The Qur'an

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from as-Sa'ib ibnYazid that he saw Umar ibn al-Khattab beating al-Munkadir for prayingafter asr.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm that in a letter that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent to Amr ibn Hazm it said that no-one should touch the Qur'an unless he was pure.

Malik said, "No-one should carry the Qur'an by its strap, or on a cushion, unless he is pure. If it were permissible to do so, it would also have been permissible to carry it in its cover. This is not because there is something on the hands of the one who carries it by which the Qur'an will be soiled, but because it is disapproved of for someone to carry the Qur'an without being pure out of respect for the Qur'an, and in order to honour it."

Malik said, "The best thing that I have heard about this is the ayat 'None touch it except the purified.' (Sura 56 ayat 79) It ranks with the ayat in Surat Abasa (Sura 80), where Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says, 'No, it is a reminder, and whoever wishes will remember it. Upon honoured pages, exalted and purified, by the hands of scribes, noble and obedient.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ayyub ibn Abi Tamima as-Sakhtayani from Muhammad ibn Sirin that Umar ibn al-Khattab was withsome people who were reciting Qur'an. He went to relieve himself andthen came back and recited Qur'an. One of the men said to him, "Amiral muminin, are you reciting the Qur'an without being in wudu?" Umarreplied, "Who gave you a verdict on this? Was it Musaylima?"'

Yahya related to me from Malik from Dawud ibn al-Husayn from al-Araj from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari that Umar ibn al Khattab said,"Whoever misses reading his hizb at night and reads it from when thesun has passed the meridian until the dhuhr prayer has not missed it,or it is as if he has caught it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "OnceMuhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban and I were sitting down, and Muhammadcalled a man over to him and said to him, 'Tell me what you have heardfrom your father.' The man replied that his father had told him thathe went to Zayd ibn Thabit and asked him, 'What do you think ofreciting the whole Qur'an in seven days?' Zayd said, 'That's good,but I prefer to recite it in two weeks, or ten days. Ask me why thatis.' He said, 'I ask you then.' Zayd said, 'So that I can reflect onit and pause in it.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said that he had heard Umaribn al-Khattab say, "I heard Hisham ibn Hakim ibn Hizam reciting Suratal-Furqan (Sura 25) differently from me, and it was the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who had recited it tome. I was about to rush up to him but I granted him a respite until hehad finished his prayer. Then I grabbed him by his cloak and took himto the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surat al-Furqan differently from the way you recited it to me.' The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Let him go.'Then he said, 'Recite, Hisham,' and Hisham recited as I had heard himrecite. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, 'It was sent down like that.' Then he said to me,'Recite' and I recited the sura, and he said, 'It was sent down likethat. This Qur'an was sent down in seven (different) ways, so recitefrom it whatever is easy for you .' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "A man who knows the Qur'an well is like a man who has a hobbledcamel. If he takes care of it, he keeps it, and if he lets it go, itgets away."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from hisfather from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, that al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "How does therevelation come to you?" and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "Sometimes it comes to me like theringing of a bell, and that is the hardest for me, and when it leavesme I remember what it has said. And sometimes the angel appears to mein the likeness of a man and talks to me and I remember what he says."

A'isha added, "I saw it coming down on him on an intenselycold day, and when it had left him his forehead was dripping withsweat."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that hisfather said that Abasa (Sura 80) was sent down about Abdullah ibn UmmMaktum. He came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, and began to say, "O Muhammad, show me a place near you (whereI can sit)," whilst one of the leading men of the idol worshippers wasin audience with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to turnaway from him and give his attention to the other man, and he said tohim, "Father of so-and-so, do you see any harm in what I am saying?"and he said, "No, by the blood (of our sacrifices) I see no harm inwhat you are saying." And Abasa - "He frowned and turned away whenthe blind man came" - was sent down.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from hisfather that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, was on one of his journeys, and one night Umar ibn al-Khattab,who was travelling with him, asked him about something, but he did notanswer him. He asked him again, but he did not answer him. Then heasked him again, and again he did not answer him. Umar said, "May yourmother be bereaved of you, Umar. Three times you have importuned theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with aquestion and he has not answered you at all."

Umar continued,"I got my camel moving until, when I was in front of the people, Ifeared that a piece of Qur'an was being sent down about me. It was notlong before I heard a crier calling for me, and I said that I fearedthat a piece of Qur'an had been sent down about me." He continued, "Icame to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, and said, 'Peace be upon you' to him, and he said, 'A sura hasbeen sent down to me this night that is more beloved to me thananything on which the sun rises.' Then he recited al-Fath (Sura 48).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammadibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar Rahmanthat Abu Said said that he had heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, say, "A group of people will appearamong you whose prayer, fasting and deeds will make you think littleof your own prayer, fasting and deeds. They will recite the Qur'an,but it wil not get past their throats, and they will pass through thedeen like an arrow passes through game. You look at the arrowhead, andyou see nothing, and you look at the shaft, and you see nothing, andyou look at the flights, and you see nothing. And you are in doubtabout the notch."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that it tookAbdullah ibn Umar eight years to learn Surat al-Baqara. (Sura 2)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid, the mawlaof al Aswad ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar Rahman that AbuHurayra recited al-Inshiqaq (Sura 84) to them and prostrated in it.When he had finished he told them that the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, had prostrated in it.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi, the mawla of Ibn Umarthat a man from Egypt told him that Umar ibn al-Khattab recited Suratal-Hajj (Sura 22) and prostrated twice in it, and then said, "Thissura has been given special preference by having two prostrations init."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "Isaw Abdullah ibn Umar prostrate twice in Surat al-Hajj (Sura 22)."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from al-Araj thatUmar ibn al Khattab recited Surat an-Najm (Sura 53) and prostrated init, and then got up and recited another sura.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab once recited a piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration while he was on the mimbar on the day of jumua, and he came down and prostrated, and everyone prostrated with him. Then he recited it again the next jumua and everybody prepared to prostrate but he said, "At your ease. Allah has not prescribed it for us, unless we wish." He did not prostrate, and he stopped them from prostrating.

Malik said, "The imam does not come down and prostrate when he recites a piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration while he is on the mimbar."

Malik said, "The position with us is that there are eleven prescribed prostrations in the Qur'an, none of which are in the mufassal."

Malik said, "No-one should recite any of the pieces of Qur'an that require a prostration after the prayers of subh and asr. This is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade prayer after subh until after the sun had risen, and after asr until the sun had set, and prostration is part of the prayer. So no-one should recite any piece of Qur'an requiring a prostration during these two periods of time."

Malik was asked whether a menstruating woman could prostrate if she heard some-one reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration, and he said, "Neither a man nor a woman should prostrate unless they are ritually pure."

Malik was asked whether a man in the company of a woman who was reciting a passage of Qur'an requiring a prostration should prostrate with her, and he said, "He does not have to prostrate with her. The prostration is only obligatory for people who are with a man who is leading them. He recites the piece and they prostrate with him. Some one who hears a piece of Qur'an that requires a prostration being recited by a man who is not leading him in prayer does not have to do the prostration."