What Did Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) Look Like?

Question: 1512

I was recently reading a description of the physical characteristics of the Noble Prophet. I formed a picture in my mind. Then I saw in a dream, a man who looked like the picture formed in my mind. I do not clearly remember what he said, but I am afraid he might have said that some Muslim brothers who I love very much will see a dream with me in it. I committed a sin in their house before, and before this dream, I was always worrying that they might find out through a dream. How do I know for sure if I saw the Prophet in this dream?

This is worrying me very much. Also, I just had a dream, where I thought it was the Prophet again, during his last recitation of the Quran to Jibreel (AS) during Ramadan. Zaid (RA) was there, too, but also Hamzah (RA) was there in my dream. I know that Hamzah (RA) wasn't really there, because he was martyred at Uhud. So was this the Prophet in this dream? How can we know for sure?

Summary of answer

This is what Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) looked like: • He was of average height, • not too tall and not too short, • with a pinkish colour, • not very white and not dark, • and his hair was neither very curly nor very straight.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

What did Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) look like?

We will quote below a number of hadiths which describe Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). If what you saw in your dream is in accordance with this, then you did indeed see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), because he said: "Whoever sees me in a dream has really seen me, because Shaytan cannot appear in my image." (Reported by al-Bukhari, 5729)

Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman said: "I heard Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) describing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said:

'He was of average height,
not too tall and not too short,
with a pinkish colour,
not very white and not dark,
and his hair was neither very curly nor very straight.

The Revelation came to him when he was forty years old, and he stayed in Makkah for ten years after the Revelation came, then in Madinah for ten years. When he died, there were no more than twenty white hairs on his head and in his beard." (Al-Bukhari, 3283)

Al-Bara ibn 'Azib said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was broad shouldered and had thick hair coming down to his shoulders and earlobes. He was wearing red garments. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him." (Reported by Muslim, Kitab al-Fadail, Bab Sifat Sha'r al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), no. 2338)

'Ali said:

"He was neither tall nor short,
and had large hands and feet.
He had a large head and was big-boned,
and the thin line of hair (starting from his chest and extending to the navel) was long.
When he walked, he would lean forward, as if he was walking downhill.
I have never seen anyone like him, before or since." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3570, who said this is a sahih hasan hadith).

Jabir ibn Samurah said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was dali' al-fam, ash-kal al-'ayn and manhus al-'aqib." Shu'bah said: "I asked Malik, 'What is dalه' al-fam?' He said: 'Wide-mouthed.' I asked, 'What is ash-kal al-'ayn?' He said, 'Big-eyed.' I asked, 'What is manhus al-'aqib?' He said, 'His heels were not fleshy.'" (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fadail, 2339)

As for the sin which you committed in the house of your brothers, repent to Allah for this. If you took something that belongs to them, then give it back. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

And Allah knows best.

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Source:

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid