The Prophet said, "The keys of the unseen are five and none knows them but Allah: (1) None knows (the sex) what is in the womb, but Allah: (2) None knows what will happen tomorrow, but Allah; (3) None knows when it will rain, but Allah; (4) None knows where he will die, but Allah (knows that); (5) and none knows when the Hour will be established, but Allah."

The Prophet (saws) asked AbuBakr: When do you observe the witr?

He replied: I observe the witr prayer in the early hours of the night.

The Prophet (saws) asked Umar: When do you observe the witr?

He replied: At the end of the night.

He then said to AbuBakr: This has followed it with care; and he said to Umar: He has followed it with strength.

'Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (saws) told him that there were four types of marriage during Pre-Islamic period of Ignorance. One type was similar to that of the present day i.e. a man used to ask somebody else for the hand of a girl under his guardianship or for his daughter's hand, and give her Mahr and then marry her. The second type was that a man would say to his wife after she had become clean from her period. "Send for so-and-so and have sexual intercourse with him." Her husband would then keep away from her and would never sleep with her till she got pregnant from the other man with whom she was sleeping. When her pregnancy became evident, he husband would sleep with her if he wished. Her husband did so (i.e. let his wife sleep with some other man) so that he might have a child of noble breed. Such marriage was called as Al-Istibda'. Another type of marriage was that a group of less than ten men would assemble and enter upon a woman, and all of them would have sexual relation with her. If she became pregnant and delivered a child and some days had passed after delivery, she would sent for all of them and none of them would refuse to come, and when they all gathered before her, she would say to them, "You (all) know waht you have done, and now I have given birth to a child. So, it is your child so-and-so!" naming whoever she liked, and her child would follow him and he could not refuse to take him. The fourth type of marriage was that many people would enter upon a lady and she would never refuse anyone who came to her. Those were the prostitutes who used to fix flags at their doors as sign, and he who would wished, could have sexual intercourse with them. If anyone of them got pregnant and delivered a child, then all those men would be gathered for her and they would call the Qa'if (persons skilled in recognizing the likeness of a child to his father) to them and would let the child follow the man (whom they recognized as his father) and she would let him adhere to him and be called his son. The man would not refuse all that. But when Muhammad (saws) was sent with the Truth, he abolished all the types of marriages observed in pre-Islamic period of Ignorance except the type of marriage the people recognize today.

Those Suras which you people call the Mufassal, are the Muhkam. And Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah's Apostle died when I was a boy of ten years, and I had learnt the Muhkam (of the Qur'an).

When `Abdullah bin Salam heard the arrival of the Prophet at Medina, he came to him and said, "I am going to ask you about three things which nobody knows except a prophet: What is the first portent of the Hour? What will be the first meal taken by the people of Paradise? Why does a child resemble its father, and why does it resemble its maternal uncle" Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel has just now told me of their answers." `Abdullah said, "He (i.e. Gabriel), from amongst all the angels, is the enemy of the Jews." Allah's Apostle said, "The first portent of the Hour will be a fire that will bring together the people from the east to the west; the first meal of the people of Paradise will be Extra-lobe (caudate lobe) of fish-liver. As for the resemblance of the child to its parents: If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble the father, and if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her." On that `Abdullah bin Salam said, "I testify that you are the Apostle of Allah." `Abdullah bin Salam further said, "O Allah's Apostle! The Jews are liars, and if they should come to know about my conversion to Islam before you ask them (about me), they would tell a lie about me." The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and `Abdullah went inside the house. Allah's Apostle asked (the Jews), "What kind of man is `Abdullah bin Salam amongst you?" They replied, "He is the most learned person amongst us, and the best amongst us, and the son of the best amongst us." Allah's Apostle said, "What do you think if he embraces Islam (will you do as he does)?" The Jews said, "May Allah save him from it." Then `Abdullah bin Salam came out in front of them saying, "I testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah." Thereupon they said, "He is the evilest among us, and the son of the evilest amongst us," and continued talking badly of him.

From his father, from his grandfather that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) delivering a Khutbah in which he said: "Whoever gives a writ of emancipation to his slave, for one hundred Uqiyyah, and he pays it to him less then ten Uqiyah." - or he said: "Ten Dirham" - "then he becomes incapable (of paying the remainder), the he remains a slave."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib. And this acted upon according to most of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and others: The Mukatab is a slave as long as something remains due from him for his Kitabah.

Al-Hajjaj bin Artat reported similarly from 'Amr bin Shu'aib.

I did not offer behind anyone after the Messenger of Allah (saws) a prayer like the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah (saws) than this youth, i.e. Umar ibn AbdulAziz. We estimated reciting glorification ten times in his bowing, and in his prostration ten times.

Abu Dawud said: Ahmad b. Salih said: I asked him ('Abd Allah) whether the name Manus is correct of Mabus. He replied: 'Abd al-Razzaq used to say Mabus, but I remember Manus (i.e. the narrator Wahb b. Manus). These are the words of Ibn Rafi'. It has also been narrated by Ahmad from Sa'id b. Jubair on the authority of Anas b. Malik.

When `Umar was stabbed, he showed signs of agony. Ibn `Abbas, as if intending to encourage `Umar, said to him, "O Chief of the believers! Never mind what has happened to you, for you have been in the company of Allah's Apostle and you kept good relations with him and you parted with him while he was pleased with you. Then you were in the company of Abu Bakr and kept good relations with him and you parted with him (i.e. he died) while he was pleased with you. Then you were in the company of the Muslims, and you kept good relations with them, and if you leave them, you will leave them while they are pleased with you." `Umar said, (to Ibn "Abbas), "As for what you have said about the company of Allah's Apostle and his being pleased with me, it is a favor, Allah did to me; and as for what you have said about the company of Abu Bakr and his being pleased with me, it is a favor Allah did to me; and concerning my impatience which you see, is because of you and your companions. By Allah! If (at all) I had gold equal to the earth, I would have ransomed myself with it from the Punishment of Allah before I meet Him."

I was sitting in the company of the poor members of the emigrants. Some of them were sitting together because of lack of clothing while a reader was reciting to us. All of a sudden the Messenger of Allah (saws) came along and stood beside us. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood, the reader stopped and greeted him.

He asked: What were you doing? We said: Messenger of Allah! We had a reader who was reciting to us and we were listening to the Book of Allah, the Exalted.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Praise be to Allah Who has put among my people those with whom I have been ordered to stay. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then sat among us so as to be like one of us, and when he had made a sign with his hand they sat in a circle with their faces turned towards him.

The narrator said: I think that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did not recognize any of them except me.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: Rejoice, you group of poor emigrants, in the announcement that you will have perfect light on the Day of Resurrection. You will enter Paradise half a day before the rich, and that is five hundred years.

Abu Dawud said: The solitary point in this tradition (not supported by other traditions) is the report about the signet-ring.

The reading of the following verse by the Prophet (saws) goes: "Nay, but there came to thee (ja'atki) my signs, and thou didst reject them (fakadhdhabti biha) ; thou wast haughty (wastakbarti) and became one of those who reject Faith (wa kunti).

Abu Dawud said: This is a mursal tradition, i.e. the link of the Companion has been omitted, for the narrator al-Rabi' did not meet Umm Salamah.

I saw the trace of a wound in Salama's leg. I said to him, "O Abu Muslim! What is this wound?" He said, "This was inflicted on me on the day of Khaibar and the people said, 'Salama has been wounded.' Then I went to the Prophet and he puffed his saliva in it (i.e. the wound) thrice., and since then I have not had any pain in it till this hour."

Allah's Apostle said, "The keys of Unseen are five which none knows but Allah: None knows what will happen tomorrow but Allah; none knows what is in the wombs (a male child or a female) but Allah; none knows when it will rain but Allah; none knows at what place one will die; none knows when the Hour will be established but Allah." (See The Qur'an 31:34.")

Allah's Apostle said, "If any one of you improve (follows strictly) his Islamic religion then his good deeds will be rewarded ten times to seven hundred times for each good deed and a bad deed will be recorded as it is."

Ziyad related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Search for Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan."

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that when the last ten nights began Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) kept awake at night (for prayer and devotion), wakened his family, and prepared himself to observe prayer (with more vigour).

Do not confuse us about his Sunnah. Ibn al-Muthanna said: The Sunnah of our Prophet (saws) is that the waiting period of a slave-mother whose husband has died is four months and ten days.

Abu Talha said to Um Sulaim, "I heard the voice of Allah's Apostle rather weak, and I knew that it was because of hunger. Have you anything (to present to the Prophet)?" She said, "Yes." Then she took out a few loaves of barley bread and took a veil of hers and wrapped the bread with a part of it and sent me to Allah's Apostle. I went and found Allah's Apostle sitting in the mosque with some people. I stood up before him. Allah's Apostle said to me, "Has Abu Talha sent you?" I said, ' Yes. Then Allah's Apostle said to those who were with him. "Get up and proceed." I went ahead of them (as their forerunner) and came to Abu Talha and informed him about it. Abu Talha said, "O Um Sulaim! Allah's Apostle has come and we have no food to feed them." Um Sulaim said, "Allah and His Apostle know best." So Abu Talha went out (to receive them) till he met Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle came in company with Abu Talha and they entered the house. Allah's Apostle said, "O Um Sulaim! Bring whatever you have." So she brought that (barley) bread and Allah's Apostle ordered that bread to be broken into small pieces, and then Um Sulaim poured over it some butter from a leather butter container, and then Allah's Apostle said what Allah wanted him to say, (i.e. blessing the food). Allah's Apostle then said, "Admit ten men." Abu Talha admitted them and they ate to their fill and went out. He again said, "Admit ten men." He admitted them, and in this way all the people ate to their fill, and they were seventy or eighty men."

During the lifetime of Allah's Apostle, the sun eclipsed. Allah's Apostle offered the prayer of (the) eclipse) and so did the people along with him. He performed a long Qiyam (standing posture) during which Surat-al-Baqara could have been recited; then he performed a pro-longed bowing, then raised his head and stood for a long time which was slightly less than that of the first Qiyam (and recited Qur'an). Then he performed a prolonged bowing again but the period was shorter than the period of the first bowing, then he stood up and then prostrated. Again he stood up, but this time the period of standing was less than the first standing. Then he performed a prolonged bowing but of a lesser duration than the first, then he stood up again for a long time but for a lesser duration than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing but of lesser duration than the first, and then he again stood up, and then prostrated and then finished his prayer. By then the sun eclipse had cleared. The Prophet then said, "The sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allah, and they do not eclipse because of the death or birth of someone, so when you observe the eclipse, remember Allah (offer the eclipse prayer)." They (the people) said, "O Allah's Apostle! We saw you stretching your hand to take something at this place of yours, then we saw you stepping backward." He said, "I saw Paradise (or Paradise was shown to me), and I stretched my hand to pluck a bunch (of grapes), and had I plucked it, you would have eaten of it as long as this world exists. Then I saw the (Hell) Fire, and I have never before, seen such a horrible sight as that, and I saw that the majority of its dwellers were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for that?" He replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was said. "Do they disbelieve in Allah (are they ungrateful to Allah)?" He replied, "They are not thankful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors done to them. Even if you do good to one of them all your life, when she seems some harshness from you, she will say, "I have never seen any good from you.' "

We, the Companions of Muhammad used to say that the number of the warriors of Badr was the same as the number of Saul's companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him, and none crossed the river with him but a believer, and the were over three-hundred-and-ten men.

I served the Prophet for ten years, and he never said to me, "Uf" (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed me by saying, "Why did you do so or why didn't you do so?"

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.

I can invoke the curse of Allah on anyone who wishes: The smaller surat an-Nisa (i.e. Surat at-Talaq) was revealed after the verse regarding the waiting period of four months and ten days had been revealed.

The Prophet (saws) used to observe i'tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he did not observe i'tikaf. When the next year came, he observed i'tikaf for twenty nights (i.e. days).

In the lifetime of Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) the sun eclipsed, so he led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a long Qiyam, then bowed for a long while. He stood up again and performed a long Qiyam but this time the period of standing was shorter than the first. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one, then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second rak`a as he did in the first and then finished the prayer; by then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutba (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah he said, "The sun and the moon are two signs against the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse on the death or life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir, pray and give Sadaqa." The Prophet then said, "O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more ghaira (selfrespect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His slaves, male or female commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much.

The Prophet said, "I know the person who will be the last to come out of the (Hell) Fire, and the last to enter Paradise. He will be a man who will come out of the (Hell) Fire crawling, and Allah will say to him, 'Go and enter Paradise.' He will go to it, but he will imagine that it had been filled, and then he will return and say, 'O Lord, I have found it full.' Allah will say, 'Go and enter Paradise, and you will have what equals the world and ten times as much (or, you will have as much as ten times the like of the world).' On that, the man will say, 'Do you mock at me (or laugh at me) though You are the King?" I saw Allah's Apostle (while saying that) smiling that his premolar teeth became visible. It is said that will be the lowest in degree amongst the people of Paradise.

I heard Anas bin Malik describing the Prophet saying, "He was of medium height amongst the people, neither tall nor short; he had a rosy color, neither absolutely white nor deep brown; his hair was neither completely curly nor quite lank. Divine Inspiration was revealed to him when he was forty years old. He stayed ten years in Mecca receiving the Divine Inspiration, and stayed in Medina for ten more years. When he expired, he had scarcely twenty white hairs in his head and beard." Rabi`a said, "I saw some of his hairs and it was red. When I asked about that, I was told that it turned red because of scent. "

I offered the `Asr prayer with the Prophet and after finishing the prayer with Taslim he got up quickly and went to some of his wives and then came out. He noticed the signs of astonishment on the faces of the people caused by his speed. He then said, "I remembered while I was in my prayer that a piece of gold was Lying in my house and I disliked that it should remain with us throughout the night, and so I have ordered it to be distributed."

That he heard As-Sa'b bin Jath-thama Al-Laithi, who was one of the companions of the Prophet, saying that he gave the meat of an onager to Allah's Apostle while he was at a place called Al-Abwa' or Waddan, and was in a state of Ihram. The Prophet did not accept it. When the Prophet saw the signs of sorrow on As-Sa'b's face because of not accepting his present, he said (to him), "We are not returning your present, but we are in the state of Ihram." (See Hadith No. 747)

There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He came out bewildered pulling his garment, and I was in his company at Medina. He prayed two rak'ahs and stood for a long time in them. He then departed and the sun became bright. He then said: There are the signs by means of which Allah, the Exalted, produces dread (in His servants). When you see anything of this nature, then pray as you are praying a fresh obligatory prayer.

Allah's Apostle started receiving the Divine Inspiration at the age of forty. Then he stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, receiving the Divine Revelation. Then he was ordered to migrate and he lived as an Emigrant for ten years and then died at the age of sixty-three (years).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to do kaffara for a broken oath by feeding ten poor people. Each person got a mudd of wheat. He sometimes freed a slave if he had repeated the oath.

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) used to observe i'tikif in the last ten days of Ramadan till Allah called him back (to his heavenly home). Then his wives observed i'tikaf after him.

The Prophet said, "When nightfalls, then keep your children close to you, for the devil spread out then. An hour later you can let them free; and close the gates of your house (at night), and mention Allah's Name thereupon, and cover your utensils, and mention Allah's Name thereupon, (and if you don't have something to cover your utensil) you may put across it something (e.g. a piece of wood etc.).

Allah's Apostle used to practice I`tikaf (in the mosque) in the middle third of Ramadan and after passing the twenty nights he used to go back to his house on the 21st, and the people who were in I`tikaf with him also used to go back to their houses. Once in Ramadan, in which he practiced I`tikaf, he established the night prayers at the night in which he used to return home, and then he addressed the people and ordered them whatever Allah wished him to order and said, "I used to practice I`tikaf for these ten days (i.e. the middle third but now I intend to stay in I`tikaf for the last ten days (of the month); so whoever was in I`tikaf with me should stay at his place of seclusion. I have verily been shown (the date of) this Night (of Qadr) but I have forgotten it. So search for it in the odd nights of the last ten days (of this month). I also saw myself (in the dream) prostrating in mud and water." On the night of the 21st, the sky was covered with clouds and it rained, and the rainwater started leaking through the roof of the mosque at the praying place of the Prophet . I saw with my own eyes the Prophet at the completion of the morning prayer leaving with his face covered with mud and water.