Abū Dāwūd said:

“Aḥmad ibn Manīʿ narrated to us; Abū Qaṭan narrated to us; Mubārak ibn Faḍālah narrated to us, from Thābit al-Bunānī, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

‘I never saw a man draw near to the Prophet ﷺ and place his mouth at his ear so that the Prophet ﷺ would pull his head away; rather, it was the man himself who withdrew. And I never saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ take a man’s hand and release it until the man himself let go of his own hand.’ (1)

Abū Dāwūd alone reported this narration.

Imām Aḥmad said: (2) “Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar and Ḥajjāj narrated to us; they said: Shuʿbah narrated to us.” In the version of Ibn Jaʿfar it states: “I heard ʿAlī ibn Zayd say that Anas ibn Mālik said:

‘A young slave-girl from among the girls of Madinah would come and take the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he would not withdraw his hand from hers until she had led him wherever she wished.’”

Ibn Mājah (3) likewise transmitted it through Shuʿbah.

Imām Aḥmad also said: (4) “Hushaym narrated to us; Ḥumayd narrated to us, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

‘Indeed, a slave-girl from among the people of Madinah would grasp the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and walk off with him to attend to her need.’”

Al-Bukhārī recorded it in the Book of Manners of his Ṣaḥīḥ in suspended form, saying: “Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā—meaning Ibn al-Ṭabbāʿ—said: Hushaym narrated to us,” and then he mentioned the hadith.

Al-Ṭabarānī said: (5) “Abū Shuʿayb al-Ḥarrānī narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bāblutiyy narrated to us; Ayyūb ibn Nahīk narrated to us; I heard ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ say: I heard Ibn ʿUmar say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

‘A cloth-seller was brought before him and he purchased a shirt from him for four dirhams, then went out wearing it. A man from the Anṣār met him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, clothe me in a shirt; may Allah clothe you in garments of Paradise.” The Prophet immediately removed the shirt and gave it to him. He then returned to the shopkeeper and bought another shirt for four dirhams, leaving two dirhams with him.

As he walked on, he came upon a young girl in the road who was crying. He asked, “What makes you cry?” She replied, “O Messenger of Allah, my family entrusted me with two dirhams to buy flour, but they have been lost.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave her the two remaining dirhams.

When he turned to leave, he found her still weeping. He called her back and said, “Why are you crying now that you have the two dirhams?” She answered, “I fear they will beat me.”

So he walked with her to her household and greeted them with salām. They recognised his voice, yet he repeated the greeting, and then repeated it a third time before they responded. He said, “Did you not hear my first greeting?” They replied, “Indeed we did, but we wished you to increase us in salām. May our fathers and mothers be ransomed for you!”

He said, “This girl was afraid you would beat her.” Her owner then declared, “She is free for the sake of Allah because you accompanied her.”’