Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 271
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَثِيرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: لَمْ يَكُنِ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاحِشًا وَلاَ مُتَفَحِّشًا، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: خِيَارُكُمْ أَحَاسِنُكُمْ أَخْلاَقًا.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Wa’il, from Masruq, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, who said: The Prophet ﷺ was neither obscene nor one who spoke obscenely. He used to say, ‘The best of you are those best in character.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic pairs فاحش and متفحش; the wording distinguishes being foul in speech from deliberately speaking obscenely.
فَاحِشًا وَلاَ مُتَفَحِّشًا
The second adjective conveys deliberately adopting or displaying obscenity, which the witness renders ‘loud,’ a different sense.
Should the distinction be retained with a slightly explanatory English phrase?