Shamail Tirmidhi

Sayyiduna Husayn ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I asked my noble father (Sayyiduna Ali al-Murtada, may Allah be pleased with him) about the conduct and behavior of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with his close companions. He replied: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was always cheerful, gentle in character, soft-natured, neither harsh-faced nor hard-hearted, did not make noise, did not speak indecently, did not find faults in others, was neither harsh in speech nor ill-tempered, neither shouted nor uttered obscenities, nor was he miserly or greedy. He would overlook things he did not desire, and if someone hoped for something from him, he would not disappoint him nor send him away empty-handed. He kept himself free from three things: argumentation, arrogance, and useless talk. And he kept people safe from three things: he would not criticize anyone, nor expose anyone’s faults, nor seek out matters that would bring shame if they occurred. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would only speak that from which reward was hoped. When he spoke, the people of the gathering would lower their necks as if birds were sitting on their heads, and when he became silent after speaking, then the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would speak. They would not argue in his presence, and when someone spoke, the people of the gathering would listen silently until he finished his speech. The conversation of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in his presence was as if it was the speech of the first person. He would smile at what made the Companions smile, and would be amazed at what amazed them. He would bear with patience the rudeness, harshness, and bad manners of strangers and travelers in their questioning, to the extent that the Companions (seeing this beautiful conduct) would themselves bring such questioners to his gathering. And he himself would say that when you see someone in need, help him. He would accept praise from one who was moderate, and would not interrupt anyone’s speech until he exceeded the limits, in which case he would stop him or get up and leave.”