I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him placing his right hand onhis right thigh and raising his forefinger curving it a little.

AbuMalik heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: Hewho goes forth in Allah's path and dies or is killed is a martyr,or has his neck broken through being thrown by his horse or byhis camel, or is stung by a poisonous creature, or dies on hisbed by any kind of death Allah wishes is a martyr and will go toParadise.

Should I not tell you how the Apostle of Allah (peace be uponhim) led the prayer? He said: He had the iqamah announced, drewthe men up in line and drew up the youths behind them, then ledthem in prayer. He then mentioned how he conducted it. and said:Thus is the prayer of......AbdulA'la said: I think he must havesaid: My people.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah has protected youfrom three things: that your Prophet should not invoke a curse onyou and should all perish, that those who follow what is falseshould not prevail over those who follow the truth, and that youshould not all agree in an error.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness ishalf of faith and Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fills thescale, and SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) and Alhamdulillah(Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and theearth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one'sfaith) and endurance is a brightness and the Qur'an is a proof onyour behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morningand sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free ordestroying themselves.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Among my people thereare four characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period whichthey do not abandon: boasting of high rank, reviling otherpeoples' genealogies, seeking rain by stars, and wailing. And he(further) said: If the wailing woman does not repent before shedies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrectionwearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange.

I said: Father, you had the opportunity to observe prayer behind Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), AbuBakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, in al-Kufah for about five years. Did they observe Qunut? He said, O my son it is a sort of bid'ah (innovation).

Transmitted by Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Do not sit on thegraves and do not pray facing towards them.

When I entered upon Mu'awiyah, he said: How good your visit is tous, O father of so-and-so. (This is an idiom used by the Arabs onsuch occasions). I said: I tell you a tradition which I heard(from the Prophet). I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be uponhim) say: If Allah puts anyone in the position of authority overthe affairs of the Muslims, and he secludes himself (from them),not fulfilling their needs, wants, and poverty, Allah will keepHimself away from him, not fulfilling his need, want and poverty.He said: He (Mu'awiyah) appointed a man to fulfil the needs ofthe people.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the price paid for a dog,the hire paid to a prostitute, and the gift given to asoothsayer.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed me to collect sadaqahand then said: Go, AbuMas'ud, I should not find you on the Day ofJudgment carrying a camel of sadaqah on your back, which rumbles,the one you have taken by unfaithful dealing in sadaqah. He said:If it is so, I will not go. He said: Then I do not force you.

AbdurRahman ibn Bishr al-Ansari al-Azraq said: Two men from thelocality of Kindah came while AbuMas'ud al-Ansari was sitting n acircle. They said: Is there any man who decides between us. A manfrom the circle said: I, AbuMas'ud took a handful of pebbles andthrew at him, saying: Hush! It is disapproved to make haste indecision.

Amir ibn Sa'd said: "Going in and finding Qarazah ibn Ka'b and AbuMas'ud al-Ansari at a wedding where girls were singing" I said, "Is this being done in the presence of you two who are companions of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and were present at Badr?" They replied, "Sit down if you wish and listen along with us, or go away if you wish, for we have been given licence for amusement at a wedding."

Nasa'i transmitted it.

AbuMas'ud al-Ansari who was shown the call (for prayer in adream)--narrated it on the authority of Mas'ud al-Ansari whosaid: We were sitting in the company of Sa'd ibn Ubadah. When theMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came to us Bashir ibn Sa'dsaid: Allah has commanded us to bless you, Messenger of Allah!But how should we bless you? He (the narrator) said: TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) kept quiet (and we were somuch perturbed over his silence) that we wished we had not askedhim. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then said: (Forblessing me) say: "O Allah, bless Muhammad and the members of hishousehold as Thou didst bless the members of Ibrahim's household.Grant favours to Muhammad and the members of his household asthou didst grant favours to the members of the household ofIbrahim in the world. Thou art indeed Praiseworthy and glorious"; and salutation as you know.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to touch ourshoulders in prayer and say: Keep straight, don't be irregular,for there would be dissension in your hearts. Let those of youwho are sedate and prudent be near me, then those who are next tothem, then those who are next to them. AbuMas'ud said: Now-a-daysthere is much dissension amongst you.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: The one who is mostversed in Allah's Book should act as Imam for the people, but ifthey are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has mostknowledge regarding Sunnah; if they are equal regarding theSunnah, then the earliest one to emigrate; if they emigrated atthe same time, then the earliest one to embrace Islam. No manmust lead another in prayer where (the latter) has authority, orsit in his place of honour in his house, without his permission.Ashajj in his narration used the word "age" in place of "Islam"

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: A person from peoplewho lived before you was called to account (by Allah on the Dayof Judgment) and no good was found in his account except thisthat he being a rich man had (financial) dealings with people andhad commanded his servants to show leniency to the straitenedones. Upon this Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, said: We havemore right to this, so overlook (his faults).

I was beating my slave with a whip when I heard a voice behindme: Understand, AbuMas'ud; but I did not recognise the voice dueto intense anger. He (AbuMas'ud) reported: As he came near me (Ifound) that he was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) andhe was saying: Bear in mind, AbuMas'ud, bear in mind, AbuMas'ud.He (AbuMas'ud) said: I threw the whip from my hand. Thereupon he(the Prophet) said: Bear in mind, AbuMas'ud; verily Allah hasmore dominance upon you than you have upon your slave. I (then)said: I would never beat my servant in future.

A man brought a muzzled she-camel and said: It is (offered) inthe way of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)said: For this you will have seven hundred she-camels on the Dayof Judgment all of which will be muzzled.

A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) andsaid: My riding beast has been killed, so give me some animal toride upon. He (the Prophet) said: I have none with me. A mansaid: Messenger of Allah, I can guide him to one who will providehim with a riding beast. The Messenger of Allah (peace be uponhim) said: One who guides to something good has a reward similarto that of its doer.

AbulAhwas reported: We were in the house of AbuMusa along withsome of the companions of Abdullah and they were looking at theBook. Abdullah stood up, whereupon AbuMas'ud said: I do not knowwhether Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) has left after himone having a better knowledge ( of Islam) than the man who isstanding. AbuMusa said: If you say this, that is correct, becausehe had been present when we had been absent and he was permittedwhen we were detained.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man's prayer does notavail him unless he keeps his back steady when bowing andprostrating.

AbuMas'ud asked Abdullah, or AbuAbdullah asked AbuMas'ud: Whatdid you hear the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say aboutza'amu (they alleged, asserted, or it is said). He replied: Iheard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: It is a badriding-beast for a man (to say) za'amu (they asserted).

Ali bought a garment for three dirhams, and when he put it on he said, "Praise be to Allah who has provided me with fine clothes with which to adorn myself among men and cover my nakedness." He then said, "Thus did I hear Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say."

Ahmad transmitted it.

AbuMuhammad heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: Happy news for the person who embraces Islam and has got means of subsistence sufficient for his needs and is contented.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

Yazid ibn Aws said: I entered upon AbuMusa while he was at thepoint of death. His wife began to weep or was going to weep.AbuMusa said to her: Did you not hear what the Apostle of Allah(peace be upon him) said? She said: Yes. The narrator said: Shethen kept silence. When AbuMusa died, Yazid said: I met the womanand asked her: What did AbuMusa mean when he said to you: Did younot hear what the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and theyou kept silence? She replied: The Apostle of Allah (peace beupon him) said: He who shaves (his head), shouts and tears hisclothing does not belong to us.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is no marriagewithout the permission of a guardian.

AbutTayyah reported on the authority of a shaykh (an old man):When Abdullah ibn Abbas came to Basrah, people narrated to himtraditions from AbuMusa. Therefore Ibn Abbas wrote to him askinghim about certain things. In reply AbuMusa wrote to him saying:One day I was in the company of the Apostle of Allah (peace beupon him). He wanted to urinate. Then he came to a soft groundat the foot of a wall and urinated. He (the Prophet) then said:If any of you wants to urinate, he should look for a place (likethis) for his urination.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If a woman uses perfume andpasses the people so that they may get its odour, she isso-and-so, meaning severe remarks.

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah does not accept the prayer of a man who has any khaluq (perfume composedof saffron) on his body.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: This people of mine is oneto which mercy is shown. It will have no punishment in the nextworld, but its punishment in this world will be trials,earthquakes and being killed.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The fingers are equal: tencamels for each finger.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, The similitude of heart is that of a feather in a desert. The wind turns it upside down.

Ahmad transmitted it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: When a child of a servant of Allah dies, Allah inquires His angels: Have you taken into custody the soul of the child of My servant? They answer: Yes. Then He inquires: Have you taken into custody the soul of the flower of his heart? They answer: Yes. Then He inquires: Then what did My servant say? They answer: He praised Thee and affirmed: To Allah we belong and to Him we shall and return. Thereupon Allah says: Build for My servant a mansion in Paradise and name it `The House of Praise.'

Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Every eye is lustful and when a woman applies perfume and then goes about in an assembly, she is like such and such, i.e. an adulteress.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi and AbuDawud and Nasa'i transmitted something similar.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and grant him) as saying, "No affliction great or small afflicts a man but for a sin, but there are more which Allah forgives." Then he recited, "Whatever misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have done; but He forgives much."

Tirmidhi transmitted it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: When a person dies and a mourner bewails him saying: O mountain among men, O chieftain, and similar things, Allah appoints two angels who pommel him with their fists and ask: Were you like this?

Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When the bier of a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim passes you, stand up for it. You are not standing for its sake, but for the angels who are accompanying it.

Ahmad transmitted it.

AbuMusa heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "If anyone dies and the mourner gets up and says, 'Alas for the mountain! Alas for the chief! and similar things, Allah will put two angels in charge of him who will beat him on the breast and ask him whether he was like that."

Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib hasan tradition.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) cursed those who separated a parent from his child and a brother from his brother.

Ibn Majah and Daraqutni transmitted it.

AbuMusa used to say: "It is all the same to me whether I drink wine or worship this pillar instead of Allah."

Nasa'i transmitted it.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who loves his present life does damage to his hereafter and he who loves his hereafter does damage to his present life, so prefer what is lasting to what is evanescent."

Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.

AbuTalib went to ash-Sham (Syria) accompanied by the Prophet (may Allah bless him) along with some shaykhs of Quraysh. When they came near where the monk was they alighted and loosened their baggage, and the monk came out to them although when they had passed that way previously he had not done so. While they were loosening their baggage the monk began to go about among them till he came and, taking Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) by the hand, said, "This is the chief of the universe; this is the messenger of the the Lord of the universe whom Allah is commissioning as a mercy to the universe." Some shaykhs of Quraysh asked him how he knew, and he replied, "When you came over the hill not a tree or a stone failed to bow in prostration, and they prostrate themselves only before a prophet. I recognize him by the seal of prophecy, like an apple, below the end of his shoulder-blade." He then went and prepared food for them, and when he brought it to them the Prophet (peace be upon him) was looking after the camels, so he told them to send for him. He came with a cloud above him shading him and when he approached the people he found they had gone before him into the shade of a tree. Then when he sat down the shade of the tree inclined over him, and the monk said, "Look how the shade of the tree has inclined over him. I adjure you by Allah to tell me which of you is his guardian." On being told that it was AbuTalib he kept adjuring him to send him back until he did so. AbuBakr sent Bilal along with him and the monk gave him provisions of a bread and olive-oil.

Tirmidhi transmitted it.

We, the companions of Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) never asked Aisha about a tradition regarding which we were in doubt without finding that she had some knowledge of it.

Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was standing amongstus and he told us five things. He said: Verily the Exalted andMighty God does not sleep, and it does not befit Him to sleep. Helowers the scale and lifts it. The deeds in the night are takenup to Him before the deeds of the day, and the deeds of the daybefore the deeds of the night. His veil is the light. In thehadith narrated by AbuBakr (instead of the word "Light") it isfire. If he withdraws it (the veil), the splendour of Hiscountenance would consume His creation so far as His sightreaches.

There cropped up a difference of opinion between a group ofMuhajirs (Emigrants) and a group of Ansar (Helpers) (and thepoint of dispute was) that the Ansar said: The bath (because ofsexual intercourse) becomes obligatory only when the semen spurtsout or ejaculates. But the Muhajirs said: When a man has sexualintercourse (with the woman), a bath becomes obligatory (nomatter whether or not there is seminal emission or ejaculation). AbuMusa said: Well, I shall satisfy you on this (issue). He(AbuMusa, the narrator) said: I stood up, (went) to Aisha andsought her permission which was granted. I said to her: O Mother,or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter aboutwhich I feel shy. She said: Don't feel shy of asking me about athing which you can ask your mother who gave birth to you, for Itoo am your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bathobligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across onewho is well informed! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and thecircumcised parts touch each other. a bath becomes obligatory.

Someone came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) toenquire about the times of prayers. He (the Holy Prophet) gavehim no reply (because he wanted to explain to him the times byobserving these prayers in practice). He then said the morningprayer when it was daybreak, but the people could hardlyrecognize one another. He then gave the command and the Iqamahfor the noon prayer was pronounced when the sun had passed themeridian; one would say that it was midday but he (the HolyProphet) knew better than they did. He then again gave thecommand and the Iqamah for the afternoon prayer was pronouncedwhen the sun was high. He then gave the command and the Iqamahfor the evening prayer was pronounced when the sun had set. Hethen gave the command and Iqamah for the night prayer waspronounced when the twilight had disappeared. He delayed themorning prayer on the next day (so much so) that after returningfrom it one would say that the sun had risen or it was about torise. He then delayed the noon prayer until it was near the timeof afternoon prayer (as it was observed on the previous day). Hedelayed the afternoon prayer until one returning from it wouldsay that the sun had become red. He then delayed the eveningprayer until the twilight was about to disappear. He delayed thenight prayer until one-third of the night had passed. He thencalled the inquirer in the morning and said: The time for prayersis between these two (extremes).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had said to AbuMusa:If you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (ofthe Qur'an) last night (you would have felt delighted). You arein fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of David himself.

It has been narrated on the authority of AbuMusa that when theMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) deputed any of hisCompanions on a mission, he would say: Give tidings (to thepeople); do not create (in their minds) aversion (towardsreligion); show them leniency and do not be hard upon them.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: A believer eats inone intestine, whereas a non-believer eats in seven intestines.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: When Allah, theExalted and Glorious, intends to show mercy to an Ummah fromamongst His servants He calls back His Apostle to his eternalhome and makes him a harbinger and recompense in the world tocome; and when He intends to cause destruction to an Ummah, Hepunishes it while its Apostle is alive and He destroys it as he(the Apostle) witnesses it and he cools his eyes by destructionas they had belied him and disobeyed his command.

Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said that Allah, the Exaltedand Glorious, stretches out His Hand during the night so that thepeople repent for the fault committed from dawn till dusk and Hestretches out His Hand during the day so that the people mayrepent for the fault committed from dusk to dawn (He would acceptrepentance) before the sun rises in the west (before the Day ofResurrection). A hadith like this has been narrated on theauthority of Shu'bah with the same chain of transmitters.

Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said: Allah, the Exalted andGlorious, stretches out His Hand during the night so that thepeople repent for the fault committed from dawn till dusk and Hestretches out His Hand during the day so that the people mayrepent for the fault committed from dusk to dawn (He would acceptrepentance) before the sun rises in the west (before the Day ofResurrection).

Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said: When it will be the Dayof Resurrection Allah would deliver to every Muslim a Jew or aChristian and say: That is your rescue from Hell-Fire.

AbuBurdah said: When I visited AbuMusa who was in the house ofthe daughter of Fadl ibn Abbas I sneezed but he did not respondto it (by saying): May Allah have mercy upon you. Then shesneezed and he (Fadl ibn Abbas) said: May Allah have mercy uponyou. I came back to my mother and informed her about it, andwhen he came to her she said: My son sneezed in your presence andyou did not say: "May Allah may have mercy upon you," but shesneezed and you said to her: "May Allah have mercy upon you".Thereupon he said: Your son sneezed but he did not praise Allahso I did not beg the mercy of Allah for him. When she sneezed,she praised Allah and so I said: May Allah have mercy upon you,as I heard Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) saying: When anyof you sneezes he should praise Allah and the other should say:May Allah have mercy upon you, and if he does not praise Allah,no mercy should be begged for him.

AbuMusa used to deliver religious verdict in favour of HajjTamattu'. A person said to him: Exercise restraint in deliveringsome of your religious verdicts, for you do not know what theCommander of Believers has introduced in the rites (of Hajj)after you (when you were away in Yemen). He (AbuMusa) met him(Umar) subsequently and asked him (about it), whereupon Umarsaid: I know that Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) and alsohis Companions did that (observed Tamattu') but I do not approvethat the married persons should have intercourse with their wivesunder the shade of the trees, and then set out for Hajj withwater trickling down from their heads.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Wearing silk and gold has been made unlawful for the males of my Ummah and lawful for their females.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

AbuMusa went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and greeted him by saying:As-salamu Alaykum, here is Abdullah ibn Qays; but he did notpermit him (to go in). He (AbuMusa Ash'ari) again greeted himwith As-salamu Alaykum and said: Here is AbuMusa; but he (Umar)did not permit him (to go in). He again said: As-salamu Alaykum,(and said) here is Ash'ari, (then receiving no response he wentaway).He (Umar) said: Bring him back to me, bring him back tome. So he went there (into the presence of Umar) and he said tohim: AbuMusa, what made you go back, while we were busy in somework? He said; I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) assaying: Permission should be sought thrice. And if you arepermitted (then go in), otherwise go away. He said: Bring awitness to this fact, otherwise I shall do this and that, i.e. Ishall punish you. AbuMusa went away and Umar said to him (on hisdeparture): If he (AbuMusa) finds a witness he should meet him bythe side of the pulpit in the evening and if he does not find awitness you will not find him there. When it was evening he(Umar) found him (AbuMusa) there. He (Umar) said: AbuMusa, haveyou been able to find a witness to what you have said? He said:Yes. Here is Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Thereupon he (Umar) said: Yes, he isan authentic (witness). He (Umar) said: AbuTufayl (the Kunya ofUbayy ibn Ka'b), what does he (AbuMusa) say? Thereupon he said:Ibn al-Khattab, I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)saying so. Do not prove to be a hard (task-master) to thecompanions of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). So he (Umar)said: Hallowed be Allah, I had heard something (in thisconnection) but I wished it to be established (as an undeniablefact).

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned many names of hisand said: I am Muhammad, Ahmad, Muqaffi (the last in succession)Hashir, the Prophet of repentance, and the Prophet of Mercy.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) feared a (group of) people,he would say: "O Allah, we make Thee our shield against them, andtake refuge in Thee from their evils."

Once we accompanied the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) on ajourney. When we reached near Medina, the people began to sayaloud: "Allah is most great," and they raised their voice. TheApostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: O people, you are notsupplicating one who is deaf and absent, but you are supplicatingOne Who is nearer to you than the neck of your riding beast. TheApostle of Allah (peace be upon him) then said: AbuMusa, should Inot point out to you one of the treasures of Paradise? I asked:What is that? He replied: "There is no might and there is nopower except in Allah"

Hittan ibn Abdullah ar-Ruqashi said: AbuMusa al-Ash'ari led us inprayer. When he sat at the end of his prayer, one of the peoplesaid: Prayer has been established by virtue and purity. WhenAbuMusa returned (from his prayer or finished his prayer), hegave his attention to the people, and said: Which of you is thespeaker of such and such words? The people remained silent. Whichof you is the speaker of such and such words? The people remainedsilent. He said: You might have said them, Hittan. He replied: Idid not say them. I was afraid you might punish me. One of thepeople said: I said them and I did not intend by them (anything)except good. AbuMusa said: Do you not know how you utter (them)in your prayer? The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)addressed us, and taught us and explained to us our way of doingand taught us our prayer. He said: When you pray a(congregational) prayer, straighten your rows, then one of youshould lead you in prayer. When he says the takbir (Allah is MostGreat), say the takbir, and when he recites verses "Not of thoseupon whom is Thy anger, nor of those who err" (i.e. the end ofSurah i.), say Amin; Allah will favour you. When he says "Allahis most great," and bows, say "Allah is most great" and bow, forthe imam will bow before you, and will raise (his head) beforeyou. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: This is forthat. When he says "Allah listens to the one who praises Him,"say: "O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be praise, Allah be praised,"Allah will listen to you, for Allah, the Exalted, said by thetongue of His Prophet (peace be upon him): "Allah listens to theone who praises Him." When he says "Allah is most great" andprostrates, say: "Allah is most great" and prostrate, for theimam prostrates before you and raises his head before you. TheApostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: This is for that. Whenhe sits, each one of you should say "The adorations of thetongue, all good things, and acts of worship are due to Allah.Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and Hisblessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah's upright servants. Itestify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify thatMuhammad is His servant and Apostle."

Negus presented to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) twoblack and simple socks. He put them on; then he performedablution and wiped over them.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: After the grave sins whichAllah has prohibited the greatest sin is that a man dies while hehas debt due from him and does not leave anything to pay it off,and meets Him with it.

Ash-Sha'bi said: A Muslim was about to die at Daquqa', but he didnot find any Muslim to call him for witness to his will. So hecalled two men of the people of the Book for witness. Then theycame to Kufah, and approaching AbuMusa al-Ash'ari they informedhim (about his) will. They brought his inheritance and will.Al-Ash'ari said: This is an incident (like) which happened in thetime of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and neveroccurred after him. So he made them to swear by Allah after theafternoon prayer to the effect that they had not misappropriated,nor told a lie, nor changed, nor concealed, nor altered, andthat it was the will of the man and his inheritance. He thenexecuted their witness.

Two men claimed a camel or an animal and brought the case to theHoly Prophet (peace be upon him). But as neither of them producedany proof, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) declared thatthey should share it equally.

AbuBurdah said: My father said to me: My son, if you had seen uswhile we were with the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) andthe rain had fallen on us, you would have thought that our smellwas the smell of the sheep.

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Before the LastHour there will be commotions like pieces of a dark night inwhich a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel inthe evening, or a believer in the evening and infidel in themorning. He who sits during them will be better than he who getsup and he who walks during them is better than he who runs. Sobreak your bows, cut your bowstrings and strike your swords onstones. If people then come in to one of you, let him be like thebetter of Adam's two sons.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Before you there will becommotions like pieces of a dark night in which a man will be abeliever in the morning and an infidel in the evening. He whosits during them will be better than he who gets up, and he whogets up during them is better than he who walks, and he who walksduring them is better than he who runs. They (the people) said:What do you order us to do? He replied: Keep to your houses.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The fingers are equal. Iasked: Ten camels for each? He replied: Yes.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Glorifying Allah involvesshowing honour to a grey-haired Muslim and to one who can expoundthe Qur'an, but not to one who acts extravagantly regarding it,or turns away from it, and showing honour to a just ruler.

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: He who playsbackgammon disobeys Allah and His Apostle.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Two or more people constitute Jama'ah (congregation for prayer).

Transmitted by Ibn Majah.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious looks down on the middle night of Sha'ban and forgives all His creation except a polytheist or one who is mushahin (innovator in religion and out of the main stream of the community.

Transmitted by Ibn Majah.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, When a man's child dies, Allah Most High asks His angels whether they have taken His servant's child and they reply that they have. He then asks whether they have taken the fruit of his heart, and when they reply that they have, He asks what His servant said. On their replying that he praised Allah and said, "We belong to Allah and to Him do we return," Allah says, "Build a house in Paradise for my servant and call it the house of praise."

Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There are three who will not enter paradise: one who is addicted to wine, one who breaks ties of relationship, and one who believes in magic."

Ahmad transmitted it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Gold and silk are permitted to the females among my people but prohibited to the males."

Tirmidhi and Nasa'i transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand Muhammad's soul is, what is reputable and what is disreputable are two creatures which will be set up for mankind on the day of resurrection. What is reputable will give good news to those who followed it and will promise them good, but while what is disreputable will tell them to go away, they will be unable to keep from adhering to it."

Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.

When AbuMusa was (praying and was) in the qa'dah, one of thepeople said: The prayer has been made obligatory together withpiety and Zakat. He (the narrator) said: When AbuMusa hadfinished the prayer after salutation he turned (towards thepeople) and said: Who amongst you said such and such a thing? Ahush fell on the people. He again said: Who amongst you has saidsuch and such a thing? A hush fell on the people. He (AbuMusa)said: Hattan, it is perhaps you that have uttered it. He(Hattan) said: No, I have not uttered it. I was afraid that youmight be annoyed with me on account of this. Someone amongst thepeople said: It was I who said it, and in this I intended nothingbut good. AbuMusa said: Don't you know what you have to recitein your prayers? Verily the Messenger of Allah (peace be uponhim) addressed us and explained to us all its aspects and taughtus how to observe prayer (properly). He (the Holy Prophet) said:When you pray make your row straight and one of you should act asyour Imam. Recite the takbir when he recites it and when herecites: Not of those with whom Thou art angry, nor of those whogo astray, say: Amin. Allah will respond to you. And when he (theImam) recites the takbir, you may also recite the takbir, for theImam bows before you and raises himself before you. Then theMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The one isequivalent to the other. When he says: Allah listens to him whopraises Him, you should say: O Allah, our Lord, to Thee be thepraise, for Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, has vouchsafed (us)through the tongue of His Apostle (peace be upon him) that Allahhears him who praises Him. When he (the Imam) recites the takbirand prostrates, you should also recite the takbir and prostrate,for the Imam prostrates before you and raises himself before you.The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The one isequivalent to the other. When he (the Imam) sits for Qa'dah (fortashahhud) the first words of every one amongst you should be:All services rendered by words, acts of worship and all goodthings are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Apostle, andAllah's mercy and blessings. Peace be upon us and upon theupright servants of Allah. I testify that there is no god butAllah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and HisMessenger.

Abdullah ibn Umar said to me: Did you hear anything from yourfather narrating something from the Messenger of Allah (peace beupon him) about the time on Friday? I said: Yes, I heard him sayfrom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) (these words):"It is between the time when the Imam sits down and the end ofthe prayer.

AbuHarb ibn AbulAswad reported on the authority of his fatherthat AbuMusa al-Ash'ari sent for the reciters of Basrah. Theycame to him and they were three hundred in number. They recitedthe Qur'an and he said: You are the best among the inhabitants ofBasrah, for you are the reciters among them. So continue torecite it. (But take care) that your lengthy recitals may notharden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those beforeyou. We used to recite a surah which resembled in length andseverity the (Surah) al-Bara'ah. I have however forgotten it withthe exception of this which I remember from it: "If there weretwo valleys full of riches for the son of Adam, he would long fora third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son ofAdam but dust." And we used to recite a surah which resembledone of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, butremember (this much) from it: "O people who believe, why do yousay that which you do not practise"? (61:2.) And "That isrecorded on your necks as a witness (against you) and you will beasked about it on the Day of Resurrection" (xvii.13).

AbuIshaq reported that he heard AbulAhwas say: I was along withAbuMusa and AbuMas'ud as Ibn Mas'ud died and one of them said tothe other: Do you find one like him besides him? Thereupon hesaid: Do you say this (no one can be his rival)? He was admitted(to the company of the Prophet) whereas we were detained and hehad been present in the company of Allah's Messenger (peace beupon him) whereas we had been absent.

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) spat on his clothe andscrubbed with a part of it.

Ilyas ibn Dighfal said: I saw AbuNadrah kissing on the cheek ofal-Hasan.

A person from amongst the companions of Allah's Apostle, called Abdullah, was visited by the companions of the Prophet who had come to enquire after his health (and they found him weeping). They said to him: What makes you weep? Did Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) not say to you: Clip your moustache and then keep it like that till you meet me (at) al-Kawthar. He said: Yes but I have also heard Allah's Messenger (peace of Allah be upon him) saying: Verily, the Exalted and Glorious, took a handful in His right hand and the (other handful) in His left hand. This is for this and this is for that and I do not mind. I do not know in which handful I would be (and that makes me weep).

Transmitted by Ahmad.

Along with the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) we besiegedthe palace of at-Ta'if. The narrator, Mutadh, said: I heard myfather (sometimes) say: "Palace of at-Ta'if," and (sometimes)"Fort of at-Ta'if," which are the same. I heard the Apostle ofAllah (peace be upon him) say: he who causes an arrow to hit itsmark in Allah's cause will have it counted as a degree for him(in Paradise). He then transmitted the rest of the tradition. Iheard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: If a Muslimman emancipates a Muslim man, Allah, the Exalted, will make every bone of his protection for every bone of his emancipatorfrom Hell; and if a Muslim woman emancipates a Muslim woman,Allah will make every bone of hers protection for every bone ofher emancipator from Hell on the Day of Resurrection.

AbuNajih heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "He who causes an arrow to hit its mark in Allah's cause will have it counted as a degree for him in Paradise; if anyone shoots an arrow in Allah's cause it is equivalent to his setting someone free; and if anyone develops a grey hair on behalf of Islam it will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection."

Bayhaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-Iman. AbuDawud transmitted the first section, Nasa'i the first and second, and Tirmidhi the second and third. The version of Nasa'i and Tirmidhi has, "If anyone develops a grey hair in Allah's path," instead of "on behalf of Islam."

When he was sitting with the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)and a Jew was also with him, a funeral passed by him. He (theJew) asked (Him): Muhammad, does this funeral speak? The Prophet(peace be upon him) said: Allah has more knowledge. The Jew said:It speaks. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said:Whatever the people of the Book tell you, do not verify them, norfalsify them, but say: We believe in Allah and His Apostle. If itis false, do not confirm it, and if it is right, do not falsifyit.

A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: How doyou fast, Apostle of Allah? The Apostle of Allah (peace be uponhim) became angry at what he said. When Umar observed this (hisanger), he said: We are satisfied with Allah as Lord, with Islamas religion, and with Muhammad as Prophet. We seek refuge inAllah from the anger of Allah, and from the anger of His Apostle.Umar continued to repeat these words till his anger cooled down.He then asked: Apostle of Allah, what is the position of one whoobserves a perpetual fast? He replied: May he not fast or breakhis fast. Musaddad said in his version: He has neither fastednor broken his fast. The narrator, Ghaylan, doubted the actualwordings. He asked: What is the position of one who fasts twodays and does not fast one day? He said: Is anyone able to dothat? He asked: What is the position of one who fasts everysecond day (i.e. fasts one day and does not fasts the next day)? He (the Prophet) said: This is the fast that David observed. Heasked: Apostle of Allah, what is the position of one who fastsone day and breaks it for two days? He replied: I wish I weregiven the power to observe that. Then the Apostle of Allah (peacebe upon him) said: The observance of three days' fast every monthand of one Ramadan to the other (i.e. the fast of Ramadan everyyear) is (equivalent to) a perpetual fast. I seek from Allah thatfasting on the day of Arafah may atone for the sins of thepreceding and the coming year, and I seek from Allah that fastingon the day of Ashura' may atone for the sins of the precedingyear.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked AbuBakr: When do youobserve the witr? He replied: I observe the witr prayer in theearly hours of the night. The Prophet (peace be upon him) askedUmar: When do you observe the witr? He replied: At the end of thenight. He then said to AbuBakr: This has followed it with care;and he said to Umar: He has followed it with strength.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) went out at night and foundAbuBakr praying in a low voice, and he passed Umar ibn al-Khattabwho was raising his voice while praying. When they both met theProphet (peace be upon him) together, the Prophet (peace be uponhim) said: I passed by you, AbuBakr, when you were praying in alow voice. He replied: I made Him hear with Whom I was holdingintimate converse, Apostle of Allah. He (the Prophet) said toUmar: I passed by you when you were praying in a loud voice. Hereplied: Apostle of Allah, I was awakening the drowsy and drivingaway the Devil. Al-Hasan added in his version: The Prophet(peace be upon him) said: Raise your voice a little, AbuBakr, andhe said to Umar: Lower your voice a little.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) disapproved of the offering ofprayer at the meridian except on Friday. The Hell-fire is kindledexcept on Friday.

We were sitting in the mosque when the Apostle of Allah (peace beupon him) came upon us carrying Umamah daughter of Abul'As ibnar-Rabi'. Her mother was Zaynab daughter of the Apostle of Allah(peace be upon him). She (Umamah) was a child and he (theProphet) was carrying her on his shoulder. The Apostle of Allah(peace be upon him) led (the people) in prayer while she was onhis shoulder. When he bowed he put her down and took her up whenhe got up. He kept on doing so until he finished his prayer.

Kabshah, daughter of Ka'b ibn Malik and wife of Ibn AbuQatadah,reported: AbuQatadah visited (me) and I poured out water for himfor ablution. A cat came and drank some of it and he tilted thevessel for it until it drank some of it. Kabshah said: He saw melooking at him; he asked me: Are you surprised, my niece? I said:Yes. He then reported the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)as saying: It is not unclean; it is one of those (males orfemales) who go round among you.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: The worst among people is one who commits theft in prayer. They said: Allah's Messenger, how does one commit theft in one's prayer? He said: When he does not observe ruku' and sujud perfectly well.

Transmitted by Ahmad.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The best type of horse is the black one with a blaze on its face and a white spot on its upper lip; next comes the horse with a blaze on its face and white on the legs, except on a offside one. If it is not black, then a dark bay horse with those markings."

Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) alighted for a rest during the night he lay on his right side, but when he alighted for a rest a little before morning he put his elbow on the ground and laid his head in the palm of his hand.

It is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The signs will come after the end of the second century."

Ibn Majah transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) addressed us and said:You will travel in the evening and at night until (God willing)you will come in the morning to a watering-place. So the peopletravelled (self-absorbed) without paying any heed to one another,and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also travelleduntil it was midnight. I was by his side. The Messenger of Allah(peace be upon him) began to doze and leaned (to one side) of hiscamel. I came to him and I lent him support without awaking himuntil he sat upright on his mount. He continued to travel until amajor part of the night was over and (he again) leaned (to oneside) of his camel. I supported him without awaking him till hesat upright on his mount, and then travelled until it was nearlydawn. He (again) leaned more sharply than on the two earlieroccasions and he was about to fall down. So I came to him andsupported him. He lifted his head and said: Who is this? I said:It is AbuQatadah. He (the Holy Prophet again) said: For how longhave you been travelling with me like this? I said: I have beentravelling in this very state since midnight. He said: May Allahprotect you, as you have protected His Apostle (peace be uponhim) (from falling down). He continued: Do you see that we werehidden from the people? and again said: Do you see anyone? Isaid: Here is a rider. I again said: Here is another rider, untilwe gathered together and we were seven riders. The Messenger ofAllah (peace be upon him) stepped off the highway, placed hishead (for sleep and said): Guard for us our prayers. TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was the first to wake upand the rays of the sun were falling on his back. We rose,startled. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Ride on. So we rode onuntil the sun had (sufficiently) risen. He then came down fromhis camel and called for a jug of water that I had with me. Therewas a little water in that. With it he performed an ablution thatwas less thorough as compared with his usual ablutions when someof the water was left over. He (the Holy Prophet) said toAbuQatadah: Keep a watch over your jug of water; it will be on (amiraculous) condition. Then Bilal summoned (people) to prayer.The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) observed two rak'ahsand then said the morning prayer as he said it every day. TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) (then) rode on. We rodewith him and some of us whispered to the others, saying: How willthere be compensation for omission in our prayers? Upon this he(the Apostle of Allah) said: Is there not in my (my life) a modelfor you? There is no omission in sleeping. The (cognizable)omission is that one does not say prayer (intentionally) untilthe time of the next prayer comes. So he who does thus (omitsprayer in sleep or due to other unavoidable circumstances) shouldsay prayer when he becomes aware of it and on the next day heshould observe it at its prescribed time. He (the Holy Prophet)said: What do you think the people would have done (at thishour)? They would have found in the morning that their Apostlewas missing from amongst them and then AbuBakr and Umar wouldhave told them that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)must be behind them, he could not leave them behind (him), butthe people would have said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be uponhim) is ahead of you. So if you had obeyed AbuBakr and Umar, youwould have gone on the right path. So we proceeded until we cameup to the people (behind whom we had been lagging). The day hadadvanced considerably risen and everything became hot. They (thecompanions of the Holy Prophet) said: Messenger of Allah, we aredying of thirst. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Thereis no destruction for you. And again said: Bring the small cup ofmine; and then he asked for the jug of water to be brought tohim. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began to pourwater (into that small cup) and AbuQatadah gave it to them todrink. When the people saw that there was (a little) water in thejug, they fell upon it. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (peacebe upon him) said: Behave well; the water (is enough) to satisfyall of you. Then they (the companions) began to receive (theirshare of) water with calmness (without showing any anxiety). TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) continued to fill (thecup) and I continued to serve them until no one was left exceptmyself and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).He thenfilled (the cup) with water and said to me: Drink it. I said:Messenger of Allah, I should not drink until you have drunk. Upon this he said: The server of the people is the last of themto drink. So I drank and the Messenger of Allah (peace be uponhim) also drank and the people came to the watering-place quitehappy and satisfied. Abdullah ibn Rabah said: I am going tonarrate this hadith in the great mosque, when Imran ibn Husaynsaid: See, O young man, how will you narrate it for I was alsoone of the riders that night? I said: So you must know thishadith well. He said: Who are you? I said: I am one of theAnsar.Upon this he said: You narrate it, for you know yourhadith better. I therefore narrated it to the people. Imransaid: I was also present that night, but I know not anyone elsewho learnt it so well as you have learnt it.

When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was in a journeyhe got down for rest at night, and he used to lie down on hisright side, and when he lay down for rest before the dawn, heused to stretch his forearm and place his head over his palm.

Someone came to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) andsaid: How do you observe fast? The Messenger of Allah (peace beupon him) felt annoyed. When Umar noticed his annoyance, hesaid: We are well pleased with Allah as our Lord, with Islam asour Code of Life, and with Muhammad as our Prophet. We seekrefuge with Allah from the anger of Allah and that of HisMessenger. Umar continued repeating these words till his (theProphet's) anger calmed down. Then Umar said: Messenger ofAllah, what is the position of one who perpetually observesfasts?Thereupon he said: He neither fasted nor broke it, or hesaid: He fasted for two days and broke one day. Thereupon hesaid: Is anyone capable of doing it? He (Umar) said: What is theposition of him who observes a fast for one day and breaks it onthe other day? Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet)said: That is thefast of David (peace be upon him). He (Umar) said: What abouthim who observes fast one day and breaks it for two days.Thereupon he (the Messenger of Allah) said: I wish I were giventhe strength to observe that. Then he said: The observance ofthree days' fast every month and that of Ramadan every year is aperpetual fasting. I seek from Allah that fasting on the day ofArafah may atone for the sins of the preceding and the comingyears, and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashuramay atone for the sins of the preceding year.

AbuQilabah said: I was in Syria (having) a circle (of friends),in which was Muslim ibn Yasar. There came AbulAsh'ath. He (thenarrator) said that they (the friends) called him: AbulAsh'ath,and he sat down. I said to him: Narrate to our brother thehadith of Ubadah ibn as-Samit.He said: Yes. We went out on anexpedition, Mu'awiyah being the leader of the people, and wegained a lot of spoils of war. And there was one silver utensilin what we took as spoils. Mu'awiyah ordered someone to sell itto pay the people (soldiers). The people hurried to receive it. The news of (this state of affairs) reached Ubadah ibn as-Samit,and he stood up and said: I heard Allah's Messenger (peace beupon him) forbidding the sale of gold for gold, and silver forsilver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, andsalt for salt, except like for like and equal for equal. So hewho made an addition or who accepted an addition (committed thesin of taking) interest. So the people returned what they hadreceived. This reached Mu'awiyah, and he stood up to deliver anaddress. He said: What is the matter with people that theynarrate from the Messenger (peace be upon him) such traditionswhich we did not hear though we saw him (the Holy Prophet) andlived in his company? Thereupon Ubadah ibn as-Samit stood up andrepeated that narration, and then said: We definitely narratewhat we heard from Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) eventhough it may be unpleasant for Mu'awiyah (or he said: Even if itis against his will). I do not mind if I do not remain in histroop on the dark night. Hammad said this or something like this.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up among them(his companions) to deliver his sermon, in which he told themthat Jihad in the cause of Allah and belief in Allah (with allHis Attributes) were the most meritorious of acts. A man stood upand said: Messenger of Allah, do you think that if I am killed inthe cause of Allah, my sins will be blotted out from me? TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Yes, in the casewhere you are killed in the way of Allah, you were patient andsincere and you always fought facing the enemy, never turningyour back upon him. Then he added: What have you said (now)?(Wishing to have further assurance from him for hissatisfaction), he asked (again): Do you think if I am killed inthe say of Allah, all my sins will be obliterated from me? TheMessenger of Allah (peace be upon him) Said: Yes, if you werepatient and sincere, and always fought facing the enemy, neverturning your back upon him, (all your lapses shall be forgiven)except debt. Gabriel has told me this.

We used to go to Imran b. Husayn passing in front of Hisham b.Amir. He, one day, said: You pass by me (in order) to go to somepersons but (amongst the living persons) none remained in thecompany of Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) more than I andnone knows more hadiths than I. I heard Allah's Apostle (peace beupon him) said: There would be no creation (creating moretrouble) than the Dajjal right from the creation of Adam to theLast Hour.