…the man; he did not come to them in his angelic form, for they would have been unable to look at him in that state. (49) No trace of travel could be seen on him, nor did any of us—meaning those present—know him. This was remarkable: he was not arriving from a journey such that one could say he was a stranger to Madinah, yet they did not recognize him; nor was he a resident of the town whom they ought to have known. They were therefore perplexed: he was neither a traveler nor a local. Had he just come from a journey, the effects of travel would have been evident in his clothes and complexion, for a traveler inevitably shows such signs. Since none of those present recognized him, he could be neither a townsman nor a recent arrival—so who was this man? That is what left them astonished. He then sat down in front of the Prophet ﷺ in the posture of a pupil before his teacher, brought his knees right up to the Prophet’s knees—indicating extreme closeness—and placed his hands on the Prophet’s thighs.