A person had sexual relation with his wife in the month of Ramadan (while he was fasting), and he came to Allah's Apostle seeking his verdict concerning that action. The Prophet said (to him), "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" The man said, "No." The Prophet said, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He said, "No." The Prophet said, "Then feed sixty poor persons."

"I saw Allah's Apostle delaying the Maghrib prayer till he offered it along with the `Isha' prayer whenever he was in a hurry during the journey." Salim narrated, "Ibn `Umar used to do the same whenever he was in a hurry during the journey." And Salim added, "Ibn `Umar used to pray the Maghrib and `Isha' prayers together in Al-Muzdalifa." Salim said, "Ibn `Umar delayed the Maghrib prayer because at that time he heard the news of the death of his wife Safiya bint Abi `Ubaid. I said to him, 'The prayer (is due).' He said, 'Go on.' Again I said, 'The prayer (is due).' He said, 'Go on,' till we covered two or three miles. Then he got down, prayed and said, 'I saw the Prophet praying in this way, whenever he was in a hurry during the journey.' `Abdullah (bin `Umar) added, "Whenever the Prophet was in a hurry, he used to delay the Maghrib prayer and then offer three rak`at (of the Maghrib) and perform Taslim, and after waiting for a short while, Iqama used to be pronounced for the `Isha' prayer when he would offer two rak`at and perform Taslim. He would never offer any optional prayer till the middle of the night (when he used to pray the Tahajjud)."

A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to Allah's Apostle and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. Allah's Apostle said, "You have to offer prayers perfectly five times in a day and night (24 hours)." The man asked, "Is there any more (praying)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to offer the Nawafil prayers (you can)." Allah's Apostle further said to him: "You have to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." The man asked, "Is there any more fasting?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to observe the Nawafil fasts (you can.)" Then Allah's Apostle further said to him, "You have to pay the Zakat (obligatory charity)." The man asked, "Is there any thing other than the Zakat for me to pay?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, unless you want to give alms of your own." And then that man retreated saying, "By Allah! I will neither do less nor more than this." Allah's Apostle said, "If what he said is true, then he will be successful (i.e. he will be granted Paradise)."

My father told me that Hakim bin Hizam manumitted one-hundred slaves in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance and slaughtered one-hundred camels (and distributed them in charity). When he embraced Islam he again slaughtered one-hundred camels and manumitted one-hundred slaves. Hakim said, "I asked Allah's Apostle, 'O Allah's Apostle! What do you think about some good deeds I used to practice in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance regarding them as deeds of righteousness?' Allah's Apostle said, "You have embraced Islam along with all those good deeds you did."

The Prophet said, "I saw (in a dream), two men came to me." Then the Prophet narrated the story (saying), "They said, 'The person, the one whose cheek you saw being torn away (from the mouth to the ear) was a liar and used to tell lies and the people would report those lies on his authority till they spread all over the world. So he will be punished like that till the Day of Resurrection."'

The father or Uncle of Mujibah al-Bahiliyyah visited the Messenger of Allah (saws). He then went away and came to him (again) after one year when his condition and appearance had changed.

He said: Messenger of Allah, do you not recognize me? He asked: Who are you? He replied: I am al-Bahili who came to you last year. He said: What has changed you? You were looking well, then you were good in appearance? He said: I have only food at night since I departed from you.

Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Why did you torment yourself? Fast during Ramadan (the month of patience) and fast for one day every month. He said: Increase it for me, for I have (more) strength. He said: Fast two days. He again said: Increase it for me. He said: Fast three days. He again said: Increase it for me. He said: Fast during the inviolable months and then stop; fast during the inviolable months and then stop; fast during the inviolable months and then stop. He indicated by his three fingers, and joined them and then opened them.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata ibn Abdullah al-Khurasani that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "A bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, beating his breast and tearing out his hair and saying, 'I am destroyed.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Why is that?', and he said, 'I had intercourse with my wife while fasting in Ramadan.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked him, 'Are you able to free a slave?', and the man said, 'No.' Then he asked him, 'Are you able to give away a camel?', and the man replied, 'No.' He said, 'Sit own,' and someone brought a large basket of dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said to the man, 'Take this and give it away as sadaqa.' The man said, 'There is no one more needy than me,' and (the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, 'Eat them, and fast one day for the day when you had intercourse.' "

Malik said that Ata said that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab how many dates there were in that basket, and he said, "Between fifteen and twenty sas.''

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents."

Once the Prophet set out in the month of Ramadan. He observed fasting till he reached a place called Kadid where he broke his fast.

The Prophet with his companions started from Medina after combing and oiling his hair and putting on two sheets of lhram (upper body cover and waist cover). He did not forbid anyone to wear any kind of sheets except the ones colored with saffron because they may leave the scent on the skin. And so in the early morning, the Prophet mounted his Mount while in Dhul-Hulaifa and set out till they reached Baida', where he and his companions recited Talbiya, and then they did the ceremony of Taqlid (which means to put the colored garlands around the necks of the Budn (camels for sacrifice). And all that happened on the 25th of Dhul-Qa'da. And when he reached Mecca on the 4th of Dhul-Hijja he performed the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and performed the Tawaf between Safa and Marwa. And as he had a Badana and had garlanded it, he did not finish his Ihram. He proceeded towards the highest places of Mecca near Al-Hujun and he was assuming the Ihram for Hajj and did not go near the Ka`ba after he performed Tawaf (round it) till he returned from `Arafat. Then he ordered his companions to perform the Tawaf round the Ka`ba and then the Tawaf of Safa and Marwa, and to cut short the hair of their heads and to finish their Ihram. And that was only for those people who had not garlanded Budn. Those who had their wives with them were permitted to contact them (have sexual intercourse), and similarly perfume and (ordinary) clothes were permissible for them.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "I did not believe that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had died until I heard the pickaxes fall."

When the ailment of the Prophet became aggravated and his disease became severe, he asked his wives to permit him to be nursed (treated) in my house. So they gave him the permission. Then the Prophet came (to my house) with the support of two men, and his legs were dragging on the ground, between `Abbas, and another man." 'Ubaidullah (the sub narrator) said, "I informed `Abdullah bin `Abbas of what `Aisha said. Ibn `Abbas said: 'Do you know who was the other man?' I replied in the negative. Ibn `Abbas said, 'He was `Ali (bin Abi Talib)." `Aisha further said, "When the Prophet came to my house and his sickness became aggravated he ordered us to pour seven skins full of water on him, so that he might give some advice to the people. So he was seated in a Mikhdab (brass tub) belonging to Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet. Then, all of us started pouring water on him from the water skins till he beckoned to us to stop and that we have done (what he wanted us to do). After that he went out to the people."

Some men amongst the companions of the Prophet were shown in their dreams that the night of Qadr was in the last seven nights of Ramadan. Allah's Apostle said, "It seems that all your dreams agree that (the Night of Qadr) is in the last seven nights, and whoever wants to search for it (i.e. the Night of Qadr) should search in the last seven (nights of Ramadan).

Allah's Apostle used to pray eleven rak`at at night and that was his night prayer and each of his prostrations lasted for a period enough for one of you to recite fifty verses before Allah's Apostle raised his head. He also used to pray two rak`at (Sunnah) before the (compulsory) Fajr prayer and then lie down on his right side till the Mu'adh-dhin came to him for the prayer.

I came to the Prophet while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Ka`ba. We were suffering greatly from the pagans in those days. i said (to him). "Will you invoke Allah (to help us)?" He sat down with a red face and said, "(A believer among) those who were before you used to be combed with iron combs so that nothing of his flesh or nerves would remain on his bones; yet that would never make him desert his religion. A saw might be put over the parting of his head which would be split into two parts, yet all that would never make him abandon his religion. Allah will surely complete this religion (i.e. Islam) so that a traveler from Sana to Hadra-maut will not be afraid of anybody except Allah." (The sub-narrator, Baiyan added, "Or the wolf, lest it should harm his sheep.")

I heard the Prophet reciting Surat-al-Mursalat `Urfan (77) in the Maghrib prayer, and after that prayer he did not lead us in any prayer till he died.

The Prophet was the most generous of all the people, and he used to become more generous in Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to meet him every night during Ramadan to revise the Qur'an with him. Allah's Apostle then used to be more generous than the fast wind.

We stayed (in Mecca) for ten days along with the Prophet and used to offer shortened prayers (i.e. journey prayers).

While we were sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said: "Who amongst you is Muhammad?" At that time the Prophet was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, "This white man reclining on his arm." The man then addressed him, "O Son of `Abdul Muttalib." The Prophet said, "I am here to answer your questions." The man said to the Prophet, "I want to ask you something and will be hard in questioning. So do not get angry." The Prophet said, "Ask whatever you want." The man said, "I ask you by your Lord, and the Lord of those who were before you, has Allah sent you as an Apostle to all the mankind?" The Prophet replied, "By Allah, yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to offer five prayers in a day and night (24 hours).? He replied, "By Allah, Yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah! Has Allah ordered you to observe fasts during this month of the year (i.e. Ramadan)?" He replied, "By Allah, Yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to take Zakat (obligatory charity) from our rich people and distribute it amongst our poor people?" The Prophet replied, "By Allah, yes." Thereupon that man said, "I have believed in all that with which you have been sent, and I have been sent by my people as a messenger, and I am Dimam bin Tha`laba from the brothers of Bani Sa`d bin Bakr."

I was a guest of Abu Huraira for seven days. Abu Huraira, his wife and his slave used to get up and remain awake for one-third of the night by turns. Each would offer the night prayer and then awaken the other. I heard Abu Huraira saying, "Allah's Apostle distributed dates among his companions and my share was seven dates, one of which was a Hashafa (a date which dried on the tree before it was fully ripe).

A group of people from `Ukl (tribe) came to the Prophet and they were living with the people of As- Suffa, but they became ill as the climate of Medina did not suit them, so they said, "O Allah's Apostle! Provide us with milk." The Prophet said, I see no other way for you than to use the camels of Allah's Apostle." So they went and drank the milk and urine of the camels, (as medicine) and became healthy and fat. Then they killed the shepherd and took the camels away. When a help-seeker came to Allah's Apostle, he sent some men in their pursuit, and they were captured and brought before mid day. The Prophet ordered for some iron pieces to be made red hot, and their eyes were branded with them and their hands and feet were cut off and were not cauterized. Then they were put at a place called Al- Harra, and when they asked for water to drink they were not given till they died. (Abu Qilaba said, "Those people committed theft and murder and fought against Allah and His Apostle.")

I came upon Allah's Apostle when he was at Al-Batha. He asked me, "Have you intended to perform the Hajj?" I replied in the affirmative. He asked, "For what have you assumed lhram?" I replied," I have assumed Ihram with the same intention as that of the Prophet ." The Prophet said, "You have done well! Go and perform Tawaf round the Ka`ba and between Safa and Marwa." Then I went to one of the women of Bani Qais and she took out lice from my head. Later, I assumed the Ihram for Hajj. So, I used to give this verdict to the people till the caliphate of `Umar. When I told him about it, he said, "If we take (follow) the Holy Book, then it orders us to complete Hajj and `Umra (Hajj-at- Tamattu`) and if we follow the tradition of Allah's Apostle then Allah's Apostle did not finish his lhram till the Hadi had reached its destination (had been slaughtered). (i.e. Hajj-al-Qiran). (See Hadith No. 630)

The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ishmael. She used a girdle so that she might hide her tracks from Sarah. Abraham brought her and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka`ba under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those days there was nobody in Mecca, nor was there any water So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and returned while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see him, he faced the Ka`ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers: 'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred House (Ka`ba at Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.' (14.37) Ishmael's mother went on suckling Ishmael and drinking from the water (she had). When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ishmael) tossing in agony; She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times." The Prophet said, "This is the source of the tradition of the walking of people between them (i.e. Safa and Marwa). When she reached the Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself to be quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, 'O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it." The Prophet added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zamzam (flow without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.' The House (i.e. Ka`ba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)." The Prophet added, "Ishmael's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?" She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet further said, "Ishmael's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love to enjoy the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there. The child (i.e. Ishmael) grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them. After Ishmael's mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael's wife about him, she replied, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied, 'We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,' complaining to him. He said, 'When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).' When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife, 'Has anyone visited you?' She replied, 'Yes, an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.' On that Ishmael said, 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied, 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.' Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (i.e. Jurhum). Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael's wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Abraham asked her, 'How are you getting on?' asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied, 'We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).' Then she thanked Allah' Abraham said, 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said. 'Meat.' He said, 'What do you drink?' She said, 'Water." He said, "O Allah! Bless their meat and water." The Prophet added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet added, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca." The Prophet added," Then Abraham said Ishmael's wife, "When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.' When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife, 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied, 'Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,' so she praised him and added. 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.' Ishmael asked her, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?' She said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.' On that Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them afterwards. He saw Ishmael under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Abraham, he rose up to welcome him (and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father). Abraham said, 'O Ishmael! Allah has given me an order.' Ishmael said, 'Do what your Lord has ordered you to do.' Abraham asked, 'Will you help me?' Ishmael said, 'I will help you.' Abraham said, Allah has ordered me to build a house here,' pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it." The Prophet added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e. the Ka`ba). Ishmael brought the stones and Abraham was building, and when the walls became high, Ishmael brought this stone and put it for Abraham who stood over it and carried on building, while Ishmael was handing him the stones, and both of them were saying, 'O our Lord! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.' The Prophet added, "Then both of them went on building and going round the Ka`ba saying: O our Lord ! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2.127)

The companions of Suffa were poor people. The Prophet once said, "Whoever has food enough for two persons, should take a third one (from among them), and whoever has food enough for four persons, should take a fifth or a sixth (or said something similar)." Abu Bakr brought three persons while the Prophet took ten. And Abu Bakr with his three family member (who were I, my father and my mother) (the sub-narrator is in doubt whether `Abdur-Rahman said, "My wife and my servant who was common for both my house and Abu Bakr's house.") Abu Bakr took his supper with the Prophet and stayed there till he offered the `Isha' prayers. He returned and stayed till Allah's Apostle took his supper. After a part of the night had passed, he returned to his house. His wife said to him, "What has detained you from your guests?" He said, "Have you served supper to them?" She said, "They refused to take supper until you come. They (i.e. some members of the household) presented the meal to them but they refused (to eat)" I went to hide myself and he said, "O Ghunthar!" He invoked Allah to cause my ears to be cut and he rebuked me. He then said (to them): Please eat!" and added, I will never eat the meal." By Allah, whenever we took a handful of the meal, the meal grew from underneath more than that handful till everybody ate to his satisfaction; yet the remaining food was more than the original meal. Abu Bakr saw that the food was as much or more than the original amount. He called his wife, "O sister of Bani Firas!" She said, "O pleasure of my eyes. The food has been tripled in quantity." Abu Bakr then started eating thereof and said, "It (i.e. my oath not to eat) was because of Sa all." He took a handful from it, and carried the rest to the Prophet. So that food was with the Prophet . There was a treaty between us and some people, and when the period of that treaty had elapsed, he divided US into twelve groups, each being headed by a man. Allah knows how many men were under the command of each leader. Anyhow, the Prophet surely sent a leader with each group. Then all of them ate of that meal.

When Uthman placed his property at at-Ta'if and intended to settle there, he prayed four rak'ahs. The rulers after him followed the same practice.

I never saw the Prophet seeking to fast on a day that he favored more than another except this day, the day of 'Ashura', and this month, meaning the month of Ramadan.

As-Subayy ibn Ma'bad said: I raised my voice in talbiyah for both of them (i.e. umrah and hajj). Thereupon Umar said: You were guided to the practice (sunnah) of your Prophet (saws).

The Prophet said, "None of you should fast a day or two before the month of Ramadan unless he has the habit of fasting (Nawafil) (and if his fasting coincides with that day) then he can fast that day."

The news of my daily fasting and praying every night throughout the night reached the Prophet. So he sent for me or I met him, and he said, "I have been informed that you fast everyday and pray every night (all the night). Fast (for some days) and give up fasting (for some days); pray and sleep, for your eyes have a right on you, and your body and your family (i.e. wife) have a right on you." I replied, "I have more power than that (fasting)." The Prophet said, "Then fast like the fasts of (the Prophet) David". I said, "How?" He replied, "He used to fast on alternate days, and he used not to flee on meeting the enemy." I said, "From where can I get that chance?" (`Ata' said, "I do not know how the expression of fasting daily throughout the life occurred.") So, the Prophet said, twice, "Whoever fasts daily throughout his life is just as the one who does not fast at all."

(the wife of the Prophet) "Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he would draw lots amongst his wives and would take with him the one upon whom the lot fell. During a Ghazwa of his, he drew lots amongst us and the lot fell upon me, and I proceeded with him after Allah had decreed the use of the veil by women. I was carried in a Howdah (on the camel) and dismounted while still in it. When Allah's Apostle was through with his Ghazwa and returned home, and we approached the city of Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered us to proceed at night. When the order of setting off was given, I walked till I was past the army to answer the call of nature. After finishing I returned (to the camp) to depart (with the others) and suddenly realized that my necklace over my chest was missing. So, I returned to look for it and was delayed because of that. The people who used to carry me on the camel, came to my Howdah and put it on the back of the camel, thinking that I was in it, as, at that time, women were light in weight, and thin and lean, and did not use to eat much. So, those people did not feel the difference in the heaviness of the Howdah while lifting it, and they put it over the camel. At that time I was a young lady. They set the camel moving and proceeded on. I found my necklace after the army had gone, and came to their camp to find nobody. So, I went to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would discover my absence and come back in my search. While in that state, I felt sleepy and slept. Safwan bin Mu'attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army and reached my abode in the morning. When he saw a sleeping person, he came to me, and he used to see me before veiling. So, I got up when I heard him saying, "Inna lil-lah-wa inn a ilaihi rajiun (We are for Allah, and we will return to Him)." He made his camel knell down. He got down from his camel, and put his leg on the front legs of the camel and then I rode and sat over it. Safwan set out walking, leading the camel by the rope till we reached the army who had halted to take rest at midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell into destruction, (some people accused me falsely) and the leader of the false accusers was `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. After that we returned to Medina, and I became ill for one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the false accusers. I was feeling during my ailment as if I were not receiving the usual kindness from the Prophet which I used to receive from him when I got sick. But he would come, greet and say, 'How is that (girl)?' I did not know anything of what was going on till I recovered from my ailment and went out with Um Mistah to the Manasi where we used to answer the call of nature, and we used not to go to answer the call of nature except from night to night and that was before we had lavatories near to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to the habit of the old 'Arabs in the open country (or away from houses). So. I and Um Mistah bint Ruhm went out walking. Um Mistah stumbled because of her long dress and on that she said, 'Let Mistah be ruined.' I said, 'You are saying a bad word. Why are you abusing a man who took part in (the battle of) Badr?' She said, 'O Hanata (you there) didn't you hear what they said?' Then she told me the rumors of the false accusers. My sickness was aggravated, and when I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting he said, 'How is that (girl)?' I requested him to allow me to go to my parents. I wanted then to be sure of the news through them I Allah's Apostle allowed me, and I went to my parents and asked my mother, 'What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry much about this matter. By Allah, never is there a charming woman loved by her husband who has other wives, but the women would forge false news about her.' I said, 'Glorified be Allah! Are the people really taking of this matter?' That night I kept on weeping and could not sleep till morning. In the morning Allah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zaid when he saw the Divine Inspiration delayed, to consul them about divorcing his wife (i.e. `Aisha). Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of the good reputation of his wives and added, 'O Allah's Apostle! Keep you wife, for, by Allah, we know nothing about her but good.' `Ali bin Abu Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah has no imposed restrictions on you, and there are many women other than she, yet you may ask the woman-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that Allah's Apostle called Barirah and said, 'O Barirah. Did you ever see anything which roused your suspicions about her?' Barirah said, 'No, by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, I have never seen in her anything faulty except that she is a girl of immature age, who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough for the goats to eat.' On that day Allah's Apostle ascended the pulpit and requested that somebody support him in punishing `Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. Allah's Apostle said, 'Who will support me to punish that person (`Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul) who has hurt me by slandering the reputation of my family? By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and they have accused a person about whom I know nothing except good, and he never entered my house except in my company.' Sa`d bin Mu`adh got up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! by Allah, I will relieve you from him. If that man is from the tribe of the Aus, then we will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, the Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your order.' On that Sa`d bin 'Ubada, the chief of the Khazraj and before this incident, he had been a pious man, got up, motivated by his zeal for his tribe and said, 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you cannot kill him, and you will never be able to kill him.' On that Usaid bin Al-Hadir got up and said (to Sa`d bin 'Ubada), 'By Allah! you are a liar. By Allah, we will kill him; and you are a hypocrite, defending the hypocrites.' On this the two tribes of Aus and Khazraj got excited and were about to fight each other, while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. He got down and quieted them till they became silent and he kept quiet. On that day I kept on weeping so much so that neither did my tears stop, nor could I sleep. In the morning my parents were with me and I had wept for two nights and a day, till I thought my liver would burst from weeping. While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked my permission to enter, and I allowed her to come in. She sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allah's Apostle came and sat down and he had never sat with me since the day they forged the accusation. No revelation regarding my case came to him for a month. He recited Tashah-hud (i.e. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle) and then said, 'O `Aisha! I have been informed such-and-such about you; if you are innocent, then Allah will soon reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him to forgive you, for when a person confesses his sin and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.' When Allah's Apostle finished his speech my tears ceased completely and there remained not even a single drop of it. I requested my father to reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf. My father said, By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.' I said to my mother, 'Talk to Allah's Apostle on my behalf.' She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle. I was a young girl and did not have much knowledge of the Qur'an. I said. 'I know, by Allah, that you have listened to what people are saying and that has been planted in your minds and you have taken it as a truth. Now, if I told you that I am innocent and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would not believe me and if I confessed to you falsely that I am guilty, and Allah knows that I am innocent you would believe me. By Allah, I don't compare my situation with you except to the situation of Joseph's father (i.e. Jacob) who said, 'So (for me) patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah (Alone) whose help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side of my bed hoping that Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah I never thought that Allah would reveal Divine Inspiration in my case, as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of in the Holy Qur'an. I had hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah's Apostle had not got up and nobody had left the house before the Divine Inspiration came to Allah's Apostle. So, there overtook him the same state which used to overtake him, (when he used to have, on being inspired divinely). He was sweating so much so that the drops of the sweat were dropping like pearls though it was a (cold) wintry day. When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, he was smiling and the first word he said, `Aisha! Thank Allah, for Allah has declared your innocence.' My mother told me to go to Allah's Apostle . I replied, 'By Allah I will not go to him and will not thank but Allah.' So Allah revealed: "Verily! They who spread the slander are a gang among you . . ." (24.11) When Allah gave the declaration of my Innocence, Abu Bakr, who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha for he was his relative, said, 'By Allah, I will never provide Mistah with anything because of what he said about Aisha.' But Allah later revealed: -- "And let not those who are good and wealthy among you swear not to help their kinsmen, those in need and those who left their homes in Allah's Cause. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Verily! Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (24.22) After that Abu Bakr said, 'Yes ! By Allah! I like that Allah should forgive me,' and resumed helping Mistah whom he used to help before. Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e. the Prophet's wife about me saying, 'What do you know and what did you see?' She replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! I refrain to claim hearing or seeing what I have not heard or seen. By Allah, I know nothing except goodness about Aisha." Aisha further added "Zainab was competing with me (in her beauty and the Prophet's love), yet Allah protected her (from being malicious), for she had piety."

I saw Allah's Apostle on the day (of the battle) of the Trench carrying earth till the hair of his chest were covered with dust and he was a hairy man. He was reciting the following verses of `Abdullah (bin Rawaha): "O Allah, were it not for You, We would not have been guided, Nor would we have given in charity, nor prayed. So, bestow on us calmness, and when we meet the enemy. Then make our feet firm, for indeed, Yet if they want to put us in affliction, (i.e. want to fight against us) we would not (flee but withstand them)." The Prophet used to raise his voice while reciting these verses. (See Hadith No. 432, Vol. 5).

I stayed overnight in the house of my aunt Maimuna. Allah's Apostle talked with his wife for a while and then went to bed. When it was the last third of the night, he got up and looked towards the sky and said: "Verily! In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth and in the alteration of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding." (3.190) Then he stood up, performed ablution, brushed his teeth with a Siwak, and then prayed eleven rak`at. Then Bilal pronounced the Adhan (i.e. call for the Fajr prayer). The Prophet then offered two rak`at (Sunna) prayer and went out (to the Mosque) and offered the (compulsory congregational) Fajr prayer.

Allah's Apostle said, "Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubic region, clipping the nails and cutting the moustaches short."

(the wife of the Prophet) A lady from Bani Aslam, called Subai'a, become a widow while she was pregnant. Abu As-Sanabil bin Ba'kak demanded her hand in marriage, but she refused to marry him and said, "By Allah, I cannot marry him unless I have completed one of the two prescribed periods." About ten days later (after having delivered her child), she went to the Prophet and he said (to her), "You can marry now."

A black person, a male or a female used to clean the Mosque and then died. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) did not know about it . One day the Prophet remembered him and said, "What happened to that person?" The people replied, "O Allah's Apostle! He died." He said, "Why did you not inform me?" They said, "His story was so and so (i.e. regarded him as insignificant)." He said, "Show me his grave." He then went to his grave and offered the funeral prayer.

In the lifetime of Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) the people were afflicted with a (famine) year. While the Prophet was delivering the Khutba (sermon) on the pulpit on a Friday, a Bedouin stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The livestock are dying and the families (offspring) are hungry: please pray to Allah to bless us with rain." Allah's Apostle raised both his hands towards the sky and at that time there was not a trace of cloud in they sky. Then the clouds started gathering like mountains. Before he got down from the pulpit I saw rainwater trickling down his beard. It rained that day, the next day, the third day, the fourth day and till the next Friday, when the same Bedouin or some other person stood up (during the Friday Khutba) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The houses have collapsed and the livestock are drowned. Please invoke Allah for us." So Allah's Apostle raised both his hands and said, "O Allah! Around us and not on us." Whichever side the Prophet directed his hand, the clouds dispersed from there till a hole (in the clouds) was formed over Medina. The valley of Qanat remained flowing (with water) for one month and none, came from outside who didn't talk about the abundant rain.

Ibn `Umar used to send his Hadi from Jam' (to Mina) in the last third of the night with the pilgrims amongst whom there were free men and slaves, till it was taken into the Manhar (slaughtering place) of the Prophet .

`Abdullah (bin Masud) said. "Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah's creation." His saying reached a lady from Bani Asd called Um Yaqub who came (to `Abdullah) and said, "I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?" He replied, "Why should I not curse these whom Allah's Apostle has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah's Book!" Um Yaqub said, "I have read the whole Qur'an, but I did not find in it what you say." He said, "Verily, if you have read it (i.e. the Qur'an), you have found it. Didn't you read: 'And whatsoever the Apostle gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you, you abstain (from it). (59.7) She replied, "Yes, I did," He said, "Verily, Allah's Apostle forbade such things." "She said, "But I see your wife doing these things?" He said, "Go and watch her." She went and watched her but could not see anything in support of her statement. On that he said, "If my wife was as you thought, I would not keep her in my company."

That he asked `Aisha "How was the prayer of Allah's Apostle in the month of Ramadan?" She replied, "He used not to pray more than eleven rak`at whether in Ramadan or in any other month. He used to offer four rak`at, let alone their beauty and length, and then four rak`at, let alone their beauty and length. Afterwards he would offer three rak`at. I said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Do you go to bed before offering the witr prayer?' He said, 'My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep."'

I heard Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) saying, "We (Muslims) are the last (to come) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection though the former nations were given the Holy Scriptures before us. And this was their day (Friday) the celebration of which was made compulsory for them but they differed about it. So Allah gave us the guidance for it (Friday) and all the other people are behind us in this respect: the Jews' (holy day is) tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) and the Christians' (is) the day after tomorrow (i.e. Sunday)."

The Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. If you have always been good (benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her liking), she will say, 'I have never received any good from you."

Malik related to us from Abdullah ibn Yazid the mawla of al-Aswad ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Thawban from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the heat is fierce delay the prayer until it gets cooler, for scorching heat is a part of the blast of Jahannam."

He added, "The Fire complained to its Lord, so He allowed it two breaths in each year, a breath in winter and a breath in summer."

The Prophet (saws) prohibited to urinate in a hole.

Qatadah (a narrator) was asked about the reason for the disapproval of urinating in a hole. He replied: It is said that these (holes) are the habitats of the jinn.

"Once Allah's Apostle came to me," and then he narrated the whole narration, i.e. your guest has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you. I then asked about the fasting of David. The Prophet replied, "Half of the year," (i.e. he used to fast on every alternate day).