I have forgotten how much longer his forefinger was compared with his other fingers.”

ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar ibn Fāris said: Ḥarb ibn Sarīj al-Khulaqānī narrated to us, saying: A man from Balʿadawiyyah told me, reporting from my grandfather: “I travelled to Madinah and there I saw the Prophet ﷺ. He was a well-proportioned man with a broad forehead, a fine nose, and delicate eyebrows. From the base of his throat to his navel ran a line of hair as straight as a drawn thread. I saw him wearing two coarse garments. He came close to me and greeted me with, ‘Peace be upon you.’ ”

Al-Masʿūdī narrated from ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hurmuz, and Shurayk narrated from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr—both from Nāfiʿ ibn Jubayr. Shurayk’s wording is as follows: “ʿAlī described the Prophet ﷺ to us and said, ‘He was neither short nor tall, and he would lean forward slightly as he walked, as though descending a slope.’ ” (Al-Masʿūdī’s version reads: “as though coming down from a slope”). “Before him and after him I have not seen anyone like him.” Al-Nasāʾī recorded this report.

ʿAwn ibn Abī Juhayfah narrated from his father, who said: “The Prophet ﷺ was at al-Baṭḥāʾ. The people rose and began taking hold of his hands, wiping them over their faces. I took hold of his hand and placed it on my face; it was cooler than ice and more fragrant than musk.” Al-Bukhārī cites this narration in suspended form.

Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh reported from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: “People said to ʿAlī, ‘Describe the Prophet ﷺ for us.’ He replied, ‘He was neither short nor tall—though closer to tall—and he had thick palms and feet. A line of hair ran down the middle of his chest, and when he perspired, his sweat-drops were like pearls. When he walked he leaned forward slightly, as though…’ ”