It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the delegation of Najran came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "What do you say about Isa ibn Maryam?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is the spirit of Allah, His word, the servant of Allah and His messenger." They said to him: "Would you agree that we invoke mutual curses (mubahalah) with you that he is not like that?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is that what you prefer?" They said: "Yes." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then whenever you wish." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and he gathered his children and Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them). Their (the Najranis') chief said: "Do not invoke mutual curses with this man. By Allah! If you invoke curses with him, one of the two parties will surely be swallowed up by the earth." So they came and said: "O Abu al-Qasim! It was only our foolish ones who wanted to invoke curses with you, and we would like you to excuse us from it." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have excused you." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the punishment had already cast its shadow over Najran." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Satan surely gives every child of Adam that prod (at birth), and that is why the newborn child cries out screaming, except for Maryam bint Imran and her son (Isa, peace be upon him)." For when Maryam's mother gave birth to her, she said: "And I seek refuge for her and her offspring with You from Satan, the accursed" [Surah Al Imran: 36] . So a screen was placed before her, and Satan prodded that screen. "So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance and made her grow in the best manner" [Surah Al Imran: 37] . Her mother passed away, and she was placed in the care of her maternal aunt, the mother of Yahya (peace be upon him). This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

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: "(On the Day of Resurrection) the people will come to Isa (peace be upon him) for intercession, and he will say: Do you know anyone other than me who is the word of Allah and His spirit, and who heals the one born blind and the leper and brings the dead to life? The people will say: No." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both); he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of the women of all the worlds are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Maryam bint Imran, and Asiyah bint Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with these words.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "None spoke in the cradle (in infancy) except three: Isa ibn Maryam, the witness of Yusuf (peace be upon him), the companion of Jurayj (that is, the child who testified to Jurayj's innocence), and the son of the woman who combed the hair of Pharaoh's daughter." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Ata', the freed slave of Umm Subayyah; he said that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Isa ibn Maryam will surely descend as a just judge and an equitable leader, and he will surely pass along a mountain road to perform Hajj or Umrah, or to combine both of them, and he will surely come to my grave until he greets me with salam, and I will surely return his greeting." Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says (to his nephew): "O my nephew! If you meet him, say: Abu Hurayrah sends you his greetings of salam." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with this sequence (of wording).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the spirit of Allah, Isa ibn Maryam, is going to descend among you. So when you see him, recognise him: he will be a man of medium height, of a reddish-white complexion, wearing two garments dyed light yellow-red. His head will look as though drops are dripping from it, although no moisture has touched it. He will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizyah and call people to Islam. Allah will destroy the Masih al-Dajjal in his time, and such peace and security will descend upon the people of the earth that lions will graze with camels, leopards with cattle and wolves with sheep, and children will play with snakes and they will not harm them. He will remain (on earth) for forty years, then he will pass away and the Muslims will offer his funeral prayer." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Wahb bin Munabbih; he said: When Allah Almighty raised Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) to Himself, He caused him to die for three hours of the day, whereas the Christians claim that Allah caused him to die for seven hours of the day and then brought him back to life. Wahb says: The Christians also claim that Maryam (peace be upon her) gave birth to Isa (peace be upon him) when three hundred and sixty-three years had passed since the birth of Alexander, and they claim that the birth of Yahya bin Zakariyya (peace be upon them both) took place six months before the birth of Isa (peace be upon him). They also claim that when Maryam (peace be upon her) conceived Isa (peace be upon him) she was thirteen years old, that Isa (peace be upon him) lived thirty-two years until he was raised, and that Maryam (peace be upon her) lived for six years after he was raised, so that her whole age was a little over fifty years. Zakariyya bin Barkhiya, the father of Yahya (peace be upon him), and Imran bin Mathan, the father of Maryam (peace be upon her), had married two sisters: one was married to Zakariyya (peace be upon him), and she is the mother of Yahya (peace be upon him), and the other was married to Imran bin Mathan, and she is the mother of Maryam (peace be upon her). Imran bin Mathan died while the mother of Maryam (peace be upon her) was pregnant with her. So when Maryam (peace be upon her) was born, Zakariyya (peace be upon him) took charge of her after her mother's death, because her maternal aunt (her mother's sister) was married to him. The name of the mother of Maryam (peace be upon her) was Hannah bint Faqud bin Qabil. Imam al-Hakim says: The narrations differ regarding the number of the messengers and of all the other prophets, and I have mentioned those prophets, from Adam (peace be upon him) until the sending of our Prophet al-Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him), to whom ijtihad led. The messengers among them have been mentioned by Wahb bin Munabbih in the hadith that follows.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said to a man sitting with him, while he was talking with his companions: "Come close to me." The man said: "May Allah preserve you. By Allah, I do not know how to question you the way these people do." So Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Come close to me so that I may tell you about the prophets who are mentioned in the Book of Allah. I tell you about Adam (peace be upon him) that he was a servant who tilled the land; about Nuh (peace be upon him) that he was a carpenter; about Idris (peace be upon him) that he was a tailor; about Dawud (peace be upon him) that he was a maker of armour; about Musa (peace be upon him) that he was a shepherd; and about Ibrahim (peace be upon him) that he was a farmer, he was very hospitable, he preferred the poor over himself and fulfilled their needs from his wealth; about Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) that he was a shepherd; about Lut (peace be upon him) that he was a farmer; about Salih (peace be upon him) that he was a merchant; about Sulayman (peace be upon him) that he was a servant to whom Allah granted kingship, he fasted six days at the beginning of the month, three days in the middle and three days at the end, and he had nine hundred concubines and three hundred wives; and about the son of the virgin and chaste Maryam, Isa (peace be upon him), that he would not save anything for the next day, and he would say that the One who gave me my morning meal will also give me my evening meal, and the One who gave me my evening meal will also give me my morning meal. He would spend his whole night in the worship of Allah, praying until the sun rose, and during the day he would travel about; he fasted perpetually and stood in prayer the whole night. And about the Prophet al-Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him), that he used to graze the goats of his family at Ajyad. He would fast (voluntarily) until we would say he will not break his fast now, and when he broke his fast we would say he will not fast now. We rarely saw him fasting continuously. He fasted three days of every month. He was the gentlest of people in manner, the best in character and the highest of them in knowledge. And I tell you about Hawwa (peace be upon her) that she used to spin wool and weave it with her hands, then make clothing for herself and her children, and Maryam bint Imran also used to do this same work." Imam al-Hakim says: As for the hadith with an elevated chain that explains this whole discussion in detail, it is the following:

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque and seized the opportunity of his being alone. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Abu Dharr! Indeed, the mosque has a greeting (tahiyyah)." I said: O Messenger of Allah! What is its greeting? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Two rak'ahs." So I prayed those two rak'ahs, then I turned to him and said: O Messenger of Allah! You have commanded me to pray, so what is the reality of prayer? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Prayer is the best of things ordained; so whoever wishes may do less of it and whoever wishes may do more (through voluntary prayers)." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Which deed is most beloved to Allah? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Faith in Allah." Then he mentioned the rest of the hadith, until I said: O Messenger of Allah! What is the total number of the prophets? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets." I said: How many of them are messengers? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three hundred and thirteen." And he mentioned the rest of the hadith.