A Muslim sister told me that the Companions used to seek blessings from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. An example is that they used to pick up his spittle in their hands or elsewhere, I am not sure. Is this correct?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.  I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Allaah the Almighty blesses whatever creatures, places and times he wants. He, the Exalted, placed blessing in the body of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and in  the discharges which came out from him, like sweat and spittle. It is authentically reported that the Companions used to seek blessing from such things. This is not strange because Allaah The Almighty is capable of changing, purifying and removing harm from these things and making them a form of treatment and medicine. Here are some Hadeeths narrated in this regard:

1-      On the authority of  Abu Juhayfah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, performed his ablution and the remaining water was taken by people and they started applying it to their bodies (for blessing). Abu Moosa stated that the Prophet asked for a glass containing water and washed both his hands and face in it and then spat in it and asked Abu Moosa and Bilaal to drink from the glass and pour some of its water on their faces and chests.

2-      On the authority of Sahl ibn Sa‘d in the Battle of the Trench, the eyes of Ali were aching. When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came to know about this, he applied saliva into his eyes and they recovered, as if there was nothing wrong with them. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

3-      On the authority of Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullaah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was very hungry on the day of digging the trench. Jaabir prepared a little food and invited the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in turn invited all participants from the digging. He ordered Jaabir not to prepare any food until he arrived. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came in front of the people and spat in the food and supplicated that Allaah The Almighty would bless it. Jaabir swore by Allaah The Almighty that all the people, estimated at one thousand men, ate and a large quantity of food remained left over. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

4-      On the authority of Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and Marwaan ibn Al-Hakam, they stated in the Hadeeth about the story of Al-Hudaybiyah that whenever the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,  spat, one of the Companions would take the spittle and would rub it on his face and skin, and if he performed ablution they would struggle to take the remaining water. [Al-Bukhari]

5-      On the authority of Anas ibn Maalik the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, slept at their house and sweated.  Anas' mother brought a bottle and put the sweat of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, inside. When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, woke up he asked her about this and she told him that they had put his sweat in the cologne and that his sweat had a better smell than it. [Muslim]

Seeking such blessings is restricted only to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, however, and cannot be extended to other righteous people.

Allaah Knows best.