The Prophet said, "If somebody sees his Muslim ruler doing something he disapproves of, he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the Muslim group even for a span and then dies, he will die as those who died in the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance (as rebellious sinners). (See Hadith No. 176 and 177)

The Prophet said, "Whoever notices something which he dislikes done by his ruler, then he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the company of the Muslims even for a span and then dies, he will die as those who died in the Pre-lslamic period of Ignorance (as rebellious sinners). (Fath-ul-Bari page 112, Vol. 16)

Ali said (to the people of 'Iraq), "Judge as you used to judge, for I hate differences (and I do my best ) till the people unite as one group, or I die as my companions have died."

The Prophet (saws) named our cavalry "the Cavalry of Allah," when we were struck with panic, and when panic overtook us, the Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded us to be united, to have patience and perseverance; and to be so when we fought.

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: An Ansari was breathing his last. He said: I narrate to you a tradition, and I narrate it with the intention of getting a reward from Allah.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If any one of you performs ablution and performs it very well, and goes out for prayer, he does not take his right step but Allah records a good work (or blessing) for him, and he does not take his left step but Allah remits one sin from him. Any one of you may reside near the mosque or far from it; if he comes to the mosque and prays in congregation, he will be forgiven (by Allah).

If he comes to the mosque while the people had prayed in part, and the prayer remained in part, and he prays in congregation the part he joined, and completed the part he had missed, he will enjoy similarly (i.e. he will be forgiven). If he comes to the mosque when the people had finished prayer, he will enjoy the same.

The people used to ask Allah's Apostle about the good but I used to ask him about the evil lest I should be overtaken by them. So I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We were living in ignorance and in an (extremely) worst atmosphere, then Allah brought to us this good (i.e., Islam); will there be any evil after this good?" He said, "Yes." I said, 'Will there be any good after that evil?" He replied, "Yes, but it will be tainted (not pure.)'' I asked, "What will be its taint?" He replied, "(There will be) some people who will guide others not according to my tradition? You will approve of some of their deeds and disapprove of some others." I asked, "Will there be any evil after that good?" He replied, "Yes, (there will be) some people calling at the gates of the (Hell) Fire, and whoever will respond to their call, will be thrown by them into the (Hell) Fire." I said, "O Allah s Apostle! Will you describe them to us?" He said, "They will be from our own people and will speak our language." I said, "What do you order me to do if such a state should take place in my life?" He said, "Stick to the group of Muslims and their Imam (ruler)." I said, "If there is neither a group of Muslims nor an Imam (ruler)?" He said, "Then turn away from all those sects even if you were to bite (eat) the roots of a tree till death overtakes you while you are in that state."

The people used to ask Allah's Apostle about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me. Once I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We were in ignorance and in evil and Allah has bestowed upon us the present good; will there by any evil after this good?" He said, "Yes." I asked, "Will there be good after that evil?" He said, "Yes, but it would be tained with Dakhan (i.e. Little evil)." I asked, "What will its Dakhan be?" He said, "There will be some people who will lead (people) according to principles other than my tradition. You will see their actions and disapprove of them." I said, "Will there by any evil after that good?" He said, "Yes, there will be some people who will invite others to the doors of Hell, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it (by them)." I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Describe those people to us." He said, "They will belong to us and speak our language" I asked, "What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my life?" He said, "Adhere to the group of Muslims and their Chief." I asked, "If there is neither a group (of Muslims) nor a chief (what shall I do)?" He said, "Keep away from all those different sects, even if you had to bite (i.e. eat) the root of a tree, till you meet Allah while you are still in that state."

1: At-Tawbah 9:104.

2: Al-Baqarah 2:276.

3: Anthropomorphism, resembling Allah to creatures.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If there are three men in a village or in the desert among whom prayer is not offered (in congregation), the devil has got the mastery over them. So observe (prayer) in congregation), for the wolf eats only the straggling animal. Sa'ib said: By the word Jama'ah he meant saying prayer in company or in congregation.

You people recite this verse "You who believe, care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly-guided," and put it in its improper place.

Khalid's version has: We heard the Prophet (saws) say: When the people see a wrongdoer and do not prevent him, Allah will soon punish them all. Amr ibn Hushaym's version has: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: If acts of disobedience are done among any people and do not change them though the are able to do so, Allah will soon punish them all.

Adu Dawud said: This tradition has also been transmitted by Abu Usamah and a group transmitters similar to the version narrated by Khalid. The version of Shu'bah has: "If acts of obedience are done among any people who are more numerous than those who do them...."

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that there was only one hadd against a man who slandered a group of people.

Malik said, "If they are on separate occasions there is still only one hadd against him."

Malik related to me from Abu'r-Rijal Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Haritha ibn an-Numan al- Ansari, then from the Banu'n-Najar from his mother Amra bint Abd ar- Rahman that two men cursed each other in the time of Umar ibn al- Khattab. One of them said to the other, " By Allah, my father is not an adulterer and my mother is not an adulteress." Umar ibn al-Khattab asked advice about that. One person said, "He has praised his father and mother." Another said, "His father and mother have praise other than this. We think that he is to be flogged with the hadd." So Umar flogged him with the hadd of eighty lashes.

Malik said, "There is no hadd in our view except for slander, denial or insinuation, in which one sees that the speaker intends by that denial or slander. Then the hadd is completely imposed on the one who said it."

Malik said, "What is done in our community when a man denies that another man is from his father, is that he deserves the hadd. If the mother who is denied is a slave, then he deserves the hadd as well. '

Prayer in congregation is equivalent to twenty-five prayers (offered alone). If he prays in a jungle, and performs its bowing and prostrations perfectly, it becomes equivalent to fifty prayers (in respect of reward).

Abu Dawud said: 'Abd al-Walid b. Ziyad narrated in his version of this tradition: "Prayer said by a single person in a jungle is more excellent by multiplied degrees than prayer said in congregation."

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah's Hand is full, and (its fullness) is not affected by the continuous spending, day and night." He also said, "Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Hand." He also said, "His Throne is over the water and in His other Hand is the balance (of Justice) and He raises and lowers (whomever He will)." (See Hadith No. 206, Vol. 6)

Allah's Apostle did not use to raise his hands in his invocations except in the Istisqa (i.e. invoking Allah for the rain) in which he used to raise his hands so high that one could see the whiteness of his armpits. (Note: It may be that Anas did not see the prophet (as) raising his hands but it has been narrated that the Prophet (as) used to raise his hands for invocations other than Istisqa. See Hadith No. 612 Vol. 5. and Hadith No. 807 & 808 Vol 2.)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'zZinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you wake up from sleep to pray, wash your hands before you put them in the wudu water, for you do not know where your hands have spent the night."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "When one of you puts his forehead on the ground he should put his palms on the place where he puts his forehead. Then, when he rises, he should raise them, for the hands prostrate just as the face prostrates."

"Banu Murrah bin 'Ubaid sent me to bring the Sadaqah from their wealth of the Messenger of Allah (saws). I arrived with him in Al-Madinah and found him sitting between the Muhajirin and the Ansar." He said: "Then he took my hand and brought me to the home of Umm Salamah and he said: 'Do you have any food?' So a bowl containing a lot of Tharid with pieces of meat was brought to us, and presented for us to eat from it. So I began wandering my around it while the Messenger of Allah (saws) ate from what was in front of him. He grabbed my right hand with his left hand, then he said: 'O 'Ikrash! Eat from one spot, for indeed the food is one.' Then a plate containing various dried dates" - or fresh dates - 'Ubaidullah (a narrator) was not sure. He said: "I began eating what was in front of me, while the hand of the Messenger of Allah (saws) roamed about the plate. He said: 'O 'Ikrash! Eat from wherever you like, for indeed it is not all from the same variety.' Then water was brought, so the Messenger of Allah (saws) washed his hands, and with the wetness of his hands he wiped his face, his forearms, and his head, and he said: 'O Ikrash! This is the Wudu' for that which has been altered by fire.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib, we do not know of it except through the narration of Al-'Ala' bin Al-Fadl, and Al-Ala'was alone with this narration, and there is more in the story in the Hadith. And we do not know a Hadith from the Prophet (saws) by 'Ikrash except this.

The tradition mentioned above (No. 4232) has also been transmitted through a different chain of narrators by Nasr ibn Asim al-Laythi who said: We came to al-Yashkuri with a group of the people of Banu Layth.

He asked: Who are these people? We replied: Banu Layth. We have come to you to ask you about the tradition of Hudhayfah. He then mentioned the tradition and said: I asked: Messenger of Allah, will there be evil after this good?

He replied: There will be trial (fitnah) and evil. I asked: Messenger of Allah, will there be good after this evil? He replied: Learn the Book of Allah, Hudhayfah, and adhere to its contents. He said it three times.

I asked: Messenger of Allah, will there be good after this evil? He replied: An illusory truce and a community with specks in its eye. I asked: Messenger of Allah, what do you mean by an illusory community?

He replied: The hearts of the people will not return to their former condition. I asked: Messenger of Allah, will there be evil after this good? He replied: There will be wrong belief which will blind and deafen men to the truth in which there will be summoners at the gates of Hell. If you, Hudhayfah, die adhering to a stump, it will be better for you than following any of them.

The Prophet said, "If while you are praying, somebody intends to pass in front of you, prevent him; and should he insist, prevent him again; and if he insists again, fight with him (i.e. prevent him violently e.g. pushing him violently), because such a person is (like) a devil."

Allah's Apostle said, "If anyone of you performs ablution he should put water in his nose and then blow it out and whoever cleans his private parts with stones should do so with odd numbers. And whoever wakes up from his sleep should wash his hands before putting them in the water for ablution, because nobody knows where his hands were during sleep."

An ally of Bani Zuhra who took part in the battle of Badr with the Prophet, that he said, "O Allah's Apostle! If I meet an unbeliever and we have a fight, and he strikes my hand with the sword and cuts it off, and then takes refuge from me under a tree, and says, 'I have surrendered to Allah (i.e. embraced Islam),' may I kill him after he has said so?" Allah's Apostle said, "Do not kill him." Al- Miqdad said, "But O Allah's Apostle! He had chopped off one of my hands and he said that after he had cut it off. May I kill him?" The Prophet said. "Do not kill him for if you kill him, he would be in the position in which you had been before you kill him, and you would be in the position in which he was before he said the sentence." The Prophet also said to Al-Miqdad, "If a faithful believer conceals his faith (Islam) from the disbelievers, and then when he declares his Islam, you kill him, (you will be sinful). Remember that you were also concealing your faith (Islam) at Mecca before."