[JasonC]

No, not the holiness of his character. They used hadith to justify their own acts. They were legal precedents, with the effective force of a law or of permission. If they wanted to massacre captives after a seige because they deigned to resist, to encourage a speedier capture next time, then they'd say Muhammad did it once. If they wanted so and so many wives, they'd say Muhammad had so and so many wives or allowed it. Whether he ever actually did is anybody's guess.

[Mitchell]

They used hadith to justify their own acts. They were legal precedents, with the effective force of a law or of permission.

Yes, that makes sense.