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."

Ibn `Abbas asked me, "Are you married?" I replied, "No." He said, "Marry, for the best person of this (Muslim) nation (i.e., Muhammad) of all other Muslims, had the largest number of wives."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say that if a man said to his wife, "You are haram for me," it counted as three pronouncements of divorce.

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard on the subject."

Yahya related to me that Malik heard Ibn Shihab say, "When a man gives his wife the right of choice, and she chooses him, that is not divorce."

Malik added, "That is the best of what I have heard."

Malik said that if a woman who had been given the right of choice by her husband chose herself, she was divorced trebly. If her husband said, "But I only gave her the right of choice in one," he had none of that. That was the best of what he had heard.

Malik said, "If the man gives his wife the right of choice and she says, 'I accept one', and he says, 'I did not mean that, I have given the right of choice in all three together,' then if she only accepts one, she remains with him in her marriage, and that is not separation if Allah, the Exalted wills."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Marwan ibn al-Hakam decided that if someone made three pronouncements of divorce, he had divorced his wife irrevocably.

Malik said, "That is what I like best of what I have heard on the subject."

29.2 Divorce by Euphemistic Statements

Malik related to me that Yahya ibn Said said, ''Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr died in his sleep, and A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set free many slaves for him." Malik said, "This is what I like best of what I have heard on the subject."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I saw three moons fall into my room, and I related my vision to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. Then, when the Messenger of Allah died, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and was buried in my house, Abu Bakr said to me, 'This is one of your moons, and he is the best of them.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that a man of Thaqif gave his wife command over herself, and she said, "You are divorced." He was silent. She said, "You are divorced." He said, "May a stone be in your mouth." She said, "You are divorced." He said, "May a stone be in your mouth." They argued and went to Marwan ibn al-Hakam. He took an oath that he had only given her control over one pronouncement, and then she returned to him.

Malik said that Abd ar-Rahman declared that this decision had amazed al-Qasim, who thought it the best that he had heard on the subject.

Malik added, "That is also the best of what I have heard on the subject."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abd ar- Rahman say that a slave could marry four women.

Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about the matter."

Malik said, "The slave differs with the muhallil if the slave is given permission by his master for his ex-wife. If his master does not give him permission, he separates them. The muhallil is separated in any case if he intends to make the woman halal by marriage."

Malik said, "When a slave is owned by his wife or a husband owns his wife, the possession of each of them is rendered void without divorce. If a man, for instance, is married to a slave-girl, and then he buys her, he must divorce her as a matter of course. They can then re- marry. If they re-marry afterwards, that separation was not divorce."

Malik said, "When a slave is freed by his wife who owns him and she is in the idda-period from him, they can only return to each other after she has made another marriage."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from a man of the Ansar that his wife asked him for a divorce, and he said to her, "When you have had your period, then tell me." When she had her period, she told him. He said, "When you are purified then tell me." When she was purified, she told him and he divorced her.

Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about it."

The Prophet (saws) commanded to give sadaqah. A man said: Messenger of Allah, I have a dinar. He said: Spend it on yourself. He again said: I have another. He said: Spend it on your children. He again said: I have another. He said: Spend it on your wife. He again said: I have another. He said: Spend it on your servant. He finally said: I have another. He replied: You know best (what to do with it).

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say that if a man said to his wife, "You are free of me, and I am free of you, " it counted as three pronouncements of divorce as if it were an 'irrevocable' divorce.

Malik said that if a man made any strong statement such as these to his wife, it counted as three pronouncements of divorce for a woman whose marriage had been consummated, or it was written as one of three for a woman whose marriage had not been consummated, whichever the man wished. If he said he intended only one divorce he swore to it and he became one of the suitors because, whereas a woman whose marriage had been consummated was made inaccessible by three pronouncements of divorce, the woman whose marriage had not been consummated was made inaccessible by only one pronouncement.

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard."

"The Prophet said, 'The best alms is that which is given when one is rich, and a giving hand is better than a taking one, and you should start first to support your dependents.' A wife says, 'You should either provide me with food or divorce me.' A slave says, 'Give me food and enjoy my service." A son says, "Give me food; to whom do you leave me?" The people said, "O Abu Huraira! Did you hear that from Allah's Apostle ?" He said, "No, it is from my own self."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Sheep from the zakat were brought past Umar ibn al-Khattab and he saw amongst them a sheep with a large udder, ready to give milk, and he said, 'What is this sheep doing here?' and they replied, 'It is one of the sheep from the zakat.' Umar said, 'The owners did not give this sheep willingly. Do not subject people to trials. Do not take from the muslims those of their animals which are the best food-producers.' "

I heard Jabir bin `Abdullah in a gathering saying, "We, the companions of Allah's Apostle assumed the state of Ihram to perform only Hajj without `Umra." Jabir added, "The Prophet arrived (at Mecca) on the fourth of Dhul-Hijja. And when we arrived (in Mecca) the Prophet ordered us to finish the state of Ihram, saying, "Finish your lhram and go to your wives (for sexual relation)." Jabir added, "The Prophet did not oblige us (to go to our wives) but he only made that legal for us. Then he heard that we were saying, "When there remains only five days between us and the Day of `Arafat he orders us to finish our Ihram by sleeping with our wives in which case we will proceed to `Arafat with our male organs dribbling with semen?' (Jabir pointed out with his hand illustrating what he was saying). Allah's Apostle stood up and said, 'You (People) know that I am the most Allah-fearing, the most truthful and the best doer of good deeds (pious) from among you. If I had not brought the Hadi with me, I would have finished my Ihram as you will do, so finish your Ihram. If I had formerly known what I came to know lately, I would not have brought the Hadi with me.' So we finished our Ihram and listened to the Prophet and obeyed him." (See Hadith No. 713, Vol. 2)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that a certain man kissed his wife while he was fasting in Ramadan. This made him very anxious, and so he sent his wife to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask him about that for him. She went in and saw Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and mentioned the matter to her, and Umm Salama told her that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to kiss while he was fasting. So she went back and told her husband that, but it only made him find fault all the more and he said, "We are not like the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah makes permissible for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, whatever He wishes."

His wife then went back to Umm Salama and found the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with her. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "What's the matter with this woman?", and Umm Salama told him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Didn't you tell her that I do that myself?" and she said, "I told her, and she went to her husband and told him, but it only made him find fault all the more and say, 'We are not like the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah makes permissible for His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, whatever He wishes.' " The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got angry and said, "By Allah, I am the one with the most taqwa of Allah of you all, and of you all the one who best knows His limits."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that a man who pronounced a dhihar from his four wives in one statement, had only to do one kaffara. Yahya related the same as that to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman.

Malik said, "That is what is done among us. Allah, the Exalted said about the kaffara for pronouncing dhihar, 'It is to free a slave before they touch one another. If he does not find the means to do that, then fasting for two consecutive months before they touch one another. If he cannot do that, it is to feed sixty poor people. ' " (Sura 58 ayats 4,5).

Malik said that a man who pronounced dhihar from his wife on various occasions had only to do one kaffara. If he pronounced dhihar, and then did kaffara, and then pronounced dhihar after he had done the kaffara, he had to do kaffara again.

Malik said, "Some one who pronounces dhihar from his wife and then has intercourse with her before he has done kaffara, only has to do one kaffara. He must abstain from her until he does kaffara and ask forgiveness of Allah. That is the best of what I have heard. "

Malik said, "It is the same with dhihar using any prohibited relations of fosterage and ancestry."

Malik said, "Women have no dhihar."

Malik said that he had heard that the commentary on the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, "Those of you who pronounce the dhihar about their wives, and then retract what they have said," (Sura 56 ayat 3), was that a man pronounced dhihar on his wife and then decided to keep her and have intercourse with her. If he decided on that, he must do kaffara. If he divorced her and did not decide to retract his dhihar of her and to keep her and have intercourse with her, there would be no kaffara incumbent on him.

Maliksaid, "If he marries her after that, he does not touch her until he has completed the kaffara of pronouncing dhihar."

Malik said that if a man who pronounced dhihar from his slave-girl wanted to have intercourse with her, he had to do the kaffara of the dhihar before he could sleep with her.

Malik said, "There is no ila in a man's dhihar unless it is evident that he does not intend to retract his dhihar."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab about a man who had a slave-girl as a wife, and then he bought her, and divorced her once. He said, "She is halal for him by the possession of the right hand as long as he does not make his divorce irrevocable. If he irrevocably divorces her, she is not halal for him by the possession of the right hand until she has married another husband."

Malik said that if a man rnarried a female slave and then she had a child by him, and then he bought her, she was not an umm walad for him because of the child born to him while she belonged to another, until she had had a child by him while she was in his possession after he had purchased her.

Malik said, "If he buys her and she is pregnant by him and she then gives birth while she belongs to him, she is his umm walad by that pregnancy, according to what we think, and Allah knows best."

`Abdullah said, "The best talk is Allah's Book (Qur'an), and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad."

The Prophet (saws) said: The best number of companions is four, the best number in expeditions four hundred, and the best number in armies four thousand; and twelve thousand will not be overcome through smallness of numbers.

Abu Dawud said: What is correct is that this tradition is mursal (i.e. the link of the Companion is missing).

The Prophet expired in my house and on the day of my turn, leaning against my chest. One of us (i.e. the Prophet's wives ) used to recite a prayer asking Allah to protect him from all evils when he became sick. So I started asking Allah to protect him from all evils (by reciting a prayer ). He raised his head towards the sky and said, "With the highest companions, with the highest companions." `Abdur- Rahman bin Abu Bakr passed carrying a fresh leaf-stalk of a date-palm and the Prophet looked at it and I thought that the Prophet was in need of it (for cleaning his teeth ). So I took it (from `Abdur Rahman) and chewed its head and shook it and gave it to the Prophet who cleaned his teeth with it, in the best way he had ever cleaned his teeth, and then he gave it to me, and suddenly his hand dropped down or it fell from his hand (i.e. he expired). So Allah made my saliva mix with his saliva on his last day on earth and his first day in the Hereafter.

The Prophet (saws) said: The best shroud is a lower garment and one which covers the whole body, and the best sacrifice is a horned ram.

I heard the Prophet saying, "Mary, the daughter of `Imran, was the best among the women (of the world of her time) and Khadija is the best amongst the women. (of this nation).

(the mother of the faithful believers) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur. "

I heard Allah's Apostle saying (as below)

Narrated `Ali:

The Prophet said, "The best of the world's women is Mary (at her lifetime), and the best of the world's women is Khadija (at her lifetime).

That he heard the Prophet saying, "The best of the Ansar, or the best of the Ansar families (homes) are Banu An-Najjar, Bani `Abdul Ash-hal, Banu Al-Harith and Banu Sai'da."

The Verse:--"You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind." means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam.

Sa'd asked: Messenger of Allah, Umm Sa'd has died; what form of sadaqah is best? He replied: Water (is best). He dug a well and said: It is for Umm Sa'd.

Allah's Apostle said, "You see that the people are of different natures. Those who were the best in the pre-lslamic period, are also the best in Islam if they comprehend religious knowledge. You see that the best amongst the people in this respect (i.e. ambition of ruling) are those who hate it most. And you see that the worst among people is the double faced (person) who appears to these with one face and to the others with another face (i.e a hypocrite).

Ikrimah reported on the authority of one of the wives of the Prophet (saws) saying: When the Prophet (saws) wanted to do something (i.e. kissing, embracing) with (his) menstruating wife, he would put a garment on her private part.

While the Prophet was in the house of one of his wives, one of the mothers of the believers sent a meal in a dish. The wife at whose house the Prophet was, struck the hand of the servant, causing the dish to fall and break. The Prophet gathered the broken pieces of the dish and then started collecting on them the food which had been in the dish and said, "Your mother (my wife) felt jealous." Then he detained the servant till a (sound) dish was brought from the wife at whose house he was. He gave the sound dish to the wife whose dish had been broken and kept the broken one at the house where it had been broken.