Ash-Shama'il Al-Muhammadiyah: The Noble Features Of Rasoolullah

“Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was neither very tall of stature, nor short. His skin was neither pale white, nor tawny, and his hair was neither crisply curled, nor lank. Allah (Exalted is He) sent him [to serve as His Messenger] at the end of forty years of life, so he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten years, and Allah took him unto Himself at the end of sixty years, with fewer than twenty white hairs on his head and his beard.”

‘Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was of medium height, neither tall nor short. He was of handsome physique, and his hair was neither crisply curled nor smooth, brown of color. When he walked, he used to stride confidently ”

“I heard al-Bara’ ibn 'Azib say: "Allah’s Messenger(Allah bless him and give him peace)was neither curly nor lank-haired, of medium height, broad-shouldered, with luxuriant hair reaching the lobes of his ears, wearing a red suit of clothes. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him!”

"I have never seen anyone endowed with a lock of hair flowing below the ears, wearing a red suit of clothes, more handsome than Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). He had some hair touching his shoulders. Broad-shouldered, he was neither short nor tall.”

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was neither tall nor short, endowed with sturdy hands and feet, stout head and limbs, and lengthy hair on the chest. When he walked, he inclined forward, as if he were descending a downward slope. I have never seen the like of him, neither before him nor after him.”

1 have been told by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, one of the offspring of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be well pleased with him): “When 'Ali described Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace),he said: "Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was neither assertively tall, nor reticently short, and he was an average-sized member of the population. His hair was neither crisply curled nor lank; it was loosely curled. He was neither plump nor chubby-cheeked, and in his face there was a rounded quality. He was white with a reddish tinge, dark black-eyed, with long eyelashes. He had splendid kneecaps, elbow joints and shoulder blades, free from hair. He had a strip of hair from the top of the chest to the navel. The palms of his hands and the soles of his feet were thickset. When he walked, he moved as if he were descending a declivity, and when he looked around, he looked around altogether. Between his shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood, for he is the Seal of the Prophets. He was the best of the people in generosity, the most truthful of the people in speech, the gentlest of them in temperament, and the noblest of them in social intercourse. If someone saw him unexpectedly, he was awestruck by him, and if someone came to know him, he loved him. His describer says: “I have never seen the like of him (Allah bless him and give him peace), neither before him nor after him.”

“My maternal aunt Hind asked the son of Abu Hala, who was a describer of the finery of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), to describe something of it that would be of interest to me, so he said: Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was an honored dignitary, whose face shone with the radiance of the moon on the night of the full moon. He was taller than medium-sized, and shorter than the slender giant. His head was grand and impressive, with loosely curled hair. If his forelock became divided, he would part it. Otherwise his hair would not cross over his earlobes, and he would let it grow plentiful and long. He was bright of color, broad of forehead, endowed with arched eyebrows, perfect without being conjoined, with a vein between them that anger would cause to pulsate. The bridge of his nose was curved. He had a light that would rise over him, and someone who did not reflect on him would consider him haughty. He was thickly bearded, endowed with smooth cheeks, a wide mouth, cleft teeth, and a delicate strip of hair from the top of the chest to the navel. It was as if his neck were the neck of a statue shaped in pure silver. He was well proportioned in physique, firmly cohesive, with the stomach and the breast in even balance. He was wide-chested, broad-shouldered, endowed with stout limbs and very shiny bare skin. Between the top of the chest and the navel by a strip of hair like a line of writing, while his breasts and stomach were bare apart from that. He had hair on his arms and shoulders and the upper parts of his chest. His forearms were long. He had a sensitive touch of the hand. The palms of his hands and the soles of his feet were thickset. His extremities were well formed [sa’il (or he may have said sha’il)]. The hollows of his soles were very deep-set. His feet were so smooth that water bounced off them. When he left a place, he would go away striding decisively. He would tread inclining forward and walk comfortably. His gait was brisk. When he walked, it was as if he were descending a declivity, and when he looked around, he looked around altogether. He lowered his eyesight, and he spent more time looking at the ground than he did looking at the sky. The majority of his looking was observation. He would urge his Companions to proceed ahead of him, and he would be the first to greet anyone he encountered with the salutation of peace.”

“I heard Jabir ibn Samura say: "Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was dali al-fam, ashkal al-'ain, manhus al-'aqib.” Shu'ba said: “I asked Simak: ‘What is dali al-fam?" He replied:"[It means] endowed with a grand and impressive mouth." I asked: "What is ashkal al 'ain?" He replied: "[It means] long in the slit of the eye." I asked: "What is manhus al-'aqib?" He said: "[It means] endowed with a lean heel.”

"I saw Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) on a cloudless night, and he was wearing a red suit of clothes, so I started looking at him as well as at the moon, for he is indeed more beautiful, in my opinion, than the moon!”

A man asked al-Bara’ ibn 'Azib: “Was the face of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) like the sword?” He said: “No, it was rather like the moon!”

"Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was white, as if he were fashioned from silver, with loosely curled hair."

"The Prophets were presented to me, and there was Moses (peace be upon him), a specimen of the men of distinction, as if he were among the men of pure lineage and manly virtue [shanu’a]. I also saw Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is 'Urwa ibn Mas’ud. I also saw Abraham (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is your Companion (meaning himself). I also saw Gabriel (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is Dihya.”

'I heard Abu Tufail say: “I saw the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and there is no one left on the face of the earth who has seen him, apart from me.” I said: “Describe him for me!” He said: “He was white, handsome, of medium size.”

Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) had a gap between the medial pair of teeth. When he spoke, it seemed as if light were emerging from between his middle teeth."