Chapter: A Comprehensive Account of His ﷺ Attributes

‘Isa ibn Yunus narrated: ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd Allah, the client of Ghufrah, related to us; he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad, a descendant of ‘Alī, told me: Whenever ‘Alī—may Allah ennoble his face—described the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he would say:

“He was neither excessively tall nor noticeably short; rather, he stood of medium height among his people. His hair was neither tightly curled nor completely straight; it was wavy and full. He was neither heavy-set nor round-faced; instead, there was a gentle oval to his visage. His complexion was fair with a touch of rosiness. His eyes were large and very dark, his eyelashes long. His joints and shoulders—or he said: his upper back—were broad. His torso was free of hair except for a fine line that ran down the chest. His palms and feet were thick-set.

When he walked he lifted his feet purposefully, as though descending a slope; and when he turned, he turned with his whole body. Between his shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood. He was the most open-handed of people, the most generous of heart, the truest in speech, the most faithful to a pledge, the gentlest in nature, and the noblest in companionship. Whoever saw him unexpectedly was awestruck, and whoever associated with him knowingly grew to love him. His describer would conclude, ‘I have never seen anyone like him, either before or after him.’ ﷺ”

Abū ‘Ubayd said in al-Gharīb: Abū Ismā‘īl the instructor related to me, from ‘Umar, the client of Ghufrah, from Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah: whenever ‘Alī described him, he mentioned the foregoing.

Explanation of certain terms:
• “Not exceedingly tall” means he was neither conspicuously tall nor short and compact; he was well-proportioned, of medium stature.
• al-Muṭahham, according to al-Aṣma‘ī, denotes a person whose every feature is perfectly formed, excelling in beauty.
• Others say al-Mukaltham refers to a round face; that is, he was not like that but had a finely contoured face.