Ya`la used to say, "I wish I could see Allah's Apostle at the time when he is being inspired divinely." Ya`la added "While the Prophet was at Al-Ja'rana, shaded with a cloth sheet (in the form of a tent) and there were staying with him, some of his companions under it, suddenly there came to him a bedouin wearing a cloak and perfumed extravagantly. He said, "O Allah's Apostle ! What is your opinion regarding a man who assumes the state of Ihram for `Umra wearing a cloak after applying perfume to his body?" `Umar signalled with his hand to Ya`la to come (near). Ya`la came and put his head (underneath that cloth sheet) and saw the Prophet red-faced and when that state (of the Prophet ) was over, he said, "Where is he who as already asked me about the `Umra?" The man was looked for and brought to the Prophet The Prophet said (to him), "As for the perfume you have applied to your body, wash it off your body) thrice, and take off your cloak, and then do in your `Umra the rites you do in your Hajj."

A woman presented herself to the Prophet (for marriage). A man said to him, "O Allah's Apostle! (If you are not in need of her) marry her to me." The Prophet said, "What have you got?" The man said, "I have nothing." The Prophet said (to him), "Go and search for something) even if it were an iron ring." The man went and returned saying, "No, I have not found anything, not even an iron ring; but this is my (Izar) waist sheet, and half of it is for her." He had no Rida' (upper garment). The Prophet said, "What will she do with your waist sheet? If you wear it, she will have nothing over her; and if she wears it, you will have nothing over you." So the man sat down and when he had sat a long time, he got up (to leave). When the Prophet saw him (leaving), he called him back, or the man was called (for him), and he said to the man, "How much of the Qur'an do you know (by heart)?" The man replied I know such Sura and such Sura (by heart)," naming the Suras The Prophet said, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an ."

(An ally of the tribe of Bani 'Amir bin Lu'ai and one of those who had witnessed the battle of Badr with Allah's Apostle) Allah's Apostle sent Abu 'Ubaida bin AlJarrah to Bahrain to collect the Jizya tax. Allah's Apostle had concluded a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al 'Ala bin Al-Hadrami as their chief; Abu Ubaida arrived from Bahrain with the money. The Ansar heard of Abu 'Ubaida's arrival which coincided with the Fajr (morning) prayer led by Allah's Apostle. When the Prophet finished the prayer, they came to him. Allah's Apostle smiled when he saw them and said, "I think you have heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida and that he has brought something." They replied, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle! " He said, "Have the good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will become poor, but I am afraid that worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those (nations) before you, and you will start competing each other for it as the previous nations competed for it, and then it will divert you (from good) as it diverted them." '

That `Amr bin `Auf, who was an ally of Bani 'Amir bin Luai and one of those who fought at Badr in the company of the Prophet , said, "Allah's Apostle sent Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah to Bahrain to bring the Jizya taxation from its people, for Allah's Apostle had made a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al-`Ala' bin Al-Hadrami as their ruler. So, Abu 'Ubaida arrived with the money from Bahrain. When the Ansar heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida (on the next day) they offered the morning prayer with the Prophet and when the morning prayer had finished, they presented themselves before him. On seeing the Ansar, Allah's Apostle smiled and said, "I think you have heard that Abu 'Ubaida has brought something?" They replied, "Indeed, it is so, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Be happy, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will be poor, but I fear that worldly wealth will be bestowed upon you as it was bestowed upon those who lived before you. So you will compete amongst yourselves for it, as they competed for it and it will destroy you as it did them."

It (i.e., the imagined smoke) was because, when the Quraish refused to obey the Prophet, he asked Allah to afflict them with years of famine similar to those of (Prophet) Joseph. So they were stricken with famine and fatigue, so much so that they ate even bones. A man would look towards the sky and imagine seeing something like smoke between him and the sky because of extreme fatigue. So Allah revealed:-- 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people; this is a painfull of torment.' (44.10-11) Then someone (Abu Sufyan) came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Invoke Allah to send rain for the tribes of Mudar for they are on the verge of destruction." On that the Prophet said (astonishingly) "Shall I invoke Allah) for the tribes of Mudar? Verily, you are a brave man!" But the Prophet prayed for rain and it rained for them. Then the Verse was revealed. 'But truly you will return (to disbelief).' (44.15) (When the famine was over and) they restored prosperity and welfare, they reverted to their ways (of heathenism) whereupon Allah revealed: 'On the Day when We shall seize you with a Mighty Grasp. We will indeed (then) exact retribution.' (44.16) The narrator said, "That was the day of the Battle of Badr."

'Alaqama went to Sham and came to the mosque and offered a two-rak`at prayer, and invoked Allah: "O Allah! Bless me with a (pious) good companion." So he sat beside Abu Ad-Darda' who asked, "From where are you?" He said, "From the people of Kufa." Abu Darda' said, "Wasn't there among you the person who keeps the secrets (of the Prophet ) which nobody knew except him (i.e., Hudhaifa (bin Al-Yaman)). And isn't there among you the person whom Allah gave refuge from Satan through the request (tongue) of Allah's Apostle? (i.e., `Ammar). Isn't there among you the one who used to carry the Siwak and the cushion (or pillows (of the Prophets)? (i.e., Ibn Mas`ud). How did Ibn Mas`ud use to recite 'By the night as it conceals (the light)?" (Sura 92). 'Alqama said, "Wadhdhakari Wal Untha' (And by male and female.") Abu Ad-Darda added. 'These people continued to argue with me regarding it till they were about to cause me to have doubts although I heard it from Allah's Apostle."

Zainab, the wife of `Abdullah said, "I was in the Mosque and saw the Prophet (p.b.u.h) saying, 'O women ! Give alms even from your ornaments.' " Zainab used to provide for `Abdullah and those orphans who were under her protection. So she said to `Abdullah, "Will you ask Allah's Apostle whether it will be sufficient for me to spend part of the Zakat on you and the orphans who are under my protection?" He replied "Will you yourself ask Allah's Apostle ?" (Zainab added): So I went to the Prophet and I saw there an Ansari woman who was standing at the door (of the Prophet ) with a similar problem as mine. Bilal passed by us and we asked him, 'Ask the Prophet whether it is permissible for me to spend (the Zakat) on my husband and the orphans under my protection.' And we requested Bilal not to inform the Prophet about us. So Bilal went inside and asked the Prophet regarding our problem. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) asked, "Who are those two?" Bilal replied that she was Zainab. The Prophet said, "Which Zainab?" Bilal said, "The wife of `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud)." The Prophet said, "Yes, (it is sufficient for her) and she will receive a double rewards (for that): One for helping relatives, and the other for giving Zakat."

An Arab lady was mentioned to the Prophet so he asked Abu Usaid As-Sa`idi to send for her, and he sent for her and she came and stayed in the castle of Bani Sa`ida. The Prophet came out and went to her and entered upon her. Behold, it was a lady sitting with a drooping head. When the Prophet spoke to her, she said, "I seek refuge with Allah from you." He said, "I grant you refuge from me." They said to her, "Do you know who this is?" She said, "No." They said, "This is Allah's Apostle who has come to command your hand in marriage." She said, "I am very unlucky to lose this chance." Then the Prophet and his companions went towards the shed of Bani Sa`ida and sat there. Then he said, "Give us water, O Sahl!" So I took out this drinking bowl and gave them water in it. The sub-narrator added: Sahl took out for us that very drinking bowl and we all drank from it. Later on `Umar bin `Abdul `Aziz requested Sahl to give it to him as a present, and he gave it to him as a present.

`Umar bin Al-Khattab set out with Allah's Apostle, and a group of his companions to Ibn Saiyad. They found him playing with the boys in the fort or near the Hillocks of Bani Maghala. Ibn Saiyad was nearing his puberty at that time, and he did not notice the arrival of the Prophet till Allah's Apostle stroked him on the back with his hand and said, "Do you testify that I am Allah's Apostle?" Ibn Saiyad looked at him and said, "I testify that you are the Apostle of the unlettered ones (illiterates)". Then Ibn Saiyad said to the Prophets . "Do you testify that I am Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet denied that, saying, "I believe in Allah and all His Apostles," and then said to Ibn Saiyad, "What do you see?" Ibn Saiyad said, "True people and liars visit me." The Prophet said, "You have been confused as to this matter." Allah's Apostle added, "I have kept something for you (in my mind)." Ibn Saiyad said, "Ad-Dukh." The Prophet said, "Ikhsa (you should be ashamed) for you can not cross your limits." `Umar said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop off h is neck." Allah's Apostle said (to `Umar). "Should this person be him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) then you cannot over-power him; and should he be someone else, then it will be no use your killing him." `Abdullah bin `Umar added: Later on Allah's Apostle and Ubai bin Ka`b Al-Ansari (once again) went to the garden in which Ibn Saiyad was present. When Allah's Apostle entered the garden, he started hiding behind the trunks of the date-palms intending to hear something from Ibn Saiyad before the latter could see him. Ibn Saiyad was Lying on his bed, covered with a velvet sheet from where his mumur were heard. Ibn Saiyad's mother saw the Prophet and said, "O Saf (the nickname of Ibn Saiyad)! Here is Muhammad!" Ibn Saiyad stopped his murmuring. The Prophet said, "If his mother had kept quiet, then I would have learnt more about him." `Abdullah added: Allah's Apostle stood up before the people (delivering a sermon), and after praising and glorifying Allah as He deserved, he mentioned the Ad-Dajjal saying, "I warn you against him, and there has been no prophet but warned his followers against him. Noah warned his followers against him but I am telling you about him, something which no prophet has told his people of, and that is: Know that he is blind in one eye where as Allah is not so."

The Prophet prayed (and the sub-narrator Ibrahim said, "I do not know whether he prayed more or less than usual"), and when he had finished the prayers he was asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Has there been any change in the prayers?" He said, "What is it?' The people said, "You have prayed so much and so much." So the Prophet bent his legs, faced the Qibla and performed two prostration's (of Sahu) and finished his prayers with Taslim (by turning his face to right and left saying: 'As-Salamu `Alaikum- Warahmat-ullah'). When he turned his face to us he said, "If there had been anything changed in the prayer, surely I would have informed you but I am a human being like you and liable to forget like you. So if I forget remind me and if anyone of you is doubtful about his prayer, he should follow what he thinks to be correct and complete his prayer accordingly and finish it and do two prostrations (of Sahu).

Um Haram said, "Once the Prophet slept in my house near to me and got up smiling. I said, 'What makes you smile?' He replied, 'Some of my followers who (i.e. in a dream) were presented to me sailing on this green sea like kings on thrones.' I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Invoke Allah to make me one of them." So the Prophet invoked Allah for her and went to sleep again. He did the same (i.e. got up and told his dream) and Um Haran repeated her question and he gave the same reply. She said, "Invoke Allah to make me one of them." He said, "You are among the first batch." Later on it happened that she went out in the company of her husband 'Ubada bin As-Samit who went for Jihad and it was the first time the Muslims undertook a naval expedition led by Mu awiya. When the expedition came to an end and they were returning to Sham, a riding animal was presented to her to ride, but the animal let her fall and thus she died.

I came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are living in the land of the people of the Scripture and we take our meals in their utensils, and in the land there is game and I hunt with my bow and trained or untrained hounds; please tell me what is lawful for us of that." He said, "As for your saying that you are living in the land of the people of the Scripture and that you eat in their utensils, if you can get utensils other than theirs, do not eat in their utensils, but if you do not find (other than theirs), then wash their utensils and eat in them. As for your saying that you are in the land of game, if you hung something with your bow, and have mentioned Allah's Name while hunting, then you can eat (the game). And if you hunt something with your trained hound, and have mentioned Allah's Name on sending it for hunting then you can eat (the game). But if you hunt something with your untrained hound and you were able to slaughter it before its death, you can eat of it."

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara (Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a deed), in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Qur'an. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer a two rak`at prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the prayer): -- 'Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa as'alaka min fadlika Al-`azlm Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta'lamu Wala a'lamu, Wa anta 'allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta'lam anna hadha-lamra Khairun li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati `Amri (or 'ajili `Amri wa'ajilihi) Faqdirhu wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati `Amri (or fi'ajili `Amri wa ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi.' (O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter--(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)--Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me satisfied with it). The Prophet added that then the person should name (mention) his need.

(the clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba) Once Al-Mughira dictated to me in a letter addressed to Muawiya that the Prophet used to say after every compulsory prayer, "La ilaha illa l-lahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu l-mulku wa lahu l-hamdu, wa huwa `ala kulli shay'in qadir. Allahumma la mani`a lima a`taita, wa la mu`tiya lima mana`ta, wa la yanfa`u dhal-jaddi minka l-jadd. [There is no Deity but Allah, Alone, no Partner to Him. His is the Kingdom and all praise, and Omnipotent is he. O Allah! Nobody can hold back what you gave, nobody can give what You held back, and no struggler's effort can benefit against You]." And Al-Hasan said, "Al-jadd' means prosperity [??]."

The Prophet "Whoever gets up at night and says: -- 'La ilaha il-lallah Wahdahu la Sharika lahu Lahu-lmulk, waLahu-l-hamd wahuwa 'ala kullishai'in Qadir. Al hamdu lil-lahi wa subhanal-lahi wa la-ilaha il-lal-lah wa-l-lahu akbar wa la hawla Wala Quwata il-la-bil-lah.' (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He is the Only One and has no partners . For Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are due for Him. He is Omnipotent. All the praises are for Allah. All the glories are for Allah. And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, And Allah is Great And there is neither Might nor Power Except with Allah). And then says: -- Allahumma, Ighfir li (O Allah! Forgive me). Or invokes (Allah), he will be responded to and if he performs ablution (and prays), his prayer will be accepted."

The angel of death was sent to Moses and when he went to him, Moses slapped him severely, spoiling one of his eyes. The angel went back to his Lord, and said, "You sent me to a slave who does not want to die." Allah restored his eye and said, "Go back and tell him (i.e. Moses) to place his hand over the back of an ox, for he will be allowed to live for a number of years equal to the number of hairs coming under his hand." (So the angel came to him and told him the same). Then Moses asked, "O my Lord! What will be then?" He said, "Death will be then." He said, "(Let it be) now." He asked Allah that He bring him near the Sacred Land at a distance of a stone's throw. Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Were I there I would show you the grave of Moses by the way near the red sand hill."

Allah's Apostle said, "My example and the example o the people is like that of a person who lit a fire and let the moths, butterflies and these insects fall in it." He also said, "There were two women, each of whom had a child with her. A wolf came and took away the child of one of them, whereupon the other said, 'It has taken your child.' The first said, 'But it has taken your child.' So they both carried the case before David who judged that the living child be given to the elder lady. So both of them went to Solomon bin David and informed him (of the case). He said, 'Bring me a knife so as to cut the child into two pieces and distribute it between them.' The younger lady said, 'May Allah be merciful to you! Don't do that, for it is her (i.e. the other lady's) child.' So he gave the child to the younger lady."

Marwan said to his gatekeeper, "Go to Ibn `Abbas, O Rafi`, and say, 'If everybody who rejoices in what he has done, and likes to be praised for what he has not done, will be punished, then all of us will be punished." Ibn `Abbas said, "What connection have you with this case? It was only that the Prophet called the Jews and asked them about something, and they hid the truth and told him something else, and showed him that they deserved praise for the favor of telling him the answer to his question, and they became happy with what they had concealed. Then Ibn `Abbas recited:-- "(And remember) when Allah took a Covenant from those who were given the Scripture..and those who rejoice in what they have done and love to be praised for what they have not done.' " (3.187-188)

Humaid bin `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf narrated that Marwan had told him (the above narration).