Mukhtasar Muslim

Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Hakam Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when one of us sneezed, so I said, "May Allah have mercy on you." The people started staring at me, so I said, "May my mother weep over me (meaning, I wish I had died), why are you staring at me?" Upon hearing this, the people began striking their hands on their thighs. When I saw that they wanted me to be silent, I became quiet. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished the prayer, may my parents be sacrificed for him, I have never seen a better teacher before or after him than him. By Allah, he neither hit me nor insulted me, but rather said: "Talking about worldly matters is not appropriate in prayer; it is only for glorification (tasbih), magnification (takbir), and recitation of the Qur'an," or as he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said.

I said, "O Messenger of Allah! My time of ignorance has just passed, and now Allah has granted me Islam. Some of us go to soothsayers (priests, astrologers)." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Do not go to them." Then I said, "Some of us take bad omens." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "That is something in their hearts, but it should not prevent them or you from doing anything." Then I said, "Some of us draw lines (i.e., on paper or the ground, as fortune-tellers do)." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "A prophet used to draw lines, so whoever draws lines like his, that is correct."

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I had a slave girl who used to herd sheep towards Uhud and Jawaniyah (the name of a place). One day, when I went there, I saw that a wolf had taken away a sheep. After all, I am a man, and I get angry just as they do, so I slapped her. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) considered my action very serious. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! Should I not free this slave girl?" He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Bring her to me." I brought her to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he asked her, "Where is Allah?" She said, "In the sky." Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, "Who am I?" She said, "You are the Messenger of Allah (i.e., Allah has sent you)." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Free her, for she is a believer (i.e., she is faithful)."

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We used to talk during prayer; each person would talk to the one next to him while praying. Until this verse was revealed: "Stand before Allah in silence (with obedience)." From then on, we were commanded to remain silent and speaking was prohibited.