the mother of the faithful believers: The Prophet was asked by his wives about the Jihad and he replied, "The best Jihad (for you) is (the performance of) Hajj."

The Prophet (saws) was asked: which is the best action? He replied: To stand in prayer for a long time.

The Prophet (saws) said: The best time for a man to go in to his family on return from a journey is at the beginning of the night.

Allah's Apostle said, "If Allah wants to do good for somebody, he makes him comprehend the Religion (i.e. Islam), and Allah is the Giver and I am Al-Qasim (i.e. the distributor), and this (Muslim) nation will remain victorious over their opponents, till Allah's Order comes and they will still be victorious."

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet, and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt (or insult) his neighbor; and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should entertain his guest generously."

When Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was chosen Caliph, he said, "My people know that my profession was not incapable of providing substance to my family. And as I will be busy serving the Muslim nation, my family will eat from the National Treasury of Muslims, and I will practice the profession of serving the Muslims."

The last statement of Abraham when he was thrown into the fire was:--"Allah is Sufficient for us and He is the Best Disposer (of affairs for us)." (3.173)

I used to perfume Allah's Apostle with the best scent available till I saw the shine of the scent on his head and shine beard.

Allah's Apostle said, "Shall I tell you of the best families among the Ansar?" They (the people) said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "The best are Banu- An-Najjar, and after them are Banu `Abdil Ash-hal, and after them are Banu Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, and after them are Banu Sa`ida." The Prophet then moved his hand by closing his fingers and then opening them like one throwing something, and then said, "Anyhow, there is good in all the families of the Ansar. "

I asked the Prophet, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause." I then asked, "What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?" He replied, "The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master." I said, "If I cannot afford to do that?" He said, "Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself." I said, "If I cannot do that?" He said, "Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good."

On the Day of Resurrection the people will fall on their knees and every nation will follow their prophet and they will say, "O so-and-so! Intercede (for us with Allah), "till (the right) intercession is given to the Prophet (Muhammad) and that will be the day when Allah will raise him into a station of praise and glory (i.e. Al-Maqam -al-Mahmud).

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.

Anas bin Malik said, "Whenever the Prophet went out with us to fight (in Allah's cause) against any nation, he never allowed us to attack till morning and he would wait and see: if he heard Adhan he would postpone the attack and if he did not hear Adhan he would attack them." Anas added, "We reached Khaibar at night and in the morning when he did not hear the Adhan for the prayer, he (the Prophet ) rode and I rode behind Abi Talha and my foot was touching that of the Prophet. The inhabitants of Khaibar came out with their baskets and spades and when they saw the Prophet they shouted 'Muhammad! By Allah, Muhammad and his army.' When Allah's Apostle saw them, he said, "Allahu-Akbar! Allahu-Akbar! Khaibar is ruined. Whenever we approach a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be the morning of those who have been warned."

Allah's Apostle said, "The best alms is that which you give when you are rich, and you should start first to support your dependants."

We used to compare the people as to who was better during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle . We used to regard Abu Bakr as the best, then `Umar, and then `Uthman .

The commencement of (the Divine Inspirations to) Allah's Apostle was in the form of true dreams. The Angel came to him and said, "Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created all exists), has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. (96.1-4)

(A man from the Ansar) The Ansar said, "Every nation has followers and (O Prophet) we have followed you, so invoke Allah to let our followers be considered from us (as Ansar like ourselves)." So the Prophet said, "O Allah! Let their followers be considered as Ansar like themselves."