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The founding texts of Islam at times emphasize the humanity of the Prophet and at other times underline the sacredness of his being, in contact with the angelic and divine world. They present the Companions venerating the Prophet in different ways, but also loving him. Indeed the Quran commands believers not only to obey the Prophet but also to revere him and to respect a code of behaviour towards him. Certain passages of the Sîra bear witness to an attitude among the Companions of intense veneration for the Prophet, which is sometimes expressed by the desire for physical contact with his body or its traces. This is because contact with his body guarantees his intercession and happiness in the hereafter. On the other hand, certain hadiths evoke the reverential fear provoked by his mere presence, or even by his silence. They describe the Companions’ attitude as follows: “As if there were birds on their heads”. This attitude is due to a premonition of the imminence of revelation or of the hereafter, a premonition born of the person of the Prophet and his presence. These two different attitudes can be ascribed to two aspects of the Prophet, of familiarity and of sacredness, of love and reverential fear. If the Prophet is a model for believers, this also holds for the Companions, who provide a model for believers in their own behaviour towards the Prophet.