I used to accompany Salama bin Al-Akwa` and he used to pray behind the pillar which was near the place where the Qur’ans were kept. I said, “O Abu Muslim! I see you always seeking to pray behind this pillar.” He replied, “I saw Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) always seeking to pray near that pillar.”
Salama said, “I gave the Pledge of allegiance (Al-Ridwan) to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and then I moved to the shade of a tree. When the number of people around the Prophet (ﷺ) diminished, he said, ‘O Ibn Al-Akwa` ! Will you not give to me the pledge of Allegiance?’ I replied, ‘O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! I have already given to you the pledge of Allegiance.’ He said, ‘Do it again.’ So I gave the pledge of allegiance for the second time.” I asked ‘O Abu Muslim! For what did you give he pledge of Allegiance on that day?” He replied, “We gave the pledge of Allegiance for death.”
I heard Abu Huraira saying that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed: people will certainly ask you about everything till they will propound: Allah created every thing, but who created Allah?
Maimuna daughter of al-Harith narrated to me that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) married her and he was not in the state of Ihram. And she (Maimuna) was my mother’s sister and that of Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with them).
If I had not the fear of committing (sin) for concealing the knowledge I would not have written to him. Najda wrote to him saying (after praising the Almighty and invoking blessings on the Prophet): Tell me whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took women to participate with him in Jihad; (if he did), whether he allotted them a regular share from the booty; whether he killed the children of (the enemy in the war), how long an orphan would be entitled to consideration as such, and for whom the Khums (fifth part of the booty) was booty. Ibn Abbas wrote to him: You have written asking me whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took women with him to participate in Jihad. He did take them to the battle and sometimes he fought along with them. They would treat the wounded and were given a reward from the booty, but he did not assign any regular share for them. And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not kill the children of the enemy, so you should not kill the children. Also you have written to me asking me when the orphanhood of an orphan comes to an end. By my life, if a man has become bearded but is still incapable of getting his due from others or fulfilling his obligation towards them, (he is yet an orphan to be treated as such), but when he can look after his interests like grown-up people, he is no longer an orphan. And you have written to me inquiring about Khums as to whom it is meant for. (In this connection) we (the kinsmen of the Messenger of Allah) used to say: It is for us, but those people (i.e. Banu Umayya) have denied it to us.
Najda b. ‘Amir al-Haruri wrote to Ibn Abbas asking him about the slave and the woman as to whether they would get a share from the booty (it they participated in Jihad) ; about the killing of (enemy) children (in war) ; about the orphan as to when his orphanhood comes to an end; about kinsmen (of the Holy Prophet) as to who they are. He said to Yazid: Write to him. (If he were not likely to fall into folly, I would not have written to him.) Write: You have written asking about the woman and the slave whether they would get a share of the booty if they participated in Jihad. (You should know that) there is nothing of the sort for them except that they will be given a prize. And you have written asking me about the killing of the enemy children in war. (You should understand that) the Messenger of Allah (may peare be upon him) did not kill them. and thou shouldst not kill them unless thou knew what the companion of Moses (i. e. Khadir) knew about the boy he had killed. And you have written asking me about the orphan as to when the period of his orphanhood comes to an end, so that the sobriquet of” orphan” is dropped from him. (In this regard, you should know that) the sobriquet” orphan” will not be dropped from him until he attains maturity of body and mind. And you have written asking me about the close relatives (of the Holy Prophet) as to who they are. We think that it is we, but our people have denied us this (position and its concomitant privileges).
A newly wedded person of Medina invited us to a wedding feast, and he served us thirteen lizards. There were those who ate it and those who abandoned it. I met Ibn ‘Abbas the next day, and informed him (about this) in the presence of many persons. Some of them said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had observed: I neither eat it nor forbid (anyone) from eating it, nor declare it to be unlawful. Thereupon Ibn ‘Abbas said: Sad it is what you say! Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) has not been sent, but (to declare in clear words) the lawful and the unlawful (things). We were once with Allah’s Messenger (may peace be. upon him) as he was with Maimuna, and there were with him al-Fadl b. ‘Abbas, Khalid b. Walid and some women (also) when a tray of food containing flesh was presented to him. As Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) was about to eat that, Maimuna said: It is the flesh of the lizard. He withdrew his hand saying: That is the flesh which I never eat; but he said to them (those who were present there): You may eat. Al-Fadl ate out of that, so did Khalid b Walid, and the women. Maimuna (however) said: I do not eat anything but that which Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) eats.
Abu Sa’id said: So I stood up, and went to ‘Umar and gave witness (to what Abu Musa had said).
Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind me. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that. He then said: One day Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah’s call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. He (Husain) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren’t his wives the members of his family? Thereupon he said: His wives are the members of his family (but here) the members of his family are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: ‘Ali and the offspring of ‘Ali, ‘Aqil and the offspring of ‘Aqil and the offspring of Ja’far and the offspring of ‘Abbas. Husain said: These are those for whom the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. Zaid said: Yes.
We went to him (Zaid b. Arqam) and said to him. You have found goodness (for you had the honour) to live in the company of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and offered prayer behind him, and the rest of the hadith is the same but with this variation of wording that lie said: Behold, for I am leaving amongst you two weighty things, one of which is the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, and that is the rope of Allah. He who holds it fast would be on right guidance and he who abandons it would be in error, and in this (hadith) these words are also found: We said: Who are amongst the members of the household? Aren’t the wives (of the Holy Prophet) included amongst the members of his house hold? Thereupon he said: No, by Allah, a woman lives with a man (as his wife) for a certain period; he then divorces her and she goes back to her parents and to her people; the members of his household include his ownself and his kith and kin (who are related to him by blood) and for him the acceptance of Zakat is prohibited.