The humility of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He looked towards the sky, and an angel was descending. Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) said: Since the day this angel was created, he has never descended before today. When he had come down, he said: O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Your Lord has sent me to you, and He has said: Shall I make you a "king" prophet, or a "servant" messenger? Sayyiduna Jibril said: O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Adopt humility before your Lord. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Rather a "servant" messenger (is what I wish to be).
Imam Ahmad, Imam al-Bazzar and Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this narration, and the narrators of the first narrations are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah! If I wished, the mountains would turn to gold and go along with me. An angel came to me whose waist was as large as the Ka'bah. He said: Your Lord sends you salam and says to you: If you wish, become a 'servant' prophet, and if you wish, become a 'king' prophet. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: I looked towards Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him), and he signalled to me that I should adopt humility. So I said: A 'servant' prophet (is what I would wish to be)." The narrator says: After that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never ate while reclining. He used to say: I will eat as a servant eats, and sit as a servant sits.
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this narration, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "An angel descended from the sky who had not descended upon any prophet before me, and will not descend upon anyone after me. He is Israfil (peace be upon him), and Jibril (peace be upon him) was with him too. He said: Peace be upon you, O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! I am your Lord's messenger to you. He has commanded me to give you the choice: if you wish, become a 'servant' prophet, and if you wish, become a 'king' prophet. I looked towards Jibril (peace be upon him), and Jibril (peace be upon him) signalled to me that I should adopt humility! At that time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Had I said that I would become a 'king' prophet, the mountains would have turned to 'gold' and gone along with me."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Yahya bin Abdullah al-Babluti, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seated, and Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) was with him, talking with him. Meanwhile the horizon of the sky split open, and Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) began drawing close to the earth and swaying this way and that. Meanwhile an angel came and stood before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Your Lord has given you the choice to adopt one of two forms: becoming a "servant" prophet or becoming a "king" prophet. Then Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) signalled to me with his hand that I should adopt humility. I knew that he was my well-wisher, so I said: I would wish to become a "servant" prophet. Then that angel rose up towards the sky. I said: O Jibril! I had intended to ask you about this, but the state I saw you in kept me from asking. O Jibril! Who was this? Jibril said: This was Sayyiduna Israfil (peace be upon him). On the day Allah Almighty created him, He created him standing before Him with his feet aligned; he has never raised his gaze. Between him and his Lord there are seventy lights, and not one of these lights is such that he could draw near it without being burned. Before him there is a Tablet. When Allah Almighty gives a command concerning anything in the heavens or on the earth, that Tablet rises and strikes his forehead, and he looks; if that task concerns me, he directs me to it; if it concerns Mika'il, he directs him to it; and if it is a task concerning the Angel of Death, he directs him to it. I said: O Jibril! Over what are you appointed? He replied: Over the wind and the armies (of angels). I said: Over what is Mika'il appointed? He replied: Over vegetation and rain. I asked: Over what is the Angel of Death appointed? He replied: Over taking souls. And I did not think that he (that angel) had come down for anything but the establishment of the Hour; and the state you saw me in was only out of fear that the Hour was about to be established.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Abi Layla, whom a group has declared thiqah (trustworthy), but he had a poor memory; the remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say: Allah Almighty sent an angel to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) together with Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him). That angel said: O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Indeed Allah Almighty has given you the choice either to become a "servant" prophet or to become a "king" prophet. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) as if seeking his counsel, and he signalled to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he should adopt humility. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Rather, I would wish to become a "servant" prophet. After that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was never seen eating while reclining, until he went to the presence of his Lord.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Baqiyyah bin al-Walid, who is a mudallis.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was given a choice between this world and the Hereafter, and he chose the Hereafter.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The keys of the world were presented to me placed on a piebald horse (one whose colouring is black and white), on which there was a cloth made of sundus (fine silk)."
Imam Ahmad recorded this narration, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu Ghalib narrates: I said to Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): Narrate to us a hadith that you heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. He said: The speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an itself. He would remember Allah abundantly, give short sermons and offer long prayers, and he did not feel it beneath him to walk along with a poor or weak person (and to stay with him) until he (the poor person) had finished his need.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The donkey which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to ride was named "Ufayr".
Imam Ahmad recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Ishaq, who is a mudallis.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a donkey whose name was "Ufayr".
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would ride a donkey, wear woollen clothing, milk the goat himself, and personally look after the guest.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration, and the narrators of this narration are the narrators of the Sahih, and
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration in abridged form.

Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man came before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and began to tremble. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Be at ease! I am no king; I am the son of a woman from Quraysh who used to eat "qadid" (dried meat).
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain contains narrators whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Sometimes a man from the outlying areas (al-Awali) would invite the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the middle of the night to a meal of barley bread, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would accept his invitation.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy); he also recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir in abridged form.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would sit on the ground, eat sitting on the ground, milk the goat himself, and accept the invitation of slaves to a meal of barley bread.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would accept even the invitation of slaves.
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once a man called out to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) three times, and each time he replied to him: "Here I am, here I am (labbayk, labbayk)."
Abu Ya'la recorded it in al-Kabir from his teacher Jubarah bin al-Mughallis, whom Ibn Numayr declared thiqah (trustworthy) and the majority declared da'if (weak); the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy) and are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Jubayr al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was walking among some people from his Companions, and he was screened with a cloth. When he noticed its shade, he raised his head and saw that it was a sheet with which he had been screened (so that the sun would not reach him). He said: "Stop!" He took the cloth and put it down, and then said: "I am only a human being like you."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am only a servant, and I eat just as a servant eats."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Hafs bin Umarah al-Tahi, and I do not know him. The remaining narrators of this report have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: There was a woman who used to talk obscenely with men, and she was foul-mouthed. Once she passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was eating tharid on a raised platform. She said: "Look at him! He sits just as a slave sits, and he eats just as a slave eats!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And who could be more of a servant than I?" The woman said: "He eats himself, and does not give me anything to eat." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then you eat too." She said: "Hand it to me with your own hand." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) handed it to her. Then she said: "Give me to eat from what is in your mouth." He gave that (morsel) to her and she ate it. Then modesty overcame that woman, and after that she never talked obscenely with anyone until she died.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Imam Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Love us with the love of Islam, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not raise me above my due, for Allah Almighty took me as a 'servant' before He took me as a 'Messenger'."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I were invited to (a meal of) a trotter, I would accept (the invitation)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin al-Mu'ammal, whom Ibn Hibban declared thiqah (trustworthy), and he said: "He makes mistakes." Yahya bin Ma'in's statements about him differ. The remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyiduna Hanzalah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I saw him sitting cross-legged.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Uthman al-Qurashi, and he is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would also walk on foot (when his turn came) for his travel companion.
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyiduna Amir bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I went out with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to go to the mosque, and his sandal strap broke. I took his strap so that I could fix it, but he took it from my hand and said: "This is preferential treatment, and I do not like preferential treatment."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I thought: I do not know how long the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will remain among us. So I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what if you made an 'arish (a roofed shelter) to give you shade?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will remain among the people, treading on my heels and tugging at my cloak, until Allah Almighty grants me relief from them."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".