THE Prophet (peace be upon him) was both outwardly and inwardly perfect. We have heard and read about the beautiful character of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but not many of us are aware of his physical beauty. We find in the seerah many beautiful descriptions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) by his Companions, some of which are shared here: Like a moon Al-Baraa Bin Malik was asked, “Was the messenger of Allah's face sword-like?” He responded, “No, it was moon-like.” (Mishkat Al-Masabeeh, 2/518) Another companion, Jabir Bin Samurah said, “I saw him at one full-moon night. I looked at him. He was dressed in a red garment. I compared him with the moon and found that — for me — he was better than the moon.” (Mishkat Al-Masabeeh, 2/518) One point from the description of Al-Baraa was that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not have a thin and lean face, rather he had a round face. Ka‘b Bin Malik said: “When he (peace be upon him) was pleased, his face would shine with so bright light that you would believe that it was a moon-piece.” (Al-Bukhari, 1/502) Description of Anas Anas Bin Malik was the servant of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for 10 years, due to which his description is even more amazing. Usually those with us – wives, children, employees – are the ones who see the ‘worst' side of our character because we do not fear reproach from them, but Anas narrated that he never even heard “uff” (the smallest expression of disgust) from the Prophet (peace be upon him)! Anas said, “I have never touched silk or a silky garment softer than his hands; nor have I smelt a perfume or any scent nicer than his.” (Al-Bukhari) Description of Umm Ma'bad The description of Umm Ma'bad is the most comprehensive and detailed narration we have of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This woman, who would take care of travelers who passed by her tent, only saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) once. During the Hijrah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from Makkah to Madina, he stopped by her tent with his companions for some rest and food. It was narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him), his servant, a guide and Abu Bakr on their way passed by her tent and asked her if they could buy some meat or dates from her but she could not find anything. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) looked towards a sheep next to the tent. They had run out of provisions and were hungry. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Umm Ma'bad, “What is wrong with this sheep, dear Umm Ma'bad?” She replied, “The sheep is fatigued and is weaker than the other sheep.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Does it milk?” She replied, “I swear if I saw milk from it then I would milk it.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) called the sheep and moved his hand over its udder; he pronounced the name of Allah and praised Him. Then he called Umm Ma'bad when the sheep steadied its feet and its udder filled. He asked for a large container and milked it until it was filled. The lady drank until full (meaning satisfied), his companions drank until full, then the others drank. Then it was milked for a second time until the container was full and they left her and continued on their journey. After a short while, her husband (Abu Ma'bad) returned from herding goats that were swaying from weakness. He saw the milk and said to his wife, “Where did you get this milk from, dear Umm Ma'bad. The sheep is single and there is no milk in the house!” She replied, “I swear by God, a blessed man came to us today.” Abu Ma'bad said, “Describe him to me.” She then began her description: “His cleanliness was apparent.” The first thing she noticed about the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that his cleanliness was apparent. Imagine the situation of traveling during that time; the traveler would be bound to get some dirt on him, yet the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so clean that it was the first thing noticable. “His face was luminous, handsome disposition, he did not have a protruding stomach, nor did he have a small head, handsome, well proportioned, his eyes had wideness, his eyelashes were long, in his voice was raspiness/crackle, his neck was long, the white of his eyes was extremely white, and the black of his eyes was extremely black, it was as if he had kohl (eyeliner the Arabs used) on naturally, natural arching of his eyebrows, his hair extremely black, when he was silent he would be enveloped in an aura of respect, and if he spoke it was like a light protruding from him, the most beautiful of people from far, and the most beautiful from close, his speech was sweet, not short (tazar means someone who is very short and brief in their speech; they do not give you more than a ‘yes/no' answer. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke, he did not speak in this manner), not very long (hathar is the opposite of tazar; it is to be very long and detailed in speech, to keep talking and talking, so much so that it can get annoying. Likewise the Prophet, peace be upon him) was not like this too), it was as if his speech were beads of a necklace cut (meaning that his words fall in order after one another and that his speech was organized), he is most respected, his companions would surround him, when he spoke they listened attentively to his speech, and if he ordered they hastened to it fully without frowning or refusing." She ends her description by talking about the respect that was shown to him, which only adds to his impressive personality and how the Companions would obey him. Abu Ma'bad responded, “I swear by Allah, he is the one Quraish mentioned to us about his affair in Makkah. I am determined to accompany him; if I could go that way.” (Ibn Hisham, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Kathir's Bidayah wa An-Nihayah, 2/190, authenticated by Ad-Dhahabi) May Allah make us among those who truly love, follow and will have the honor of living with the Prophet (peace be upon him) in paradise.
