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

The Prophet said, ''Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, O Adam! Don't you see the people (people's condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, I am not fit for this undertaking' and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, ''But you d better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.' They will go to Noah who will reply, I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention the mistake which he made, and add, But you'd better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.' They will go to Abraham who will reply, I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, But you'd better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly' They will go to Moses who will reply, I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, You'd better go to Jesus, Allah's slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.' They will go to Jesus who will say, I am not fit for this undertaking, but you'd better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).' So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise, I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back and say, O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur'an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.' '' The Prophet added, ''There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant).''

When we prayed with the Prophet we used to say, ''Peace be on Allah from His slaves and peace be on so and so.'' The Prophet said, ''Don't say As-Salam be on Allah, for He Himself is As-Salam, but say, At-tahiyatu lil-lahi was-salawatu wat-taiyibatu. As-salamu Alaika aiyuhan-Nabiyu warahmatu-l-lahi wa barakatuhu. As-salamu alaina wa ala ibadillahis-salihin. (If you say this then it will be for all the slaves in heaven or between heaven and earth). Ashhadu an la-ilaha illallahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa Rasuluhu.' Then select the invocation you like best and recite it.'' (See Hadith No. 794, 795 & 796).

When we prayed with the Prophet we used to say: As-Salam be on Allah from His worshipers, As-Salam be on Gabriel, As-Salam be on Michael, As-Salam be on so-and-so. When the Prophet finished his prayer, he faced us and said, ''Allah Himself is As-Salam (Peace), so when one sits in the prayer, one should say, At-Tahiyatu-lillahi Was-Salawatu, Wat-Taiyibatu, As-Salamu Alaika aiyuhan-Nabiyyu wa Rah-matul-lahi wa Barakatuhu, As-Salamu Alaina wa ala Ibadillahi assalihin, for if he says so, then it will be for all the pious slave of Allah in the Heavens and the Earth. (Then he should say), Ash-hadu an la ilaha illalllahu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa rasulu-hu,' and then he can choose whatever speech (i.e. invocation) he wishes '' (See Hadith No. 797, Vol. 1)

Allah's Apostle deputed me to keep Sadaqat (al-Fitr) of Ramadan. A comer came and started taking handfuls of the foodstuff (of the Sadaqa) (stealthily). I took hold of him and said, ''By Allah, I will take you to Allah's Apostle .'' He said, ''I am needy and have many dependents, and I am in great need.'' I released him, and in the morning Allah's Apostle asked me, ''What did your prisoner do yesterday?'' I said, ''O Allah's Apostle! The person complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go.'' Allah's Apostle said, ''Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming again.'' I believed that he would show up again as Allah's Apostle had told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully. When he (showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, ''I will definitely take you to Allah's Apostle. He said, ''Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again.'' I pitied him and let him go. In the morning Allah's Apostle asked me, ''What did your prisoner do.'' I replied, ''O Allah's Apostle! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free.'' Allah's Apostle said, ''Verily, he told you a lie and he will return.'' I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, ''I will surely take you to Allah's Apostle as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come.'' He said, ''(Forgive me and) I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you.'' I asked, ''What are they?'' He replied, ''Whenever you go to bed, recite ''Ayat-al-Kursi''– Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Haiy-ul Qaiyum' till you finish the whole verse. (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come near you till morning. '' So, I released him. In the morning, Allah's Apostle asked, ''What did your prisoner do yesterday?'' I replied, ''He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit me, so I let him go.'' Allah's Apostle asked, ''What are they?'' I replied, ''He said to me, Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi from the beginning to the end —- Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-lHaiy-ul-Qaiyum—-.' He further said to me, (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no satan will come near you till morning.' (Abu Huraira or another sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet said, ''He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Huraira?'' Abu Huraira said, ''No.'' He said, ''It was Satan.''

The Prophet said ''The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is: Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Anta Khalaqtani wa ana abduka, wa ana ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, A'udhu bika min Sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u Laka bini'matika alaiya, wa Abu Laka bidhanbi faghfirli innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta.'' The Prophet added. ''If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise.''

(the clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba) Once Al-Mughira dictated to me in a letter addressed to Mu'awiya that the Prophet used to say after every compulsory prayer, ''La ilaha ilallah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa-lahul-hamdu, wahuwa ala kulli shai in qadir. Allahumma la mani a lima a'taita, wa la mu'tiya lima mana'ta, wa la yanfa'u dhal-jaddi minka-l-jadd. (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and He has no partner in Lordship or in worship or in the Names and the Qualities, and for Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are for Him and He is omnipotent. O Allah! Nobody can hold back what you give and nobody can give what You hold back. Hard (efforts by anyone for anything cannot benefit one against Your Will).'' And Al-Hasan said, ''Al-jadd' means prosperity.''

We used to say the greeting, name and greet each other in the prayer. Allah's Apostle heard it and said:–''Say, At-tahiyyatu lil-lahi was-salawatu wat-taiyibatu . Assalamu Alaika aiyuha-n-Nabiyu wa-rahmatu-l-lahi wa-barakatuhu. _ Assalamu alaina wa-'ala ibadi-l-lahi as-salihin.. Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-l-lah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abdu hu wa Rasuluh. (All the compliments are for Allah and all the prayers and all the good things (are for Allah). Peace be on you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings (are on you). And peace be on us and on the good (pious) worshipers of Allah. I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Apostle.) So, when you have said this, then you have surely sent the greetings to every good (pious) worship per of Allah, whether he be in the Heaven or on the Earth . ''

(The clerk of Al-Mughira) Muawiya wrote to Al-Mughira Write to me what you have heard from Allah's Apostle.' So he (Al-Mughira) wrote to him: Allah's Prophet used to say at the end of each prayer: ''La ilaha illalla-h wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul Mulku, wa lahul Hamdu wa hula ala kulli shai'in qadir. Allahumma la mani' a lima a'taita, wala mu'tiya lima mana'ta, wala yanfa'u dhuljadd minkal-jadd.'' He also wrote to him that the Prophet used to forbid (1) Qil and Qal (idle useless talk or that you talk too much about others), (2) Asking too many questions (in disputed Religious matters); (3) And wasting one's wealth by extravagance; (4) and to be undutiful to one's mother (5) and to bury the daughters alive (6) and to prevent your favors (benevolence to others (i.e. not to pay the rights of others (7) And asking others for something (except when it is unavoidable).

Abdullah said, ''Whenever we prayed behind the Prophet we used to recite (in sitting) Peace be on Gabriel, Michael, peace be on so and so. Once Allah's Apostle looked back at us and said, Allah Himself is As-Salam (Peace), and if anyone of you prays then he should say, At-Tahiyatu lil-lahi wassalawatu wat-taiyibatu. AsSalamu alalika aiyuha-n-Nabiyu wa rahmatu-l-lahi wa barakatuhu. As-Salam alaina wa ala ibadil-lah is-salihin. (All the compliments, prayers and good things are due to Allah: peace be on you, O Prophet and Allah's mercy and blessings be on you. Peace be on us an on the true pious slaves of Allah). (If you say that, it will be for all the slaves in the heaven and the earth). Ash-hadu an la-ilaha illa-l-lahu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluhu. (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I also testify that Muhammad is His slave and His Apostle).''

I heard Muawiya bin Abi Sufyan (repeating the statements of the Adhan) while he was sitting on the pulpit. When the Muadh-dhin pronounced the Adhan saying, ''Allahu-Akbar, Allahu Akbar'', Muawiya said: ''Allah Akbar, Allahu Akbar.'' And when the Muadh-dhin said, ''Ash-hadu an la ilaha illal-lah (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)'', Muawiya said, ''And (so do) I''. When he said, ''Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah'' (I testify that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle), Muawiya said, ''And (so do) I''. When the Adhan was finished, Muawiya said, ''O people, when the Muadh-dhin pronounced the Adhan I heard Allah's Apostle on this very pulpit saying what you have just heard me saying''.