The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to have
“A large head”
related by Ahmed
That is, his head was large. And it has been said that this was proof of his perfect mental powers, and that it is a sign of intelligence.
Al-Barra’ ibn ‘Azib narrated,
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) had the handsomest face and the best physical appearance from all the people”
related by Al-Bukhari.
His face was round. Jabir ibn Samra (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
“The face of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was round like the sun and moon”
related by Muslim.
But it was not completely circular. In fact, it was not totally circular but slightly oval, which is generally considered the most handsomest shape by those who have sound tastes.
There is an authentic hadith which Ar-Rabee’a bint Ma’outh narrated when she was asked,
“Describe the Prophet (peace be upon him) to us.” So Ar-Rabee’a bint Ma’outh said, “If you saw the the Prophet (peace be upon him), you would say that the sun had risen”
related by Ad-Darami, Al-Bayhaqi and At-Tabarani.
Jabeer ibn Samura (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
“I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) one moonlit night
(i.e., a night when the moon was bright)
“so I looked at the moon and looked at the Prophet (peace be upon him). And, by Allah, I thought the Prophet (peace be upon him) looked more handsome than the moon”
related by Ad-Darami and Al-Bayhaqi.
As for his temples, The Prophet (peace be upon him) had
“broad temples”
(i.e. wide at the temples)
related by Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Bazaar.
The temples are not the same as the forehead. They are on the left and right of the forehead. These are the two temples, and the forehead is between the two temples. It is generally considered good for the face to be wide at the temples.
As for The Prophet’s eyebrows, they were long and arched, but the two eyebrows did not meet each other; there was a space between the two. Between the two eyebrows The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a vein that used to be prominent when he became angry. Hind ibn Abu Halah (may Allah by pleased with him) told us about this,
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) had long eyebrows which were thick but did not meet in the middle of the forehead. Between the eyebrows was a vein that became clear when he was angry”
related by At-Tabarani and At-Tirmidhi in Ash-Shama’il.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had
“big eyes”,
that is wide eyes, which are a sign of beauty,
“with long outlines”
this refers to the edge of the eye from where the eyelashes grow,
“and the eyes were slightly red”
this refers to thin, red veins. Moreover,
“If you looked at him, you would say he has used kohl in his eyes although he had not used kohl”
[related by Tirmidhi]
i.e. you would think that he had put kohl in his eyes although he had not used kohl.
The Prophet (peace be upon him ) had
“…the best of noses”
[related by Ibn ‘Asakir]
i.e. it was long and slightly raised in the middle, and the tip of it was slender, which is generally considered to be the features of a handsome nose.
He had
“high cheeks”
(i.e. the cheek bones were clear)
Ammar ibn Yasser (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this about the Prophet (peace be upon him) as he said,
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to send greetings of peace (at the end of the prayer) moving his head to the right and left until the white (tops) of his cheeks were clear”
related by Ibn Majah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a
“…broad mouth”
related by Muslim.
i.e. not a very small mouth, with white, glittering teeth that had gaps between them, which the Arabs think is a praiseworthy feature in men as they disliked a man to have a small mouth.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Prophet’s complexion, saying,
“The colour of his complexion was shining, not pallid nor dark”
related by Al-Bukhari.
i.e., a radiant colour, which is the best colour for a complexion. He was not too white and pale with no red colour in his face at all, nor did he have a dark complexion.
The Prophet’s beard was black and thick, as “his beard had a lot of hair”
related by Muslim.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said about the Prophet’s beard,
“…[it was] well arranged (not spreading here and there). And he did not have even twenty white hairs on his head or in his beard”
related by Al-Bukhari.
His hair was wavy,
“he did not have tight curls,
(i.e. twisted in tight curls),
or straight hair
(i.e. totally straight hair)
related by Al-Bukhari.
Concerning his smile, K’ab ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) described it, saying,
“When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was pleased, his face used to shine with so much light that [one would think] it was part of the moon. And he used to be known for this (his radiant smile)”
related by Al-Bukhari.
The features of the...
