A similar wording is related by Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmur from Ibn ʿUmar.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿAjlī said:
A man once stated to ʿAwānah ibn al-Ḥakam, “The most handsome of all people is Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bajalī.” ʿAwānah replied, “Rather, the most handsome of people is the one whose likeness Gabriel adopted when he descended”—meaning Dihyah (1).
There is also a discredited report alleging that Dihyah accepted Islam during the caliphate of Abū Bakr (2).
Abū Muḥammad ibn Qutaybah, citing the report of Ibn ʿAbbās, said: “Whenever Dihyah arrived, not a single muʿsir remained indoors; every one of them came out to gaze at him” (3).
The term muʿsir denotes a young girl whose first menses is near, just as a boy on the verge of puberty is called murāhiq.
There is no doubt that Dihyah was the most handsome of the Companions living in Medina—this is well known—hence Gabriel would sometimes descend in his form. As for Jarīr, he did not reach Medina until shortly before the Prophet ﷺ passed away.
Among those likewise famed for their beauty was al-Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās (4), who entered Medina after the Conquest.
(1) Al-Hafiz lists him in al-Isaba 3/191 and attributes the report to al-Ajli in his Tarikh. Gabriel’s appearing to the Prophet in the likeness of Dihya implies the legal desirability of choosing emissaries and couriers who are pleasant-looking. This is supported by al-Bazzar in his Musnad (no. 1985), transmitted through Qatada, from Abd Allah b. Buraida, from his father: the Messenger of Allah said, “When you dispatch a courier to me, send one who is handsome and bears a good name.” Its transmitters are trustworthy. Al-Bazzar provides a corroborating narration as well (no. 1986) from Abu Hurayra: the Messenger of Allah said, “When you send a man to me, send one who is handsome and bears a good name.” The chain is sound for corroboration.
(2) Tahdhib Ibn Asakir 5/223. Ibn Asakir also rejects the report because its chain includes al-Husayn b. Isa al-Hanafi, the brother of Salim al-Qari, who was known for aberrant narrations.
(3) Al-Isaba 3/191; Tahdhib Ibn Asakir 5/223.
(4) This is likewise affirmed in al-Bukhari 11/8 (Book of Seeking Permission), in the hadith of Ibn Abbas about the Khath’amite woman, which states: “Al-Fadl was a handsome man.”