Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about someone who died without parents or offspring, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "The ayat which was sent down in the summer at the end of the Surat an-Nisa (Sura 4) is enoughfor you."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us, in which there is no dispute, and which I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, is that the person who leaves neither parent or offspring can be of two types. As for the kind described in the ayat which was sent down at the beginning of the Surat an-Nisa in which Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted! said, 'If a man or a woman has no direct heir, but has a brother or a sister by the mother, each of the two has a sixth. If there are more than that, they share equally in a third.' (Sura 4 ayat 12) This heirless one does not have heirs among his mother's siblings since there are no children or parents. As for the other kind described in the ayat which comes at the end of the Surat an-Nisa, Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in it, 'They will ask you for a decision. Say, "Allah gives you a decision about the indirect heirs. If a man perishes having no children, but he has a sister, she shall receive a half of what he leaves, and he is her heir if she has no children. If there are two sisters, they shall receive two-thirds of what he leaves. If there are brothers and sisters, the male shall receive the portion of two females. Allah makes clear to you that you might not go astray. Allah has knowledge of everything" ' " (Sura 4 ayat 176).

Malik said, "If this person without direct heirs (parents) or children has siblings by the father, they inherit with the grandfather from the person without direct heirs. The grandfather inherits with the siblings because he is more entitled to the inheritance than them. That is because he inherits a sixth with the male children of the deceased when the siblings do not inherit anything with the male children of the deceased. How can he not be like one of them when he takes a sixth with the children of the deceased? How can he not take a third with the siblings while the brother's sons take a third with them? The grandfather is the one who overshadows the half-siblings by the mother and keeps them from inheriting. He is more entitled to what they have because they are omitted for his sake. If the grandfather did not take that third, the half-siblings by the mother would take it and would take what does not return to the half-siblings by the father. The half-siblings by the mother are more entitled to that third than the half-siblings by the father while the grandfather is more entitled to that than the half- siblings by the mother."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us, in which there is no dispute, and which I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, about paternal relations is that full brothers are more entitled to inherit than half-brothers by the father and half-brothers by the father are more entitled to inherit than the children of the full brothers. The sons of the full brothers are more entitled to inherit than the sons of the half-brothers by the father. The sons of the half-brothers by the father are more entitled to inherit than the sons of the sons of the full brothers. The sons of the sons of the half-brothers by the father's side are more entitled to inherit than the paternal uncle, the full brother of the father. The paternal uncle, the full brother of the father, is more entitled to inherit than the paternal uncle, the half-brotherof the father on the father's side. The paternal uncle, the half-brother of the father on the father's side is more entitled to inherit than the sons of the paternal uncle, the full brother of the father. The son of the paternal uncle on the father's side is more entitled to inherit than the paternal great uncle, the full brother of the paternal grandfather."

Malik said, "Everything about which you are questioned concerning the inheritance of the paternal relations is like this. Trace the genealogy of the deceased and whoever among the paternal relations contends for inheritance. If you find that one of them reaches the deceased by a father and none of them except him reaches him by a father, then make his inheritance to the one who reaches him by the nearest father, rather than the one who reaches him by what is above that. If you find that they all reach him by the same father who joins them, then see who is the nearest of kin. If there is only one half-brother by the father, give him the inheritance rather than more distant paternal relations. If there is a full brother and you find them equally related from a number of fathers or to one particular father so that they all reach the genealogy of the deceased and they are all half-brothers by the father or full brothers, then divide the inheritance equally among them. If the parent of one of them is an uncle (the full-brother of the father of the deceased) and whoever is with him is an uncle (the paternal half brother of the father of the deceased), the inheritance goes to the sons of the full brother of the father rather than the sons of the paternal half- brother of the father. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'Those related by blood are nearer to one another in the Book of Allah, surely Allah has knowledge of everything.' "

Malik said, "The paternal grandfather, is more entitled to inherit than sons of the full-brother, and more entitled than the uncle, the full brother of the father. The son of the father's brother is more entitled to inherit from mawali retainers (freed slaves) than the grandfathers."

There was a disagreement between them (i.e. Ibn `Abbas and Ibn Az-Zubair) so I went to Ibn `Abbas in the morning and said (to him), "Do you want to fight against Ibn Zubair and thus make lawful what Allah has made unlawful (i.e. fighting in Meccas?" Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah forbid! Allah ordained that Ibn Zubair and Bani Umaiya would permit (fighting in Mecca), but by Allah, I will never regard it as permissible." Ibn `Abbas added. "The people asked me to take the oath of allegiance to Ibn AzZubair. I said, 'He is really entitled to assume authority for his father, Az-Zubair was the helper of the Prophet, his (maternal) grandfather, Abu Bakr was (the Prophet's) companion in the cave, his mother, Asma' was 'Dhatun-Nitaq', his aunt, `Aisha was the mother of the Believers, his paternal aunt, Khadija was the wife of the Prophet , and the paternal aunt of the Prophet was his grandmother. He himself is pious and chaste in Islam, well versed in the Knowledge of the Qur'an. By Allah! (Really, I left my relatives, Bani Umaiya for his sake though) they are my close relatives, and if they should be my rulers, they are equally apt to be so and are descended from a noble family.

It is a sign of having knowledge that, when you do not know something, you say: 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to his Prophet: 'Say: No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist)' (38.86) When the Quraish troubled and stood against the Prophet he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by afflicting them with seven years of famine like the seven years of Joseph." So they were stricken with a year of famine during which they ate bones and dead animals because of too much suffering, and one of them would see something like smoke between him and the sky because of hunger. Then they said: Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we are believers. (44.12) And then it was said to the Prophet (by Allah), "If we remove it from them. they will revert to their ways (of heathenism)." So the Prophet invoked his Lord, who removed the punishment from them, but later they reverted (to heathenism), whereupon Allah punished them on the day of the Battle of Badr, and that is what Allah's Statement indicates: 'Then watch for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible...we will indeed (then) exact retribution.' (44.10).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf differed on the question of a wornan who gave birth a few nights after the death of her husband. Abu Salama said, "When she gives birth to the child she is carrying, she is free to marry." Ibn Abbas said, "At the end of two periods." Abu Hurayra came and said, "I am with my nephew", meaning Abu Salama. They sent Kurayb, a mawla of Abdullah ibn Abbas to Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask her about it. He came back and told them that she had said that Subaya al-Aslamiya had given birth a few nights after the death of her husband, and she had brought the matter to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he had said, "You are free to marry, so marry whomever you wish."

Malik said, "This is how the people of knowledge here continue to act."

29.31 Widows Remaining in Their Houses until Free to Marry

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: There were two men among Banu Isra'il, who were striving for the same goal. One of them would commit sin and the other would strive to do his best in the world. The man who exerted himself in worship continued to see the other in sin.

He would say: Refrain from it. One day he found him in sin and said to him: Refrain from it.

He said: Leave me alone with my Lord. Have you been sent as a watchman over me? He said: I swear by Allah, Allah will not forgive you, nor will he admit you to Paradise. Then their souls were taken back (by Allah), and they met together with the Lord of the worlds.

He (Allah) said to this man who had striven hard in worship; Had you knowledge about Me or had you power over that which I had in My hand? He said to the man who sinned: Go and enter Paradise by My mercy. He said about the other: Take him to Hell.

AbuHurayrah said: By Him in Whose hand my soul is, he spoke a word by which this world and the next world of his were destroyed.

Yahya related to me from Malik that the best of what he had heard about horses, mules, and donkeys was that they were not eaten because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted,said, "And horses, and mules and asses, for you to ride, and as an adornment. " (Sura 16 ayat 8) . He said, may He be Blessed and Exalted, "In cattle, some of them you ride, and some of them you eat." (Sura 6 ayat 79). He said, the Blessed, the Exalted, "Mention Allah's name over what He has provided you of cattle, and eat of them and feed the beggar (al-qani) and the suppliant (al-mutarr). (Sura 22 ayat 34).

Malik said "Allah mentioned horses, mules, and donkeys for riding and adornment, and He mentioned cattle for riding and eating."

Malik said, "Al-qani also means the poor."

Yahya said that Malik spoke about an investor who gave qirad money to a man, and then the man sought a loan from the investor or the investor borrowed money from the agent, or the investor left goods with the agent to sell for him, or the investor gave the agent dinars to buy goods with. Malik said, "There is no harm if the investor leaves his goods with him knowing that if the agent did not have his money and he had asked a similar thing of him, he would have still done it because of the brotherhood between them or because it would have been no bother to him and that had the agent refused that, he would not have removed his capital from him. Or if the agent had borrowed from the investor or carried his goods for him and he knew that if the investor had not had his capital with him, he would have still done the same for him, and had he refused that to him, he would not have returned his capital to him. If that is true between both of them and it is in the way of a favour between them and it is not a condition in the terms of the qirad, it is permitted and there is no harm in it. If a condition comes into it, or it is feared that the agent is only doing it for the investor in order to safeguard the capital in his possession, or the investor is only doing it because the agent has taken his capital and will not return it to him, that is not permitted in qirad and it is part of what the people of knowledge forbid.' "

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud that Abu Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani informed him that two men brought a dispute to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. One of them said, "Messenger of Allah! Judge between us by the Book of Allah!" The other said, and he was the wiser of the two, "Yes, Messenger of Allah. Judge between us by the Book of Allah and give me permission to speak." He said, "Speak." He said, "My son was hired by this person and he committed fornication with his wife. He told me that my son deserved stoning, and I ransomed him for one hundred sheep and a slave-girl. Then I asked the people of knowledge and they told me that my son deserved to be flogged with one hundred lashes and exiled for a year, and they informed me that the woman deserved to be stoned." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By him in whose Hand myself is, I will judge between you by the Book of Allah. As for your sheep and slave girl, they should be returned to you. Your son should have one hundred lashes and be exiled for a year." He ordered Unays al-Aslami to go to the wife of the other man and to stone her if she confessed . She confessed and he stoned her.

That Najdah Al-Haruri wrote to Ibn 'Abbas asking if the Messenger of Allah (saws) would fight along with women, and if he would fix a share of the spoils of war for them. Ibn 'Abbas wrote to him: "You wrote to me asking me if the Messenger of Allah (saws) would fight along with women. He did fight along with them, as they would treat the wounded. They received something from the spoils of war, but as for their share, then he did not fix a share for them."

There is something on this topic from Anas and Umm 'Atiyyah.

This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. This is acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge. It is the view of Sufyan Ath-Thawri and Ash-Shafi'i. Some of them said that a share is given to the woman and the boy, and this is the view of Al-Awza'i.

Al-Awza'i said: The Prophet (saws) gave a portion to the boys at Khaibar, and the Aimmah of the Muslims gave a portion to every child born in the land of war." Al-Awza'i said: "The Prophet (saws) gave a portion to the women at Khaibar, and that was followed by the Muslims after him." This was narrated to us by 'Ali bin Khashram (who said): "'Eisa bin Yunus narrated this to us from Al-Awza'i."

The meaning of his saying: "They received something from the spoils of war" it is said that he conferred something on them (the women) from the spoils of war.

Ibn Umar misunderstood (the Qur'anic verse, "So come to your tilth however you will")--may Allah forgive him. The fact is that this clan of the Ansar, who were idolaters, lived in the company of the Jews who were the people of the Book. They (the Ansar) accepted their superiority over themselves in respect of knowledge, and they followed most of their actions. The people of the Book (i.e. the Jews) used to have intercourse with their women on one side alone (i.e. lying on their backs). This was the most concealing position for (the vagina of) the women. This clan of the Ansar adopted this practice from them. But this tribe of the Quraysh used to uncover their women completely, and seek pleasure with them from in front and behind and laying them on their backs.

When the muhajirun (the immigrants) came to Medina, a man married a woman of the Ansar. He began to do the same kind of action with her, but she disliked it, and said to him: We were approached on one side (i.e. lying on the back); do it so, otherwise keep away from me. This matter of theirs spread widely, and it reached the Messenger of Allah (saws).

So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur'anic verse: "Your wives are a tilth to you, so come to your tilth however you will," i.e. from in front, from behind or lying on the back. But this verse meant the place of the delivery of the child, i.e. the vagina.

Ikrimah said: A group of people from Iraq said: Ibn Abbas, what is your opinion about the verse in which we have been commanded whatever we have been commanded, but no one acts upon it? The word of Allah, Most High, reads: "O ye who believe! Let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you, who have not come of age, ask your permission (before) they enter your presence on three occasions: before morning prayer, while you are undressing for the noonday heat, and after late-night prayer. These are your three times of undress; outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about."

Al-Qa'nabi recited the verse up to "full of knowledge and wisdom".

Ibn Abbas said: Allah is Most Clement and Most Merciful to the believers. He loves concealment. The people had neither curtains nor curtained canopies in their houses. Sometimes a servant, a child or a female orphan of a man entered while the man was having sexual intercourse with his wife. So Allah commanded them to ask permission in those times of undress. Then Allah brought them curtains and all good things. But I did not see anyone following it after that.

Abu Dawud said: The tradition of 'Ubaid Allah and of 'Ata, weakens this tradition.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard some of the people of knowledge say that when falcons, eagles, and hawks and their like, understood as trained dogs understood, there was no harm in eating what they had killed in the course of hunting, if the name of Allah had been mentioned when they were sent out.

Malik said, "The best of what I have heard about retrieving game from the falcon's talons or from the dog's fangs and then waiting until it dies, is that it is not halal to eat it."

Malik said, "The same applies to anything which could have been slaughtered by the hunter when it was in the talons of the falcon or the fangs of the dog. If the hunter leaves it until the falcon or dog has killed it, it is not halal to eat it either". He continued, "The same thing applies to any game hit by a hunter and caught while still alive, which he neglects to slaughter before it dies."

Malik said, "It is generally agreed among us that it is halal to eat the game that a hunting-dog belonging to magians hunts or kills, if it is sent out by a muslim and the animal is trained. There is no harm in it even if the muslim does not actually slaughter it.

It is the same as a muslim using a magian's knife to slaughter with or using his bow and arrows to shoot and kill with. The game he shot and the animal he slaughters are halal. There is no harm in eating them. If a magian sends out a muslim's hunting dog for game, and it catches it, the game is not to be eaten unless it is slaughtered by a muslim. That is like a magian using a muslim's bow and arrow to hunt game with, or like his using a muslim's knife to slaughter with. It is not halal to eat anything killed like that.

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Both the buyer and the seller retain the option as long as they have not separated. If they spoke the truth and clarified (any defects or conditions), then they would be blessed in their sale, and if they hid something and lied then their sale would be deprived of blessings."

And this is a Sahih Hadith.

This is how it was reported from Abu Barzah Al-Aslami, that two men came disputing to him after the sale of a horse, and they were on a ship, so he said: "I did not see the two of your separate, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'The buyer and the seller retain the choice as long as they did not separate.'"

Some of the people of knowledge, among the people of Al-Kufah and others, held the view that the separation refers to speech. This is the saying of [Sufyan] Ath-Thawri. This has been reported from Malik bin Anas, and it has been reported from Ibn al-Mubarak that he said: "How could this be refuted ?" And the Hadith about it from the Prophet (saws) is Sahih, and it strenghtens this view.

And the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (saws): "Except for the optional sale" is, that (while they are still together) the seller gives the buyer the option to cancel after the conclusion of the sale. If he chooses to agree to the sale, then he does not have the choice to cancel the sale after then, even if they did not separate. This is how Ash-Shafi'i and others explained it. And what strenghtens the view of those who said that the separation refers to them parting, (and) it does not refer to speech, is the (following) Hadith of 'Abdullah bin 'Amr from the Prophet (saws).

Ibn Maslamah and Ibn 'Isa reported from Muhammad b. al-Munkadir on the authority of Jabir.

`Umar used to admit me (into his house) along with the old men who had fought in the Badr battle. Some of them said (to `Umar), "Why do you allow this young man to enter with us, while we have sons of his own age? " `Umar said, "You know what person he is." One day `Umar called them and called me along with them, I had thought he called me on that day to show them something about me (i.e. my knowledge). `Umar asked them, "What do you say about (the Sura): "When comes the help of Allah and the Conquest (of Mecca) And you see mankind entering the Religion of Allah (i.e. Islam) in crowds. 'So celebrate the Praises Of your Lord and ask for His forgiveness, Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance and forgives." (110.1-3) Some of them replied, "We are ordered to praise Allah and repent to Him if we are helped and granted victory." Some said, "We do not know." Others kept quiet. `Umar then said to me, "Do you say similarly?" I said, "No." `Umar said "What do you say then?" I said, "This Verse indicates the approaching of the death of Allah's Apostle of which Allah informed him. When comes the help of Allah and the Conquest, i.e. the Conquest of Mecca, that will be the sign of your Prophet's) approaching death, so testify the uniqueness of your Lord (i.e. Allah) and praise Him and repent to Him as He is ready to forgive." On that, `Umar said, "I do not know about it anything other than what you know."

One day while Allah's Apostle was sitting with the people, a man came to him walking and said, "O Allah's Apostle. What is Belief?" The Prophet said, "Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection." The man asked, "O Allah's Apostle What is Islam?" The Prophet replied, "Islam is to worship Allah and not worship anything besides Him, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay the (compulsory) charity i.e. Zakat and to fast the month of Ramadan." The man again asked, "O Allah's Apostle What is Ihsan (i.e. perfection or Benevolence)?" The Prophet said, "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you." The man further asked, "O Allah's Apostle When will the Hour be established?" The Prophet replied, "The one who is asked about it does not know more than the questioner does, but I will describe to you its portents. When the lady slave gives birth to her mistress, that will be of its portents; when the bare-footed naked people become the chiefs of the people, that will be of its portents. The Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah. Verily, the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs." (31.34) Then the man left. The Prophet said, "Call him back to me." They went to call him back but could not see him. The Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." (See Hadith No. 47 Vol 1)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "The woman who loses her husband and does not know where he is, waits for four years, then she does idda for four months, and then she is free to marry."

Malik said, "If she marries after her idda is over, regardless of whether the new husband has consummated the marriage or not, her first husband has no means of access to her."

Malik said, "That is what is done among us and if her husband reaches her before she has remarried, he is more entitled to her."

Malik said that he had seen people disapproving of someone who said that one of the people (of knowledge) attributed to Umar ibn al-Khattab that he said, "Her first husband chooses when he comes either her bride-price or his wife."

Malik said, "I have heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab, speaking about a woman whose husband divorced her while he was absent from her, and then he took her back and the news of his taking her back had not reached her, while the news of his divorcing her had, and so she had married again, said, 'Her first husband who divorced her has no means of access to her whether or not the new husband has consummated the marriage.' "

Malik said, "This is what I like the best of what I heard about the missing man."

Yahya related to me that Malik asked Ibn Shihab about selling animals, two for one with delayed terms. He said, "There is no harm in it."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us is that there is no harm in bartering a camel for a camel like it and adding some dirhams to the exchange, from hand to hand. There is no harm in bartering a camel for a camel like it with some dirhams on top of the exchange, the camels to be exchanged from hand to hand, and the dirhams to be paid within a period." He said, "There is no good however in bartering a camel for a camel like it with some dirhams on top of it, with the dirhams paid in cash and the camel to be delivered later. If both the camel and the dirhams are deferred there is no good in that either."

Malik said, "There is no harm in buying a riding camel with two or more pack-camels, if they are from inferior stock. There is no harm in bartering two of them for one with delayed terms, if they are different and their difference is clear. If they resemble each other whether their species are different or not, two are not to be taken for one with delayed terms."

Malik said, "The explanation of what is disapproved of in that, is that a camel should not be bought with two camels when there is no distinction between them in speed or hardiness. If this is according to what I have described to you, then one does not buy two of them for one with delayed terms. There is no harm in selling those of them you buy before you complete the deal to somebody other than the one from whom you bought them if you get the price in cash."

Malik said, "It is permitted for someone to advance something on animals for a fixed term and describe the amount and pay its price in cash. Whatever the buyer and seller have described is obliged for them. That is still permitted behaviour between people and what the people of knowledge in our land do."

Malik related to me that Zayd ibn Aslam said, "Usury in the Jahiliyya was that a man would give a loan to a man for a set term. When the term was due, he would say, 'Will you pay it off or increase me?' If the man paid, he took it. If not, he increased him in his debt and lengthened the term for him ."

Malik said, "The disapproved of way of doing things about which there is no dispute among us, is that a man should give a loan to a man for a term, and then the demander reduce it and the one from whom it is demanded pay it in advance. To us that is like someone who delays repaying his debt after it is due to his creditor and his creditor increases his debt." Malik said, "This is nothing else but usury. No doubt about it."

Malik spoke about a man who loaned one hundred dinars to a man for two terms. When it was due, the person who owed the debt said to him, "Sell me some goods, whose price is one hundred dinars in cash for one hundred and fifty on credit." Malik said, "This transaction is not good, and the people of knowledge still forbid it."

Malik said, "This is disapproved of because the creditor himself gives the debtor the price of what the man sells him, and he defers repayment of the hundred of the first transaction for the debtor for the term which is mentioned to him in the second transaction, and the debtor increases him with fifty dinars for his deferring him. That is disapproved of and it is not good. It also resembles the hadith of Zayd ibn Aslam about the transactions of the people of the Jahiliyya. When their debts were due, they said to the person with the debt, 'Either you pay in full or you increase it.' If they paid, they took it, and if not they increased debtors in their debts, and extended the term for them."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us about which there is no dispute and what I have seen the people of knowledge in our city doing is that when a father inherits from a son or a daughter and the deceased leaves children, or grandchildren through a son, the father has a fixed share of one sixth. If the deceased does leave any children or male grandchildren through a son, the apportioning begins with those with whom the father shares in the fixed shares. They are given their fixed shares. If a sixth or more is left over, the sixth and what is above it is given to the father, and if there is less than a sixth left, the father is given his sixth as a fixed share, (i.e. the other shares are adjusted.)

"The inheritance of a mother from her child, if her son or daughter dies and leaves children or male or female grandchildren through a son, or leaves two or more full or half siblings is a sixth. If the deceased does not leave any children or grandchildren through a son, or two or more siblings, the mother has a whole third except in two cases. One of them is if a man dies and leaves a wife and both parents. The wife has a fourth, the mother a third of what remains, (which is a fourth of the capital). The other is if a wife dies and leaves a husband and both parents. The husband gets half, and the mother a third of what remains, (which is a sixth of the capital). That is because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, says in His Book, 'His two parents each have a sixth of what he leaves if he has children. If he does not have children, and his parents inherit from him, his mother has a third. If he has siblings, the mother has a sixth.' (Sura 4 ayat 11). The sunna is that the siblings be two or more."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdu Rabbih ibn Said that Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham only gave a fixed share to two grandmothers (together).

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us in which there is no dispute and which I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, is that the maternal grandmother does not inherit anything at all with the mother. Outside of that, she is given a sixth as a fixed share. The paternal grandmotherdoes not inherit anything along with the mother or the father. Outside of that she is given a sixth as a fixed share." If both the paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother are alive, and the deceased does not have a father or mother outside of them, Malik said,."I have heard that if the maternal grandmother is the nearest of the two of them, then she has a sixth instead of the paternal grandmother. If the paternal grandmother is nearer, or they are in the same position in relation to the deceased, the sixth is divided equally between them."

Malik said, "None of the female grand-relations except for these two has any inheritance because I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the grandmother inheritance, and then Abu Bakr asked about that until someone reliable related from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he had made the grandmother an heir and given a share to her. Another grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, and he said, 'I am not one to add to fixed shares. If there are two of you together, it is between you. If either of you is left alone with it, it is hers.' " Malik said, "We do not know of anyone who made other than the two grandmothers heirs from the beginning of Islam to this day."

Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established (1) till two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine, (2) till about thirty Dajjals (liars) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah's Apostle, (3) till the religious knowledge is taken away (by the death of Religious scholars) (4) earthquakes will increase in number (5) time will pass quickly, (6) afflictions will appear, (7) Al-Harj, (i.e., killing) will increase, (8) till wealth will be in abundance ---- so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody should accept his Zakat, and whenever he will present it to someone, that person (to whom it will be offered) will say, 'I am not in need of it, (9) till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings, (10) till a man when passing by a grave of someone will say, 'Would that I were in his place (11) and till the sun rises from the West. So when the sun will rise and the people will see it (rising from the West) they will all believe (embrace Islam) but that will be the time when: (As Allah said,) 'No good will it do to a soul to believe then, if it believed not before, nor earned good (by deeds of righteousness) through its Faith.' (6.158) And the Hour will be established while two men spreading a garment in front of them but they will not be able to sell it, nor fold it up; and the Hour will be established when a man has milked his she-camel and has taken away the milk but he will not be able to drink it; and the Hour will be established before a man repairing a tank (for his livestock) is able to water (his animals) in it; and the Hour will be established when a person has raised a morsel (of food) to his mouth but will not be able to eat it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab, and he had heard from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that they said, "When a free man marries a slave-girl and consummates the marriage, she makes him muhsan."

Malik said, "All (of the people of knowledge) I have seen said that a slave-girl makes a free man muhsan when he marries her and consummates the marriage."

Malik said, "A slave makes a free woman muhsana when he consummates a marriage with her and a free woman only makes a slave muhsan when he is freed and he is her husband and has had sexual relations with her after he has been set free. If he parts from her before he is free, he is not a muhsan unless he marries her after having been set free and he consummates the marriage."

Malik said, "When a slave-girl is married to a free man and then he separates from her before she is set free, his marriage to her does not make her muhsana. She is not muhsana until she has married after she has been set free and she has had intercourse with her husband. That gives her ihsan. If she is the wife of a freeman and then she is set free while she is his wife before he separates from her, the man makes her muhsana if he has intercourse with her after she has been set free."

Malik said, "The christian and jewish free women and the muslim slave-girl all make a muslim free man muhsan when he marries one of them and has intercourse with her."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thabit ibn al-Ahnaf that he married an umm walad of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab. He said, "Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab summoned me and I went to him. I came in upon him and there were whips and two iron fetters placed there, and two of his slaves whom he had made to sit there. He said, 'Divorce her, or by He by whom one swears, I will do such-and-such to you!' I said, 'It is divorce a thousand times.' Then I left him and I saw Abdullah ibn Umar on the road to Makka and I told him about my situation. Abdullah ibn Umar was furious, and said, 'That is not divorce, and she is not haram for you, so return to your home.' I was still not at ease so I went to Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr who was the Amir of Makka at that time. I told him about my situation and what Abdullah ibn Umar had said to me. Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said to me, 'She is not haram for you, so return to your home,' and he wrote to Jabir ibn al-Aswad az-Zuhra who was the Amir of Madina and ordered him to punish Abdullah ibn Abdar-Rahman and to have him leave me and my family alone. I went to Madina, and Safiyya, the wife of Abdullah ibn Umar fitted out my wife so that she could bring her to my house with the knowledge of Abdullah ibn Umar. Then I invited Abdullah ibn Umar on the day of my wedding to the wedding feast and he came."

We came upon `Abdullah bin Mas`ud and he said "O people! If somebody knows something, he can say it, but if he does not know it, he should say, "Allah knows better,' for it is a sign of having knowledge to say about something which one does not know, 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to His Prophet: 'Say (O Muhammad ! ) No wage do I ask of You for this (Qur'an) nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist).' (38.86) Now I will tell you about Ad- Dukhan (the smoke), Allah's Apostle invited the Quraish to embrace Islam, but they delayed their response. So he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by sending on them seven years of famine similar to the seven years of famine of Joseph." So the famine year overtook them and everything was destroyed till they ate dead animals and skins. People started imagining to see smoke between them and the sky because of severe hunger. Allah said: 'Then watch you for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible, covering the people. . . This is painful torment.' (44.10-11) (So they invoked Allah) "Our Lord! Remove the punishment from us really we are believers." How can there be an (effectual) reminder for them when an Apostle, explaining things clearly, has already come to them? Then they had turned away from him and said: 'One taught (by a human being), a madman?' 'We shall indeed remove punishment for a while, but truly, you will revert (to disbelief).' (44.12-15) Will the punishment be removed on the Day of Resurrection?" `Abdullah added, "The punishment was removed from them for a while but they reverted to disbelief, so Allah destroyed them on the Day of Badr. Allah said: 'The day We shall seize you with a mighty grasp. We will indeed (then) exact retribution." (44.16)

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to his governors telling them to relieve any people who payed the jizya from paying the jizya if they became muslims.

Malik said, "The sunna is that there is no jizya due from women or children of people of the Book, and that jizya is only taken from men who have reached puberty. The people of dhimma and the magians do not have to pay any zakat on their palms or their vines or their crops or their livestock. This is because zakat is imposed on the muslims to purify them and to be given back to their poor, whereas jizya is imposed on the people of the Book to humble them. As long as they are in the country they have agreed to live in, they do not have to pay anything on their property except the jizya. If, however, they trade in muslim countries, coming and going in them, a tenth is taken from what they invest in such trade. This is because jizya is only imposed on them on conditions, which they have agreed on, namely that they will remain in their own countries, and that war will be waged for them on any enemy of theirs, and that if they then leave that land to go anywhere else to do business they will haveto pay a tenth. Whoever among them does business with the people of Egypt, and then goes to Syria, and then does business with the people of Syria and then goes to Iraq and does business with them and then goes on to Madina, or Yemen, or other similar places, has to pay a tenth.

People of the Book and magians do not have to pay any zakat on any of their property, livestock, produce or crops. The sunna still continues like that. They remain in the deen they were in, and they continue to do what they used to do. If in any one year they frequently come and go in muslim countries then they have to pay a tenth every time they do so, since that is outside what they have agreed upon, and not one of the conditions stipulated for them. This is what I have seen the people of knowledge of our city doing."

From his father that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Whoever purchases a date-palm after it has been pollinated then its fruits are for the one who sold it, unless the buyer made it a condition. And whoever purchases slave who has property, then his property is for the one who sold him, unless the buyer made it a condition."

[He said:] There is something on this topic from Jabir. The Hadith of Ibn 'Umar is a Hasan Sahih Hadith. Similarly, it has been reported by more than one route from Az-Zuhri, from Salim, from Ibn 'Umar, that the Prophet (saws) "Whoever purchases a date-palm after it has been pollinated, then its fruits are for seller, unless the buyer made it a condition. And whoever purchases a slave who has property, then his property is for the seller, unless the buyer made it a condition." And it has been reported from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, that the Prophet (saws) said: "Whoever purchases a date-palm that has been pollinated, then its fruits are for the seller, unless the buyer made it a condition."

It has been reported from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar, that he (saws) said: "Whoever sold a slave who has property, his property is for the seller, unless the buyer made it a condition." This is how the two Ahadith were reported by 'Ubaidullah bin 'Umar and others from Nafi'.

Some of them have also reported this Hadith from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from the Prophet (saws).

'Ikrimah bin Khalid reported similar to the Hadith of Salim, from Ibn 'Umar, from the Prophet (saws).

This Hadith is acted upon according to some of the people of knowledge. It is the view of Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq.

Muhammad bin Isma'il said: "The Hadith of Az-Zuhri from Salim, from his father, from the Prophet (saws) is the most correct [of what has been reported on this topic]."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab about the word of Allah, the Majestic, the Mighty, "O you who accept, when the call is made for the prayer on the day of jumua, make haste to the remembrance of Allah."(Sura 62 ayat 9). Ibn Shihab said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab used to recite, 'When the call is made for the prayer on the day of jumua, go to the remembrance of Allah.' "

Malik said, "Making haste in the Book of Allah is only deed and action. Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, says 'and when he turns away, he acts in the land' (Sura 2 ayat 205), and He, the Exalted, said, 'and as for the one who comes to you acting with fear' (Sura 80 ayat 8), and He said, 'then he turned his back, and acted' (Sura 79 ayat 22),and He said, 'Your deeds are diverse' " (Sura 92 ayat 4). Malik said, "Thus making haste which Allah mentions in His Book is not running on the feet or exertion. It only means deed and actions."

Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that a son of al-Mutawakkil had a mukatab who died at Makka and left (enough to pay) the rest of his kitaba and he owed some debts to people. He also left a daughter. The governor of Makka was not certain about how to judge in the case, so he wrote to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to ask him about it. Abd al-Malik wrote to him, "Begin with the debts owed to people, and then pay what remains of his kitaba. Then divide what remains of the property between the daughter and the master."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that the master of a slave does not have to give his slave a kitaba if he asks for it. I have not heard of any of the Imams forcing a man to give a kitaba to his slave. I heard that one of the people of knowledge, when someone asked about that and mentioned that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'Give them their kitaba, if you know some good in them' (Sura 24 ayat 33) recited these two ayats, 'When you are free of the state of ihram, then hunt for game.' (Sura 5 ayat 3) 'When the prayer is finished, scatter in the land and seek Allah's favour.' " (Sura 62 ayat 10)

Malik commented, "It is a way of doing things for which Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic, has given permission to people, and it is not obligatory for them." Malik said, "I heard one of the people of knowledge say about the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, 'Give them of the wealth which Allah has given you,' that it meant that a man give his slave a kitaba and then reduce the end of his kitaba for him by some specific amount."

Malik said, "This is what I have heard from the people of knowledge and what I see people doing here."

Malik said, "I have heard that Abdullah ibn Umar gave one of his slaves his kitaba for 35,000 dirhams, and then reduced the end of his kitaba by 5,000 dirhams."

Malik said, "What is done among us is that when a master gives a mukatab his kitaba, the mukatab's property goes with him but his children do not go with him unless he stipulates that in his kitaba."

Yahya said, "I heard Malik say that if a mukatab whose master had given him a kitaba had a slave- girl who was pregnant by him, and neither he nor his master knew that on the day he was given his kitaba, the child did not follow him because he was not included in the kitaba. He belonged to the master. As for the slave-girl, she belonged to the mukatab because she was his property."

Malik said that if a man and his wife's son (by another husband) inherited a mukatab from the wife and the mukatab died before he had completed his kitaba, they divided his inheritance between them according to the Book of Allah. If the slave paid his kitaba and then died, his inheritance went to the son of the woman, and the husband had nothing of his inheritance.

Malik said that if a mukatab gave his own slave a kitaba, the situation was looked at. If he wanted to do his slave a favour and it was obvious by his making it easy for him, that was not permitted. If he was giving him a kitaba from desire to find money to pay off his own kitaba, that was permitted for him.

Malik said that if a man had intercourse with a mukataba of his and she became pregnant by him, she had an option. If she liked she could be an umm walad. If she wished, she could confirm her kitaba. If she did not conceive, she still had her kitaba.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us about a slave who is owned by two men is that one of them does not give a kitaba for his share, whether or not his companion gives him permission to do so, unless they both write the kitaba together, because that alone would effect setting him free. If the slave were to fulfil what he had agreed on to free half of himself, and then the one who had given a kitaba for half of him was not obliged to complete his setting free, that would be in opposition to the words of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. 'If someone frees his share in a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave, justly evaluated for him, he must give his partners their shares, so the slave is completely free . ' "

Malik said, "If he is not aware of that until the mukatab has met the terms or before he has met them the owner who has written him the kitaba returns what he has taken from the mukatab to him, and then he and his partner divide him according to their original shares and the kitaba is invalid. He is the slave of both of them in his original state."

Malik spoke about a mukatab who was owned by two men and one of them granted him a delay in the payment of the right which he was owed, and the other refused to defer it, and so the one who refused to defer the payment exacted his part of the due. Malik said that if the mukatab then died and left property which did not complete his kitaba, "They divide it according to what they are still owed by him. Each of them takes according to his share. If the mukatab leaves more than his kitaba, each of them takes what remains to them of the kitaba, and what remains after that is divided equally between them. If the mukatab is unable to pay his kitaba fully and the one who did not allow him to defer his payment has exacted more than his associate did, the slave is still divided equally between them, and he does not return to his associates the excess of what he has exacted, because he only exacted his right with the permission of his associate. If one of them remits what is owed to him and then his associate exacts part of what he is owed by him and then the mukatab is unable to pay, he belongs to both of them. And the one who has exacted something does not return anything because he only demanded what he was owed. That is like the debt of two men in one writing against one man. One of them grants him time to pay and the other is greedy and exacts his due. Then the debtor goes bankrupt. The one who exacted his due does not have to return any of what he took."

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.

While a man was delivering a speech in the tribe of Kinda, he said, "Smoke will prevail on the Day of Resurrection and will deprive the hypocrites their faculties of hearing and seeing. The believers will be afflicted with something like cold only thereof." That news scared us, so I went to (Abdullah) Ibn Mas`ud while he was reclining (and told him the story) whereupon he became angry, sat up and said, "He who knows a thing can say, it, but if he does not know, he should say, 'Allah knows best,' for it is an aspect of knowledge to say, 'I do not know,' if you do not know a certain thing. Allah said to His prophet. 'Say (O Muhammad): No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor I am one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist.)' (38.86) The Qur'aish delayed in embracing Islam for a period, so the Prophet invoked evil on them, saying, 'O Allah! Help me against them by sending seven years of (famine) like those of Joseph.' So they were afflicted with such a severe year of famine that they were destroyed therein and ate dead animals and bones. They started seeing something like smoke between the sky and the earth (because of severe hunger). Abu Sufyan then came (to the Prophet) and said, "O Muhammad! You came to order us for to keep good relations with Kith and kin, and your kinsmen have now perished, so please invoke Allah (to relieve them).' Then Ibn Mas`ud recited:-- 'Then watch you for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible....but truly you will return! (to disbelief) (44.10-15) Ibn Mas`ud added, Then the punishment was stopped, but truly, they reverted to heathenism (their old way). So Allah (threatened them thus): 'On the day when we shall seize you with a mighty grasp.' (44.16) And that was the day of the Battle of Badr. Allah's saying- "Lizama" (the punishment) refers to the day of Badr Allah's Statement: Alif-Lam-Mim, the Romans have been defeated, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious,' (30.1- 3) (This verse): Indicates that the defeat of Byzantine has already passed.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi said, "There are two times when the gates of heaven are opened, and few who make supplication have it returned to them unanswered. They are at the timeof the adhan, and in a rank of people fighting in the way of Allah."

Malik was asked whether the adhan on the day of jumua was called before the time had come for the prayer and he said, "It is not called until after the sun has passed the meridian."

Malik was asked about doubling the adhan and the iqama, and at what point people had to stand when the iqama for the prayer was called. He said, "I have heard nothing about the adhan and iqama except what I have seen people do. As for the iqama, it is not doubled. That is what the people of knowledge in our region continue to do. As for people standing up when the iqama for the prayer is called, I have not heard of any definite point at which it is begun, and I consider it rather to be according to people's (individual) capacity, for some people are heavy and some are light, and they are not able to be as one man ."

Malik was asked about a gathering of people who wished to do the prescribed prayer calling the iqama and not the adhan, and he said, "lt is enough for them. The adhan is only obligatory in mosques where the prayer is said in congregation."

Malik was asked about the muadhdhin saying "Peace be upon you" to the imam and calling him to the prayer, and he was asked who was the first person to whom such a greeting was made. He replied, "I have not heard that this greeting occurred in the first community."

Yahya said that Malik was asked whether a muadhdhin who called the people to prayer and then waited to see if anyone would come and no one did, so he said the iqama and did the prayer by himself and then people came after he had finished, should repeat the prayer with them. Malik said, "He does not repeat the prayer, and whoever comes after he has finished should do the prayer by himself."

Yahya said that Malik was asked about a muadhdhin who called the adhan for a group of people, did voluntary prayers, and then the group of people wanted to do the prayer with some one else saying the iqama. He said, "There is no harm in that. His iqama or somebody else's are the same."

Yahya said that Malik said, "The subh prayer is still called before dawn. As for the other prayers, we believe that they should only be called after the time has started."

Yahya related to me from Malik, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us and what I have seen the people of knowledge doing in our city about the fixed shares of inheritance of children from the mother or father when one or other of them dies is that if they leave male and female children, the male takes the portion of two females. If there are only females, and there are more than two, they get two thirds of what is left between them. If there is only one, she gets a half. If someone shares with the children, who has a fixed share and there are males among them, the reckoner begins with the ones with fixed shares. What remains after that is divided among the children according to their inheritance.

"When there are no children, grandchildren through sons have the same position as children, so that grandsons are like sons and grand-daughters are like daughters. They inherit as they inherit and they overshadow as they overshadow. If there are both children and grandchildren through sons, and there is a male among the children, then the grandchildren through sons do not share in the inheritance with him.

"If there is no surviving male among the children, and there are two or more daughters, the granddaughters through a son do not share in the inheritance with them unless there is a male who is in the same position as them in relation to the deceased, or further than them. His presence gives access to whatever is left over, if any, to whoever is in his position and whoever is above him of the granddaughters through sons. If something is left over, they divide it among them, and the male takes the portion of two females. If nothing is left over, they have nothing.

"If the only descendant is a daughter, she takes half, and if there are one or more grand-daughters through a son who are in the same position to the deceased, they share a sixth. If there is a male in the same position as the granddaughters through a son in relation to the deceased, they have no share and no sixth .

"If there is a surplus after the allotting of shares to the people with fixed shares, the surplus goes to the male and whoever is in his position and whoever is above him of the female descendants through sons. The male has the share of two females. The one who is more distant in relationship than grandchildren through sons has nothing. If there is no surplus, they have nothing. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Allah charges you about your children that the male has the like of the portion of two females. If there are more than two women they have two thirds of what is left. If there is one, she has a half.' (Sura 4 ayat 10)

`Umar bin Al-Khattab departed for Sham and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the (Muslim) army, Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah and his companions met him and told him that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. `Umar said, "Call for me the early emigrants." So `Umar called them, consulted them and informed them that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. Those people differed in their opinions. Some of them said, "We have come out for a purpose and we do not think that it is proper to give it up," while others said (to `Umar), "You have along with you. other people and the companions of Allah's Apostle so do not advise that we take them to this epidemic." `Umar said to them, "Leave me now." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, Leave me now," and added, "Call for me the old people of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Mecca." I called them and they gave a unanimous opinion saying, "We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to that (place) of epidemic." So `Umar made an announcement, "I will ride back to Medina in the morning, so you should do the same." Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah said (to `Umar), "Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?" `Umar said, "Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu 'Ubaida! Yes, we are running from what Allah had ordained to what Allah has ordained. Don't you agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?" At that time `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, who had been absent because of some job, came and said, "I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'If you hear about it (an outbreak of plague) in a land, do not go to it; but if plague breaks out in a country where you are staying, do not run away from it.' " `Umar thanked Allah and returned to Medina.

The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection the Believers will assemble and say, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our Lord.' So they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).' Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, 'Go to Noah, for he was the first Apostle, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.' They will go to him and Noah will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, 'Go to the Khalil--r-Rahman (i.e. Abraham).' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Moses, the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah .' So they will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, 'Go to Jesus, Allah's Slave, His Apostle and Allah's Word and a Spirit coming from Him. Jesus will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the Slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.' So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord's Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed.' (Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me to intercede whom I will let into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and will say, 'None remains in Hell but those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.' " (The compiler) Abu `Abdullah said: 'But those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned in Hell,' refers to the Statement of Allah: "They will dwell therein forever." (16.29)

Malik said, concerning someone who wishes to wear clothes that a person in ihram must not wear, or cut his hair, or touch perfume without necessity, because he finds it easy to pay the compensation, "No-one must do such things. They are only allowed in cases of necessity, and compensation is owed by whoever does them."

Malik was asked whether the culprit could choose for himself the method of compensation he makes, and he was asked what kind of animal was to be sacrificed, and how much food was to be given, and how many days were to be fasted, and whether the person could delay any of these, or if they had to be done immediately. He answered, 'Whenever there are alternatives in the Book of Allah for the kaffara, the culprit can choose to do whichever of the alternatives he prefers. As for the sacrifice - a sheep, and as for the fasting - three days. As for the food - feeding six poor men, for every poor man two mudds, by the first mudd, the mudd of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

Malik said, "I have heard one of the people of knowledge saying, 'When a person in ihram throws something and hits game unintentionally and kills it, he must pay compensation. In the same way, someone outside the Haram who throws anything into the Haram and hits game he did not intend to, killing it, has to pay compensation, because the intentional and the mistaken are in the same position in this matter.' "

Malik said, concerning people who kill game together while they are muhrim or in the Haram, "I think that each one of them owes a full share. If a sacrificial animal is decided for them, each one of them owes one, and if fasting is decided for them, the full fasting is owed by each one of them. The analogy of that is a group of people who kill a man by mistake and the kaffara for that is that each person among them must free a slave or fast two consecutive months."

Malik said, "Anyone who stones or hunts game after stoning the jamra and shaving his head but before he has performed the tawaf al-ifada, owes compensation for that game, because Allah the Blessed, the Exalted said, 'And when you leave ihram, then hunt,' and restrictions still remain for someone who has not done the tawaf al-ifada about touching perfume and women."

Malik said, "The person in ihram does not owe anything for plants he cuts down in the Haram and it has not reached us that anyone has given a decision of anything for it, but O how wrong is what he has done! "

Malik said, concerning some one who was ignorant of, or who forgot the fast of three days in the hajj, or who was ill during them and so did not fast them until he had returned to his community, "He must offer a sacrificial animal (hady) if he can find one and if not he must fast the three days among his people and the remaining seven after that."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abd al-Hamid ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab from Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Nawfal from Abdullah ibn Abbas that Umar ibn al- Khattab set out for ash Sham and when he was at Sargh, near Tabuk, the commanders of the army, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah and his companions, met him and told him that the plague had broken out in ash-Sham. Ibn Abbas said, "Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'all the first Muhajir unto me.' He assembled them and asked them for advice, informing them that the plague had broken out in ash Sham. They disagreed. Some said, 'You have set out for something, and we do not think that you should leave it.' Others said, 'You have the companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the rest of the people with you, and we do not think that you should send them towards this plague.' Umar said, 'Leave me.'

Then he said, 'Summon the Ansar to me.' They were summoned and he asked them for advice. They acted as the Muhajirun had and disagreed as they had disagreed. He said, 'Leave me.' "Then he said, 'Summon to me whoever is here of the aged men of Quraysh from the Muhajirun of the conquest.' He summoned them and not one of them differed. They said, 'We think that you should withdraw the people and not send them towards the plague.' Umar called out to the people, 'I am leaving by camel in the morning,' so they set out. Abu Ubayda said, 'Is it flight from the decree of Allah?' Umar said, 'Better that someone other than you had said it, Abu Ubayda. Yes. We flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah. What would you think if these camels had gone down into a valley which had two slopes, one of them fertile, and the other barren. If you pastured in the fertile part, wouldn't you pasture them by the decree of Allah? If you pastured them in the barren part, wouldn't you pasture them by the decree of Allah?'

''Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf arrived and he had been off doing something and he said, 'I have some knowledge of this. I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "If you hear about it in a land, do not go forward to it. If it comes upon a land and you are in it, then do not depart in flight from it." ' Umar praised Allah and then set off."

Urwah ibn az-Zubayr reported from Fatimah daughter of AbuHubaysh that her blood kept flowing, so the Prophet (saws) said to her: When the blood of the menses comes, it is black blood which can be recognised; so when that comes, refrain from prayer; but when a different type of blood comes, perform ablution and pray, for it is (due only to) a vein.

Abu Dawud said: Ibn al-Muthanna narrates this tradition from his book on the authority of Ibn 'Adi in a similar way. Later on he transmitted it to us from his memory: Muhammad b. 'Amr reported to us from al-Zuhri from 'Urwah on the authority of 'Aishah who said: Fatimah used to have her blood flowing. He then reported the tradition conveying the same meaning.

Abu Dawud said: Anas b. Sirin reported from Ibn 'Abbas about the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood. He said: If she sees thick blood, she should not pray; if she finds herself purified even for a moment, she should was an pray.

Makhul said: Menses are not hidden from women. Their blood is black and thick. When it (blackness and thickness) goes away and there appears yellowness and liquidness, that is the flow of blood (from vein). She should wash and pray.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Sa'id b. al-Musayyab through a different chain of narrators, saying: The woman who has a prolonged flow of blood should abandon prayer when the menstruation begins; when it is finished, she should wash and pray.

Sumayy and others have also reported it from Sa'id b. al-Musayyab. This version adds: She should refrain (from prayer) during her menstrual period.

Hammad b. Salamah has reported it similarly from Yahya b. Sa'id on the authority of Sa'id b. al-Musayyab.

Abu Dawud said: Yunus has reported from Al-Hasan: When the bleeding of a menstruating woman extends (beyond the normal period), she should refrain (from prayer), after her menses are over, for one or two days. Now she becomes the woman who has a prolonged flow of blood.

Al-Taimi reported from Qatadah: If her menstrual period is prolonged by five days, she should pray. Al-Taimi said: I kept on reducing (the number of days) until I reached two days. He said: If the period extends by two days, they will be counted from the menstrual period. When Ibn Sirin was questioned about it, he said: Women have better knowledge of that.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mamar al-Ansari from Abu Yunus, the mawla of A'isha, from A'isha that she overheard a man standing at the door saying to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah, I get up in the morning junub, in a state of major ritual impurity, and want to fast," and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I too get up in the morning junub and want to fast, so I do ghusl and fast." The man said to him, "You are not the same as us. Allah has forgiven you all your wrong actions that have gone before and those that have come after." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got angry and said, "By Allah, I hope that I am the most fearful of you with respect to Allah and the most knowledgeable of you in how I have taqwa."