The Prophet (saws) said: A man follows the religion of his friend; so each one should consider whom he makes his friend.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir from Jabir ibn Abdullah that a Bedouin took an oath of allegiance in Islam with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. A fever befell the Bedouin at Madina. He came to the Messenger of Allah, and said, "Messenger of Allah, release me from my pledge." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, refused. Then he came to him again and said, "Release me from my pledge." The Messenger of Allah may Allah bless him and grant him peace, refused. Then he came again and said, "Release me from my pledge." He refused. Then he came again and said, "Release me from my pledge." He refused. The Bedouin left and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Madina is like the blacksmith's furnace. It removes the impurities and purifies the good."

Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) of `Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."

The Prophet said, "If I were to take a Khalil, I would have taken Abu Bakr, but he is my brother and my companion (in Islam).

I came to the Prophet (saws) with the intention of embracing Islam. He commanded me to take a bath with water (boiled with) the leaves of the lote-tree.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: Islam increases and does not diminish. He, therefore, appointed a Muslim heir (of a non-Muslim).

Ibn 'Abbas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment on the basis of oath by the defendant.

The Prophet (saws) said: If anyone is killed blindly or, when people are throwing stones, by a stone or a whip, his blood-wit is the blood-wit for an accidental murder. But if anyone is killed intentionally, retaliation is due. If anyone tries to prevent it, the curse of Allah, of angels, and of all the people will rest on him.

The Prophet said, "The people of Yemen have come to you, and they are more soft hearted and gentle hearted people. The capacity for understanding religion is Yemenite and Wisdom is Yemenite."

Allah's Apostle has never refused to admit me since I embraced Islam, and whenever he saw me, he would smile.

The Prophet (saws) said: The day of Arafah, the day of sacrifice, the days of tashriq are (the days of) our festival, O people of Islam. These are the days of eating and drinking.

I took my brother to the Prophet after the Conquest (of Mecca) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have come to you with my brother so that you may take a pledge of allegiance from him for migration." The Prophet said, The people of migration (i.e. those who migrated to Medina before the Conquest) enjoyed the privileges of migration (i.e. there is no need for migration anymore)." I said to the Prophet, "For what will you take his pledge of allegiance?" The Prophet said, "I will take his pledge of allegiance for Islam, Belief, and for Jihad (i.e. fighting in Allah's Cause).

My father said, "(Before Islam) I was looking for my camel .." The same narration is told by a different sub-narrator. Jubair bin Mut`im said, "My camel was lost and I went out in search of it on the day of `Arafat, and I saw the Prophet standing in `Arafat. I said to myself: By Allah he is from the Hums (literally: strictly religious, Quraish were called so, as they used to say, 'We are the people of Allah we shall not go out of the sanctuary). What has brought him here?"

When Abu Huraira accompanied by his slave set out intending to embrace Islam they lost each other on the way. The slave then came while Abu Huraira was sitting with the Prophet. The Prophet said, "O Abu Huraira! Your slave has come back." Abu Huraira said, "Indeed, I would like you to witness that I have manumitted him." That happened at the time when Abu Huraira recited (the following poetic verse):-- 'What a long tedious tiresome night! Nevertheless, it has delivered us From the land of Kufr (disbelief).

(the clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba) Muawiya wrote to Al-Mughira: "Write to me a narration you have heard from Allah's Apostle." So Al-Mughira wrote to him, "I heard him saying the following after each prayer: 'La ilaha illal-lahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahuI-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli Shai-in qadir.' He also used to forbid idle talk, asking too many questions (in religion), wasting money, preventing what should be given, and asking others for something (except in great need), being undutiful to mothers, and burying one's little daughters (alive).

We came to the Prophet and stayed with him for twenty days and nights. We were all young and of about the same age. The Prophet was very kind and merciful. When he realized our longing for our families, he asked about our homes and the people there and we told him. Then he asked us to go back to our families and stay with them and teach them (the religion) and to order them to do good things. He also mentioned some other things which I have (remembered or [??] ) forgotten. The Prophet then added, "Pray as you have seen me praying and when it is the time for the prayer one of you should pronounce the Adhan and the oldest of you should lead the prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) sent Abdullah ibn Ghalib al-Laythi along with a detachment and I was also with them. He ordered them to attach Banu al-Mulawwih from all sides at al-Kadid. So we went out and when we reached al-Kadid we met al-Harith ibn al-Barsa al-Laythi, and seized him. He said: I came with the intention of embracing Islam, and I came out to go to the Messenger of Allah (saws). We said: If you are a Muslim, there is no harm if we keep you in chains for a day and night; and if you are not, we shall tie you with chains. So we tied him with chains.

Abu Dawud said “I recited to Muhammad bin Wazir Al Misri and said to him Bishr bin Bakr narrated it to you and Al Auza’i narrated it to us. And he said “At’a narrated it to us on the authority of Aus brother of ‘Ubadah bin Al Samit. The Prophet (saws) gave him fifteen sa’s of wheat to feed sixty poor people.

Abu Dawud said At’a did not meet Aws (bin Al Samit) who was one of the people of Badr and died in the early days of Islam. This version is therefore, mursal (i.e., a successor narrated it directly from the Prophet (saws), the link of the Companions is missing). This has been narrated by Al Auza’i from At’a from Aus.

Amr ibn Uqaysh had given usurious loans in pre-Islamic period; so he disliked to embrace Islam until he took them. He came on the day of Uhud and asked: Where are my cousins? They (the people) replied: At Uhud. He asked: Where is so-and-so? They said: At Uhud. He asked: Where is so-and-so? They said: At Uhud. He then put on his coat of mail and rode his horse; he then proceeded towards them. When the Muslims saw him, they said: Keep away, Amir. He said: I have become a believer. He fought until he was wounded. He was then taken to his family wounded. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh came to his sister: Ask him (whether he fought) out of partisanship, out of anger for them, or out of anger for Allah. He said: Out of anger of Allah and His Apostle. He then died and entered Paradise. He did not offer any prayer for Allah.

Dhul-Majaz and `Ukaz were the markets of the people during the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance. When the people embraced Islam, they disliked to do bargaining there till the following Holy Verses were revealed:-- There is no harm for you If you seek of the bounty Of your Lord (during Hajj by trading, etc.) (2.198)

`Ukaz, Majanna and Dhul-Majaz were marketplaces in the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance. When Islam came, Muslims felt that marketing there might be a sin. So, the Divine Inspiration came: "There is no harm for you to seek the bounty of your Lord (in the seasons of Hajj)." (2.198) Ibn `Abbas recited the Verse in this way.

`Ukaz, Majanna and Dhul-Majaz were markets in the Pre-Islamic period. When the people embraced Islam they considered it a sin to trade there. So, the following Holy Verse came:-- 'There is no harm for you if you seek of the bounty of your Lord (Allah) in the Hajj season." (2.198) Ibn `Abbas recited it like this.

The Prophet said, "I do not think that so-and-so and so-and-so know anything of our religion." (And Al-Laith said, "These two persons were among the hypocrites.")

Allah's Apostle sent a Sariya of ten men as spies under the leadership of `Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari, the grandfather of `Asim bin `Umar Al-Khattab. They proceeded till they reached Hadaa, a place between 'Usfan, and Mecca, and their news reached a branch of the tribe of Hudhail called Bani Lihyan. About two-hundred men, who were all archers, hurried to follow their tracks till they found the place where they had eaten dates they had brought with them from Medina. They said, "These are the dates of Yathrib (i.e. Medina), "and continued following their tracks When `Asim and his companions saw their pursuers, they went up a high place and the infidels circled them. The infidels said to them, "Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee you that we will not kill any one of you" `Asim bin Thabit; the leader of the Sariya said, "By Allah! I will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet. Then the infidels threw arrows at them till they martyred `Asim along with six other men, and three men came down accepting their promise and convention, and they were Khubaib-al-Ansari and Ibn Dathina and another man So, when the infidels captured them, they undid the strings of their bows and tied them. Then the third (of the captives) said, "This is the first betrayal. By Allah! I will not go with you. No doubt these, namely the martyred, have set a good example to us." So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him. They took Khubaid and Ibn Dathina with them and sold them (as slaves) in Mecca (and all that took place) after the battle of Badr. Khubaib was bought by the sons of Al-Harith bin 'Amir bin Naufal bin `Abd Manaf. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith bin 'Amir on the day (of the battle of) Badr. So, Khubaib remained a prisoner with those people. Narrated Az-Zuhri: 'Ubaidullah bin 'Iyyad said that the daughter of Al-Harith had told him, "When those people gathered (to kill Khubaib) he borrowed a razor from me to shave his pubes and I gave it to him. Then he took a son of mine while I was unaware when he came upon him. I saw him placing my son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on my face and said, 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do so.' By Allah, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib. By Allah, one day I saw him eating of a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was chained in irons, and there was no fruit at that time in Mecca." The daughter of Al-Harith used to say, "It was a boon Allah bestowed upon Khubaib." When they took him out of the Sanctuary (of Mecca) to kill him outside its boundaries, Khubaib requested them to let him offer two rak`at (prayer). They allowed him and he offered Two rak`at and then said, "Hadn't I been afraid that you would think that I was afraid (of being killed), I would have prolonged the prayer. O Allah, kill them all with no exception." (He then recited the poetic verse):-- "I being martyred as a Muslim, Do not mind how I am killed in Allah's Cause, For my killing is for Allah's Sake, And if Allah wishes, He will bless the amputated parts of a torn body" Then the son of Al Harith killed him. So, it was Khubaib who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity, to offer a two-rak`at prayer (before being killed). Allah fulfilled the invocation of `Asim bin Thabit on that very day on which he was martyred. The Prophet informed his companions of their news and what had happened to them. Later on when some infidels from Quraish were informed that `Asim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e. his head) by which he would be recognized. (That was because) `Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the battle) of Badr. So, a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, were sent to hover over `Asim and protect him from their messenger and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.

Allah's Apostle said, "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one."

Ibn 'Abbas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment on the basis of an oath and a witness (by the plaintiff).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sad ibn Zurara that he had heard that Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, killed one of her slave-girls who had used sorcery against her. She was a mudabbara. Hafsa gave the order, and she was killed.

Malik said, "The sorcerer is the one who uses sorcery for himself and no one else uses that for him. It is like the one about whom Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'They know the one who devotes himself to it will have no share in the Next World.' (Sura 2 ayat 102) I think that that person is killed if he does that himself."

A man was injured during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saws); he then had a sexual dream, and he was advised to wash and he washed himself. Consequently he died. When this was reported to the Messenger of Allah (saws) he said: They killed him; may Allah kill them! Is not inquiry the cure of ignorance?

Allah's Apostle said on the day of Badr, "Who will go and see what has happened to Abu Jahl?" Ibn Mas`ud went and saw him struck by the two sons of 'Afra and was on the point of death . Ibn Mas`ud said, "Are you Abu Jahl?" Abu Jahl replied, "Can there be a man more superior to the one whom you have killed (or as Sulaiman said, or his own folk have killed.)?" Abu Jahl added, "Would that I had been killed by other than a mere farmer. "

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.

I heard Anas bin Malik, "Have you ever heard that the Prophet said, 'There is no alliance in Islam?' " He replied, "The Prophet made alliance between Quraish and the Ansar in my house."

When the Prophet (saws) wanted to say farewell to an army, he would say: I entrust to Allah your religion, what you are responsible for, and your final deeds.