Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
With no doubt, Allāh lavished our Prophet (peace be upon him) with a perfect appearance and endowed him with the most beautiful physical attributes and characteristics. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said, “He [the Prophet] enjoyed the best stature and appearance, indicating his perfection.”[8]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
You should know that in order to perfect one’s faith, one must believe that there is no human in possession of as good an appearance as the Prophet (peace be upon him); this is because the outward beauty and handsomeness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) indicates the inward beauty and noble manners he possessed, and no person could ever equal or exceed his status neither in respect to physical appearance nor manners.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The Arabic word bāb (which translates to chapter in English) means the door through which a person can enter a place and eloquent scholars have understood it to refer to that which leads to one’s purpose. In the context [of its use by al-Tirmidhī], it alludes to: the means by which to become acquainted with the hadīths describing the physical appearance of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
1. Narrated by Rabī’a ibn Abī Abdul Rahman: “I heard Anas ibn Mālik describing the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying, ‘He was neither too tall nor short; neither absolutely white nor brown; his hair was neither very curly nor completely straight. The divine revelation was revealed to him when he was forty years old. He stayed ten years in Makkah, and stayed in Madīnah for ten more years. When he died, he was sixty years old and had [approximately] twenty grey hairs in his head and beard.” [9]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
“He was neither too tall nor short”: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was more apt to be described as tall than short, as it has been explicitly stated in other [authentic] hadīths. This is noted in the choice of words that Anas ibn Mālik used to describe the height of the Prophet (peace be upon him) i.e. he did not use the equivalent antonym of “short” when he negated both attributes; rather, he used the ascription “too tall” to explain that he (peace be upon him) was tall but not to the point where his height exceeded normal or proper limits.
“He stayed ten years in Makkah”: This is to specify the length of the period he stayed after receiving the revelation. However, some other hadīths stated that he stayed in Makkah for thirteen years. To reconcile between the two statements, it can be asserted that the mention of ten years refers to the period after the public proclamation of his Message, and the other three years refer to the period he kept this news hidden from others. Another reconciliation to present is that, the ten years refer to the period he stayed in Makkah from the day that Sūrah al-Muddathir was revealed to him wherein he was commanded to warn people, and the other three years refer to the years preceding the aforesaid command. It can even be argued that the narrator counted the age by tens and so he rounded the cardinal number; hence he also omitted the numbers above sixty from the age of the Prophet (peace be upon him) [as Arabs customarily do].
“When he died, he was sixty years old”: As it is established in authentic hadīths that the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty three, it becomes clear that the narrators chose to count by tens and hence omitted the three years from the earlier part.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The scholars who explained this hadīth stated that the part, “... When he was forty years old” is structured in the Arabic language to mean he had completed the age of forty.
“And had approximately twenty grey hairs in his head and beard”: The wisdom behind the Prophet (peace be upon him) having few grey hairs (though there are many hadīths stating the honour and virtue of grey hair) was so that the affability and love between him and his wives was maintained in a perfect manner [by Allāh], since women are apt to dislike grey hair on men. Further to the point, the statement of al-Hafith ibn Hajar (see page 1), wherein he mentioned that disliking anything about the Prophet is considered a matter of disbelief, cannot be true in all cases because the type of dislike that is naturally implanted in mankind is irrelevant to that which has been dictated.
2. Anas ibn Mālik related: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) was of medium height; he was neither [too] tall nor short. He had a good physical build, and his hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a tanned complexion, and when he walked, he leaned forward slightly.” [10]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
It is noted that in the previous hadīth, Anas ibn Mālik stated that the skin tone of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not brown. This caused some scholars to believe that this part (“He had a tanned complexion”) is not authentic because it was only reported from one person, while the rest of the narrators who reported this from Anas stated that, “He had a rosy complexion.”
Alī al-Qārī said,
The part where it says, “He had a good physical build” refers to his height, skin tone and weight.
The part stating that, “He had a tanned complexion” is intended to negate that he had a skin tone that was absolutely white, though [al-Hafith] al-Iraqī criticised the authenticity of this part. He mentioned that the number of companions who described the skin tone of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was fifteen, and all of them reported that he had a rosy skin tone; furthermore, this description is only reported by one narrator from Anas.
The part where it says, “When he walked, he leaned forward slightly” indicates that he walked with wide steps, because walking with small steps is the way that arrogant people walk.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
Arabs sometimes call the one with a white skin tone that is mixed with some redness a person with a tanned or deep-brown skin colour. This explains the reason why Anas stated in this hadīth that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a tanned complexion. Overall, the hadīths corroborate this understanding regarding the context of the use of the word tanned.
If one argues that, since the skin colour of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the most noble and honourable of all colours, and so is the skin colour of the dwellers of Paradise, then why is the skin colour of the latter white with some yellowness as stated by the majority of exegetes? I say, the basis of the skin colour of both is the same and the wisdom behind the aforementioned variation is: the red tone mixed with the white is due to the blood and its characteristics, which flows moderately in the veins and it is produced from the worldly nutrition. Whereas the yellow colour that makes the whiteness [of the skin] polished and purified only appears in Paradise as it can only be produced by the nutrition of that world.
From this part, we can understand the statement of some of the Shafi’ī scholars who said it is better for a woman not to wear white or silver clothes, because these can cause a resemblance of men in their clothing, and the reason she is encouraged to change the white coloured garment by dying it with saffron is so that the colour becomes closer to gold as that befits her gender.
3. Al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib related: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) was a man of medium build; he had broad shoulders; he had dense hair which reached his earlobes. [I saw him wearing] a hulla (red garment) and I never saw anything more beautiful than him.” [11]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The description given concerning his height is intended to be approximate and not to offer the exact measurement. This is deduced from the fact that other hadīths stated that he (peace be upon him) was closer to tall than short.
The Arabic word hulla is used only when the clothing is comprised of two pieces.
To reconcile between the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) wore a red garment and his statement wherein he admonished wearing red clothes, it can be said that the order not to wear red clothing refers to clothes comprised completely of red; hence if the garment has other colours such as white or black besides the red, then it does not fall under the category of the forbidden clothing.
The use of the word “anything” rather than “anybody” in the part, “... Anything more beautiful than him” makes the comparison refer to both the animate and inanimate creation.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The use of the word “man” is an addition from one of the narrators and not from the words of the companions. However, as all the narrators are trustworthy and creditable we accept this addition, and we understand it to be an adjective that is intended to state that he had all the praised qualities of a man. Alternatively, the use of the word can be understood in the context that it is often used as an introduction to what will come afterwards.
The quality of having broad shoulders is deemed by the Arabs as a sign of one’s generosity, profound respect and tolerance.
There are many hadīths about the length of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) hair, some of which indicated that it was up to his ears and some of which indicated that it reached to the middle of his ears. Al-Qadī ‘Iyyād explained that the variance of reports regarding this matter is due to the fact that each narrator reported what he saw at a specific time and thus the length of his hair differed.
Al-Nawawī explained that, “Hulla refers to clothing that is comprised of two pieces and it often refers to the izār (a lower garment wrapped around the waist).” To understand the Prophet’s wearing of a red garment in light of the knowledge that there are other hadīths wherein he discouraged people from wearing red clothes, we say either the garment he wore had colours other than red in it (but as red was more prominent, it was identified as a red garment), or it could be that the incident reported was before the admonishment he issued (if the garment was purely red), or that wearing these garments [that are completely red] is one of the exclusive characteristics of the Prophet that others are not allowed to do.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
There are different hadīths that provide different descriptions of the length of his (peace be upon him) hair and this is because each narrator described what he saw [at that specific time], and because when the Prophet would leave his hair uncut, he would leave it until it reached his shoulders and when he shortened it, he would let it reach the level of his earlobes; sometimes to the middle of his ears and sometimes to the level of his ear lobes.
4. Al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib related: “I have never seen someone with a limmah wearing a red garment more handsome than the Prophet (peace be upon him). He had long hair that reached his shoulders. The distance between his two shoulders was wide. He was neither tall nor short.” [12]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The word “limmah” refers to a hairstyle where the length of the hair extends to below the earlobes, whether it reaches the shoulders or not. What follows in this narration comes to state that al-Barā’ considered the Prophet (peace be upon him) to be the most handsome person he ever saw with such a description.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
This hadīth is authentic and it was used by Imām al-Shāfi’ī as evidence that it is permissible to wear red clothing.
5. Alī ibn Abī Tālib narrated: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) was neither extremely tall nor short. He had thickly boned hands and feet and a large head. The joints of his bones were large and he had a line of hair extending from his chest to the navel. When he walked, it appeared as if he was descending from a high place. I have never seen anyone who was comparable to him.” [13]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The common attribute that all the narrators who described the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned was that he was neither tall nor short.
Having thickly boned fingers does not entail the attribution of rough skin because Anas, as shall be mentioned later, stated that the touch of his hand was softer than silk.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The fact that he had thickly boned fingers and at the same time soft skin (as narrated by Anas ibn Mālik in other authentic hadīths) shows that he combined strength with fine-spun skin.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The last statement of Alī ibn Abī Tālib is a statement that is used (in Arabic) to negate the existence of anything that is similar to the described. It is to show that if there is none like him, then evidently there will be no one who is better than him.
6. Sufyān ibn Wakī’ narrated to us that his father narrated from al-Mas’ūdī through the same chain a similar hadith.
7. Ibrahim ibn Muhammad (who is from the grandchildren of Alī ibn Abī Tālib) reported that whenever Alī used to describe the Prophet (peace be upon him), he would say: “The Messenger of Allāh was neither very tall nor very short, but of a medium stature amongst the people. His hair was neither very curly nor completely straight; rather it was in between these two descriptions.
He did not have a fleshy body or a [fully] round face, his face was slightly round. His skin colour was white with some redness. He had extremely black eyes with long eyelashes. He had large joints and broad shoulders. There was no hair [more than normal] on his body and he had a thin line of hair running from the chest to the navel. He had thick hands and feet. When he walked, he lifted his legs with vigour and his steps were firm and strong as if he was descending down a slope. When he wished to look behind, he would turn his whole body, and not just the face. The seal of prophethood was situated between his shoulders. He was the seal of the Prophets, and he had the most generous of hearts and the most truthful tongue. He was the most kind-hearted and tolerant person ever. He was the best to spend time with due to his awe-inspiring character and kind treatment; anyone who came across him unexpectedly would become awestruck; and whoever came in close contact with him would love him. One who describes him can only state, ‘I have never seen anyone comparable to him.’” [14]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The part, “He did not have a fleshy body” indicates that he was not fat.
The seal of prophethood refers to an area of raised skin between his shoulders.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The mention of him not turning the neck only is to show that he did not glance secretly or act as the reckless people do whenever they want to look at something.
As Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last Prophet, when Īsa descends during the end times, he will rule by and abide to the laws of Islām; he will spread justice, pray towards Makkah and take his judgements from the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
The parts that describe his kind-hearted and merciful nature as well as his excellent qualities conform to the event when Jibra’īl split his chest and removed the share of the devil from his heart and then washed it with the water of Zamzam.
The part, “... the most truthful tongue” means that he used to utter the letters perfectly, beautifully and eloquently.
Alī al-Qārī said,
In another version of this hadīth, the part, “He was the most kind-hearted and tolerant person ever” was narrated as, “He is from the most noble tribe” and both versions truly describe him.
8. Al-Hasan ibn Alī reported: “I inquired from my maternal uncle, Hind ibn Abī Hālah about the awe-inspiring characteristics and features of the Prophet as he was known for doing so, as I desired to become well acquainted with and memorise his description.”
The uncle described the Prophet (peace be upon him) by saying: “His qualities and attributes were the acme of beauty, and his companions and whoever saw him held him in high esteem. His face used to shine like the full moon. He was of a medium height but closer to tall than average and shorter than a lanky person. His head was [moderately] large and his hair was slightly waved. If his hair could [naturally] be parted, he would have it so; otherwise he would make no efforts to part it and his hair would not go beyond his ear lobes. He had a skin tone that was white with a tinge of red and a wide forehead with perfect and complete eyebrows, consisting of hair that reached to the end of the line of his eyes. His eyebrows were separate and did not meet each other in the middle. There was a vein between them that used to expand whenever he became angry. His nose was prominent and was wrapped with a light that shines out. If one did not look at him closely, it would seem as if he had a large nasal bridge. His beard was full and dense and his cheek bones were not high. His mouth was [moderately] wide and he had a space between his teeth.
He had a thin line of hair from the chest to the navel and his neck was as beautiful as the neck of a doll made of ivory. All the parts of his body were of moderate size and fully fleshed. His body was proportionately jointed. His chest and stomach were in line, but his chest was broad and wide. He had a well-built body and the level of his chest and stomach was straight (i.e. he had no extra weight or fat). The space between his shoulders was wide and the bones of his joints were strong and large. His body parts had a brightness that shined whenever he removed his clothing. Between the upper point of the chest and navel he had a thin line of hair while the rest of the area had no hair on it. His forearms were long and his palms were wide. The fingers and toes were moderately thick, and both his hands and legs were moderately long.
The soles of his feet were somewhat high from the ground. His feet were smooth [i.e. had no holes or cracks], such that water would not remain there and flow away quickly. When he walked, he lifted his legs with strength as if he was uprooting a plant; he leaned slightly forward and placed his feet softly on the ground. He walked at a moderate pace and naturally walked with long steps. When he walked it seemed as if he was descending to a lower place. When he wanted to look at something behind him, he would turn his whole body towards it. His gaze would often face down towards the earth; he looked more to the ground than towards the sky, [it was his habit not to stare] and most of his prolonged glances were thoughtful and intended for contemplating. He would let his companions walk in front whilst he himself walked behind, and he always hastened to greet whomsoever he met.” [15]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The maternal uncle of al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī was Hind ibn Abī Hālah, the son of the mother of believers, Khadījah bint Khuwailid who was raised by the Prophet (peace be upon him); hence being the stepbrother of Fātimah.
The reason why al-Hasan requested to learn the detailed description of the Prophet (peace be upon him) despite the fact that he had the honour of seeing him in person was because he was very young at that time [when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was alive]. The request of al-Hasan shows that learning the description of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a knowledge that should be given priority.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
“His face used to shine like the full moon”: Not only did he possess the most handsome face, but also the best character as reported in the two Sahīh books.
The narrator preferred to use the term “full moon” instead of “the sun” when describing the brightness of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) face. This is because, contrary to the sun, the moon can be looked at without causing the eye any harm.
It is reported in Sahīh Muslim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to let his hair hang down while the idolaters used to part their hair, and the People of the Book used to let their hair hang down. He liked to be in harmony with the People of the Book in matters of which he had not received any command. Then later in his life he would part his hair. Though both practices are permissible, parting the hair is preferable since it was the practice that the Prophet (peace be upon him) settled with.
The part of this hadīth that describes the manner in which he would look is intended to mean that he would not glance sneakily when wanting to look at something. “He looked more to the ground than towards the sky,” due to his mindfulness of Allāh, his humility and shyness of Him.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The way the Prophet (peace be upon him) walked (i.e. walking with wide steps) is the praised walk for men as walking with short steps is a characteristic of women.
He used to look down to the earth when his glance was not focused on anything because he used to spend the time contemplating and pondering, and it was also his habit due to the humbleness he possessed. Likewise, he used to ask his companions to walk in front of him out of humbleness and also out of his consideration for the weak and wanting to look after them, as they are normally the ones who fall to the back of the group. Furthermore, it was proven in an authentic hadīth that he told his companions, “The angels guard my back, so leave it for them.”
The wisdom behind why he used to hasten to greet others (give salām) is because this is the nature of the humble and also when one initiates the greeting, his initiation becomes a cause for the one being greeted to reciprocate and attain a reward.
9. Jābir ibn Samurah narrated: “The mouth of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) was wide and there was some redness in the whites of his eyes, and he had only a small amount of flesh on his heels.” [16] [17]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The quality of having white eyes with a hint of redness is a praised physical appearance amongst the Arabs.
Alī al-Qārī said,
Some scholars interpreted the part “wide mouth” to refer to his teeth but the majority understood this part as referring to the mouth.
10. Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh said: “I saw Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) during a night where the moon was full. On that night, he wore a red garment and when I looked at the full moon and compared it with him, by Allāh, he was in my eyes better and more beautiful than the full moon.” [18]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The mention of a “full moon” was intended to show that it was a clear night that was neither dark nor cloudy, having a full moon from its beginning to its end.
The part of the hadīth, “... in my eyes” is to indicate the state he experienced personally and it is not intended to state that it could be otherwise in the eyes of another person.
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
There are a number of hadīths wherein the face of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was likened to the moon, and this is only to explain his beauty because Allāh, the Most High, lavished him with a beauty that is far beyond the beauty of the moon.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The part mentioning the red garment indicates that it made his beauty increase, thereby attracting one’s eyes and attention.
The part where the narrator mentioned that he found him more beautiful than the moon in his eyes is not intended to state that others may not have considered such, rather the intention was to show his happiness at what he saw as every believing person would see him as such.
11. Abū Ishāq related: “A person asked al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib, ‘Was the face of Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) like a sword?’ He replied, ‘No, it was like the moon.’” [19]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
Al-Hafith ibn Hajar commented on this hadīth in Fathul Bārī saying, “It appears as if the questioner intended to ask if his face was long like how a sword is; hence the answer gave the example of the moon to show that his face was more rounded, and it is possible that he intended to ask if his face was as bright and refined as a sword, so the answer was the moon to show that the brightness of his face surpassed that of the sword and so selecting the moon was to combine both qualities.”
12. Abū Hurairah narrated: “The skin tone of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) was white to a degree that it seemed as if he was moulded from silver, and his hair was slightly curled.” [20]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The expression of “... moulded in silver” refers to the brightness and light shining from his skin. It will come under the chapter of the recitation of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said, “Allāh has not sent a Prophet except that he has a beautiful face and a beautiful voice, and your Prophet (i.e. Muhammad) has the most beautiful face and most beautiful voice among them.” This indicates that he was more handsome than Prophet Yusuf.
13. Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said: “The Prophets were shown to me. I saw Mūsa and his build and height were medium as if he was from the tribe of Shanu’ah. I saw Īsa and from among all those whom I have seen, ‘Urwah ibn Mas’ūd resembled him the most. I saw Ibrahīm and from among all those that I have seen, I resembled him the most. I saw Angel Jibra’īl and from among all those I have seen, Dihyyah resembled him the most.” [21]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
It is possible that they were shown to him in a dream or when he ascended to the heavens. The tribe of Shanu’ah is from Yemen and were known for having strong bodies and good physical stature.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
Dihyyah was one of the companions and he was considered to be from amongst the most handsome and good looking men. It happened in many cases that Jibra’īl used to appear in the form of this companion.
Alī al-Qārī said,
Mirak Shah al-Hanafī stated that this event took place during the night the Prophet (peace be upon him) ascended to the sky as explained in many other authentic hadiths while some other hadīths state that this event happened in different incidents. However, the most correct view, as it appears to be, is that he (peace be upon him) met them in the heavens after he ascended and then when he descended he gathered with them in Bayt al-Maqdis where he led them in prayers.
Perhaps, the reason why the names of only these three prophets were mentioned is because Ibrahīm (peace be upon him) is the forefather of the Arabs and he is accepted by all faiths, while Mūsa and Īsa are Prophets of the people of the book.
14. Sa’īd al-Jarīrī narrated: “I heard Abū al-Tufayl say, ‘I am the last of the companions who is still alive and saw the Prophet (peace be upon him).’ I asked him to describe him to me and so he said, ‘He (peace be upon him) was a handsome man with a white complexion and his body was moderate.’” [22]
Alī al-Qārī said,
Abū al-Tufayl was the last surviving companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He passed away in 110 after Hijrah.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
Abū Tufayl is ‘Amir ibn Wathilah al-Laythī and he saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) during the last eight years of his life.
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
“His body was moderate” means that he was moderate in all physical aspects, whether in terms of height, skin tone, build and hair type etc.
15. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās narrated: “There was a space between the front teeth of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him). Whenever he talked, light could be seen emitting from his mouth.” [23]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
There are many hadīths describing the Prophet (peace be upon him) having light emitting from between his teeth and that his face was as bright as the moon and so forth. This has caused some to err as they have understood this literally, as in actual light that shines and enlightens all that surrounds him. In fact, some went to such extremes that they claimed that he did not possess a shadow due to this light. This understanding is obviously fallacious and there are many hadīths that prove it to be untenable, one of which is the report of Aisha, which is documented in Sahīh Muslim, wherein she narrated that she woke up in the night and did not find the Prophet (peace be upon him) in bed, so she began to search for him in the dark using her hands until they landed on his feet while he was saying, “O Allāh! I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot count Your praises. You are as You have praised Yourself.” If the light referred to in these hadīths was an actual light, she would not have needed to search for him in the dark using her hands.