And stronger than all of this is the hadith of Aishah, who said:

“O Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before performing witr?” He replied:

“O Aishah, my eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, as well as others, and has been referenced there; it also appears in Sahih Abi Dawud (1212). Thus, the hadith is established, praise be to Allah.

3558 — “He had large hands and feet, a handsome face; I never saw anyone like him, either before or after him.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhari (5906–5912), Ahmad (3/125), and Ibn Sad in al-Tabaqat (1/414), through various chains from Qatadah, from Anas, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The wording is al-Bukhari’s.

In al-Fath al-Kabir, al-Nabahani attributed it to al-Bukhari with an addition, saying:

“He had a large head, hands, and feet.”

This addition has been interpolated into this hadith; it has no basis in either al-Bukhari or the other sources. Perhaps it was simply a slip of the pen on his part.

Strangely enough, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar—or a copyist of his work Fath al-Bari—made a similar mistake. For when he quoted the text in order to explain it, he cited it (10/358) with the wording: “large-headed and large-footed.”

This phrase, “large-headed ...,” has indeed been narrated through chains from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Its documentation has preceded under no. 2053.