Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān said:
“ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim al-Qaʿnabī and Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn Yūnus narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd Allāh, the client of ʿUfrah, narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad—one of the descendants of ʿAlī—narrated to me.

He said:
Whenever ʿAlī described the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he would say:
‘He was not excessively tall, nor was he short and stunted; he stood of medium height among his people. His hair was neither tightly curled nor completely straight; rather, it was wavy and flowing. He was neither corpulent nor round-faced. There was a gentle roundness to his face; he was fair-skinned with a rosy hue, with intensely black pupils and long eyelashes. His joints and shoulders were full and strong. He was free of bodily hair, except for a fine line of hair that ran down the chest. His palms and soles were thick and broad. When he walked, he lifted his feet firmly, as though descending a slope; and when he turned, he did so with his whole body. Between his shoulders lay the Seal of Prophethood. He was the most generous of people, the most open-hearted, the truest in speech, the most faithful to his pledges, the gentlest in temperament, and the noblest in companionship. Whoever beheld him suddenly was filled with awe, while whoever associated with him knowingly grew to love him.’

His describer would add: ‘I have never seen anyone like him, neither before him nor after him.’ (1)

This ḥadīth was also transmitted by Imām Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām in his book al-Gharīb (2).

He then quoted—from al-Kisāʾī, al-Aṣmaʿī, and Abū ʿAmr—explanations of its uncommon words. In summary:
• “al-muṭahham” means stout or heavy-set;
• “al-mukaltham” denotes a face that is overly round. Thus, he ﷺ was neither conspicuously fat nor thin; he was of balanced build. Nor was his face completely circular; rather, it had a gentle roundness, which the Arabs and those who appreciate beauty consider more pleasing.
• “White with a rosy tinge” is regarded as the most attractive complexion, and for that reason he was not chalk-white.
• “al-adʿaj” refers to intensely black irises.
• “jalīl al-mashāsh” means broad-boned at the joints such as the knees, elbows, and shoulders.
• “al-katid” is the upper back just below the nape of the neck.
• “shathn al-kafayn” means thick or solid palms.
• “taqallaʿa in his gait” indicates that he ﷺ walked with vigor and determination.
We have already discussed “shuklah” and “shuhlah” and the difference between them.
• “al-ahdab” means long eyelashes.
A ḥadīth also states that he was “shabḥ al-dhirāʿayn,” meaning that his upper arms were thick. Allah, Most High, knows best.