It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been sent to perfect righteous character." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sa'd bin Hisham that he, together with Hakim bin Aflah, came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) and asked her about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: "Do you not recite the Qur'an?" He said: Certainly. Sayyidah (Aishah) said: "Indeed, the character of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never cursed any Muslim (by naming or singling him out), nor did he ever strike anyone with his hand, except when it was jihad in the way of Allah. Whenever he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked for anything, he never refused, unless it was something sinful, for if it was a sin, he would be the farthest of all people from it. He (peace and blessings be upon him) never took revenge for his own self on anyone, unless the sacred limits of Allah were being violated, in which case he would take revenge for the sake of Allah. Whenever he (peace and blessings be upon him) was given a choice between two matters, he always chose the easier of the two. And whenever Jibril (peace be upon him) met him and reviewed the Qur'an with him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was more generous in doing good than the swift wind. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with this wording, and this narration from Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani is very gharib (singular), for Sulayman bin Harb and others narrated it from Hammad without mentioning Ayyub; and Arim is trustworthy and reliable.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that this description of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is written in the Injil (Gospel): "He (peace and blessings be upon him) is neither harsh nor hard-hearted, nor one who shouts in the markets, nor does he repay evil with evil; rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) pardons and overlooks." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remembered Allah abundantly, kept far away from idle talk, led the prayer at length and kept the sermon short, and he never felt it beneath him to walk with a slave or a widow until he had fulfilled their need. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remembered (Allah) abundantly, spoke little idle talk, made the prayer long and the sermon short, and never hesitated to walk with a slave or a widow in order to fulfil their need. Imam al-Hakim says: I have presented these sahih hadiths about the noble character of Sayyiduna al-Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him) as proofs of prophethood, in the light of these sayings of Allah Almighty: "And We chose them, knowingly, above the worlds." [Surah al-Dukhan: 32] And the saying of Allah Almighty: "Allah knows best where to place His message." [Surah al-An'am: 124] And the saying of Allah: "Nun. By the pen and what they write, you are not, by the favour of your Lord, a madman. And indeed, for you is a reward that will never end, and indeed, you are of a most exalted character." Now, after this, consider further sahih signs. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah Almighty revealed to Isa (peace be upon him): O Isa, believe in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and command those of your nation who reach his time to believe in him. Had it not been for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), I would not have created Adam; and had it not been for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), I would not have created Paradise and Hell. When I created the Throne upon the water, it began to tremble; then I wrote upon it 'La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah' (There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), and it became still. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When Adam (peace be upon him) committed the slip, he supplicated: O my Lord, I ask You by the right of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to forgive me. Allah Almighty said: O Adam, how did you recognise Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when I have not yet even created him? Adam (peace be upon him) said: O my Lord, because when You created me with Your Hand and breathed into me of Your spirit, I raised my head and saw written upon the pillars of the Throne: 'La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah' (There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), so I knew that You would not join to Your name anyone except the one who is the most beloved of all creation to You. Allah Almighty said: You have spoken the truth, O Adam; he is indeed the most beloved of all creation to Me. And since you have asked Me by his right, I have forgiven you; and had it not been for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), I would not have created you either." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, and it is the first hadith I have mentioned in this book from the narration of Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that Abu Talib set out for Syria with some elders of Quraysh, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was with them. When they were about to pass by the monk, they dismounted and unfastened their saddles. The monk came out to them, although they used to pass by there before as well, and he never came out nor paid any attention to them. He said: While they were still unfastening their saddles, the monk came walking among them until he took hold of the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "This is the leader of all the worlds; this is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds; Allah will send him as a mercy to all the worlds." The elders of Quraysh asked him: How do you know this? He said: When you were coming down from the pass, there was no tree or stone that did not fall down in prostration, and these things prostrate only to a Prophet. And I recognise him by the Seal of Prophethood, like an apple, below the cartilage of his shoulder. Then he went back and prepared food for them and brought it to them. At that time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was pasturing the camels. He said: Send for him. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and a cloud was shading him. He said: Look at him; a cloud is shading him. When he came near the people, he found that they had already taken the shade of the tree, but when he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, the shade of the tree leaned towards him. He said: Look at the shade of the tree; it has leaned towards him. While he was standing before them, he kept adjuring them not to take him to the Romans, for if the Romans saw him, they would recognise him by his description and kill him. Then he turned and saw that seven Romans had arrived. He received them and asked: Why have you come here? They said: We have come because this Prophet is to emerge in this very month, so there is no road left to which people have not been sent, and we have been sent to this road of yours. The monk asked them: Is there anyone behind you who is better than you? They said: No. They said: We were only told his news; we have been sent to this road of yours. He said: What do you think, if Allah decides upon a matter, can any human being prevent it? They said: No. He said: Then pledge allegiance to him. So they pledged allegiance to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and stayed there. The monk came to them and asked: I ask you by Allah, who is his guardian? The people said: Abu Talib. He kept adjuring him until Abu Talib sent him back, and Abu Bakr sent Bilal with him, and the monk gave him some ka'k (biscuits) and oil as provision for the journey. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Utbah bin Abd (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): O Messenger of Allah, how did the matter of your prophethood begin? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The woman who nursed and raised me was from Banu Sa'd bin Bakr. Her son and I went out with our animals, and we had no provisions with us. So I said: O my brother, go and bring us some food from our mother. My brother went, and I stayed with the animals. Suddenly two white birds came, looking like vultures. One of them said to his companion: Is this the one? He said: Yes. Then both of them rushed towards me, seized me, laid me down on my back and split open my belly. Then they took out my heart, split it as well, and removed two black clots from it. Then one of them said to his companion: Stitch it up and place the Seal of Prophethood on it. Then one said to the other: Put him in one pan of the scale and put a thousand of his nation in the other pan. I saw that those thousand people were above me, and I feared that they would fall on me. Then both of them said: Even if his whole nation were weighed against him, he would outweigh them. Then they left me and went away, and I was extremely frightened. Then I went to my mother and told her all that I had seen. She feared that something might have afflicted me, and she said: I place you under the protection of Allah. Then she saddled her camel, seated me on it, and rode behind me herself until we reached my mother. She said: I have discharged my trust and my responsibility, and she told her all that had happened to me. But my mother was not alarmed by it at all, and she said: I saw that a light came out of me by which the palaces of Syria were lit up." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.