Shamail al-Muhammadiyah #339

“Al-Husain said: ‘I asked my father how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) comported himself among his table companions, so he said: 'Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was always good-humored, easy-going, mild- mannered, neither rude nor coarse, nor boisterous, nor obscene, nor slanderous, nor avaricious. He would take no interest in what he did not desire, he would not leave anyone who pleaded with him hopeless or disappointed. There were three things he avoided: hypocrisy, excess, and what did not concern him. Similarly, he would not blame someone, find fault with him, or invade his privacy. He would only utter that for which he hoped to earn a reward. When he spoke, his table companions bowed in silence as if birds had alighted on their heads, and only when he fell silent would they speak. They would not contest one another’s right to speak in his presence, and when someone spoke in his presence, they listened to him until he finished. Their speech in his presence was the speech of the best of them. He would laugh about whatever they laughed about, and marvel at whatever they marveled at. He used to exercise patience with a stranger's rough manner of speaking or making inquiries, even if his Companions were keen to attract them, saying: ‘If you find someone seeking something he needs, you must help him!’ He would only accept praise in moderation, and he would not interrupt someone who was speaking, until he transgressed a limit, in which case he would interrupt him with a prohibition or by standing up.”