1232 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “One day the Prophet ﷺ entered, delighted, the lines of his face gleaming, and remarked, ‘Have you not seen Mujazziz al-Mudlijī? A moment ago he looked at Zayd ibn Ḥārithah and at Usāmah ibn Zayd and declared, “These feet come from one another!”’” Agreed upon. (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
– masrūran: joyful; the features of his face plainly displayed his pleasure, happiness and delight.
– tabruq: with a ḍammah on the rāʾ; it means “to sparkle, shine, or glow with joy.”
– asārīr wajhihi: the plural of asrār, itself the plural of sirr or sarar, literally the lines in the palm; here it refers to the lines on the forehead.
– Mujazziz al-Mudlijī: with a ḍammah on the mīm, a fatḥah on the jīm, and a kasrah with shaddah on the first zāy; an active-participle form. Banū Mudlij are a branch of Kinānah from the Adnānī tribe of Muḍar, famous for the science of qiāfah (physiognomy). A qāʾif is one who tracks footprints and recognises family resemblance; the plural is qāfah.
– Usāmah ibn Zayd: son of Zayd ibn Ḥārithah of the Kalbā ibn Wabarah line within the larger clan of Quḍāʿah. Zayd was light-skinned while his son Usāmah was dark, and people used to cast doubts about their relationship, which pained the Prophet ﷺ; hence his pleasure at the qāʾif’s testimony.

Lessons derived from the ḥadīth
1 – Zayd ibn Ḥārithah was of a fair complexion, whereas his son Usāmah was dark-skinned, and people—