The Prophet got up from his sleep with a flushed red face and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Woe to the Arabs, from the Great evil that is nearly approaching them. Today a gap has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog like this." (Sufyan illustrated by this forming the number 90 or 100 with his fingers.) It was asked, "Shall we be destroyed though there are righteous people among us?" The Prophet said, "Yes, if evil increased."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid, the mawla of al Aswad ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar Rahman that Abu Hurayra recited al-Inshiqaq (Sura 84) to them and prostrated in it. When he had finished he told them that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had prostrated in it.

A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, I fail to attend the morning congregational prayer because so-and-so (i.e., Mu`adh bin Jabal) prolongs the prayer when he leads us for it." I had never seen the Prophet more furious in giving advice than he was on that day. He then said, "O people! some of you make others dislike (good deeds, i.e. prayers etc). So whoever among you leads the people in prayer, he should shorten it because among them there are the old, the weak and the busy (needy having some jobs to do). (See Hadith No. 90, Vol. 1)

Mu`adh bin Jabal used to pray with the Prophet and then go to lead his people in prayer. Once he led the people in prayer and recited Surat-al-Baqara. A man left (the row of the praying people) and offered (light) prayer (separately) and went away. When Mu`adh came to know about it, he said. "He (that man) is a hypocrite." Later that man heard what Mu`adh said about him, so he came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are people who work with our own hands and irrigate (our farms) with our camels. Last night Mu`adh led us in the (night) prayer and he recited Sura-al-Baqara, so I offered my prayer separately, and because of that, he accused me of being a hypocrite." The Prophet called Mu`adh and said thrice, "O Mu`adh! You are putting the people to trials? Recite 'Washshamsi wad-uhaha' (91) or'Sabbih isma Rabbi ka-l-A'la' (87) or the like."

When `Abdullah bin Ubai (the chief of hypocrites) died, his son came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Please give me your shirt to shroud him in it, offer his funeral prayer and ask for Allah's forgiveness for him." So Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) gave his shirt to him and said, "Inform me (When the funeral is ready) so that I may offer the funeral prayer." So, he informed him and when the Prophet intended to offer the funeral prayer, `Umar took hold of his hand and said, "Has Allah not forbidden you to offer the funeral prayer for the hypocrites? The Prophet said, "I have been given the choice for Allah says: '(It does not avail) Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites), or do not ask for forgiveness for them. Even though you ask for their forgiveness seventy times, Allah will not forgive them. (9.80)" So the Prophet offered the funeral prayer and on that the revelation came: "And never (O Muhammad) pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (i.e. hypocrites) that dies." (9. 84)

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."

'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."

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."

Prayer passed through three stages and fasting also passed through three stages. The narrator Nasr reported the rest of the tradition completely. The narrator, Ibn al-Muthanna, narrated the story of saying prayer facing in the direction of Jerusalem.

He said: The third stage is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to Medina and prayed, i.e. facing Jerusalem, for thirteen months.

Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: "We have seen thee turning thy face to Heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wherever ye may be, turn your face (when ye pray) toward it" (ii.144). And Allah, the Reverend and the Majestic, turned (them) towards the Ka'bah. He (the narrator) completed his tradition.

The narrator, Nasr, mentioned the name of the person who had the dream, saying: And Abdullah ibn Zayd, a man from the Ansar, came. The same version reads: And he turned his face towards the qiblah and said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer (he pronounced it twice), come to salvation (he pronounced it twice); Allah is Most Great, Allah is most great. He then paused for a while, and then got up and pronounced in a similar way, except that after the phrase "Come to salvation" he added. "The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Teach it to Bilal, then pronounce the adhan (call to prayer) with the same words. As regards fasting, he said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to fast for three days every month, and would fast on the tenth of Muharram. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: ".......Fasting was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)......and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need (ii.183-84). If someone wished to keep the fast, he would keep the fast; if someone wished to abandon the fast, he would feed an indigent every day; it would do for him. But this was changed. Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an ..........(let him fast the same) number of other days" (ii.185).

Hence the fast was prescribed for the one who was present in the month (of Ramadan) and the traveller was required to atone (for them); feeding (the indigent) was prescribed for the old man and woman who were unable to fast. (The narrator, Nasr, further reported): The companion Sirmah, came after finishing his day's work......and he narrated the rest of the tradition.