Excellent Qualities and Description of the Prophet

Anas told that Gabriel came to the Prophet when he was sitting grieved, smeared with blood as a result of what the people of Mecca had done[*], and said, "Messenger of God, would you like me to show you a sign?" When he agreed, Gabriel looked at a tree behind him and said, "Call it." He did so, and it came and stood in front of him. He then said, "Order it to go back," and when he had done so and it had gone back God's messenger said, "That is enough for me, that is enough for me." *Mirqat, v, 474, relates this to the injuries the Prophet suffered at the battle of UhudDarimi transmitted it.

When we were on a journey with the Prophet a nomadic Arab approached, and when he came near God's messenger said to him, "Do you testify that there is no god but God alone who has no partner and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger?" He asked, "Who will testify to what you say?" Replying, "This mimosa tree," he called it. It was at the side of the wadi, and it came forward furrowing the ground till it stood in front of him. He asked it to testify three times, and when it had testified three time that it was as he had said, it returned to its said. Darimi transmitted it.

Ibn 'Abbas told that a nomadic Arab came to God's messenger and asked, "By what means can I know that you are a prophet?" He replied, "If I call this raceme from this palm-tree it will testify that I am God's messenger." He called it and it began to come down from the palm-tree and fell beside the Prophet. He then told it to go back, and when it returned the nomadic Arab accepted Islam. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying it is sahih.

A wolf came to a shepherd and took a sheep, and the shepherd went after it and snatched it from it. The wolf went up on a mound, and sitting on its haunches with its tail between its legs, it said, "I went to provision, God had provided for me and took it, then you snatched it from me." The man declared, "I swear by God that have never seen anything like what I have seen to-day, a wolf talking!" The wolf replied, "Something more wonderful than this is a man among the palm-trees between the two harras[*] who can tell you what has happened and what will happen after your time." The man who was a Jew came to the Prophet and told him and accepted Islam. The Prophet believed him and said, "There are signs before the last hour. A man will soon go out and not return before being informed by his sandals and his whip about the new things his family have been up to since he left them."* Two mountains.It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

We were with the Prophet and were taking turns out of a large bowl from morning till night; ten getting up and ten sitting down. He was asked from what it was being replenished and replied, "What are you wondering at[*]?" "It was being replenished only from here," pointing with his hand to the sky. *Mirqat, 5:476, explains this as being addressed by Samura to Abul `Ala.Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.

`Abdallah b. `Amr told that the Prophet went out at the battle of Badr with three hundred and fifteen men and said, "0 God, they are barefoot, so provide mounts for them; O God, they are naked, so clothe them; O God, they are hungry, so satisfy them." God then gave him victory, and when they went back there was not a man who did not return with one camel or two, and they were clothed and had enough to eat. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn Mas'ud reported God's messenger as saying, "You will be helped, granted spoils, and given victory; so, let those of you who attain to that fear God, command what is reputable, and forbid what is disreputable." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jabir told that a Jewess belonging to Khaibar poisoned a roasted sheep and presented it to God's messenger. He took a foreleg and ate some of it, and some of his companions ate along with him. Then telling them to withdraw their hands, he sent for the Jewess, called her and said, "You have poisoned this sheep." She asked who told him and he replied, "This which is in my hand," referring to the foreleg. She said, "Yes, I said to myself that if he is a prophet, it will not harm him, and if he is not a prophet, we shall be rid of him." God's messenger pardoned her and did not punish her. His companions who had eaten some of the sheep died, and God's messenger had himself cupped on the upper arm because of what he had eaten of the sheep. Abu Hind who was a client of the B. Bayada, a section of the Ansar, cupped him with a horn and the edge of a knife. Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it.

Sahl b. al-Hanzaliya told that on the day of Hunain they travelled for a long time with God's messenger, and that in the evening a horseman came and said, "Messenger of God, I went up such and such a mountain and saw Hawazin all together with their women and animals, having collected at Hunain." God's messenger smiled and said, "That will be the booty of the Muslims to-morrow if God most high will." He asked who would go on guard that night, and when Anas b. Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said he would, he told him to mount. Then when he had mounted a horse of his he said, "Go forward to this ravine till you get to the top of it." In the morning God's messenger came out to his place of prayer and after praying two rak'as he said, "Have you seen any sign of your horseman?" to which a man replied, "We have not, messenger of God." The announcement that the time of prayer had come was then made, and while God's messenger was saying the prayer he began to glance towards the ravine, and when he finished, he said, "Cheer up, for your horseman has come." They began to look between the trees in the ravine, and sure enough he had come. He came on and standing by God's messenger said, "I went till I reached the top of this ravine where God's messenger commanded me, and in the morning, I looked down into both ravines but saw no one." God's messenger asked him if he had dismounted during the night, and when he replied that he had not, except to pray or to relieve himself, God's messenger said, "No blame will apply to you if you do no more supererogatory deeds in future*."*Literally, "no blame will apply to you supposing you do not work (i.e., do anything) after it." The translation above is based on the explanation given in Mirqat, 5:478. 'Abu Dawud transmitted it.

I brought the Prophet some dates saying, "Ask God for a blessing on them, messenger of God." He took them, prayed that I might have a blessing in them and said, "Take them and put them' in your provision-bag; and as often as you wish to take any, put in your hand and take them, but do not scatter them." I carried such and such a number of camel loads from those dates in God's path, eating of them and giving others something to eat. It never left my side until the day `Uthman was killed, for the bag was cut away. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

"One night, Quraish consulted together in Mecca. Some said they should tie him up (i.e., the Prophet) in the morning; others said they should rather kill him; and others said they should rather expel him. God informed His prophet about that, so `Ali spent that night on the Prophet's bed, and the Prophet went out till he came to the cave. The polytheists spent the night keeping guard on `Ali, thinking he was the Prophet, and in the morning, they rushed on him, but when they saw `Ali, God had turned away their guile. They asked, "Where is this companion of yours?" and he replied, "I do not know." They tracked him but when they reached the mountain his tracks became confused, so they went up the mountain and passed by the cave. They saw a spider's web at the entrance and said, "If he had entered here there would not have been a spider's web at the entrance." He stayed in it for three nights. Ahmad transmitted it.

When Khaibar was conquered a poisoned sheep was presented to God's messenger and he said, "Collect for me the Jews who are here." Then when they were collected God's messenger said to them, "I am going to ask you something, so will you tell me the truth about it?" They replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim." He asked who their father was, and when they replied that he was so and so he told them they lied, for their father was so and so. They said, "You have spoken truly and well." He then said, "Will you tell me the truth about a matter if I ask you about it?" They replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim; and if we lie you will know as you did about our father." He asked them who would go to hell and they replied, "We shall be in it for a little, then you[*] will succeed us in it." He said, "Go off in shame into it. I swear by God that we shall never succeed you in it." He then said, "Will you tell me the truth about a matter if I ask you about it?" and when they replied, "Yes, Abul Qasim," he said, "Have you put poison in this sheep?" They replied that they had, and when he asked them what had induced them to do that they replied, "We wanted to get rid of you if you are a liar, for if you are telling the truth it will not harm you." *The Pronoun is plural, indicating the Prophet and his followers.Bukhari transmitted it.

One day God's messenger led us in the dawn prayer, and mounting the pulpit addressed us till the time for the noon prayer came. He then descended and prayed, after which he mounted the pulpit and addressed us till the time for the afternoon prayer came. He then descended and prayed, after which he mounted the pulpit till the sun set. He informed us of what is to happen up to the day of resurrection, and the one of us who knows most is the one who committed most to memory. Muslim transmitted it.

Ma'n b. 'Abd ar-Rahman told of hearing his father say he had asked Masruq, who told the Prophet about the jinn on the night they listened to the Quran, and he replied, "Your father (meaning 'Abdallah b. Mas'ud) told me that he said a tree told about them." (Bukhari and Muslim).

When we were with `Umar between Mecca and Medina we tried to see the new moon, and I saw it as I had sharp sight, but no one else claimed to have seen it. I began to ask `Umar if he could not see it, but while he could not see it, he said he would see it when he was lying on his back on his bed. He began to tell us of those who had been at Badr, saying that God's messenger had shown them the day before where the combatants would fall. He had said, "This is where so and so will fall to-morrow, if God will; this is where so and so will fall to-morrow, if God will." `Umar swore by Him who had sent the Prophet with the truth that they did not go beyond the limits specified by God's messenger. He told that they were put on top of one another into a well and that God's messenger went to them and said, "So and so son of so and so, and so and so son of so and so, have you found what God and His messenger promised you to be true? I have found what God promised me to be true." 'Umar asked, "Messenger of God, how can you speak to bodies which contain no spirits?" to which he replied, "You are no better able to hear what I am saying than they are, but they are unable to make any reply." Muslim transmitted it.

Unaisa, daughter of Zaid b. Arqam told on her father's authority that the Prophet went in to visit Zaid when he was ill and said, "No harm will come to you from your illness, but how will you do if your life is prolonged after I am gone and you become blind?" He replied, "I shall seek my reward from God and show endurance," whereupon he said, "In that case you will enter paradise without being taken to account." She said he became blind after the Prophet died, and that God restored his sight to him before he died.

Usama b. Zaid reported God's messenger as saying, "Let him who falsely attributes to me things I have not said come to his seat in hell." That was because a man he had sent on an errand had told lies about him. God's messenger therefore invoked a curse on him and he was found dead with his belly split, and the earth would not accept him. Baihaqi transmitted the two traditions in Dala'il an-Nubuwa.

Jabir told that a man came to God's messenger asking him for food and he gave him half a camel-load of barley. The man, his wife and their guest kept on eating of it till he measured it, and then it came to an end. He went to the Prophet who said to him, "If you had not measured it you would have eaten of it and it would have remained for you." Muslim transmitted it.

We went out with God's messenger to a funeral, and I saw him at the grave giving this instruction to the grave-digger, "Make it wide where the feet go and wide where the head goes." When he came back, he was met by one who conveyed an invitation from the widow, and he accepted it and we went along with him. Food was brought, and when he put in his hand the people did the same, and they ate. We noticed that God's messenger was moving a morsel round in his mouth. He then said, "I find the flesh of a sheep which has been taken without its owners' permission." The woman sent a message to say, "Messenger of God, I sent to an-Naqi (a place where sheep were sold) to have a sheep bought for me, but there were none, so I sent to a neighbour of mine who had bought a sheep asking him to send it to me for the price he had paid, but he could not be found. I therefore sent to his wife and she sent it to me." God's messenger then said, "Give this food to the prisoners." Abu Dawud and Baihaqi, in Dala'il an-nubuwa, transmitted it.

Hizam b. Hisham, on his father's authority, said that his grandfather, Hubaish b. Khalid brother of Umm Ma'bad, told that when God's messenger was put out of Mecca he went as an emigrant to Medina, he, Abu Bakr and `Amir b. Fuhaira, Abu Bakr's client, with `Abdallah al-Laithi as their guide. They passed the two tents of Umm Ma'bad and asked her for some meat and dates meaning to buy them from her, but found she had nothing of that nature, for the provisions were exhausted as the tribe had been afflicted with famine. God's messenger looked at a sheep at the side of the tent and said, "What is this sheep, Umm Ma'bad?" She replied, "It is a sheep too emaciated to follow the flock." He asked if it had any milk, and when she replied that it was too exhausted for that, he asked if she would let him milk it. She said, "You for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom, if you see anything to milk in it, milk it." God's messenger asked it to be brought, and wiping its udder with his hand and mentioning the name of God most high, he prayed that she might have a blessing in her sheep. It then opened its legs for him, gave a flow of milk and ruminated. He called for a vessel which could hold enough for the people and milked an abundant supply into it till the froth appeared on the top. He gave her a drink till she was satisfied and gave his companions a drink till they were satisfied, then drank himself last of all. Immediately afterwards he milked it a second time, and when he had filled the vessel, he left it with her. He contracted with her [to accept Islam] and they departed from her. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna, by Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Isti'ab, and by Ibn al-Jauzi Kitab al-wafa'. In the tradition a story follows.