The Sahabah and Tabi‘in were the people who had the greatest love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and were the keenest to seek his relics. In this hadith, Muhammad ibn Sirin, one of the Tabi‘in, narrates that he said to ‘Abidah – who was ibn ‘Amr al-Salmani, one of the senior Tabi‘in: We have some of the hair of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in our possession; it was given to us by Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), or by his family. It is as if he was saying that they sought blessing (barakah) from this hair, and held it in high esteem. Anas ibn Malik was the son of the wife of Abu Talhah; she was known as Umm Sulaym. Abu Talhah acquired some of the hair of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when his head was shaved during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and it remained until it was inherited by his heirs and his freed slaves. Sirin, the father of Muhammad, was a freed slave of Anas ibn Malik, and he obtained some of this hair. ‘Abidah said to Ibn Sirin: If I had one hair of his, that would be dearer to me than this world and everything in it. Thus ‘Abidah wished that he could have one hair of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). This is indicative of the high esteem in which they held the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as his worth in their view was far greater than this world and everything in it. That was because of their great love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). It was proven that some of the Sahabah used to take the sweat of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and add it to their perfume. Others would seek where he had put his fingers in the food, and eat from that place. Yet others would drink his leftover water and other drinks. This is in addition to their keenness to follow his Sunnah and teachings, out of love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and seeking blessing from his relics. This applies only to the relics of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) himself. This hadith indicates that human hair is pure (tahir). It also highlights the great love that the Tabi‘in had for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)..