Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow is twice your height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha in the first third of the night, and subh in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely come.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Bakr ibn Nafi from his father Nafi, the mawla of Ibn Umar that Safiyya bint Abi Ubayd informed him that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that when the lower garment of women was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, he said, "She lets it down a handspan." Umm Salama said, "If it leaves her uncovered?" He said, "Then the length of a forearm and let her not increase it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf differed on the question of a wornan who gave birth a few nights after the death of her husband. Abu Salama said, "When she gives birth to the child she is carrying, she is free to marry." Ibn Abbas said, "At the end of two periods." Abu Hurayra came and said, "I am with my nephew", meaning Abu Salama. They sent Kurayb, a mawla of Abdullah ibn Abbas to Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask her about it. He came back and told them that she had said that Subaya al-Aslamiya had given birth a few nights after the death of her husband, and she had brought the matter to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he had said, "You are free to marry, so marry whomever you wish."

Malik said, "This is how the people of knowledge here continue to act."

29.31 Widows Remaining in Their Houses until Free to Marry

Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha and Umm Salama, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to get up in the morning junub from intercourse, not a dream, and would then fast."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Abdullah that Abu Salamaibn Abdar-Rahman ibn Awf related that he had asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what made ghusl obligatory. She said, "Do you know what you are like, Abu Salama? You are like a chick when it hears the cocks crowing and so crows with them. When the circumcised part passes the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zihad ibn Abi Ziyad the mawla of Abdullah ibn Ayyash ibn Abi Rabia from Talha ibn Ubaydullah ibn Kariyz that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The most excellent dua is the dua on the Day of Arafa, and the best of what I and the prophets before me have said, is 'There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner.'"

Zainab bint Umm Salama (the wife of the Holy Prophet) reported that Umm Salama and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) took a bath from the same vessel.

Ziyad related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah, that Abdullah ibn Unays al-Juhani said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah, I am a man whose house is a long way away. Tell me one night so that I can stop my journey for it." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Stop on the twenty-third night of Ramadan."

Amr b. Muslim al-Jundani reported that Ibn Musayyib had told him that it was Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), who had informed him of that as narrated above.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid, the mawla of al Aswad ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar Rahman that Abu Hurayra recited al-Inshiqaq (Sura 84) to them and prostrated in it. When he had finished he told them that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had prostrated in it.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili that lkrama, the mawla of Ibn Abbas, said, (and Thawr believed it to be from Abdullah ibn Abbas), "Someone who has intercourse with his wife before he has done the tawaf al-ifada should do an umra and sacrifice an animal."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah Qusayt al- Laythi that he saw Said ibn al-Musayyab having a nose-bleed while praying. He went off to the room of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and water was brought to him and he did wudu. He then returned and completed his prayer.

Malik related to me from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha that Rafi ibn Ishaq, the mawla of ash-Shifa informed him that he and Abdullah ibn Abi Talha had gone to visit Abu Said al-Khudri while he was ill. Abu Said said to them, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, informed us, 'The angels do not enter a house which contains pictures or images.' " Ishaq was not sure which of them Abu Said said.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Zayd ibn Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab from Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakras-Siddiq from Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A person who drinks from a silver vessel brings the fire of Jahannam into his belly."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdu Rabbih ibn Said ibn Qays that Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman said that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra were asked when a pregnant woman whose husband had died could remarry. Ibn Abbas said, "At the end of two periods." Abu Hurayra said, "When she gives birth, she is free to marry." Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman visited Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked her about it Umm Salama said, ''Subaya al-Aslamiya gave birth half a month after the death of her husband, and two men asked to marry her. One was young and the other was old. She preferred the young man and so the older man said, 'You are not free to marry yet.' Her family were away and he hoped that when her family came, they would give her to him. She went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, 'You are free to marry, so marry whomever you wish.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah, from Umayr, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Abbas, from Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith, that she was present when some people were arguing on the day of Arafa about whether the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was fasting or not. Some of them said he was fasting, and some of them said he was not. So she sent a bowl of milk to him while his camel was standing still and he drank.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'nNadr, the mawla of Umar ibn 'Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was sleeping in front of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and my feet were in his qibla. When he prostrated, he nudged me and I pulled up my feet,and when he stood up I spread them out." She added, "There were no lamps in the house at that time."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah that A'isha bint Talha told him that she was once with A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and her husband, who was fasting, came and visited her there. (He was Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakras-Siddiq.) A'isha said to him, "What's stopping you from coming close to your wife and kissing her and joking with her?" He said, "Can I kiss her when I am fasting?" She said, "Yes."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from Zaynab bint Abi Salama that Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Umm Salama, the wife of Abu Talha al-Ansari, came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah! Allah is not ashamed of the truth-does a woman have to do ghusl if she has had an erotic dream?' He said, 'Yes, if she sees any liquid.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud that Abdullah ibn Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a dead sheep which had been given to a mawla of his wife, Maimuna. He said, ' Aren't you going to use its skin?' They said, 'Messenger of Allah, but it is carrion. 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Only eating it is haram.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Abdullah ibn Kab, the mawla of Uthman ibn Affan that Mahmud ibn Labid al-Ansari asked Zayd ibn Thabit about a man who penetrated his wife but became listless and did not ejaculate. Zayd ibn Thabit said, "He does ghusl." Mahmud said to him, "Ubayy ibn Kab used not to think that ghusl was necessary," but Zayd ibn Thabit said, "Ubayy ibn Kab drew away from that before he died."

When Talha, AzZubair and `Aisha moved to Basra, `Ali sent `Ammar bin Yasir and Hasan bin `Ali who came to us at Kufa and ascended the pulpit. Al-Hasan bin `Ali was at the top of the pulpit and `Ammar was below Al-Hasan. We all gathered before him. I heard `Ammar saying, "`Aisha has moved to Al-Busra. By Allah! She is the wife of your Prophet in this world and in the Hereafter. But Allah has put you to test whether you obey Him (Allah) or her (`Aisha).

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."

Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to a small girl in the house of Umm Salama that he had been seeing on her face black stains and told her that that was due to the influence of an evil eye, and he asked that she should be cured with the help of invocation (hoping) that her face should become spotless.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Harmala, the mawla of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Huwaytib, that Zaynab bint Abi Salama died during the time that Tariq was amir of Madina and her bier was brought out after subh and put in al-Baqi. He said that Tariq used to pray subh right at the beginning of its time. He added, "I heard Abdullah ibn Umar say to the family, 'You can either pray over your dead now or you can wait until the sun comes up.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Umara from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim that the mother of the son of Ibrahim ibn Abd ar- Rahman ibn Awf questioned Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "I am a woman who wears a long skirt and (sometimes) I walk in dirty places." Umm Salama replied, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'What follows (i.e. clean places) purifies it.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazim that Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman said, "A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out to Makka and she had two girl mawlas of hers and a slave belonging to the sons of Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr as-Siddiq . She sent a figured cloak with the two mawlas which was sewn up in a piece of green cloth."

Amra continued, "The slave took it and unstitched it and took out the cloak. In its place, he put some felt or skin and sewed it up again. When the mawla girls came to Madina, they gave it to his people. When they opened it, they found felt in it and did not find the cloak. They spoke to the two women and they spoke to A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or they wrote to her and suspected the slave. The slave was asked about it and confessed. A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the order and his hand was cut off. A'isha said, 'A thief's hand is cut off for a quarter of a dinar and upwards.' "

Malik said, "The limit I prefer above which cutting off the hand is obliged is three dirhams, whether the exchange is high or low. That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cut off the hand of a thief for a shield whose value was three dirhams, and Uthman ibn Affan cut off the hand of a thief for a citron which was estimated at three dirhams. This is what I prefer of what I have heard on the matter."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid, the mawla of al-Aswad ibn Sufyan from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Fatima bint Qays that Abu Amr ibn Hafs divorced her absolutely while he was away in Syria. His agent sent her some barley and she was displeased with it, saying, "By Allah, I don't expect anything from you." She went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and mentioned it to him. He said, "You have no maintenance." He then ordered her to spend her idda in the house of Umm Sharik. Then he said, "This is a woman whom my companions visit. Spend the idda in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum. He is a blind man and you can undress at his home. When you are free to remarry, tell me."

She continued, "When I was free to remarry, I mentioned to him that Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Abu Jahm ibn Hisham had asked for me in marriage. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'As for Abu Jahm, he never puts down his stick from his shoulder (i.e. he is always travelling), and as for Muawiya he is a poor man with no property. Marry Usama ibn Zayd.' I objected to him and he said, 'Marry Usama ibn Zayd,' so I married him, and Allah put good in it and I was content with him."

Humaid b. Nafi' narrated two traditions from Umm Salama dealing with collyrium and the other hadith from the wives of Allah's Prophet (may peace be upon him) except with this that no mention was made of Zainab.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah from Ibn Aflah, the mawla of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari from an umm walad of Abu Ayyubal-Ansari that he practised coitus interruptus.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al- Hadi from Abu Murra, the mawla of Umm Hani, the sister of Aqil ibn Abi Talib, that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As told him that he had visited his father Amr ibn al-As and found him eating. His father had invited him to eat, and when he replied that he was fasting, his father said, "These are the days on which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade us to fast, and told us to break the fast on them."

Malik said, "These days are the days of tashriq."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that Nufay, a mukatab of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, divorced his free wife twice, so he asked Uthman ibn Affan for an opinion, and he said, "She is haram for you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to fast for so long that we thought he would never stop fasting, and he would go without fasting for so long that we thought he would never fast again. I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fast for a complete month except for Ramadan, and I never saw him do more fasting in any one month than he did in Shaban.'

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that a beggar asked A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for something while she was fasting and there was only a loaf of bread in her house. She said to her female mawla, "Give it to him." The mawla protested, "You will not have anything to break your fast with." A'isha repeated, "Give it to him," so she did so. When evening came, the people of a house or a man who did not usually give to them, gave them a sheep and some food to go with it. A'isha, umm al-muminin, called her mawla and said, "Eat from this. This is better than your loaf of bread."

26 Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd alMalik, from Ubada ibn Nusayy from Qays ibn al Harith that Abu Abdullah as-Sunabihi said, "I arrived in Madina in the khalifate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and I prayed maghrib behind him. He recited the umm al Qur'an and two suras from the shorter ones of the mufassal in the first two rakas. Then he stood up in the third and I drew so near to him that my clothes were almost touching his clothes. I heard him reciting the umm al-Qur'an and this ayat, 'Our Lord, do not make our hearts go astray after You have guided us, and give us mercy from Your presence. Surely You are the Giver. ' " (Sura 3 ayat 8)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Humayd ibn Nafi that Zaynab bint Abi Salama related these three traditions to him. Zaynab said, "I visited Umm Habiba, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when her father Abu Sufyan ibn Harb had died. Umm Habiba called for a yellowy perfume perhaps khaluq or something else. She rubbed the perfume first on a slave-girl and she then wiped it on the sides of her face and said, 'By Allah! I have no need of perfume but I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'It is not halal for a woman who trusts in Allah and the Last Day to abstain from adornment in mourning for someone who has died, for more than three nights, except for four months and ten days for a husband.' "

Yahya related to me that Ziyad ibn Abd ar-Rahman said, "Malik related to us from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman, that Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman was once doing itikaf and he would go out to relieve himself in a closed room under a roofed passage in Khalid ibn Walid's house. Otherwise he did not leave his place of itikaf until he went to pray at the Id with the muslims."

Malik said from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that an effeminate man was with Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said to Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was listening. "Abdullah! If Allah grants you victory over Ta'if tomorrow, I will lead you to the daughter of Ghailan. She has four folds on her front and eight folds on her back." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "This sort of man should not enter freely with you." (It was customary to allow men with no sexual inclination to enter freely where there were women).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdu Rabbih ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi that Nufay, a mukatab of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked Zayd ibn Thabit for an opinion. He said, "I have divorced my free wife twice." Zayd ibn Thabit said, "She is haram for you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah, from Sulayman ibn Yasar from alMiqdad ibn al- Aswad that Ali ibn Abi Talib told him to ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what a man should do, who, when close to his wife, had a flow of prostatic fluid. Ali explained that the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was living with him then and he was too shy to ask for himself. Al-Miqdad said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about it, and he said, 'When you find that, wash your genitals with water and do wudu as for prayer.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn Qunfudh that his mother asked Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "What clothes can a woman wear in prayer?" She said, "She can pray in a shift that reaches down and covers the top of her feet."

Allah's Apostle sent `Abdullah bin 'Atik and `Abdullah bin `Utba with a group of men to Abu Rafi` (to kill him). They proceeded till they approached his castle, whereupon `Abdullah bin Atik said to them, "Wait (here), and in the meantime I will go and see." `Abdullah said later on, "I played a trick in order to enter the castle. By chance, they lost a donkey of theirs and came out carrying a flaming light to search for it. I was afraid that they would recognize me, so I covered my head and legs and pretended to answer the call to nature. The gatekeeper called, 'Whoever wants to come in, should come in before I close the gate.' So I went in and hid myself in a stall of a donkey near the gate of the castle. They took their supper with Abu Rafi` and had a chat till late at night. Then they went back to their homes. When the voices vanished and I no longer detected any movement, I came out. I had seen where the gate-keeper had kept the key of the castle in a hole in the wall. I took it and unlocked the gate of the castle, saying to myself, 'If these people should notice me, I will run away easily.' Then I locked all the doors of their houses from outside while they were inside, and ascended to Abu Rafi` by a staircase. I saw the house in complete darkness with its light off, and I could not know where the man was. So I called, 'O Abu Rafi`!' He replied, 'Who is it?' I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He cried loudly but my blow was futile. Then I came to him, pretending to help him, saying with a different tone of my voice, ' What is wrong with you, O Abu Rafi`?' He said, 'Are you not surprised? Woe on your mother! A man has come to me and hit me with a sword!' So again I aimed at him and hit him, but the blow proved futile again, and on that Abu Rafi` cried loudly and his wife got up. I came again and changed my voice as if I were a helper, and found Abu Rafi` lying straight on his back, so I drove the sword into his belly and bent on it till I heard the sound of a bone break. Then I came out, filled with astonishment and went to the staircase to descend, but I fell down from it and got my leg dislocated. I bandaged it and went to my companions limping. I said (to them), 'Go and tell Allah's Apostle of this good news, but I will not leave (this place) till I hear the news of his (i.e. Abu Rafi`'s) death.' When dawn broke, an announcer of death got over the wall and announced, 'I convey to you the news of Abu Rafi`'s death.' I got up and proceeded without feeling any pain till I caught up with my companions before they reached the Prophet to whom I conveyed the good news."

Who was the son of Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet: Once I ate a meal with Allah's Apostle and I was eating from all sides of the dish. So Allah's Apostle said to me, "Eat of the dish what is nearer to you."