Foreword

Umm Salamah (the Prophet’s wife) recounts an incident which took place when the Prophet was at home with her. He called out to the maid servant, and when she failed to appear, he showed signs of displeasure. Then Umm Salamah peeped out through the curtain and saw the maid playing. The Prophet, who was holding a miswak (a twig for cleaning the teeth) in his hand, said to the maidservant, ‘If I had had no fear of retribution on Judgement Day, I would have hit you with this twig.’ AL-ADAB AL-MUFRAD BY IMAM AL-BUKHARI