The Prophet ﷺ said: There are forty characteristics; the highest of them is to give a goat on loan (for benefiting from its milk). If any man carries out any of those characteristics with the hope of getting a reward and testifying to the promise for it, Allah will admit him to Paradise for it. Abu Dawud said: In the version of Musaddad, Hassan said: So we counted other characteristics than lending the goat: to return the greeting, to respond to sneezing, and remove things which cause annoyance to the people from their path, and similar other things. We could not reach fifteen characteristics.
حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى وَهَذَا حَدِيثُ مُسَدَّدٍ وَهُوَ أَتَمُّ عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ عَنْ حَسَّانَ بْنِ عَطِيَّةَ عَنْ أَبِي كَبْشَةَ السَّلُولِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو يَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَرْبَعُونَ خَصْلَةً أَعْلاَهُنَّ مَنِيحَةُ الْعَنْزِ مَا يَعْمَلُ رَجُلٌ بِخَصْلَةٍ مِنْهَا رَجَاءَ ثَوَابِهَا وَتَصْدِيقَ مَوْعُودِهَا إِلاَّ أَدْخَلَهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا الْجَنَّةَ