Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with him—said:
“The Prophet of Allah ﷺ declared: ‘On the night I was taken on the Night Journey I saw Moses, son of ʿImrān—tall and curly-haired, as though he were one of the men of Shanūʾah. I also saw Jesus, son of Mary—of medium build, with a complexion inclined to redness and whiteness, and with straight hair.’” (1)
Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim transmit this report through the chain of Qatādah. (2)
Imām Aḥmad likewise relates—through ʿAbd al-Razāq, from Maʿmar; al-Zuhrī told him, and Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib informed him from Abū Hurayrah—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, recounting the Night Journey, said: “I met Moses,” and he described him. A man—I think it was the narrator—added: “well-built,” meaning tall, “with loose hair, as though he were one of the men of Shanūʾah. I also met Jesus,” and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ described him, saying, “of medium stature and reddish in complexion, as though he had just come out of a bath. I also saw Abraham, and of all his descendants I resemble him the most.” (3)
Most of these narrations have already been cited in the biography of the Friend [Abraham]. (4)
Mention of his death—peace be upon him
Al-Bukhārī states in his Ṣaḥīḥ, under “The Death of Moses—peace be upon him”:
Yahyā ibn Mūsā related to us; ʿAbd al-Razāq narrated to us; Maʿmar informed us—through Ibn Ṭāwūs, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah—who said:
“The Angel of Death was sent to Moses—peace be upon him. When he came to him, Moses struck him (5). The angel returned to his Lord and said, ‘You have sent me to a servant who does not wish to die.’ Allah said, ‘Go back to him and tell him to place his hand on the back of an ox; for every hair his hand covers he will be granted one year of life.’ Moses said, ‘My Lord, and after that?’ He replied, ‘Then death.’ Moses said, ‘So let it be now.’ He then asked Allah to bring him near to the Holy Land, at a distance no farther than a stone’s throw.’”
Abū Hurayrah added that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Had I been there, I would have shown you his grave, by the roadside, at the foot of the red dune.” (6)
Maʿmar also narrated—through Hammām, from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ—a report of similar purport.