Jan 24 2009
What did Prophet Muhammad look like and how did he act?
From http://mysticsaint.blogspot.com
 The name of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Arabic |
Many of you know that even though Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, came about 570 years after Jesus, but there is no picture, portrait or statue found of Prophet. This is because he strongly encouraged the faithful follower not to fall into the same mistake as Christians fell into by making statues and images, ultimately worshipping Jesus Christ instead of One God (violating the Commandments of God). Many non-muslims find it fascinating and strange.
Here is a description of how the Prophet Muhammad looks (peace be upon him). His appearance is historically well recorded. Here is some of his description:
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was of a height a little above the average. He was of sturdy build with long muscular limbs and tapering fingers. The hair of his head was long and thick with some waves in them. His forehead was large and prominent, his eyelashes were long and thick, his nose was sloping, his mouth was somewhat large and his teeth were well set. His cheeks were spare and he had a pleasant smile. His eyes were large and black with a touch of brown. His beard was thick and at the time of his death, he had seventeen gray hairs in it. He had a thin line of fine hair over his neck and chest. He was fair of complexion and altogether was so handsome that Abu Bakr composed this couplet on him:
“as there is no darkness in the moonlit night so is (Muhammad) Mustafa, the well-wisher, bright.”
His gait was firm and he walked so fast that others found it difficult to keep pace with him. His face was genial but at times, when he was deep in thought, there there were long periods of silence, yet he always kept himself busy with something. He did not speak unnecessarily and what he said was always to the point and without any padding. At times he would make his meaning clear by slowly repeating what he had said. His laugh was mostly a smile. He kept his feelings under firm control – when annoyed, he would turn aside or keep silent, when pleased he would lower his eyes (Shamail Tirmizi).
He was always the first to greet another and would not withdraw his hand from a handshake till the other man withdrew his. If one wanted to say something in his ears, he would not turn away till one had finished (Abu Dawud, Tirmizi). Those who have seen him, in describing him they always described him as someone in appearance whom they never saw before, and never saw even after his death.
He was especially fond of children and used to get into the spirit of childish games in their company. He would have fun with the children who had come back from Abyssinia and tried to speak in Abyssinian with them. It was his practice to give lifts on his camel to children when he returned from journeys (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 2 pg.886). He would pick up children in his arms, play with them, and kiss them.
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26 responses so far
I am a non – muslim , but unlike many other Indians , I do respect Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ) .
Perhaps , he is one of the most misunderstood person in history .
The character of Prophet as described in this article points that your prophet was a man of God & sent to guide the people in middle – east
Peace be upon you, friend.
I agree that he is one of the most misunderstood people. Some still think that he was an intolerant warlord, which is far from the truth; he always tried to seek peace. He was well-known for his honesty and his kindness during his lifetime, even by the pagans.
He was not only sent to the Middle East, but also to the whole world. His message was simple at its heart: worship the only one God and be kind to your fellow human beings. I recommend you read ‘Examining Muhammed’s claim to prophethood‘ for an intellectual study of his prophethood.
W. Montgomery writes a nice summary of the prophet in ‘Mohammad at Mecca’ (Oxford 1953, p. 52):
Thank you for your comment. I hope you keep reading this site.
I am a Sikh and I am very content with my religion .
But we Sikhs respect all religions . Most religious Sikhs wouldnt even call your prophet as Muhammad ; Rather they respect him by calling Muhammad Sahab ( Saab )
I must say ” Prophet Muhammad ” ( peace is upon him ) is only called by abusive words by those who are ignorant or who dont realise the way of life he lived .
He is perhaps one of the most holy man ever lived & one of the greatest prophets world has seen.
It’s a DUTY OF ALL MUSLIMS to see that Islam’s image is not tarnished in any way ,because If people hate Islam , then they will hate Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ) & he doesnt deserves insult . He deserves respect !
May God bless you with holy knowledge
Peace be upon you, friend.
I agree that it is a duty upon Muslims to try their best to improve the reputation of Islam and the prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him), despite attempts by some people to do otherwise.
Thanks for your comment. Keep reading the site!
No doubt he was one of the greatest historical figures of all time.
Whatever he looked like he must have been a person of tremendous personality, and it must have been a privilege to be with him.
People of any faiths should acknowledge his greatness and the greatness of the Religion of Islam.
Peace be upon you, karunaker.
Indeed he was one of the greatest historical figures, known for humbleness. A small example of this is he would not let his companions stand when he entered the room. He also did not acquire materials or wealth even though he eventually became the ruler of Arabia. He lived simply and was often hungry because of a lack of food.
Thank you for your comment. Please keep reading the site
May Peace Be Upon You All.
Assalaam Alaikum
Ramadan 2009 started really bad for me. This Ramadan is not as pleasant as it used to be. I looked back since last Ramadan 2008 and realised, if I’d been good and gentle in anything I did, I sure would have felt a great Ramadan and this feeling I have been having was scary, unpleasant. Having put some thought over my past actions, I realised, I was going in perdition due to devoting my whole time to worldly matters rather than Allah’s teachings and warnings. I had to do something, and that was to go back to the Quran. I read the Quran, and is still reading it, and there is nothing else other than peace that is being brought back to me. Reading the Quran made me fearful but also, stronger than yesterday. I pray to Allah, that we all seek knowledge before it’s too late. As Muslims, we should all be very careful of what we do, as being Muslims, does not give us passport to Jannat (Paradise), we have to learn patience and respect. I have been searching ‘How the Prophet PBUH’ looked like, livedd and came to your blog. Mashallah, I find a lot of peace in reading the attributes of Muhammad PBUH, our beloved Prophet. In learning and finding out, what HE did, how HE lived, we are all for sure able to find the right path. I pray that my previous sins are forgiven, and that Inshallah, Allah will have Mercy on my soul as well as the soul of all searching for the truth and forgiveness from Allah. To Him we belong and to Him we will return back. Assalamoilaikum.
Wa alaykum assalam.
I applaud your strength to return to the Right Path for the sake of Allah. It is very true that Muslims are not guaranteed Paradise; Remember the Day of Judgement when we will be questioned about our deeds, but don’t forget the Mercy of Allah. Continue increasing your spiritual strength by reading the Quran, praying, and acting with even better manners and morals. Don’t forget the doors of repentance will never close during our lives. Indeed, a brilliant source of inspiration is the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him, especially as a role model. Inshallah your previous sins will be forgiven.
Thanks for sharing. Please keep reading the posts
It has been mentioned in the article that Mohammad saab was very fond of children.Naturally the love was paternal.But it also is a part of history/facts that Mohammad Saab married a girl who was merely 6 years old and consummated marriage with her when she was nine.Can you please throw some light over this issue.
Assalam alaykum. Peace be upon you.
The belief that the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him, married a 6 year old and consummated the marriage when she was 9 years old is based on a group of hadiths found in the Sunni books of hadith. Before examining the authenticity of such narrations, one must first point that the culture of Arabia 1400 years was vastly different to the modern culture of the Western world today. Therefore it would not be correct to consider the marriage of young girls as “right” or “wrong”, because we would be judging a completely different culture by our own culture. It was acceptable for a young girl who reached puberty to be immediately married off. It is interesting to note that such a cultural belief was still practised commonly in some countries until a century ago. There are some arguments brought forward to defend the marriage of Aisha at her young age, such as culture and puberty, however there is no need to explain them, for Aisha was NOT 6 years old at the time of her marriage.
Some may say “But how can you say this, when Aisha herself narrates being six years old when she was married?”. The response to this is that the narrations which attribute these words to Aisha are dubious. The majority of these hadiths are reported only by Hisham ibn ‘Urwah. Yet logically, these hadiths should have been narrated by more than just one or two people. In the science of investigating a hadith’s authenticity, a hadith which is only reported once or only from one person is a weak hadith; for if the hadith had been authentic, then many people would have narrated the hadith. Therefore, it is quite strange that no one from Medinah, where Hisham ibn ‘Urwah lived the first seventy one years of his life, has narrated the event from him, even though in Medinah his pupils included people as well known as Malik ibn Anas. Yet all the narratives of this event have been reported by narrators from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have had shifted after living in Medinah for seventy one years. All these hadiths are either reported by Hisham ibn ‘Urwah himself (or are reported by someone quoting Hisham) or through an Iraqi. Not a single hadith is free from either of the two problems. The only conclusion is that either Hisham fabricated the hadith after he moved to Iraq (either through his memory failing him or intentionally) or the hadith is falsely attributed to Hisham by the Iraqi narrators who were supposedly quoting Hisham narrating these hadiths.
Another problem with these hadiths is that scholars say that Hisham ibn ‘Urwah was an unreliable reporter. For example, Tehzibu’l-tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reports that according to Yaqub ibn Shaibah: “narratives reported by Hisham are reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq“. It further states that Malik ibn Anas objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq. In another book, Mizanu’l-ai’tidal, on the life-sketches of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh), it is reported that when Hisham was old, his memory suffered quite badly.
The last category of problems with these dubious hadiths which claim Aisha was 6 years old when she married the Prophet is that they conflict with numerous other hadiths:
-For example, according to one of these dubious hadiths, Aisha was born about eight years before Hijrah. But according to another hadith in Bukhari (kitabu’l-tafseer) Aisha is reported to have said that at the time Surah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Qur’an, was revealed, “I was a young girl”. The 54th surah of the Qur’an was revealed nine years before Hijrah. According to this tradition, Aisha had not only been born before the revelation of the referred surah, but was actually a young girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. Obviously, if this hadith is held to be true, it is in clear contradiction with the narratives reported by Hisham ibn ‘Urwah. There is no reason that after the comments of the scholars (two examples quoted above) on the narratives of Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, why we should not accept this hadith to be more accurate than the one reported by Hisham.
-Another example is that according to a number of hadiths, Aisha accompanied the Muslims in the battles of Badr and Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reported in books of hadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years was allowed to take part in the battle of Uhud. All the boys below 15 years of age were sent back. Aisha’s participation in the battle of Badr and Uhud clearly indicate that she was not nine or ten years old at that time. After all, women used to accompany the Muslim men to the battle fields to help them, not to be a burden on them. The battle of Badr was fought in the second year after Hijrah and hadiths in Bukhari report that the marriage was consummated after Hijrah. Therefore if Aisha was 9 years old when the marriage was consummated, then Aisha could not have been 15 in the battle of Badr.
-Another example is that according to almost all the historians Asma, the elder sister of Aisha, was ten years older than Aisha. It is reported in Taqri’bu’l-tehzi’b as well as Al-bidayah wa’l-nihayah that Asma died in 73 AH (AH = After Hijrah) when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Asma was 100 years old in 73 Hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of Hijrah. If Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of Hijrah, Aisha should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Aisha, if she got married in 1 AH (after Hijrah) or 2 AH, was between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.
-Another example is that Tabari, in his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioning Abu Bakr, reports that Abu Bakr had four children and all four were born during the jahiliyyah – the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Aisha was born in the period of jahiliyyah, she could not have been less than 14 years in 1 AH, which is the earliest possible date the marriage was consummated (assuming that Aisha was married before Hijrah, and not after).
-Another example is that Tabari has also reported that when Abu Bakr was planning on migrating to Habshah (8 years before Hijrah), he went to Mut’am – with whose son Aisha was engaged – and asked him to take Aisha in his house as his son’s wife. Mut’am refused, because Abu Bakr had embraced Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Aisha. Now, if Aisha was only seven years old at the time of her marriage, she could not have been born at the time Abu Bakr decided on migrating to Habshah. On the basis of this report it seems only reasonable to assume that Aisha had not only been born 8 years before Hijrah, but was also a young lady, quite prepared for marriage.
Therefore we can see the hadiths reported by Hisham cannot be accepted because they contradict plenty of other hadiths and events.
These three categories of problems with the hadiths, which claim Aisha married the Prophet when she was 6 years old, force us to conclude these hadiths are inauthentic. Some Muslims may be outraged that someone has said there are inauthentic hadiths in Bukhari, but such outrage is emotional and has no factual basis. There are hadiths in Bukhari which are inauthentic. There were hundreds of thousands of hadiths during Bukhari’s time, and Bukhari rejected the majority of them, and accepted a tiny fraction of them. He collected them and labelled them “sahih” (authentic), but just because his book has become the most famous (Sunni) book of hadith does not mean that all (Sunni) Muslims should automatically accept it as entirely authentic, for it is possible that Bukhari mistakenly accepted false hadith as authentic and mistakenly rejected authentic hadith. It has been shown above that there are three categories of problems with the hadiths narrated by Hisham ibn ‘Urwah despite being accepted as authentic by Bukhari. Only God is free from mistakes and error.
(source: http://www.understanding-islam.com/ri/mi-005.htm)
1.Why didn’t Allah create us circumcised if he wants us that way?
2.Why should we pray? Doesn’t Allah already know what we want him to do for us? Do we have to SAY our demands in order for him to take action?
3.Many of the people who were so close to Muhammad didn’t believe him like Abu Sufyan and Abu Taleb. Why is that?
4.If Allah wants apostates to be executed, why doesn’t he do it himself? Does He need our help in fulfilling his desires?
5.The Kaa’ba was destroyed at least twice after Muhammad’s death. Why didn’t Allah send birds to protect the Kaa’ba then?
Peace be upon you.
Here is a response to your questions. I apologise for the late reply.
1) Allah didn’t create us with clothes or with shoes. Yet Allah wants us to wear clothes and shows so we are modest, warm, and protected from the environment. Circumsison is a sign of faith.
2) We should pray in order to dedicate ourselves to Allah and to worship Him. By praying, we are thinking of Allah and keeping Him in our minds. It is better than completely forgetting abut Allah, and not thinking about Him for days. By praying, we are showing our gratitude for being created; are we not grateful to our parents for being raised by them? Allah deserves even more praise for creating us. By praying, we are maintaining and improving our worship of and relationship with Allah. It is like regularly calling your parents to let them know you are okay, and to make them aware that you love them. Of course, Allah is always aware; But wouldn’t He be more pleased with His servant who prays to Him or His servant who never finds time to pray for five minutes a day?
3) There were many who are close to the Prophet who believed in him. For example, his beloved wife, Khadijah, his cousin Ali ibn Abu Talib, his friend, Zaid, and so on. Abu Lahab, an uncle of the Prophet, did not accept the Prophet’s message. Why? The answer is obvious. Abu Lahab was of the aristocracy in Makkah. He enjoyed being rich, oppressing people, and taking advantage of the weak. The Prophet came to change this status quo, and so Abu Lahab opposed this because he was filled with greed for power and injustice.
4) Whether Allah wants apostates to be executed is debatable. However, for the sake of argument, let us say He does. Allah wants us to do it, because it is upto us to follow His commands. Rather like a king orders his deputies collect taxes on his behalf. The answer to this is similar to the answer to question 1.
5) There could be many reasons for this. For example, the year in which the Prophet was made so significant because it was the year in which the Kaba was defended. This, for example, allows to know the Prophet’s year of birth was confidence. Allah may not have defended the Kaba later on to expose the so-called-muslim rulers who were prepared to attack the Kaba; this exposes them extremely well. Allah may also have wanted to test the Muslims. Afterall, life has trials, and we must pass these trials.
Thank you for questions. Please free feel to ask more or to ask about my answers.
may God bless you.
My dear Rasool’Allah. The eyes are teary and the heart os heavy just thinking of you. May Allah Subhanahu Wa’Taala allow us to be in your company in Jannah.
at Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa: i am totally agree with you Prophet Mohammad look like a Saint..Infact the features described here is reminds me of Enlightened Sants & Mahatma’s used to live in India. black hair, colour of eyes, the way of his speaking & other manners are all the same what we have in our vedas for an Enlightened Sage’s.
Also a Muslim person told me that Prophet Mohammad visited India & He stayed here for three long years. Phewww ..my perception is changing everyday!
O lord I am thinking of you all the time. I am thinking what the day
of Judgement would be like. i was thinking if I would be Imbarresed in front of my freinds?
please dont let that happen. Are we going to be little? Or big?
I am on
Sura Burooj . i am ONLY 7 please let me be on the highist level on Jannah.
Peace. Indeed, it is not logically possible to doubt the sincerity and faith of the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him. (Note: the Prophet did not visit India).
Assalam alaykum. May Allah admit you into Paradise
This page has helped me know how the prophet looks like so when i am in my grave and his appears for the last questions given by the angels i will inshallah answer it correctly.
My faith of Islam is becoming weak for many reasons but i havnt given my faith up yet because there is something inside of me telling me to hold on. My Allah give me the power to make my Imaan strong again inshallah.
Assalam alaykum. Salat is the weapon of the believer. Keep praying and your faith will remain strong. Understand what you are reading in salat, by reading the translation of the Quran, and the tafseer (scholarly explanation). Also, you can listen to inspiring lectures (for example, The Spiritual Chatroom/). May Allah strengthen your dedication to Islam.
You all are right – Prophet Muhammad is misunderstood by most people and not known sadly even to Muslims. Not only that, but the religion Islam – as a way of life is also misunderstood and misrepresented. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was “The Walking Qur’an,” so we see if a person so humble and sincere and devoted as he was as the symbol of a religion, why do we misinterpret the religion and the words of Quran? Why do we fall prey to the western view of jihad not understood for its truest meaning and take islam to be a ” religion of terror?” where is the logic? 2 and 2 do not make 4 based on this logic. Don’t you think?
misunderstood and misrepresented.
i am an average man, raised in christianity, but now i deny my beliefs in what i feel is the “comfort blanket” of eternal life. i do understand that most men need some kind of hope to cling to, so i don’t deny those with religion their blanket. i do however resent any kind of belief without real, physical, scientifically proveable evidence being made LAW. our minds are our own. be it christian, hindu or islamic – any state that holds religious laws is in my opinion primitive and closed-minded. yes, people should respect others beliefs, but people should not be forced to teach/learn/hold these beliefs. so.. i have a question or 2.
1. if i were to make fun of islam, question the existence of “muhammed” (blessed be his name to all who believe in him)… and in return.. i was killed… by an Islamic person.. what does the Qur’an have to say about that? Is the killing of another man legitimate in ANY circumstance in the Qur’an?
2. if i were a woman… and was the daughter of a devout muslim, but did not believe in any of it myself, yet lived in an islamic state… i perhaps do not like having to cover my face, perhaps i have love for a man who is also questioning his parents beliefs… my question.. what is the most likely future for a woman like me? where is my freedom? do i have it?
thanks in advance.. i am just curious
mika
This perfection of the end human product will never be realised. Will we ever truly understand our Prophet (saws)’s status? I feel immense love for this man, and I am filled with such hurt and frustration when he (saws) is misrepresented or when questions that are not worthy of him are posed… Ya rabbi salli wa sallim da iman abadan, ‘ala habibi ka khayril khalqi kullihimin.
Peace be upon you.
You are right that it is good to have evidence for belief. There are many proofs for Islam. For example, see http://www.pathofislam.net/2009/quran/examining-muhammed/
I disagree when you say that a state which holds religious laws is primitive. Religion is guidance from God. Therefore, we expect God to reveal a religion that caters for every aspect of our lives, whether it be spiritual, political, ethical, or any other area. Islam is such a religion; it caters for the various areas of life. This is a sign of God giving us guidance.
In answer to your questions,
1) Killing in Islam is usually not permissible except in self-defence or war. No-one has the right to kill you just because you wanted to intellectually discuss and debate Islam. Islam encourages debate and discussion.
2) A person has freedom to believe in whatever they wish (See for example, Quran 2:256). I have never heard of a situation as you have described. In my experience, the only people leave Islam are those who never believed in it originally, or those who are ignorant about it.
Please do feel free to ask more questions.
This was the true Prophet,man of God.And I’m proud of being his follower.No matter how many so called lived in the world,It would have been so empty without him.
Thank u all for all comments i enjoyed reading them all, i would like to share some nice websites
http://www.scienceislam.com/
http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/
http://www.archive.org/details/The_Absolute_Truth_About_Muhammad_in_the_Bible_With_Arabic_Subtitles
God bless all humans
))))