It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting in the courtyard of his house in Makkah Mukarramah when Uthman bin Maz'un passed by there. He began to pass by quickly, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Will you not sit?" He replied: Why not, so he came and sat in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). While the two of them were talking, suddenly the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gaze was lifted upwards. He looked towards the sky for a moment, then gradually lowered his gaze until he fixed his eyes on the ground to his right, turned away from his guest Uthman and focused in that direction, and bowed his head. It seemed as if he was trying to understand someone's words. Uthman kept watching all this. After a little while, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished with that matter and understood what was being said to him, his gaze was again lifted towards the sky, just as it had happened the first time. The Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) eyes kept following something until that thing disappeared into the heavens. After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned towards Uthman as before, so he said: Why should I come and sit with you? I have never seen you do what you did today. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "What did you see me doing?" Uthman said: I saw your gaze lifted towards the sky, then you fixed your eyes to your right, you turned away from me and focused in that direction, and you bowed your head. It seemed as if something was being said to you and you were trying to understand it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Did you really notice such a thing?" Uthman said: Yes! The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Just now, the messenger of Allah came to me while you were sitting with me." Uthman asked: The messenger of Allah? He replied: "Yes!" Uthman asked: Then what did he say to you? He replied: "Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to close relatives, and forbids indecency, evil, and rebellion. He admonishes you so that you may take heed." Uthman says that from that very moment, Islam began to find a place in my heart and I began to love Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Every prophet had a sanctuary, and my sanctuary is Madinah. O Allah! I declare Madinah a sanctuary just as You declared Your sanctuary. No innovator should be given refuge here, its grass should not be cut, its thorns should not be broken, and its lost property should not be picked up except by one who will announce it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever attributes himself to anyone other than his father (starts calling someone else his father), or any slave who calls someone other than his master his master, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, the Lord of Glory, will not accept any obligatory or voluntary act from him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that all types of women were forbidden for the Prophet (peace be upon him) except for those believing women who migrated to Madinah, as the Divine command states: «‏‏‏‏﴿لَا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاءُ مِنْ بَعْدُ وَلَا أَنْ تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ حُسْنُهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ﴾ [الأحزاب: 52] » "Other than these, it is not lawful for you to marry any women, nor to exchange them for other wives, even if their beauty pleases you, except those whom your right hand possesses." Later, Allah made your believing women lawful for you, and also that believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and He declared women of every religion other than Islam to be forbidden, and said: «‏‏‏‏﴿وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ﴾ [المائدة: 5] » "Whoever turns to disbelief after having faith, all his deeds will be nullified, and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter." And He said: «‏‏‏‏﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ . . . . . خَالِصَةً لَكَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ [الأحزاب: 50] » "O Prophet! We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses . . . . . This command is specific to you, not for the general Muslims." And apart from this, all other types of women were made forbidden.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent a marriage proposal to a woman from his people, whose name was Sawdah. Sawdah had five or six children from her husband who had passed away. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her, "What is it that prevents you from marrying me?" She replied, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah! Nothing prevents me from marrying you. In fact, among all creation, you are the most beloved to me. Actually, I do not like the idea that these children should be crying and wailing by your bedside morning and evening." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Is there any other reason besides this?" She replied, "No." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "May Allah have mercy on you. The best women who ride on camels are the righteous women of Quraysh, who are most compassionate to their children in childhood and are most protective of their husbands regarding their own selves."

Benefit: This Sawdah is a different woman; she is not Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Sawdah bint Zam'ah, may Allah be pleased with her.

And he said that once the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting in a gathering when Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him) came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him), placing his hands on his knees, and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, what is the definition of Islam?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The definition of Islam is that you submit yourself to Allah, testify that there is no deity except Allah, He is alone, He has no partner, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His servant and Messenger." He asked: "After doing this, will I be counted as a Muslim?" He replied: "Yes! When you do this, you will be counted as a Muslim." Then he said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, what is Iman (faith)?" He replied: "Iman is that you have complete faith in Allah, the Day of Judgment, the angels, the Book, the Prophets, death and life after death, Paradise and Hell, accountability, the scale of deeds, and destiny—whether it is good or bad." He asked: "When I do this, will I be counted as a believer?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Yes! When you do this, you will be counted as a believer." Then he said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, what is Ihsan (excellence)?" He replied: "Ihsan is that you perform any act for the pleasure of Allah as if you are seeing Allah; if you cannot imagine that, then imagine that Allah is seeing you." He said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, when will the Hour (Day of Judgment) come?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Subhan Allah! This is one of the five things of the unseen which no one knows except Allah. The command of the Lord is: «‏‏‏‏﴿إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ﴾ [لقمان: 34] » ‏‏‏‏ 'With Allah alone is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, He knows what is in the wombs, no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in which land he will die. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.'" However, if you wish, I can tell you some of its signs which will occur before it?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah! Please tell me." He replied: "When you see that a slave girl gives birth to her mistress, and the shepherds of sheep are boasting with each other over tall buildings, and the naked, hungry, and needy people have become leaders, then these are among the signs and indications of the Hour." He asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Who are these shepherds, naked, hungry, and needy people?" He replied: "The people of Arabia."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to take good omens, did not entertain evil suspicions, and he (peace be upon him) liked good names.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the people referred to in the verse «﴿كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ . . . . .﴾ [آل عمران: 110] » are those who migrated towards Madinah Munawwarah with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were sitting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also came and said, "Shall I not tell you who among the people holds the best rank and status?" The people said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He said, "The person who holds the reins of his horse and sets out in the path of Allah until he dies or is martyred." Then he said, "Shall I tell you about the person who comes after him?" The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He said, "The man who lives alone in a mountain pass, performs prayer, gives zakat, and keeps away from evil people. Shall I not tell you about the person who holds the worst rank?" The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He said, "The person who begs from someone in the name of Allah and receives nothing."

The previous hadith is also narrated through this second chain of transmission.