1025 — Abu al-Qāsim Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Atashī narrated to us, saying: ⦗1517⦘ Ahmad ibn Yahyā ibn Mālik al-Sūsī narrated to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn al-Muhabbar narrated to us, saying: Abbād ibn Kathīr narrated to us, from Abu Idrīs, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said:

“I read seventy-one books, and I found in every one of them that, in comparison with the intellect of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—Allah, Majestic and Exalted, granted all humankind, from the beginning of the world until its end, no more intellect than a single grain of sand amid all the sand on earth. I also found that Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was the weightiest of all people in intellect and the finest in judgment.”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: I shall now explain the uncommon expressions in the hadith of Abu Hāla that we previously mentioned, following the explanations given by earlier ⦗1518⦘ scholars such as Abu Ubayd and others. This is a beneficial field of knowledge for scholars and others alike.

His words at the beginning of the hadith, “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was imposing and held in esteem; his face shone like the full moon,” mean that he was majestic and honored. One says of a man that he is imposing and manifestly majestic. It is also said, “We went to so-and-so and honored him,” meaning that we esteemed him and elevated his standing. The poet said:

[Rajaz meter]

We praise our Lord, the most exalted and august.

His words, “shorter than the extraordinarily tall man,” refer to a man who is conspicuously tall. The root sense of the term is dispersal. Thus, one says, shadhdhabtu al-māl (“I dispersed the wealth”). The excessively tall man is so called because his frame is elongated rather than compactly formed. He means that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was not excessively tall, but was between medium height and conspicuous tallness.

His words, “If his aqīqa parted, he parted it,” refer to his hair. He means that he would not part his hair unless it naturally parted of itself. It is said that this was during the early period of Islam; afterward, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—parted his hair.

His words, “radiant in complexion,” mean that his complexion was fair and luminous, just as people say, “A lamp ⦗1519⦘ shines,” meaning that it gives light. Venus was so named because of the intensity of its light. A whiteness that lacks radiance, however, is termed pallid.

His words, “long and finely shaped eyebrows,” refer to their length and fineness and to their extension toward the outer corners of the eyes. He then described the eyebrows as “extending fully without meeting.” Their meeting means that the eyebrows extend until their ends join. Al-Asmaī said: “The Arabs disliked joined eyebrows and considered a clear space between them desirable.” Such a clear space exists when the eyebrows end separately and the area between them is unblemished.

His words, “aquiline of nose,” refer to the nose—the organ of sneezing, also called the marsin. Its aquiline quality consists of its length, the fineness of its tip, and a slight convexity along its middle.

His words, “Someone who did not examine him closely might think it high-bridged,” refer to the elevated, handsome, and even bridge of the nose, with the tip projecting slightly. He is saying that because of the handsome and proportionate aquiline shape of his nose, someone who had not examined it closely might think it markedly high-bridged.

His words, “broad of mouth,” mean that his mouth was large. One describes it as broad when its breadth is evident. This is also the sense ⦗1520⦘ of the jinn’s words to Umar—may Allah be pleased with him: “I am certainly one of their stoutest.” The Arabs praised this feature and disparaged a small mouth.

His words, “with a fine line of hair,” refer to the narrow line of hair running between the hollow at the base of the neck and the navel.

His words, “His neck was like the neck of a figure in the purity of silver,” use jīd to mean the neck and dumya to mean a figure or image. Its whiteness was likened to silver.

His words, “stout yet firm,” mean that he was large-bodied. It is said, badana al-rajul or, with the consonant doubled, baddana, when a man grows old. “Firm” means that despite his stoutness, his flesh was firm and not flabby.

His words, “His abdomen and chest were level,” mean that his abdomen did not protrude and was therefore level with his chest, while his chest was broad and correspondingly level with his abdomen.

His words, “large-jointed,” refer to the joints. In Ali’s ⦗1521⦘—may Allah be pleased with him—description of him, he said that the heads of his bones were large, such as those of the knees, elbows, and shoulders.

His words, “radiant in the parts ordinarily covered,” refer to those portions of his body from which clothing was removed. “Radiant” is derived from “light,” and he intended the intensity of his fair complexion.

His words, “long in the forearms,” refer to the portion of the forearm from which the flesh recedes. The forearm has two heads, called the kūʿ and the kursūʿ. The kursūʿ is the head on the side of the little finger, while the kūʿ is the head on the side of the thumb. It is related of al-Hasan al-Basrī that his forearm was one span in breadth.

His words, “broad-palmed,” mean that the palms of his hands were wide. The Arabs praised and commended this feature while disparaging small hands and narrow palms.

His words, “thick in the hands and feet,” mean that they inclined toward thickness and shortness.

His words, “flowing in the extremities,” refer to the fingers: they were long and were neither knotted nor ⦗1522⦘ contracted.

His words, “high-arched in the soles,” refer to the hollow beneath the middle of each foot that rises above the ground. He meant that these hollows were raised and that he was not flat-footed. A flat-footed person is one whose entire sole is even and touches the ground. A woman with a slender abdomen is described by the related term khumsāna.

His words, “smooth-footed,” mean that his feet had smooth, even surfaces, so that when water was poured over them, it flowed away swiftly because of their evenness.

His words, “When he moved away, he did so by lifting his feet firmly,” are similar to Ali’s—may Allah be pleased with him—description: “When he walked, he lifted his feet firmly from the ground.”

His words, “He strode forward and walked gently,” mean that he extended himself when he took a step and walked with gentleness, without swaggering or adopting a ghataf gait. Hawn, with an open initial vowel, means gentleness. Allah, Majestic and Exalted, said: “The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth gently.” [al-Furqān: 63] When the initial vowel is changed to form hūn, however, it means humiliation. Allah, Majestic and Exalted, said: “the punishment of humiliation.” [al-Anām: 93]

His words, “brisk in his gait,” mean that despite this manner of walking, he walked swiftly. A swift horse is called dharīʿ, one manifestly characterized by swiftness, and a woman is described by the related verb tadhrāʿu when she spins quickly. ⦗1523⦘

His words, “When he walked, it was as though he were descending a slope,” refer to the sense of descending.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: These, then, are the qualities of his physical form. As for the qualities of his character—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—his words, “He would usher his Companions ahead,” mean that when he walked with his Companions, he would place them before him and walk behind them. Another hadith states, “He would drive his Companions onward”; basr means driving onward.

His words, “He was gentle,” mean that he was easygoing and mild.

His words, “He was neither coarse nor demeaning,” mean that he neither treated people with contempt nor humiliated them. He was neither coarse, harsh, and rude, nor contemptible and weak.

His words, “He esteemed every blessing, however small,” mean that he never regarded anything he was given as insignificant, even if it was small, nor did he despise it.

His words, “He neither disparaged nor praised any food he tasted,” mean that he would not describe food as good or bad, whatever its condition.

His words, “When angered, he turned away and averted his face,” mean that he turned his face aside, which is the action of someone wary of a thing and averse to a matter. The expression “averting one’s face” has two meanings: one is earnest engagement in a matter, and the other is turning one’s face away. One says ashāha when someone turns his face aside, and this is the sense intended by the term ⦗1524⦘ here. The same meaning occurs in his words—may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Protect yourselves from the Fire, even with half a date.” He then turned away and averted his face—that is, he turned his face aside. This is the action of someone wary of a thing and averse to a matter.

His words, “He smiled,” mean that he smiled so that his teeth showed. From the same root, one says, farartu al-dābba, when one examines an animal’s teeth.

His words, “revealing what resembled the hailstones of clouds,” refer to hail. He likened his teeth to it, and “clouds” means the masses of cloud.

Regarding his conduct upon entering his home, the words, “He divided his allotted portion between himself and the people and conveyed the public’s share through the select few,” mean that the general public could not reach him in his home at all times. He therefore conveyed their due share of that allotted time to them through the select people who could reach him, and they in turn conveyed it to the public.

His words, “They would enter as ruwwād,” use the plural of rā’id. The term originally referred to someone whom a people sent out to seek pasture and places where rain had fallen. Pasture is not intended here; rather, it is a metaphor for the knowledge and benefit they sought from him concerning their religious and worldly affairs.

His words, “They would not disperse until they had tasted,” use “taste” in its original sense of tasting food. Food is not intended here; rather, it is a metaphor for the good they received from him.

His words, “They would leave as guides,” mean that they left him with what they had learned ⦗1525⦘ and then guided others to it and informed them of it. “Guides” is a plural form analogous to the plurals of “miserly” and “couch.”

Regarding his gathering, his words, “No protected honor was maligned there,” mean that no one was accused or defamed there. One says, “I accused him of such-and-such evil,” when one casts an allegation against him. This usage occurs in the hadith of the Slander: “Advise me concerning people who have maligned my family by accusing them of a man of whom, by Allah, I have never known any evil.” A person described as ma’būn is someone known for an evil trait of which he has been accused.

His words, “Nor were its slips repeated,” mean that no one spoke further of a blunder or lapse committed by anyone in his gathering. Thus, one says, “I repeated the report,” when one spreads it. “Slips” is the plural of “slip,” and here it means a lapse or mistake.

His words, “When he spoke, those seated with him lowered their heads as though birds were perched upon them,” mean that they remained still, did not move, and lowered their eyes. A bird alights only upon something still. Of a forbearing and dignified man it is said, “His bird is still.”

His words, “He accepted praise only from someone making due recompense,” mean that if someone began praising him without cause, he disliked it. But if he had done someone a kindness and that person praised and thanked him, he accepted his praise.