He was an unattractive man, and one day the Prophet ﷺ came upon him while he was selling his wares. The Prophet embraced him from behind while he could not see who it was. Zāhir cried out, “Let me go! Who is this?” He turned, recognized the Prophet ﷺ, and the Messenger of Allah began calling out, “Who will buy this slave from me?” Zāhir said, “Messenger of Allah, in that case you will find me unsellable!” The Prophet replied, “But in Allah’s sight you are precious.” This is an authentic yet singular report (ṣaḥīḥ gharīb).

Khalid ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Wāsiṭī related from Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Ibn Abī Laylā, from Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr, who said: While a man from the Anṣār was sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ speaking—he was given to light-hearted banter, telling stories that made the people laugh—the Prophet ﷺ poked him in the side. The man said, “Let me retaliate!” The Prophet answered, “Take your retaliation.” The man replied, “You are wearing a shirt, whereas I am not.” So the Prophet ﷺ lifted his own shirt. The man embraced him, began kissing his flank, and said, “This is all I wanted, Messenger of Allah.” Its transmitters are reliable.

Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid narrated from Qays, from Jarīr, who said: “Since the day I embraced Islam, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never kept himself screened from me, and whenever he saw me he greeted me with a smile.”