It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I have not seen anyone more handsome than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); it seemed as if the sun was moving in his forehead. And I have not seen anyone swifter than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); it seemed as if the earth was folded up for him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not walk very fast, but even then, in order to keep up with him, we had to walk briskly.

It is narrated from Sa’d bin Hisham, he says: I presented myself before Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: O Umm al-Mu’minin! Inform me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: The Qur’an was the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), do you not read the Qur’an? Allah Almighty has said: {وَإِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ} … Indeed, you (O Prophet) are of a great moral character. (Surah Al-Qalam: 4) I said: I want to adopt a life of abstinence. She said: Do not do so, do you not read in the Qur’an: {لَقَدْ کَانَ لَکُمْ فِی رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ أُسْوَۃٌ حَسَنَۃٌ} … (Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) you have an excellent example. (Surah Al-Ahzab: 21) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married and he also had children.

It is narrated from a member of the Banu Sawa’ah, who says: I asked Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: Do you not read the Qur’an? Allah Almighty says: {وَإِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ} … Indeed, you (O Prophet) are of a great moral character. (Surah Al-Qalam: 4) He says: I requested her to explain this in some detail. She said: I prepared a meal for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) also prepared a meal for him. I told my servant: Go, and if she brings the food and places it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) before I do, then throw the food away. Sayyida (may Allah be pleased with her) says: When she brought the food, the servant threw it away, the bowl fell and broke, and a leather mat was spread as a tablecloth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gathered the scattered food from the tablecloth and said: Give another bowl in exchange for this one. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say anything further.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come to us and mingle with us. I had a little brother, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to joke with him and make him laugh. He had kept a small bird and used to play with it. The bird died. One day, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and saw him sad and said: "What happened to Abu Umair, why is he sad?" The family told him, "O Messenger of Allah! The bird he used to play with has died." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Umair! What did the bird do?"

(Second chain) It is narrated from Abu Tiyaah, he says: Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had the best character of all people. I had a brother who was called Abu Umair. Abu Tiyaah says: I think Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) also mentioned that he had just been weaned. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come to him and, seeing him, would say: "O Abu Umair! Where is the bulbul (nightingale)?" Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) explained that the bulbul was a bird with which he used to play. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that sometimes it would happen that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would be in our house and the time for prayer would come, so the mat that was under the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would order that it be cleaned and sprinkled with water, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer and we would also stand behind him and perform prayer following him. That mat was made of palm leaves.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I was walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was wearing a Najrani cloak with a thick border. A Bedouin met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he grabbed the cloak of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and pulled it so hard that the marks of the cloak became visible on the neck of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). That Bedouin said: O Muhammad! Give me from the wealth of Allah that is with you. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards him and smiled, and ordered that something be given to him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut’im (may Allah be pleased with him) that once he was walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and this incident took place on the return from Hunain. There were some other people with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as well. During this time, some Bedouins clung to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and began to ask him for wealth, and they pulled him forcefully towards a thorny tree (of acacia or babool). The cloak of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell off. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped and said:“Give me my cloak. If I had animals equal to the number of these thorns, I would distribute them among you, then you would not find me miserly, a liar, or a coward.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would return from a journey, the children of his family would be brought to meet him. Once, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from a journey, I was the first to be taken to him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) seated me in front of him on his mount. Then, one of the sons of Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), either Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) or Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), was brought, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) seated him behind himself. Thus, the three of us entered Madinah riding on one mount.

Abdullah bin Abi Mulaika narrates that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do you remember when I, you, and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), the three of us, went to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "Yes, I remember, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) let us ride with him on his mount and left you." Imam Ahmad's shaykh, Isma'il bin Ulayyah, once narrated it as follows: "Do you remember when I, you, and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) went ahead and met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "Yes, I remember, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) let us ride with him and left you."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was neither habitually nor deliberately foul-mouthed, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: The best among you is the one who is best in character.