His physical attributes

There is absolutely no way to conceal the fact that the Prophet is the worthiest of all mankind, the greatest of them in position and most perfect of them in good qualities and virtue. I am setting out to detail his qualities of perfection in the best way I can, which has filled me with longing to call attention to some of his attributes, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Know, may Allah illuminate my heart and yours and increase my love and your love for this noble Prophet! - that if you were to look into all those qualities of perfection which cannot be acquired and which are part of one's constitution, you will find that the Prophet has every one of them - all of the various good qualities without there being any dispute about it among the transmitters of the traditions.

The beauty of his form and the perfect proportion of his limbs are related in numerous sound and famous traditions from 'Ali, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, 'A'isha, Ibn Abi Hala, Abu Juhayfa, Jabir ibn Samura, Umm Ma'bad, Ibn 'Abbas, Mu'arrid ibn Mu'ayqib, Abu't-Tufayl, Al-'Ida' ibn Khalid, Khuraym ibn Fatik, Hakim ibn Hizam and others.

He had the most radiant colouring, deep black eyes which were wide set and had a sort of red tint to them, long eyelashes, a bright complexion, an aquiline nose, and a gap between his fronth teeth. His face was round with a wide brow and he had a thick beard which reached his chest. His chest and abdomen were of equal size. He was broad-chested with broad shoulders. He had large bones, large arms, thick palms and soles, long fingers, fair skin and fine hair from the chest to the navel. He was neither tall nor short, but between the two. In spite of that, no tall person who walked with the Prophet seemed taller than him. His hair was neither curly nor straight. When he laughed and his teeth showed, it was like a flash of lighting or they seemed as white as hailstones. When he spoke, it was like light issuing from between his teeth. He had a well-formed neck, neither broad nor fat. He had a compact body which was not fleshy.

Al-Bara' said, "I did not see anyone with a more beautiful lock of hair resting on a red robe than the Messenger of Allah."

Abu Hurayra said, "I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah. It was as if the sun was shining in his face. When he laughed, it reflected on the wall."

Jabir ibn Samura was asked, ''Was his face like a sword?" He replied, "No, it was like the sun and the moon. It was round." (In al-Bukhari and Muslim and elsewhere)

In her description, Umm Ma'bad said, "From afar, he was the most beautiful of people, and close up he was the most handsome." (Al-Bayhaqi)

Ibn Abi Hala said, "His face shone like the full moon."

At the end of his description, 'Ali said, "Anyone who saw him suddenly was filled with awe of him. Those who kept his company loved him."

All who described him said they had not see anyone like him either before or since.

There are many famous hadith which describe him. We will not take the time here to give them all. We have restricted ourselves to some aspects of his description and given a summary of them which is enough to serve our purpose.

You will find, Allah willing, that we have concluded these sections with a hadith which combines all these things.


- Qadi 'Iyad, Healing by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One (Kitab ash-Shifa bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa)