It was once put to him, “Was the face of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ like a sword—meaning in its polished gleam?” He replied, “No, rather it was like the moon.” Similarly, when Jābir ibn Samurah was asked the same question he said, “No; it was like the sun and the moon, round in shape.”

Al-Rubayyiʿ bint Muʿawwidh said, “Had you seen him, you would have said, ‘The sun has risen,’” and in another wording, “you would have seen the sun rising.” Abū Isḥāq al-Sabiʿī relates that a woman from Hamdān who performed Hajj with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about him and she replied, “He was like the full moon on the night it is complete; I have never seen anyone like him before or after.” Abū Hurayrah said, “It was as though the sun coursed across his face,” and in another narration, “across his forehead.”

Imām Aḥmad reported: ʿAffān and Ḥasan ibn Mūsā narrated to us, saying: Ḥammād—meaning Ibn Salamah—narrated to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, from his father, who said:
“Allah’s Messenger ﷺ had a large head, wide-set eyes, long lashes, a slight redness in the whites of his eyes, a full beard, a radiant complexion, and broad palms and soles. When he walked, it was as though he were climbing an incline, and when he turned, he turned with his whole body.” This wording is unique to Aḥmad.

Abū Yaʿlā recorded: Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Wāsiṭī narrated to us; ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām narrated to us; Ḥajjāj narrated to us, from Sālim al-Makkī, from Ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah, from ʿAlī. Asked to describe the Prophet ﷺ, ʿAlī said:
“He was neither short nor conspicuously tall; his hair was fine and neatly combed, and his face was tinged with a rosy glow. His joints were large, his palms and feet broad, his head large, and the line of hair from chest to navel long. I have never seen anyone like him before or after. When he walked, he leaned forward slightly, as though descending a slope.”

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd, on the authority of al-Wāqidī, said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, from his father, from his grandfather, from ʿAlī, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me to Yemen. One day, while I was addressing the people, a Jewish scholar stood holding a scroll that he was consulting. When he saw me he said, ‘Describe Abū al-Qāsim for us.’ I replied:
‘The Messenger of Allah is neither short nor markedly tall; his hair is neither tightly curled nor lank—it is wavy and jet black. His head is large, his complexion radiant with a hint of redness, his joints large, and his palms and feet broad. The line of hair from his throat to his navel is long. His lashes are long, his eyebrows are close-set, his forehead broad and smooth, and the space between his shoulders wide. When he walks he inclines forward slightly, as though descending from a slope. I have never seen anyone like him before or after him.’”