The Prophet saw a dead sheep which had been given in charity to a freed slave-girl of Maimuna, the wife of the Prophet . The Prophet said, "Why don't you get the benefit of its hide?" They said, "It is dead." He replied, "Only to eat (its meat) is illegal."

The Prophet (saws) said: Stand close together in your rows, bring them near one another, and stand neck to neck, for by Him in Whose hand my soul is, I see the devil coming in through openings in the row just like a small black sheep.

We were with Allah's Apostle collecting Al-Kabath at Mar-Az-Zahran. The Prophet said, "Collect the black ones, for they are better." Somebody said, (O Allah's Apostle!) Have you ever shepherded sheep?" He said, "There has been no prophet but has shepherded them. "

Allah's Apostle said, "What a good Maniha (the she-camel which has recently given birth and which gives profuse milk) is, and (what a good Maniha) (the sheep which gives profuse milk, a bowl in the morning and another in the evening) is!"

Narrated Malik:

Maniha is a good deed of charity.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that one of the muhajirun in whom he saw no harm asked Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, "Can I pray in a place where camels are watered?" Abdullah replied, "No, but you can pray in a sheep-pen."

We used to go to Anas bin Malik and see his baker standing (preparing the bread). Anas said, "Eat. I have not known that the Prophet ever saw a thin well-baked loaf of bread till he died, and he never saw a roasted sheep with his eyes."

Whoever buys a sheep which has not been milked for a long time, has the option of returning it along with one Sa of dates; and the Prophet forbade going to meet the seller on the way (as he has no knowledge of the market price and he may sell his goods at a low price).

I was the leader of the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq or (the narrator doubted) I was among the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq that came to the Messenger of Allah (saws). When we reached the Prophet, we did not find him in his house. We found there Aisha, the Mother of the Believers. She ordered that a dish called Khazirah should be prepared for us. It was then prepared. A tray containing dates was then presented to us. (The narrator Qutaybah did not mention the word qina', tray).

Then the Messenger of Allah (saws) came. He asked: Has anything been served to you or ordered for you? We replied: Yes, Messenger of Allah. While we were sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (saws) we suddenly saw that a shepherd was driving a herd of sheep to their fold. He had with him a newly-born lamb that was crying.

He (the Prophet) asked him: What did it bear, O so and so? He replied: A ewe. He then said: Slaughter for us in its place a sheep. Do not think that we are slaughtering it for you. We have one hundred sheep and we do not want their number to increase. Whenever a ewe is born, we slaughter a sheep in its place.

(The narrator says that the Prophet (saws) used the word la tahsabanna, do not think).

I (the narrator Laqit) then said: Messenger of Allah, I have a wife who has something (wrong) in her tongue, i.e. she is insolent. He said: Then divorce her. I said: Messenger of Allah, she had company with me and I have children from her. He said: Then ask her (to obey you). If there is something good in her, she will do so (obey); and do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl.

I said: Messenger of Allah, tell me about ablution. He said: Perform ablution in full and make the fingers go through the beard and snuff with water well except when you are fasting.

On his father's authority, said that his grandfather reported that the value of the blood-money at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was eight hundred dinars or eight thousand dirhams, and the blood-money for the people of the Book was half of that for Muslims.

He said: This applied till Umar (Allah be pleased with him) became caliph and he made a speech in which he said: Take note! Camels have become dear. So Umar fixed the value for those who possessed gold at one thousand dinars, for those who possessed silver at twelve thousand (dirhams), for those who possessed cattle at two hundred cows, for those who possessed sheep at two thousand sheep, and for those who possessed suits of clothing at two hundred suits. He left the blood-money for dhimmis (protected people) as it was, not raising it in proportion to the increase he made in the blood-wit.

We used to visit Anas bin Malik while his baker was standing (and baking). Anas would say, "Eat! I do not know that the Prophet had ever seen well-baked bread till he met Allah, nor had he ever seen a roasted sheep with his own eyes."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent with him a dinar to buy a sacrificial animal for him. He bought a sheep for a dinar, sold it for two and then returned and bought a sacrificial animal for a dinar for him and brought the (extra) dinar to the Prophet (saws). The Prophet (saws) gave it as alms (sadaqah) and invoked blessing on him in his trading.

Mujahid said that Abdullah ibn Amr slaughtered a sheep and said: Have you presented a gift from it to my neighbour, the Jew, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Gabriel kept on commending the neighbour to me so that I thought he would make an heir?

¹: These verses were abrogated in recitation but not ruling. Other ahadith establish the number for fosterage to be 5.

The Prophet saw the traces of Sufra (yellow perfume) on `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf and said, "What is this?" `Abdur-Rahman, said, "I have married a woman and have paid gold equal to the weight of a datestone (as her Mahr). The Prophet said to him, "May Allah bless you: Offer a wedding banquet even with one sheep."

I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We have slaughtered a young sheep of ours and have ground one Sa of barley. So, I invite you along with some persons." So, the Prophet said in a loud voice, "O the people of the Trench! Jabir had prepared "Sur" so come along."

Malik related to me from Hilal ibn Usama from Ata ibn Yasar that Umar ibn al-Hakam said, "I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, a slave girl of mine was tending my sheep. I came to her and one of the sheep was lost. I asked her about it and she said that a wolf had eaten it, so I became angry and I am one of the children of Adam, so I struck her on the face. As it happens, I have to set a slave free, shall I free her?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, 'Where is Allah?' She said, 'In heaven.' He said, 'Who am I?' She said, 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Free her.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered the mosque and found Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab there. He questioned them and they said, "Hunger has driven us out." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "And hunger has brought me out." They went to Abu'l-Haytham ibn at- Tayyihan al-Ansari. He ordered that some barley that was in the house be prepared and he got up to slaughter a sheep for them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Leave the one with milk." He slaughtered a sheep for them and brought them sweet water and it was hung on a palm-tree. Then they were brought the food and ate it and drank the water. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited, "Then, on that day, you will be asked concerning pleasure." (Sura 102 ayat 8).

The Prophet seeing a yellow mark (of perfume) on the clothes of `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, said, "What about you?" `Abdur-Rahman replied, "I have married a woman with a Mahr of gold equal to a date-stone." The Prophet said, "May Allah bestow His Blessing on you (in your marriage). Give a wedding banquet, (Walima) even with one sheep."

Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The head of kufr is towards the east. Boasting and price is among people who have horses and camels. The loud-voiced people are the people of tents (the Bedouins). Tranquillity is with the people who have sheep."

Abu Bakr bought a (camel's) saddle from `Azib, and I carried it for him. `Azib (i.e. my father) asked Abu Bakr regarding the journey of the migration of Allah's Apostle. Abu Bakr said, "Close observers were appointed by our enemies to watch us. So we went out at night and travelled throughout the night and the following day till it was noon, then we perceived a rock and went towards it, and there was some shade under it. I spread a cloak I had with me for Allah's Apostle and then the Prophet layed on it. I went out to guard him and all of a sudden I saw a shepherd coming with his sheep looking for the same, the shade of the rock as we did, I asked him, 'O boy, to whom do you belong?' He replied, 'I belong to so-and-so.' I asked him, 'Is there some milk in your sheep?' He replied in the affirmative. I asked him, 'Will you milk?' He replied in the affirmative. Then he got hold of one of his sheep. I said to him, 'Remove the dust from its udder.' Then he milked a little milk. I had a water-skin with me which was tied with a piece of cloth. I had prepared the water-skin for Allah's Apostle . So I poured some water over the milk (container) till its bottom became cold. Then I brought the milk to the Prophet and said, 'Drink, O Allah's Apostle.' Allah's Apostle drank till I became pleased. Then we departed and the pursuers were following us."

I said: My father has sent me to you to collect zakat from you. He asked: What kind of animals will you take, my nephew? I replied: We shall select the sheep and examine their udders. He said: My nephew, I shall narrate a tradition to you. I lived on one of these steppes during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws) along with my sheep. Two people riding a camel came to me.

They said to me: We are messengers of the Messenger of Allah (saws), sent to you so that you may pay the sadaqah (zakat) on your sheep.

I asked: What is due from me for them?

They said: One goat. I went to a goat which I knew was full of milk and fat, and I brought it to them.

They said: This is a pregnant goat. The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited us to accept a pregnant goat.

I asked: What will you take then? They said: A goat in its second year or a goat in its third year. I then went to a goat which had not given birth to any kid, but it was going to do so. I brought it to them.

They said: Give it to us. They took it on the camel and went away.

Abu Dawud said: Abu 'Asim transmitted this tradition from Zakariyya. He said: Muslim bin Shu'bah is a narrator in the chain of this tradition as reported by the narrator Rawh.

I saw Allah's Apostle drinking milk. He came to my house and I milked a sheep and then mixed the milk with water from the well for Allah's Apostle. He took the bowl and drank while on his left there was sitting Abu Bakr, and on his right there was a bedouin. He then gave the remaining milk to the bedouin and said, "The right! The right (first).

A bedouin came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." His opponent got up and said, "He is right. Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." The bedouin said, "My son was a laborer working for this man, and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people told me that my son should be stoned to death; so, in lieu of that, I paid a ransom of one hundred sheep and a slave girl to save my son. Then I asked the learned scholars who said, "Your son has to be lashed one-hundred lashes and has to be exiled for one year." The Prophet said, "No doubt I will judge between you according to Allah's Laws. The slave-girl and the sheep are to go back to you, and your son will get a hundred lashes and one year exile." He then addressed somebody, "O Unais! go to the wife of this (man) and stone her to death" So, Unais went and stoned her to death.

Once Allah's Apostle; offered the morning prayer and then faced the people and said, "While a man was driving a cow, he suddenly rode over it and beat it. The cow said, "We have not been created for this, but we have been created for sloughing." On that the people said astonishingly, "Glorified be Allah! A cow speaks!" The Prophet said, "I believe this, and Abu Bakr and `Umar too, believe it, although neither of them was present there. While a person was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked and took one of the sheep. The man chased the wolf till he saved it from the wolf, where upon the wolf said, 'You have saved it from me; but who will guard it on the day of the wild beasts when there will be no shepherd to guard them except me (because of riots and afflictions)? ' " The people said surprisingly, "Glorified be Allah! A wolf speaks!" The Prophet said, "But I believe this, and Abu Bakr and `Umar too, believe this, although neither of them was present there." (See the Foot-note of page No. 10 Vol.5)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab gave a mawla of his called Hunayy charge over the hima. He said, "Hunayy! Do not harm the people. Fear the supplication of the wronged, for the supplication of the wronged is answered. Let the one with a small herd of camels and the one with a small herd of sheep enter, but be wary of the livestock of Ibn Awf and the livestock of Ibn Affan. If their livestock are destroyed, they will return to palm-trees and agriculture. If the livestock of the one with a small herd of camels and the one with a small herd of sheep are destroyed, he will bring his children to me crying, 'Amir al-muminin! Amir al-Muminin!' Shall I neglect them? Water and pasturage are of less value to me than gold and silver. By Allah, they think that I have wronged them. This is their land and their water. They fought for it in the jahiliyya and became muslims on it in Islam. By He in whose hand my self is! Were it not for the mounts which I give to be ridden in the way of Allah, I would not have turned a span of their land into hima."

From his father, from his grandfather Rafi' bin Khadij, who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allah (saws) on a journey, when the hasty people went rushing ahead to the sheep to cook them, while the Messenger of Allah (saws) was in the rear of the people. Then he passed the kettled and ordered that they be weighed, then he distributed it between them and equated a camel to ten sheep."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] Sufyan Ath-Thawri reported it from his father, from 'Abayah, from his grandfather Rafi' bin Khadij, and he did not mention "from his father" in it.

This was narrated to us by Mahmud bin Ghailan (who said:) "Waki' narrated it to us from Sufyan." And this is more correct. 'Abayah bin Rifa'ah heard from his grandfather Rafi' bin Khadij.

He said: There are narrations on this topic from Tha'labah bin Al-Hakam, Anas, Abu Rihanah, Abu Ad-Darda, 'Abdur-Rahman bin Samurah, Zaid bin Khalid, Jabir, Abu Hurairah, and Abu Ayyub.

Ka`b bin 'Ujra said that Allah's Apostle said to him (Ka`b), "Perhaps your lice have troubled you?" Ka`b replied, "Yes! O Allah's Apostle." Allah's Apostle said, "Have your head shaved and then either fast three days or feed six poor persons or slaughter one sheep as a sacrifice."

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The people will leave Medina in spite of the best state it will have, and none except the wild birds and the beasts of prey will live in it, and the last persons who will die will be two shepherds from the tribe of Muzaina, who will be driving their sheep towards Medina, but will find nobody in it, and when they reach the valley of Thaniyat-al-Wada`, they will fall down on their faces dead."

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever keeps a dog, one Qirat of the reward of his good deeds is deducted daily, unless the dog is used for guarding a farm or cattle." Abu Huraira (in another narration) said from the Prophet, "unless it is used for guarding sheep or farms, or for hunting." Narrated Abu Hazim from Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A dog for guarding cattle or for hunting."

Malik related to me from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sasaca from his father that Abu Said al-Khudri said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It will soon happen that the best property of a muslim will be sheep which he takes to the peaks of the mountains and the valleys, fleeing with his deen from trials."

I was one of (the first) seven (who had embraced Islam) with Allah's Apostle and we had nothing to eat then, except the leaves of the Habala or Hubula tree, so that our stool used to be similar to that of sheep. Now the tribe of Bani Asad wants to teach me Islam; I would be a loser and all my efforts would be in vain (if I learn Islam anew from them).

The Prophet came to me during the period of Al-Hudaibiya, while I was lighting fire underneath a cooking pot and lice were falling down my head. He said, "Do your lice hurt your?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Shave your head and fast for three days or feed six poor persons or slaughter a sheep as a sacrifice:"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman abu Husayn al-Makki that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The hand is not cut off for fruit hanging on the tree and for sheep kept in the mountains. So when they are taken from the fold or the place where the fruit is dried, a hand is cut off for whatever reaches the price of a shield."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib from this route. Abu Ma'shar's name is Najih, the freed slave of Banu Hisham. Some of the people of knowledge criticized him due to his poor memory.

I asked the Messenger of Allah (saws) about the embryo. He replied: Eat it if you wish.

Musaddad's version says: we said: Messenger of Allah, we slaughter a she-camel, a cow and a sheep, and we find an embryo in its womb. Shall we throw it away or eat it? He replied: Eat it if you wish for the slaughter of its mother serves its slaughter.

Another chain reports a similar hadith.