It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: In the days of ignorance a woman would circumambulate the House while naked, with (only) a rag tied over her private parts, and she would say (this verse of poetry): "Today some of it or all of it will show, / and whatever shows of it, I do not make lawful (to anyone)." Then this verse was revealed: "Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah" [Surah al-A'raf: 32] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The People of al-A'raf are people whose good deeds saved them from the Fire, but whose sins will keep them from entering Paradise (that is, the two will be equal). So when 'their eyes are turned towards the people of the Fire, they will say: Our Lord, do not place us with the wrongdoing people' [Surah al-A'raf: 47] , while they are in this state, your Lord will look upon them (with mercy), and it will be said to them: Rise and enter Paradise, for I have indeed forgiven you." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by al-Hijr (the land of the people of Thamud), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not ask for miracles, for the people of Salih asked (in the same way). So it (the she-camel) would come by this mountain pass and leave by that mountain pass. Then they rebelled against the command of their Lord and slaughtered it, so a dreadful Blast seized them, and Allah destroyed all of their people who were beneath the sky except one man who was in the Sanctuary of Allah." It was asked: "Who was he?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He was Abu Righal. Then when he left the Sanctuary, the same calamity befell him that had befallen his people." This hadith has an authentic (sahih) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that, concerning this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "So when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust" [Surah al-A'raf: 143] , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (while explaining it) placed his thumb on the joint of the little finger of the right hand (meaning that He manifested only a very small portion of His glory). Hammad said: Humayd said to Thabit (the narrator): "Do you narrate something like this?!" So Thabit struck Humayd on the chest with his hand and said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to narrate it, and I should not narrate it?!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hearing news is not like seeing with one's own eyes. Allah informed Musa (peace be upon him) that his people had made the calf (an object of worship), yet he did not throw down the Tablets; but when he saw with his own eyes what they had done, he threw down the Tablets (in anger)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Harun (peace be upon him) came upon al-Samiri while he was making the calf. He asked him: "What are you making?" He said: "Something that neither benefits nor harms." Harun (peace be upon him) said (as an imprecation): "O Allah, give him what he has asked of You (by intending it) in his heart." When he had gone, he said: "O Allah, I ask You that it should low." So it lowed. Thus, whenever anyone prostrated, the calf made a sound, and whenever anyone raised his head, it also made a sound. And that happened because of the supplication of Sayyiduna Harun (peace be upon him). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the worshippers of the calf (the Children of Israel) said (in place of "Hittah"): "Hata samqa tha azyah mazba", which in Arabic means: "Red, strong wheat in which there is a black hair." And this is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "But those among them who did wrong changed the word to other than what had been said to them" [Surah al-A'raf: 162] . Then, when they refused to prostrate, Allah commanded the mountain to fall upon them. They saw that it had overshadowed them, so they fell down prostrating on one side, and looked (up at the mountain) with the other side. Then Allah had mercy on them and removed it (the punishment) from them. So they said: "There is no prostration more beloved to Allah than a prostration by which He removed the punishment from you." So for that reason they (still) prostrate on one side. And this is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And when We raised the mountain above them as if it were a canopy" [Surah al-A'raf: 171] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And Musa chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment" [Surah al-A'raf: 155] , that he said: Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) supplicated and Allah sent seventy men. Then he made his supplication specific to those who would believe in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and follow him. (Then Allah said:) "So forgive us and have mercy on us, and You are the best of those who forgive. (He said:) So I will ordain it (My mercy) for those who are mindful of Me and give zakah" [Surah al-A'raf: 155 - 156] , and those who follow Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Ikrimah that he said: I came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) while he was reciting from the mushaf (before he lost his sight) and weeping. I said: "O Abu Abbas, may Allah make me your ransom, why are you weeping?" He said: "Do you know Aylah?" I said: "What is Aylah?" He said: "It was a town in which Jews lived. Allah forbade them (catching) fish on the Sabbath. On their Sabbath day the fish would come to them, white and plump like pregnant camels, surfacing on the water in front of the courtyards and buildings of their houses. But when it was not the Sabbath they would not find them, and could not get them except with great hardship and heavy expense. So some of them said to one another: 'Why do we not catch them on the Sabbath and eat them on a day other than the Sabbath?' So one household among them did that: they caught fish and roasted them, and their neighbours smelled the aroma of the roasting. They said (to themselves): 'By Allah, we see that nothing has befallen the sons of so-and-so (from eating the fish; no punishment has come).' Then others also began to do it, until it became widespread and common among them. So they split into three groups: one group that ate the fish, one group that forbade (the sin), and one group that said: 'Why do you admonish a people whom Allah is going to destroy or punish with a severe punishment?' [Surah al-A'raf: 164] . The group that forbade said: 'We warn you of Allah's wrath and punishment, lest He cause the earth to swallow you, or rain (stones) upon you, or send some other punishment. By Allah, we will not spend the night with you in a place where you are.' So they went out beyond the wall of the town. The next morning they came and knocked on the gate of the wall, but no one answered. They brought a rope, set it against the wall and climbed up. A man looked from the top of the wall and called out: 'O servants of Allah! By Allah, they have become monkeys with tails, and they are howling!' He said this three times. Then he came down and opened the gate, and the people went in. The monkeys recognised their relatives among the humans, but the humans did not recognise their relatives among the monkeys." Ibn Abbas said: "A monkey would come to its human relative and rub its body against him and cling to him, and the person would ask: 'Are you so-and-so?' It would indicate with its head: 'Yes (I am the one)', and weep. Likewise a female monkey would come to her human relative, and he would say: 'Are you so-and-so?' She would indicate with her head: 'Yes', and weep. Then their human relatives said to them: 'Did we not warn you of Allah's wrath and punishment, that He would cause the earth to swallow you, or disfigure your forms, or send some other punishment?'" Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Listen to this saying of Allah: 'We saved those who forbade evil, and We seized those who did wrong with a wretched punishment because they were defiantly disobeying' [Surah al-A'raf: 165] . (Ibn Abbas said, weeping:) I do not know what became of that third group. And we too have seen so many evils and did not forbid them!" Ikrimah said: I said: "May Allah make me your ransom! Do you not see that when they said: 'Why do you admonish a people', they certainly condemned that sin and disliked it (that is why they asked this of the admonishers)?" Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was very pleased with what I said, and he ordered two thick cloaks for me and clothed me with them. The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify over themselves" up to "Will You then destroy us for what the falsifiers did?" [Surah al-A'raf: 172 - 173] , that he said: "On that day Allah Almighty gathered all the human beings who were to come into existence until the Day of Resurrection. He made them souls, then He gave them form and gave them the power of speech, so they spoke. Then He took from them the covenant and pledge and, making them witnesses over themselves, said: 'Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes indeed, we testify, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this', or that you say: 'It was only our forefathers who associated partners (with Allah) before, and we were their descendants after them; will You then destroy us for what the people of falsehood did?' Allah Almighty said: 'I make the seven heavens, the seven earths and your father Adam (peace be upon him) witnesses over you, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: We did not know, or: We were unaware of this. So do not associate anything with Me. I will send you My messengers who will remind you of this covenant and pledge of Mine, and I will send down My books to you.' They all said: 'We testify that You are our Lord and our God; we have no Lord besides You and no God besides You.'" (Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b said:) Then their father Adam (peace be upon him) was raised up before them. He looked at his offspring and saw among them the rich, the poor, the handsome and people of other different conditions. He said: "O my Lord, if only You had made Your servants equal!" Allah said: "I love to be thanked." Adam (peace be upon him) saw among them the Prophets, shining like lamps. A separate covenant of messengership and prophethood was taken from them, and that is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh" [Surah al-Ahzab: 7] ; and that is the saying of Allah: "So set your face to the religion, inclining to truth; the natural disposition of Allah upon which He created mankind; there is no altering the creation of Allah" [Surah al-Rum: 30] ; and that is the saying of Allah: "This is a warner like the warners of old" [Surah al-Najm: 56] ; and the saying of Allah: "And We did not find for most of them any covenant; rather, We found most of them defiantly disobedient" [Surah al-A'raf: 102] ; and the saying of the Exalted: "Then We sent after him messengers to their peoples, and they came to them with clear proofs, but they were not going to believe in what they had denied before" [Surah Yunus: 74] . On the day they affirmed what they affirmed, it was in His knowledge who would deny it and who would affirm it. The soul of Isa (peace be upon him) was among those souls from whom the covenant was taken in the time of Adam (peace be upon him). Then that same soul was sent to Maryam (peace be upon her) when the events took place from "she withdrew from her family to a place in the east" up to "a matter decreed. So she conceived him" [Surah Maryam: 16 - 21] . He said: Maryam (peace be upon her) conceived the one (the soul) who had spoken to her, and it was the soul of Isa (peace be upon him). It is narrated from Abu al-Aliyah that Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It (the soul) entered through her mouth." The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and the two Shaykhs did not record it.