I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built) next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked, "What was the period in between them?" He replied, "Forty (years)." He then added, "Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon you, perform the prayer, for all the earth is a place of worshipping for you."

I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?" He said, "Al- Masjid-ul-,Haram (in Mecca)." I said, "Which was built next?" He replied "The mosque of Al-Aqsa ( in Jerusalem) ." I said, "What was the period of construction between the two?" He said, "Forty years." He added, "Wherever (you may be, and) the prayer time becomes due, perform the prayer there, for the best thing is to do so (i.e. to offer the prayers in time).

The Prophet sent some horsemen to Najd and they brought a man called Thumama bin Uthal from Bani Hanifa. They fastened him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The Prophet came and ordered them to release him. He went to a (garden of) date-palms near the mosque, took a bath and entered the mosque again and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle" (i.e. he embraced Islam).

(freed slave of) Ziyad: I heard Abu Sa`id Al-khudri narrating four things from the Prophet and I appreciated them very much. He said, conveying the words of the Prophet. (1) "A woman should not go on a two day journey except with her husband or a Dhi-Mahram. (2) No fasting is permissible on two days: `Id-ul-Fitr and `Id-ul-Adha. (3) No prayer after two prayers, i.e. after the Fajr prayer till the sunrises and after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets. (4) Do not prepare yourself for a journey except to three Mosques, i.e. Al-Masjid-AI-Haram, the Mosque of Aqsa (Jerusalem) and my Mosque."

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

(who fought in twelve Ghazawat in the company of the Prophet). I heard four things from the Prophet and they won my admiration. He said; -1. "No lady should travel on a journey of two days except with her husband or a Dhi-Mahram; -2. "No fasting is permissible on the two days of Id-ul-Fitr and `Id-ul-Adha; -3. "No prayer (may be offered) after the morning compulsory prayer until the sun rises; and no prayer after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets; -4. "One should travel only for visiting three Masjid (Mosques): Masjid-al-Haram (Mecca), Masjid-al- Aqsa (Jerusalem), and this (my) Mosque (at Medina).

The first Jumua prayer which was offered after a Jumua prayer offered at the mosque of Allah's Apostle took place in the mosque of the tribe of `Abdul Qais at Jawathi in Bahrain.

Once in the middle of the night Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) went out and prayed in the mosque and some men prayed with him. The next morning the people spoke about it and so more people gathered and prayed with him (in the second night). They circulated the news in the morning, and so, on the third night the number of people increased greatly. Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) came out and they prayed behind him. On the fourth night the mosque was overwhelmed by the people till it could not accommodate them. Allah's Apostle came out only for the Fajr prayer and when he finished the prayer, he faced the people and recited "Tashah-hud" (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Apostle), and then said, "Amma ba'du. Verily your presence (in the mosque at night) was not hidden from me, but I was afraid that this prayer (Prayer of Tahajjud) might be made compulsory and you might not be able to carry it out."

Abu Sa`id who participated in twelve Ghazawat with the Prophet said, "I heard four things from Allah's Apostle (or I narrate them from the Prophet ) which won my admiration and appreciation. They are: -1. "No lady should travel without her husband or without a Dhu-Mahram for a two-days' journey. -2. No fasting is permissible on two days of `Id-ul-Fitr, and `Id-al-Adha. -3. No prayer (may be offered) after two prayers: after the `Asr prayer till the sun set and after the morning prayer till the sun rises. -4. Not to travel (for visiting) except for three mosques: Masjid-al-Haram (in Mecca), my Mosque (in Medina), and Masjid-al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem).

That he was informed by `Aisha, "Allah's Apostle went out in the middle of the night and prayed in the mosque and some men prayed behind him. In the morning, the people spoke about it and then a large number of them gathered and prayed behind him (on the second night). In the next morning the people again talked about it and on the third night the mosque was full with a large number of people. Allah's Apostle came out and the people prayed behind him. On the fourth night the Mosque was overwhelmed with people and could not accommodate them, but the Prophet came out (only) for the morning prayer. When the morning prayer was finished he recited Tashah-hud and (addressing the people) said, "Amma ba'du, your presence was not hidden from me but I was afraid lest the night prayer (Qiyam) should be enjoined on you and you might not be able to carry it on." So, Allah's Apostle died and the situation remained like that (i.e. people prayed individually). "

The first Friday (i.e. Jumua) prayer offered after the Friday Prayer offered at the Mosque of Allah's Apostle was offered at the mosque of `Abdul Qais situated at Jawathi, that is a village at Al Bahrain .

Allah's Apostle said, "One prayer in my Mosque is better than one thousand prayers in any other mosque excepting Al-Masjid-AI-Haram."

I heard my father saying, "Never did Allah's Apostle assume Ihram except at the Mosque, that is, at the Mosque of Dhul-Hulaifa.

The narrated Hadith is about the various places on the way from Medina to Mecca where the Prophet (saws) prayed and is not translated.

On the day of Al-Khandaq (battle of the Trench' the medial arm vein of Sa`d bin Mu`ad [??] was injured and the Prophet pitched a tent in the mosque to look after him. There was another tent for Banu Ghaffar in the mosque and the blood started flowing from Sa`d's tent to the tent of Bani Ghaffar. They shouted, "O occupants of the tent! What is coming from you to us?" They found that Sa`d' wound was bleeding profusely and Sa`d died in his tent.

The Prophet saw some sputum on the wall facing the Qibla of the mosque and became furious with the people of the mosque and said, "During the prayer, Allah is in front of everyone of you and so he should not spit (or said, 'He should not expectorate')." Then he got down and scratched the sputum with his hand. Ibn `Umar said (after narrating), "If anyone of you has to spit during the prayer, he should spit to his left."

I was standing in the mosque and somebody threw a gravel at me. I looked and found that he was `Umar bin Al-Khattab. He said to me, "Fetch those two men to me." When I did, he said to them, "Who are you? (Or) where do you come from?" They replied, "We are from Ta'if." `Umar said, "Were you from this city (Medina) I would have punished you for raising your voices in the mosque of Allah's Apostle."

One day Ibn `Umar, while in the Mosque, looked at a man who was dragging his clothes while walking in one of the corners of the Mosque He said, "See who is that. I wish he was near to me." Somebody then said (to Ibn `Umar), "Don't you know him, O Abu `Abdur-Rahman? He is Muhammad bin Usama." On that Ibn `Umar bowed his head and dug the earth with his hands and then, said, "If Allah's Apostle saw him, he would have loved him."

The Prophet heard a man (reciting Qur'an) in the Mosque, and he said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy upon him. No doubt, he made me remember such-and such Verses of such-and-such Sura which I dropped (from my memory). Narrated Aisha: The Prophet performed the Tahajjud prayer in my house, and then he heard the voice of `Abbad who was praying in the Mosque, and said, "O `Aisha! Is this `Abbad's voice?" I said, "Yes." He said, "O Allah! Be merciful to `Abbad!"

The Prophet arranged for a horse race amongst the horses that had been made lean to take place between Al-Hafya'' and Thaniyat Al-Wada` (i.e. names of two places) and the horses which had not been mad.? lean from Ath-Thaniyat to the mosque of Bani Zuraiq. I was also amongst those who took part in that horse race. Sufyan, a sub-narrator, said, "The distance between Al-Hafya and Thaniya Al- Wada` is five or six miles; and between Thaniya and the mosque of Bani Zuraiq is one mile."

I sat with Ka`b bin Ujra in this mosque, i.e. Kufa Mosque, and asked him about the meaning of: "Pay a ransom (i.e. Fidya) of either fasting or . . . . (2.196)" He said, "I was taken to the Prophet while lice were falling on my face. The Prophet said, 'I did not think that your trouble reached to such an extent. Can you afford to slaughter a sheep (as a ransom for shaving your head)?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Then fast for three days, or feed six poor persons by giving half a Sa of food for each and shave your head.' So the above Verse was revealed especially for me and generally for all of you."

While the Prophet and I were coming out of the mosque, a man met us outside the gate. The man said, "O Allah's Apostle! When will be the Hour?" The Prophet asked him, "What have you prepared for it?" The man became afraid and ashamed and then said, "O Allah's Apostle! I haven't prepared for it much of fasts, prayers or charitable gifts but I love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "You will be with the one whom you love."

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

While I was praying, the Prophet passed by and called me, but I did not go to him till I had finished my prayer. When I went to him, he said, "What prevented you from coming?" I said, "I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say" "O you who believes Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle." (8.24) Then he added, "Shall I tell you the most superior Sura in the Qur'an before I go out of the mosque?" When the Prophet intended to go out (of the Mosque), I reminded him and he said, "That is: "Al hamdu-li l-lahi Rabbil-`alamin (Surat-al-fatiha)' which is the seven oft repeated verses (Al-Mathani) and the Grand Qur'an which has been given to me."