Ten years, and not once

Anas was about ten when his mother brought him. He served in the household until the Prophet ﷺ died, roughly a decade later.

What he said about those years is the single most quoted thing he narrated, and it is entirely negative in form. Not once did the Prophet ﷺ say the least word of irritation to him. Not once did he ask him why he had done something. Not once did he ask why he had not done something.

It is worth being precise about what kind of claim that is. It is not a story about a grand act of forbearance under provocation. It is a statement about ten years of ordinary days — errands run badly, things forgotten, a child in the way — and the complete absence of the small, reasonable irritation that any household produces.

Anas is the best-placed witness in the entire corpus for this particular question, because he is the one who was there for the unremarkable parts. Anyone can be impressive at a battle. He is testifying about the kitchen.

The report is in both Sahih collections.