37 — Abū Umar Hafs ibn Umar al-Muqri and Ahmad ibn Abd al-Alā al-Shaybānī narrated to me; they said: Ismāīl ibn Ayyāsh narrated to us. Sulaymān ibn Mansūr al-Khuzāī narrated to me; he said: Yahyā ibn Saīd al-Umawī narrated to me. Hāshim ibn al-Qāsim al-Harrānī narrated to me; he said: Muhammad ibn Salama narrated to us, from Bakr ibn Khunays, from Zayd ibn Abī Unaysa. All of them narrated from Abd al-Rahmān ibn Ziyād ibn Anum, from Yazīd ibn Abī Mansūr, from Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—who said: “The noble traits of character are ten. They may be found in a man but not in his son, or in his son but not in him; they may be found in a master but not in his servant, or in the servant but not in his master.” She then mentioned these very same traits.

38 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: “For each of the traits mentioned by the Mother of the Believers—may Allah be pleased with her—we shall cite in this book some of what has reached us from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—from his Companions—may Allah be pleased with them all—from those who came after them and followed them with excellence, and from scholars renowned for merit. This is so that the discerning may grow in insight and those who have fallen short in this regard may awaken from their prolonged heedlessness, becoming eager to acquire noble character and vying in beautiful deeds—deeds that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has made an adornment for His religion and an ornament for His devoted servants. It used to be said: ‘There is no noble quality or beautiful deed that Allah has not linked to religion.’”