about it and so he asked Aisha, 'What is the problem of Barirah?' He said, 'Buy her and manumit her, no matter what they stipulate.' Aisha added, 'I bought and manumitted her, though her masters had stipulated that her Wala would be for them.' The Prophet said, The Wala is for the liberator, even if the other stipulated a hundred conditions."

Once Musa bin Anas while describing the battle of Yamama, said, "Anas bin Malik went to Thabit bin Qais, who had lifted his clothes from his thighs and was applying Hunut to his body. Anas asked, 'O Uncle! What is holding you back (from the battle)?' He replied, 'O my nephew! I am coming just now,' and went on perfuming himself with Hunut, then he came and sat (in the row). Anas then mentioned that the people fled from the battle-field. On that Thabit said, 'Clear the way for me to fight the enemy. We would never do so (i.e. flee) in the company of Allah's Apostle. How bad the habits you have acquired from your enemies!"

I heard Anas bin Malik telling us about the night when the Prophet was made to travel from the Ka`ba Mosque. Three persons (i.e. angels) came to the Prophet before he was divinely inspired was an Aspostle), while he was sleeping in Al Masjid-ul-Haram. The first (of the three angels) said, "Which of them is he?" The second said, "He is the best of them." That was all that happened then, and he did not see them till they came at another night and he perceived their presence with his heart, for the eyes of the Prophet were closed when he was asleep, but his heart was not asleep (not unconscious). This is characteristic of all the prophets: Their eyes sleep but their hearts do not sleep. Then Gabriel took charge of the Prophet and ascended along with him to the Heaven.

Allah's Apostle (and his army) encountered the pagans and the two armies.,, fought and then Allah's Apostle returned to his army camps and the others (i.e. the enemy) returned to their army camps. Amongst the companions of the Prophet there was a man who could not help pursuing any single isolated pagan to strike him with his sword. Somebody said, "None has benefited the Muslims today more than so-and-so." On that Allah's Apostle said, "He is from the people of the Hell-Fire certainly." A man amongst the people (i.e. Muslims) said, "I will accompany him (to know the fact)." So he went along with him, and whenever he stopped he stopped with him, and whenever he hastened, he hastened with him. The (brave) man then got wounded severely, and seeking to die at once, he planted his sword into the ground and put its point against his chest in between his breasts, and then threw himself on it and committed suicide. On that the person (who was accompanying the deceased all the time) came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I testify that you are the Apostle of Allah." The Prophet said, "Why is that (what makes you say so)?" He said "It is concerning the man whom you have already mentioned as one of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire. The people were surprised by your statement, and I said to them, "I will try to find out the truth about him for you." So I went out after him and he was then inflicted with a severe wound and because of that, he hurried to bring death upon himself by planting the handle of his sword into the ground and directing its tip towards his chest between his breasts, and then he threw himself over it and committed suicide." Allah's Apostle then said, "A man may do what seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise but he is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and another may do what seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell- Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise."

Allah's Apostle and the pagans faced each other and started fighting. When Allah's Apostle returned to his camp and when the pagans returned to their camp, somebody talked about a man amongst the companions of Allah's Apostle who would follow and kill with his sword any pagan going alone. He said, "Nobody did his job (i.e. fighting) so properly today as that man." Allah's Apostle said, "Indeed, he is amongst the people of the (Hell) Fire." A man amongst the people said, "I shall accompany him (to watch what he does)" Thus he accompanied him, and wherever he stood, he would stand with him, and wherever he ran, he would run with him. Then the (brave) man got wounded seriously and he decided to bring about his death quickly. He planted the blade of the sword in the ground directing its sharp end towards his chest between his two breasts. Then he leaned on the sword and killed himself. The other man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I testify that you are Allah's Apostle." The Prophet asked, "What has happened?" He replied, "(It is about) the man whom you had described as one of the people of the (Hell) Fire. The people were greatly surprised at what you said, and I said, 'I will find out his reality for you.' So, I came out seeking him. He got severely wounded, and hastened to die by slanting the blade of his sword in the ground directing its sharp end towards his chest between his two breasts. Then he eased on his sword and killed himself." when Allah's Apostle said, "A man may seem to the people as if he were practising the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact he is from the people of the Hell) Fire, another may seem to the people as if he were practicing the deeds of the people of Hell (Fire), while in fact he is from the people of Paradise."

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).

Yahya related to me the like of that from Malik from Ibn Shihab.

Malik said, about a slave who divorced a slave-girl but did not make it absolute, "He can return to her. If he then dies while she is still in the idda from her divorce, she does the idda of a slave- girl whose husband dies, and it is two months and five days. If she has been set free and he can return to her, and she does not choose to separate after she has been set free, and he dies while she is in the idda from the divorce, she does the idda of a free woman whose husband has died, four months and ten days. That is because the idda of widowhood befell her while she was free, so her idda is the idda of a free woman."

Malik said, "That is what is done among us."

Mother of the Believers: We, the wives of the Prophet were all sitting with the Prophet and none of us had left when Fatima came walking, and by Allah, her gait was very similar to that of Allah's Apostle .' When he saw her, he welcomed her, saying, "Welcome, O my daughter!" Then he made her sit on his right or his left, confided something to her, whereupon she wept bitterly. When he noticed her sorrow, he confided something else to her for the second time, and she started laughing. Only I from among the Prophet's wives said to her, "(O Fatima), Allah's Apostle selected you from among us for the secret talk and still you weep?" When Allah's Apostle got up (and went away), I asked her, "What did he confide to you?" She said, "I wouldn't disclose the secrets of Allah's Apostle" But when he died I asked her, "I beseech you earnestly by what right I have on you, to tell me (that secret talk which the Prophet had with you)" She said, "As you ask me now, yes, (I will tell you)." She informed me, saying, "When he talked to me secretly the first time, he said that Gabriel used to review the Qur'an with him once every year. He added, 'But this year he reviewed it with me twice, and therefore I think that my time of death has approached. So, be afraid of Allah, and be patient, for I am the best predecessor for you (in the Hereafter).' " Fatima added, "So I wept as you (`Aisha) witnessed. And when the Prophet saw me in this sorrowful state, he confided the second secret to me saying, 'O Fatima! Will you not be pleased that you will be chief of all the believing women (or chief of the women of this nation i.e. my followers?")

The news about the differences amongst the people of Bani `Amr bin `Auf reached Allah's Apostle and so he went to them along with some of his companions to effect a reconciliation between them. Allah's Apostle was delayed there, and the time of the prayer was due. Bilal went to Abu Bakr and said to him, "Allah's Apostle has been delayed (there) and the time of prayer is due. So will you lead the people in prayer?" Abu Bakr said, "Yes, if you wish." Bilal pronounced the Iqama and Abu Bakr, went forward and said Takbir for the people. In the meantime Allah's Apostle came crossing the rows (of the praying people) and stood in the (first) row and the people started clapping. Abu Bakr, would never glance sideways in his prayer but when the people clapped much he looked back and (saw) Allah's Apostle . Allah's Apostle beckoned him to carry on the prayer. Abu Bakr raised his hands and thanked Allah, and retreated till he reached the (first) row. Allah's Apostle went forward and led the people in the prayer. When he completed the prayer he faced the people and said, "O people! Why did you start clapping when something unusual happened to you in the prayer? Clapping is only for women. So whoever amongst you comes across something in the prayer should say, 'Subhan-Allah' for there is none who will not turn round on hearing him saying Subhan-Allah. O Abu Bakr! What prevented you from leading the people in the prayer when I beckoned you to do so?" Abu Bakr replied, "How dare the son of Abu Quhafa lead the prayer in the presence of Allah's Apostle ?"

The news about the differences amongst the people of Bani `Amr bin `Auf at Quba reached Allah's Apostle and so he went to them along with some of his companions to affect a reconciliation. Allah's Apostle was delayed there and the time for the prayer became due. Bilal came to Abu Bakr! and said, "O Abu Bakr! Allah's Apostle is detained (there) and the time for the prayer is due. Will you lead the people in prayer?" Abu Bakr replied, "Yes, if you wish." So Bilal pronounced the Iqama and Abu Bakr went forward and the people said Takbir. In the meantime, Allah's Apostle came piercing through the rows till he stood in the (first) row and the people started clapping. Abu Bakr, would never look hither and thither during the prayer but when the people clapped much he looked back and saw Allah's Apostle. The Prophet beckoned him to carry on. Abu Bakr raised both his hands, praised Allah and retreated till he stood in the row and Allah's Apostle went forward and led the people in the prayer. When he had finished the prayer, he addressed the people and said, "O people! Why did you start clapping when something happened to you in the prayer? Clapping is for women. Whenever one is confronted with something unusual in the prayer one should say, 'Sub Han Allah'." Then the Prophet looked towards Abu Bakr and asked, "What prevented you from leading the prayer when I beckoned you to carry on?" Abu Bakr replied, "It does not befit the son of Al Quhafa to lead the prayer in the presence of Allah's Apostle.

AbuZumayl said: I asked Ibn Abbas, saying: What is that I find in my breast? He asked: What is it? I replied: I swear by Allah, I cannot speak about it. He asked me: Is it something doubtful? and he laughed. He then said: No one could escape that, until Allah, the exalted, revealed: "If thou went in doubt as to what we have revealed unto thee, and ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee." He said: If you find something in your heart, say: He is the first and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent, and He has full knowledge of all things.

A Jew and Jewess were brought to the Prophet on a charge of committing an illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet asked the Jews, "What do you (usually) do with them?" They said, "We blacken their faces and disgrace them." He said, "Bring here the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful." They (fetched it and) came and asked a one-eyed man to recite. He went on reciting till he reached a portion on which he put his hand. The Prophet said, "Lift up your hand!" He lifted his hand up and behold, there appeared the verse of Ar-Rajm (stoning of the adulterers to death). Then he said, "O Muhammad! They should be stoned to death but we conceal this Divine Law among ourselves." Then the Prophet ordered that the two sinners be stoned to death and, and they were stoned to death, and I saw the man protecting the woman from the stones. (See Hadith No. 809, Vol. 8)

Once a meal was brought to `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf and he was fasting. He said, "Mustab bin `Umar was martyred and he was better than I and was shrouded in his Burd and when his head was covered with it, his legs became bare, and when his legs were covered his head got uncovered. Hamza was martyred and was better than I. Now the worldly wealth have been bestowed upon us (or said a similar thing). No doubt, I fear that the rewards of my deeds might have been given earlier in this world." Then he started weeping and left his food.

The Prophet said, "This night I dreamt that two men came and took me to a Holy land whence we proceeded on till we reached a river of blood, where a man was standing, and on its bank was standing another man with stones in his hands. The man in the middle of the river tried to come out, but the other threw a stone in his mouth and forced him to go back to his original place. So, whenever he tried to come out, the other man would throw a stone in his mouth and force him to go back to his former place. I asked, 'Who is this?' I was told, 'The person in the river was a Riba-eater."

`Uthman bin `Affan was afflicted with severe nose-bleeding in the year when such illness was prevelant and that prevented him from performing Hajj, and (because of it) he made his will. A man from Quraish came to him and said, "Appoint your successor." `Uthman asked, "Did the people name him? (i.e. the successor) the man said, "Yes." `Uthman asked, "Who is that?" The man remained silent. Another man came to `Uthman and I think it was Al-Harith. He also said, "Appoint your successor." `Uthman asked, "Did the people name him?" The man replied "Yes." `Uthman said, "Who is that?" The man remained silent. `Uthman said, "Perhaps they have mentioned Az-Zubair?" The man said, "Yes." `Uthman said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, he is the best of them as I know, and the dearest of them to Allah's Apostle ."

When it was the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans) and Allah's Apostle dug the trench, I saw him carrying earth out of the trench till dust made the skin of his `Abdomen out of my sight and he was a hairy man. I heard him reciting the poetic verses composed by Ibn Rawaha while he was carrying the earth, "O Allah! Without You we would not have been guided, nor would we have given in charity, nor would we have prayed. So, (O Allah), please send Sakina (i.e. calmness) upon us and make our feet firm if we meet the enemy, as they have rebelled against us. And if they intend affliction (i.e. want to frighten us, and fight against us) then we would not (flee but withstand them)." The Prophet would then prolong his voice at the last words.

Allah's Apostle sent me along with AzZubair and Al-Miqdad and said, "Proceed till you reach a place called Raudat-Khakh where there is a lady travelling in a howda on a camel. She has a letter. Take the letter from her." So we set out, and our horses ran at full pace till we reached Raudat Khakh, and behold, we saw the lady and said (to her), "Take out the letter!" She said, "I have no letter with me." We said, "Either you take out the letter or we will strip you of your clothes." So she took the letter out of her hair braid. We brought the letter to the Prophet and behold, it was addressed by Hatib bin Abi Balta'a to some pagans at Mecca, informing them of some of the affairs of the Prophet. The Prophet said, "What is this, O Hatib?" Hatib replied, "Do not be hasty with me, O Allah's Apostle! I am an Ansari man and do not belong to them (Quraish infidels) while the emigrants who were with you had their relatives who used to protect their families and properties at Mecca. So, to compensate for not having blood relation with them.' I intended to do them some favor so that they might protect my relatives (at Mecca), and I did not do this out of disbelief or an inclination to desert my religion." The Prophet then said (to his companions), "He (Hatib) has told you the truth." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off?" The Apostle said, "He is one of those who witnessed (fought in) the Battle of Badr, and what do you know, perhaps Allah looked upon the people of Badr (Badr warriors) and said, 'Do what you want as I have forgiven you.' " (`Amr, a sub-narrator, said,: This Verse was revealed about him (Hatib): 'O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends or protectors.' (60.1) Narrated `Ali: Sufyan was asked whether (the Verse): 'Take not My enemies and your enemies...' was revealed in connection with Hatib. Sufyan replied, "This occurs only in the narration of the people. I memorized the Hadith from `Amr, not overlooking even a single letter thereof, and I do not know of anybody who remembered it by heart other than myself."

While I was riding a (slow) and tired camel, the Prophet passed by and beat it and prayed for Allah's Blessings for it. The camel became so fast as it had never been before. The Prophet then said, "Sell it to me for one Uqiyya (of gold)." I said, "No." He again said, "Sell it to me for one Uqiyya (of gold)." I sold it and stipulated that I should ride it to my house. When we reached (Medina) I took that camel to the Prophet and he gave me its price. I returned home but he sent for me (and when I went to him) he said, "I will not take your camel. Take your camel as a gift for you." (Various narrations are mentioned here with slight variations in expressions relating the condition that Jabir had the right to ride the sold camel up to Medina).

Sa'id said that when Abu Idris Khaulini narrated this hadith he knelt upon his knees.

Allah's Apostle sent a Sariya of ten men as spies under the leadership of `Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari, the grandfather of `Asim bin `Umar Al-Khattab. They proceeded till they reached Hadaa, a place between 'Usfan, and Mecca, and their news reached a branch of the tribe of Hudhail called Bani Lihyan. About two-hundred men, who were all archers, hurried to follow their tracks till they found the place where they had eaten dates they had brought with them from Medina. They said, "These are the dates of Yathrib (i.e. Medina), "and continued following their tracks When `Asim and his companions saw their pursuers, they went up a high place and the infidels circled them. The infidels said to them, "Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee you that we will not kill any one of you" `Asim bin Thabit; the leader of the Sariya said, "By Allah! I will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet. Then the infidels threw arrows at them till they martyred `Asim along with six other men, and three men came down accepting their promise and convention, and they were Khubaib-al-Ansari and Ibn Dathina and another man So, when the infidels captured them, they undid the strings of their bows and tied them. Then the third (of the captives) said, "This is the first betrayal. By Allah! I will not go with you. No doubt these, namely the martyred, have set a good example to us." So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him. They took Khubaid and Ibn Dathina with them and sold them (as slaves) in Mecca (and all that took place) after the battle of Badr. Khubaib was bought by the sons of Al-Harith bin 'Amir bin Naufal bin `Abd Manaf. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin 'Amir on the day (of the battle of) Badr. So, Khubaib remained a prisoner with those people. Narrated Az-Zuhri: 'Ubaidullah bin 'Iyyad said that the daughter of Al-Harith had told him, "When those people gathered (to kill Khubaib) he borrowed a razor from me to shave his pubes and I gave it to him. Then he took a son of mine while I was unaware when he came upon him. I saw him placing my son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on my face and said, 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do so.' By Allah, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib. By Allah, one day I ...

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafic that Saffiyya bint Abi Ubayd suffered from an eye-complaint while she was in mourning for her husband, Abdullah ibn Umar. She did not apply kohl until her eyes almost had ramas (a dry white secretion in the corners of the eye).

Malik said, "A woman whose husband has died should anoint her eyes with olive oil and sesame oil and the like of that since there is no perfume in it."

Malik said, "A woman in mourning for her husband should not put on any jewellery - rings, anklets, or such- like, neither should she dress in any sort of colourful, striped garment unless it is coarse. She should not wear any cloth dyed with anything except black, and she should only dress her hair with things like lotus-tree leaves which do not dye the hair."

The pagans were of two kinds as regards their relationship to the Prophet and the Believers. Some of them were those with whom the Prophet was at war and used to fight against, and they used to fight him; the others were those with whom the Prophet made a treaty, and neither did the Prophet fight them, nor did they fight him. If a lady from the first group of pagans emigrated towards the Muslims, her hand would not be asked in marriage unless she got the menses and then became clean. When she became clean, it would be lawful for her to get married, and if her husband emigrated too before she got married, then she would be returned to him. If any slave or female slave emigrated from them to the Muslims, then they would be considered free persons (not slaves) and they would have the same rights as given to other emigrants. The narrator then mentioned about the pagans involved with the Muslims in a treaty, the same as occurs in Mujahid's narration. If a male slave or a female slave emigrated from such pagans as had made a treaty with the Muslims, they would not be returned, but their prices would be paid (to the pagans).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman saying the same about that as what Ikrama related from Ibn Abbas.

Malik said, "That is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter."

Malik was asked about a man who forgot the tawaf al-ifada until he had left Makka and returned to his community and he said, "I think that he should go back and do the tawaf al-ifada, as long as he has not had sexual relations with women. If, however, he has had sexual relations with women, then he should not only return and do the tawaf al-ifada, but he should also do an umra and sacrifice an animal. He should not buy theanimal in Makka and sacrifice it there, but if he has not brought one with him from wherever it was he set out to do umra, he should buy one in Makka and then take it outside the limits of the Haram and drive it from there to Makka and sacrifice it there."

I went to Sham and was offering a two-rak`at prayer; I said, "O Allah! Bless me with a (pious) companion." Then I saw an old man coming towards me, and when he came near I said, (to myself), "I hope Allah has given me my request." The man asked (me), "Where are you from?" I replied, "I am from the people of Kufa." He said, "Weren't there amongst you the Carrier of the (Prophet's) shoes, Siwak and the ablution water container? Weren't there amongst you the man who was given Allah's Refuge from the Satan? And weren't there amongst you the man who used to keep the (Prophet's) secrets which nobody else knew? How did Ibn Um `Abd (i.e. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud) use to recite Surat-al-lail (the Night:92)?" I recited:-- "By the Night as it envelops By the Day as it appears in brightness. And by male and female." (92.1- 3) On that, Abu Darda said, "By Allah, the Prophet made me read the Verse in this way after listening to him, but these people (of Sham) tried their best to let me say something different."

While I was fighting in the front file on the day (of the battle) of Badr, suddenly I looked behind and saw on my right and left two young boys and did not feel safe by standing between them. Then one of them asked me secretly so that his companion may not hear, "O Uncle! Show me Abu Jahl." I said, "O nephew! What will you do to him?" He said, "I have promised Allah that if I see him (i.e. Abu Jahl), I will either kill him or be killed before I kill him." Then the other said the same to me secretly so that his companion should not hear. I would not have been pleased to be in between two other men instead of them. Then I pointed him (i.e. Abu Jahl) out to them. Both of them attacked him like two hawks till they knocked him down. Those two boys were the sons of 'Afra' (i.e. an Ansari woman).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi that Ubaydullah ibn Adi ibnal-Khiyar said, "Once when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sitting with some people, a man came to him and spoke secretly to him. Nobody knew what he had said until the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, disclosed that he had asked for permission to kill one of the hypocrites. When he disclosed this, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Doesn't he testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?' The man replied, 'Of course, but he hasn't really done so.' He said, 'Doesn't he do the prayer?' and the man replied, 'Of course, but he doesn't really do the prayer.' He said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Those are the ones whom Allah has forbidden me (to kill).' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf told him that once a poor woman fell ill and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told of her illness, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to visit poor people frequently and ask after them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let me know if she dies." Her bier was brought out at night- time and they did not want to wake up the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. In the morning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told what had happened to her and he said, "Didn't I tell you to let me know if she died?" They replied, "Messenger of Allah, we did not want to wake you up and make you come out in the night." Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out and formed everyone into rows by her grave and said "Allah is greater" four times.