Reports on the special qualities of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Sacrifice has been made obligatory upon me, but it has not been made obligatory upon you."

In one narration the words are: "I have been commanded to pray the two rak'ahs of Duha (the forenoon prayer), and you have not been commanded to do so; and I have been commanded to offer sacrifice, and it has not been made obligatory upon you."

In one narration it is reported: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "There are three things which are obligatory for me and voluntary for you: Witr, sacrifice and the Duha (forenoon) prayer."

In one narration the words are: "I have been commanded to pray the two rak'ahs of Duha (the forenoon prayer) and to pray Witr, and these have not been made obligatory upon you." Ahmad recorded all of these narrations with various chains; al-Bazzar recorded similar narrations in abridged form; and al-Tabarani recorded them in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. In their narration the words are: "There are three things which are obligatory upon me." Its chain contains Abu Janab al-Kalbi, who is a mudallis (one who conceals defects in his chain). The remaining narrators of this narration as recorded by Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih, and the rest of its chains contain Jabir al-Ju'fi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three things are obligatory upon me, and they are Sunnah for you: Witr, using the tooth-stick (miswak), and offering voluntary prayers at night."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Musa bin Abd al-Rahman al-San'ani, who is kadhdhab (a liar).

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed Asr, then he entered my house and prayed two rak'ahs. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, you have prayed a prayer that you did not use to pray before." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Some wealth had come to me, and being occupied (with distributing it), I could not pray the two rak'ahs that I used to pray after Zuhr, so I have prayed them now." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, if we miss them, should we also make them up?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: In the Sahih there is a narration with this meaning which does not contain the words: "If we miss them, should we also make them up? And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No."
Ahmad recorded it, and Abu Ya'la recorded something similar; the narrators of both are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates regarding (the words of Allah Almighty): "as an additional (voluntary) act for you." Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: This was a voluntary act specifically for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded something similar in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. In his narration he recorded these words: "And during the night, offer Tahajjud; it will be an additional (voluntary) act for you." In al-Mu'jam al-Kabir he recorded these words: "This prayer was voluntary for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and for you it is a merit." Some of the chains of Ahmad and some of the chains of the others are hasan (good).

Mu'adhah (a woman of that name) narrates: A woman asked Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and I was present there at the time. That woman asked about the continuous fasting (sawm al-wisal) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her: "Do you want to act as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) acted? His past and future sins have already been forgiven, and his deeds were voluntary (extra) for him."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih; part of it is reported in the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Whenever food was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from somewhere other than his own household, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would ask about it. If he was told that it was a gift, he would eat it; and if it was said that it was charity (sadaqah), he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say: "(You people) eat!" and he (peace and blessings be upon him) himself would not eat it.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Whenever food was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he would eat from it and send what was left to Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) would place his fingers where he saw the marks of the fingers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Once a bowl was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he noticed the smell of garlic in it, so he did not even taste it, and he sent it to Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him). He looked and saw that the mark of the fingers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not visible in it, so he too did not taste it. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I did not see the mark of your fingers in this food." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I noticed the smell of garlic in it." Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You sent me what you yourself did not eat?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The angel comes to me."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

It is reported about Imran bin Husayn al-Dabbi that he came to Basrah, where Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was the governor. There, in the shade of the palace, a man was standing and saying: "Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have spoken the truth; Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have spoken the truth," and he said nothing besides that. The narrator says: I went up to him and said: "You are saying this very often: 'Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have spoken the truth.' (What is the reason for this?)" He said: "By Allah, if you wish, I will tell you about it." I said: "Very well." He said: "Then sit down." He related: "Once I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah, having come from such-and-such a place. The son of two old men of our tribe had gone off and joined the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The two of them said: 'You are going to Madinah. Our son has gone and joined this man; go to this man and ask him for the boy. If he wants a ransom, then pay him the ransom too.' So I came to Madinah and presented myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, two old men of our tribe have instructed me to seek their son with you.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'Do you recognise him?' The narrator said: 'I know his lineage.' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had the boy called, and he came. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Here is the boy; take him to his father.' I said: 'O Prophet of Allah, what will his ransom be?' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'It is not proper for us, that is, the family of Muhammad, to consume the price of anyone from the descendants of Isma'il.' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck my shoulder with his hand and said: 'I fear for Quraysh only from themselves.' I said: 'O Prophet of Allah, why is that?' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'If your life is long, you will see them (Quraysh) here (as rulers), and you will see the other people among them like a goat between two watering troughs: at one time it goes this way, at another time that way.'" The narrator says: I saw some people seeking permission to enter upon Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and then I saw those same people seeking permission to enter upon Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and I remembered the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Ahmad recorded it. I do not know the narrator named Imran, and the remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sleeping lying on his back, and he began to snore. Then he got up and prayed, and he did not perform ablution again. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
Ibn Majah recorded it, except that he did not record the words: "lying on his back."
Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar recorded it, and he recorded these words: "He fell asleep while in prostration." The narrators of Abu Ya'la are the narrators of the Sahih.

A man narrates: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): he (peace and blessings be upon him) fell asleep until he began to snore, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, and he did not perform ablution again.
Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is jayyid (good).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not shake hands with women when taking the pledge of allegiance (bay'ah).
Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyidah Asma' bint Yazid (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I do not shake hands with women."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).