Al-Bayhaqī then said:
This ḥadīth was likewise transmitted by Muʿādh ibn Hishām, from his father, from Qatādah, from Anas—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was recognized by the fragrance of perfume (1).
I say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was inherently fragrant, his very scent pleasant, and in addition he loved perfume as well.
Imam Aḥmad said:
Abū ʿUbaydah narrated to us, from Sallām Abū al-Mundhir, from Thābit, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Women and perfume have been made beloved to me, and the delight of my eyes is in the prayer” (2).
Abū Saʿīd, the freedman of Banū Hāshim, narrated to us; Sallām Abū al-Mundhir al-Qārī related to us, from Thābit, from Anas, who said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared: “Only two things of this world have been made dear to me—women and perfume—and the comfort of my eyes is in the prayer” (3).
Al-Nasāʾī reported it in the same wording (4) through al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿĪsā al-Qurashī, from ʿAffān ibn Muslim (5), from Sallām ibn Sulaymān Abū al-Mundhir al-Qārī al-Baṣrī, from Thābit, from Anas.
It has also come through another route with the wording: “Three things of your worldly life have been made beloved to me: perfume, women, and prayer—which is the delight of my eyes” (6). This version, however, is not well-authenticated, for prayer is not among worldly matters but is rather one of the foremost concerns of the Hereafter. Allah knows best.
Description of the Seal of Prophethood that lay between his shoulders—may blessings and peace be upon him
Al-Bukhārī said (7):
Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah narrated to us; Ḥātim narrated to us, from al-Jaʿd. He said: I heard al-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd say: My maternal aunt took me to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the son of my sister is ill.” So he passed his hand
(1) I did not find this in al-Bayhaqi’s Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwa, but al-Haythami cites it in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (vol. 8, p. 282), noting: “It was narrated by Abu Ya‘lā, al-Bazzār, and al-Tabarānī in al-Awsat, except that he added: ‘We recognized the Messenger of Allāh (sallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) by his pleasant fragrance when he drew near us.’ The transmitters of Abu Ya‘lā are considered reliable.”
(2) Recorded by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad (vol. 3, pp. 128, 199). It is classified as ḥasan (sound).
(3) Also found in al-Musnad of Imam Ahmad (vol. 3, p. 128); its isnād is ḥasan, similar to the previous report.
(4) Appears in ʿAsharat al-Nisāʾ of al-Mujtaba (vol. 7, p. 61) and in Sunan al-Kubrā (hadith no. 8887).
(5) Imam Ahmad likewise transmits it from ʿAffān (vol. 3, p. 285); had he highlighted this, it would have carried a stronger and more valuable grade.
(6) This wording is not in Musnad Ahmad proper but occurs in his transmissions from Abū Saʿīd, the mawla of Banū Hāshim (vol. 3, p. 128), and from ʿAffān (vol. 3, p. 285) on the authority of Salām: “It has been made beloved to me from the worldly life…” without the phrase “the three.” As a result, it is a shādhdh (anomalous) report that distorts the meaning. Imam al-Manāwī comments in Fayḍ al-Qadīr (vol. 3, p. 370): “al-Zamakhsharī and al-Qāḍī added the word ‘three’, which is incorrect.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī notes in his Aʾmālī: “The term ‘three’ is not found in any hadith collection and it corrupts the meaning.” Al-Zarkashī states: “The word thalātha does not occur in any of the chains, and its insertion undermines the sense, since prayer is not part of worldly life.” And Ibn Ḥajar, in his Takhṛīj al-Kashshāf, affirms: “It does not appear in any of its transmission routes.”
(7) Reported by al-Bukhārī in his Ṣaḥīḥ (hadith no. 3541) under the Book of Virtues (al-Manaqib).