Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 2 - Specialties of Prophet Muhammed Part 2 - Yasir Qadhi | May 2011 

In our last halaqa (حلقة) we mentioned only around 15 khasa'is, but realize there are close to 50 special qualities that only the Prophet PBUH was given.

 

Today insha'Allah we will begin by talking about his physical appearance PBUH.

The Physical Appearance of Prophet Muhammad PBUH

It is the sunnah of Allah (سنة الله - the custom of Allah) that He sends prophets with the most perfect characteristics, inner and outer, so that mankind has no reason to reject the messenger. As we know, Prophet Yusuf (يوسف - Joseph) was given half of all beauty. Some scholars say this means half of all beauty of mankind (this is the majority opinion); but some scholars say it means half of the beauty of Prophet Muhammad PBUH because —according to this opinion— the Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the most handsome and beautiful of the entire creation.

We have many narrations that describe the physical features of our Prophet PBUH. It is reported in al-Tabarani's (الطبراني) al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (المعجم الكبير) and Bukhari's Kitab al-Manaqib (كتاب المناقب) that once a son of an old sahabiyat (صحابية - female Companion) asked his mother al-Rubayyi' bint Muawwidh (الربيع بنت معوذ) after the Prophet passed away, "What was the Prophet PBUH like?" She said, "O my dear son, if you were to have seen him, you would have thought that the sun had risen up." It is amazing that she described him as a sun, and another sahabi Ka'b ibn Malik (كعب بن مالك) described him as a moon. Ka'b said, "Whenever the Prophet PBUH was happy, his face would light up as if it was the full moon." It is beautiful that the sahaba are describing the Prophet PBUH with what they know to be the most beautiful.

There is a tradition that almost makes you want to cry: The tradition of Amr ibn al-As (عمرو بن العاص). He used to be of the leaders of the Quraysh (قريش) who were against Islam, and he only had the opportunity to be a sahabi for a few years. Later on in his life he would say, "There was nothing that was sweeter or more beloved to me than to stare at the face of the Prophet PBUH." The beauty and nur (نور - light) of the Prophet PBUH was so great that he is saying there is nothing sweeter than to simply look at his face PBUH, "I could never get enough of looking at him. And yet were you to ask me how he looked, I couldn't describe him, because along with this desire to stare at him, there was also this awe I had that couldn't allow me to stare directly at him, and I had to look down." So there were two types of powers emanating from the Prophet PBUH: the first of them is attracting Amr's vision to him, and the second is making him look away. "Even though I loved to stare, I couldn't." This is coming from a nobleman of the Quraysh, and this is how humbled he was just by the appearance of the Prophet PBUH.


Most of the descriptions of the Prophet PBUH come from the younger sahaba. Indeed they didn't have the same type of emotions as the older sahaba. Anas ibn Malik (أنس بن مالك) was introduced to the Prophet PBUH at 7 years old, and he would serve him all day. In the Shama'il (شمائل) of al-Tirmidhi (الترمذي), he said, "The Prophet PBUH was neither very tall such that he stood above the crowd, nor was he short such that he would be ignored. And he was neither extremely white nor was he ruddy brown." (Note: Generally speaking, when the Arabs use the word "white," they mean a lightish brown; and what we call "white," they called it "yellow.") "The Prophet's PBUH hair was not in curls nor was it straight. And I never felt any velvet or silk softer than the hand of the Prophet PBUH, nor did I smell any musk or perfume more fragrant than the smell of the sweat of the Prophets PBUH." Indeed Ummi Salama (أم سلمة) used to collect his sweat in a jar to use it as perfume and medicine.

Al-Bara' ibn Azib (البراء بن عازب) described the Prophet PBUH, "The Prophet PBUH was of medium stature and he had broad shoulders; and his hair was thick." (Note: The thickness of hair of the Prophet PBUH has been narrated by at least five different sahaba. "His beard was very bushy," "His hair is very full," etc. And the Prophet PBUH would grow his hair until it went down to his earlobes.) "Once I saw him wearing a red hulla (حلة - cloak/jacket), and I never saw anything more beautiful than him on that night."

The Prophet's PBUH cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (علي بن أبي طالب) said, "The Prophet PBUH did not have a narrow face nor was it round, it was slightly ovalish. He had a whitish skin (lightish brown). His eyes were large with jet-black pupils, and his lashes were long. His joints were large as was his upper back (broad shoulders). And he did not have hair all over his body but he did have a fine line of hair extending from the chest to the navel. When he walked, he would walk briskly (fast) as if he is descending down a slope"—some scholars say it is as if Allah made the earth humbled to him. "When he turned, he would turn to face with his whole body. Between his two shoulders was the Seal of the Prophethood — and he was the seal of the prophets." (Note: The Prophet PBUH had a physical Seal on his body that Allah gave him. And this was to be a sign by which he would be recognized by the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] as a true prophet. It was a small growth of hair of a different color than the usual color of his body hair in between his shoulder blades [more on this later]. Most famously, Salman al-Farisi accepted Islam because of this Seal.) "Whoever unexpectedly saw him would stand in awe of him. And whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him. And those who described him would always say, 'I have never seen anyone before him or after him who was like him.'"

Jabir ibn Samura (جابر بن سمرة) was going home one night when there was a full moon. And he just happened to pass by the Prophet PBUH and he was wearing a red hulla. Jabir said, "I looked at the face of the Prophet PBUH and the full moon; and wallahi (والله - [I swear] by Allah), the Prophet PBUH was more beautiful in my eyes than the full moon."

And many people accepted Islam just by seeing his face PBUH. The most famous is the chief rabbi of the Jews of Madinah (مدينة - Medina), Abdullah ibn Salam (عبد الله بن سلام). He heard this man coming claiming to be a prophet (the first day the Prophet PBUH came to Madinah), so he wants to go and see the message. This hadith is in Bukhari: Abdullah ibn Salam said, "As soon as I saw him, I knew this face cannot be the face of a liar." One conversation and he accepts Islam right then and there just by looking at his face PBUH.

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The Internal Qualities of Prophet Muhammad PBUH

 

Along with the external beauty, of course our Prophet PBUH was blessed with internal beauty, humility, modesty, simple lifestyle, etc.

 

 

1. Simple Lifestyle

 

i) Sahih Muslim: Once Umar ibn al-Khattab (عمر بن الخطاب) entered upon the Prophet PBUH when he was lying in his small compartment in the masjid (مسجد - mosque), and there was nothing but a jug of water and a small bed made out of the branches of a date palm tree. When Umar comes in, he PBUH sits up to greet him. And because of the date palm branches, there was a red mark dented into the side of the Prophet PBUH. That is when Umar starts crying. (Note: This is 7th or 8th year of the Hijrah when the Prophet PBUH is the undisputed leader of a large chunk of Arabia.) Umar cried, "O Messenger of Allah! How can we allow you to live like this. Look at the kings of Rome and Persia how they live! Surely you deserve better!" The Prophet PBUH said, "O Umar, are you not happy that they have the dunya and we have the akhira?"

 

ii) In Tirmidhi, Aisha bint Abi Bakr (عائشة بنت أبي بكر) describes, "The bed the Prophet PBUH used to sleep on was a leather skin that sometimes we would stuff with date palm leaves (to make it softer)." It is narrated that once one of the wives of the Prophet PBUH folded up her own half of the bed to give the Prophet PBUH extra (to make it more comfortable for him), and because of this, he slept longer than usual. When he woke up and realized what happened, he told her to change it back as he didn't want this comfort, as it prevented him from waking up for tahajjud (تهجد).

 

iii) Aisha RA (radiyAllahu anha/رضي الله عنها - may Allah be pleased with her) says sometimes the Prophet PBUH would not taste meat for 6 weeks. Her nephew Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (عروة بن الزبير), forty years down the line, asked her, "O my Mother (Mother of the Believers), how did you live?" She said, "We lived by eating the two dark things: dates and dirty water."

 

iv) In a narration, it is said that when a good food was brought to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (عبد الرحمن بن عوف), he began to cry and said, "Till the day the Prophet PBUH died he never ate wheat bread to his fill! And not even his family!" And he added, "I worry that Allah SWT has allowed us to remain for such a long time that we are seeing all of these blessings come and the Prophet PBUH has gone on to something that is better." That is, he is worried that he is getting all of his ajr (أجر - reward) in this dunya when everyone else has gone on to enjoy their ajr in the Hereafter.

 

v) In many narrations, it is said that Aisha RA also began to cry when good food was given to her; indeed she lived 40 years after the death of the Prophet PBUH when the money started flowing in, and sometimes people would gift her items and good food. And she would say the same thing as Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, "The Prophet PBUH never ate [even] rustic or hard bread to his fill in his life."

 

vi)  Before the money came in and Islam came to power, the sahaba lived tough times in the early phase of Madinah. In Sahih Muslim, Abu Hurairah reported that one day or one night, the Prophet PBUH went out (of his house), and there he found Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (أبو بكر الصديق) RA (radiyAllahu anhu/رضي الله عنه - may Allah be pleased with him) and Umar RA. He said: "What has brought you out of your houses at this hour?" They said: "Ya Rasulullah, it is hunger." Thereupon he said: "By Him in Whose Hand is my life, what has brought you out has brought me out too; get up." They got up along with him, and (all of them) came to the house of an Ansari (Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayhan [أبو الهيثم بن التيهان]), but he was not at home. When his wife saw him she said: "Most welcome," and the Prophet PBUH said to her: "Where is so-and-so (Abu al-Haytham)?" She said: "He has gone to get some fresh water for us." When the Ansari came and he saw the Prophet PBUH and his two Companions, he said: "Alhamdulillah! No one has more honorable guests today than I (have)!" He then went out and brought them a bunch of ripe dates, dry dates, and fresh dates, and said: "Eat some of them." He then took hold of his long knife (for slaughtering a goat or a sheep). The Prophet PBUH said to him: "Beware of killing a milch animal." He slaughtered a sheep for them and after they had eaten of it and of the bunch and drank, and when they had taken their fill and had been fully satisfied with the drink, the Prophet PBUH said to Abu Bakr and Umar: "By Him in Whose Hand is my life, you will certainly be questioned about this bounty on the Day of Judgment [see Quran, 102:8]. Hunger brought you out of your house, then you did not return until this bounty came to you."

 

 

2. Humility

 

i) The Prophet PBUH frequently rode donkeys even though he had a camel named al-Qaswa' (القصواء).

 

ii) During the Battle of Badr (بدر), the Prophet PBUH distributed the camels amongst the people. There were ~313 people and ~75 camels, so roughly 3 or 4 people per camel (some people had horses, etc.); and the Prophet PBUH assigned Ali and Abu Lubaba (أبو لبابة) as his own companions. (And put yourself in their shoes: if you had to share a camel with the Prophet PBUH, of course you would say, "Take it, ya Rasulullah! It's yours!") And so they said to him PBUH, "We are young men in our 20s, we can walk. You take the camel, ya Rasulullah!" (Note: Indeed the leader and commander deserves extra respect and extra protection; the commander is someone who is not treated like the private, so the Prophet PBUH could have said, "Okay, fine." Or he PBUH even could have said, "No. Let us all share the camel.") [But] he PBUH didn't want to make them feel that he was doing them a favor by turning down their generous offer, so he PBUH smiled and said, "Neither are the two of you any stronger than me, and nor am I in any lesser need of the ajr (أجر - reward) than you two. So we are going to share [the camel]." Subhan'Allah.

 

 

3. Manners

 

i) Anas ibn Malik said, "I served the Prophet PBUH for 10 years, but not once did he rebuke me. Not once did the word uff (أف) comes from his mouth." (Note: Uff is the least word to express irritation; e.g. "tsk" is the equivalent of uff). "And not once did the Prophet PBUH say, 'Why did (or didn't) you do this (or that)?'" This is of the perfection of the manners of the Prophet PBUH. Subhan'Allah.

 

(Tangent: Anas ibn Malik lived up to 110+ when the life expectancy was ~30 years, and of course this was of the effects of the du'a [دعاء - supplication] that the Prophet PBUH made for him. Anas's mother gave Anas to the Prophet in servitude all in hope that he PBUH would make du'a for her son. And he did, saying, "O Allah, give him barakah in his life, and in his wealth, and in his progeny." And Anas lived to see the results of this du'a: He was one of the last of the sahaba to die; and it is said he had so much wealth and whatever business he did was very fruitful; and he had grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren that were so much that he could not count them — all because of the du'a of the Prophet PBUH.)

 

ii) There is another beautiful narration as well: Anas ibn Malik said, "Once the Prophet PBUH sent me on a chore. But on the way, I saw some kids playing, so I started playing with them and completely forgot about the chore"—Anas is a kid at the end of the day. Then the Prophet PBUH came out in search, and he finds him playing with the street children. Anas said, "Somebody held on to my ears and picked me up. I turned around and it was the Prophet PBUH smiling at me"—the Prophet PBUH was playing with Anas, not even getting irritated.

 

iii) Even when people showed him the utmost contempt and disrespect, he PBUH maintained his dignity. In Sahih Muslim, Aisha RA reported that once a group of Jews came to the Prophet PBUH and sought his audience. When it was granted, they said to him PBUH, "Al-sam-u-alaykum (السام عليكم - death be upon you)"—in mockery of the greeting of the Muslims (al-salam-u-alaykum/السلام عليكم - peace be upon you). Aisha RA heard this, so she said in response, "Rather, may death be upon you, and also curse!" At this, the Prophet PBUH said to her, "O Aisha, verily Allah loves kindness in every matter [i.e. You don't have to stoop to their level]." When the Jews left, she said to the Prophet PBUH, "Didn't you hear what they said? [i.e. They said 'sam,' not 'salam'!]" The Prophet PBUH said, "Did you not hear that I said (to them): 'Wa alaykum (وعليكم - and upon you)'?"—he PBUH maintained his dignity and composure, and he didn't curse back at them.

 

 

4. Bravery

 

i) Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "When the fighting would become severe [in the Battle of Badr], we would seek refuge around the Prophet PBUH."

 

ii) Anas ibn Malik said, "Once in Madinah in the middle of the night, people heard a loud commotion outside and they did not know what it was, so they timidly came outside wondering what the noise is. But they found the Prophet PBUH had already gone in the direction of the commotion alone, and he found the horse of Abu Talha (أبو طلحة) and simply rode the horse back without a saddle; and he had his sword around his neck; and he is galloping/coming back to the people of Madinah saying, 'You have nothing to fear, I have checked it out.'"

 

 

5. Generosity

 

i) He PBUH would never refuse any request/asking of him. Ever. This is why a sahabiyat said, "It was possible for any little girl to go to the hand of the Prophet PBUH for help."

 

ii) It is narrated that once the Prophet PBUH was wearing a garment that had holes in it, so one of the sahaba gifted him a very beautiful garment and he wore this garment. Then another sahabi asked him, "Ya Rasulullah, can you give me this garment as a gift?" Immediately the Prophet PBUH said yes. This is the very garment he just got as a gift! He went back home and came back wearing the tattered garment. All of the sahaba jumped on this sahabi, "How could have you asked the Prophet PBUH this! You knew he would never turn down a request!" He said, "Before you get angry at me... I am not doing this to wear! I want to use this as my kafan (كفن - shroud)! To show the generosity of the Prophet PBUH in front of Allah!"

 

 

6. Humor

 

The Prophet PBUH was blessed with a great sense of humor. Having humor shows your humanity and down-to-earthness. There are so many instances of the jokes of the Prophet PBUH. All of his jokes are pure, clean, and truthful. Even his jokes are true. Even when he cause people to laugh, it is something that is true.

 

i) Once an old lady came to the Prophet PBUH and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Make du'a that Allah causes this old lady (herself) to enter Jannah." The Prophet PBUH looked at her and said, "O my aunt, have you not been informed that old ladies do not enter Jannah?" At this she began to wail and cry. Then he told her, "Do not cry, for wallahi, old ladies do not enter Jannah, but Allah SWT will first make her into a young, fair maiden, and then she will enter Jannah." That is, you are going to be young and beautiful when you enter Jannah. And then he PBUH recited the verse:

 

إِنَّا أَنشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنشَاءً

"We bring them forth with a new beginning." [see Quran, 56:35]

 

ii) And the story of Aisha RA when the Prophet PBUH was on his deathbed (note: he literally had 4-5 days left to live; and of course nobody knew this at the time except him): It so happened that Aisha herself felt a little sick on one of the days and she had a severe headache, so she was crying, "O my head! O my head!" The Prophet PBUH said, "Rather, O *my* head! (I have a worse headache than you)," and to calm her down he cracked some jokes, "O Aisha, what would you lose if you die right now? The one to do ghusl (غسل - washing) for you, and to pray your janazah (جنازة - funeral prayer), and to bury you, would be me." Aisha RA says, "I am sure you would like that to happen because then you would be free to go to your other wives." Subhan'Allah, he is joking on his deathbed. And from this joke, scholars have derived fiqh (فقه - Islamic jurisprudence): the permissibility of a spouse doing ghusl for [the janazah of] his/her spouse — because the Prophet PBUH never spoke except the truth. Al-Shawkani (الشوكاني) has a chapter in his book concerning this subject, and he mentions this hadith.

 

iii) It is reported in Tirmidhi that there was a young man by the name of Zahir ibn Haram (زاهر بن حرام) whom the Prophet PBUH used to love a lot. We do not know much about him but there was something about him that the Prophet PBUH loved. He was a simple sincere believer. Once the Prophet PBUH saw him in the souq (سوق - marketplace) selling some things, "Who is going to buy this from me? Who is going to buy this from me?" etc. The Prophet came from behind quietly, grabbed him, and gave him a body-lock/bear-hug. Zahir asked, "Who is this?!" When he saw it was the Prophet PBUH, he leaned back to the chest of the Prophet PBUH trying to get as much barakah. Then as a joke, the Prophet PBUH shouted out, "Who is going to buy this abd (عبد - slave) from me?" (Note: In those days if you say who is going to buy an "abd" in a marketplace, of course it meant a real slave. But here the Prophet PBUH meant abd = slave of Allah. Again, even in his joke he PBUH is not lying.) Zahir said, "O Messenger of Allah, in that case you are going to get a very bad bargain. I am not going to sell very expensive"—Zahir had a very low self-esteem. The Prophet PBUH said, "You are very expensive in the Eyes of Allah SWT." This is a beautiful story that shows the humanity of the Prophet PBUH.

 

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Prophet Muhammad's PBUH Love For His Ummah

 

i) The Prophet PBUH had an immense amount of love for his ummah. Allah AWJ says:

 

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

"There has come to you a messenger from amongst you, he finds it difficult to bear your hardships, he is ever eager for you, to the believers he is full of compassion and mercy." [Quran, 9:128]

 

ii) It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that: Once the Prophet PBUH was reciting the Quran and he came across a number of verses. Of them is the famous verse when Ibrahim AS says, "My Lord [...] whoever follows me is with me, and whoever disobeys me—then surely You are [still] All-Forgiving, Most Merciful" [see Quran, 14:36]. And then he PBUH came across the verse of Isa AS in Surah al-Ma'idah (سورة المائدة) saying, "[O Allah,] If You punish them, they belong to You after all. But if You forgive them, You are surely the Almighty, All-Wise" [see Quran, 5:118]. (In other words, Isa  AS wanted Allah to forgive his ummah.) So the Prophet PBUH recites these two verses both of them regarding prophets making du'a for their ummah, and then he starts thinking of his own ummah, so he raises his hands to Allah and says, "O Allah, my ummah! O Allah, my ummah!" and he began to cry. Allah told Jibril, "Go to Muhammad and ask him why is he crying"—and of course Allah knew why he was crying. Jibril came to Prophet Muhammad PBUH and asked him, "Why are you crying?" The Prophet PBUH said, "I am crying thinking of my ummah and thinking of what will be their fate." Then Jibril went back to Allah. Allah said, "O Jibril, go back to Muhammad and tell him We are going to please you for your ummah, and We are not going to cause you any irritation!" In other words, Allah is going to bless the ummah of the Prophet PBUH because He SWT wants to please the Prophet PBUH!

 

iii) The greatest indication of the love that the Prophet PBUH had for his ummah: Allah SWT has given every single prophet one wish that He will never reject. Some of the prophets used it against their people who disobeyed. E.g. Nuh AS after making dawah for 950 years, he said, "My Lord! Do not leave a single disbeliever on earth" [Quran, 71:26]. So Allah destroyed all humanity except the Mu'minun (مؤمنون - Believers): Nuh AS, some of his children, and their spouse. And Ibrahim AS made that famous du'a for the Prophet PBUH, "Our Lord, send from amongst them a messenger." [see Quran, 2:129] (Note: This verse is why the Prophet PBUH said, "I am the du'a of my father Ibrahim.") And Musa AS made du'a against Fir'awn (فرعون - Pharaoh) [see Quran, 10:88], and it was answered. Sulayman (سليمان - Solomon) AS made the du'a, "My Lord! Forgive me, and grant me an authority that will never be matched by anyone after me. You are indeed the Giver [of all bounties]" [Quran, 38:35] So Allah gave him powers no one had, e.g. given the control over wind & jinn [see Quran, 38:36-38] — jinns were building and diving and bringing treasures etc. for Sulayman. And he could speak to animals [see Quran, 27:16] and even to ants! All the animals became his servants [see Quran, 27:17]. This is the du'a of Sulayman.

 

You see now what this du'a can give the prophets.

 

Our Prophet PBUH had the biggest and greatest du'a, and he used it for us. He said, "Every single rasul (رسول - messenger) and nabi (نبي - prophet), Allah has given him one du'a that He never rejects. And every single nabi has used it up in this world, except for me. I have saved it for my ummah and I will use it for them on the Day of Judgement." And the du'a will be, "O Allah, forgive my entire ummah!" And Allah will accept this du'a, in that, every single Muslim who believes and acts upon even a little bit of his teachings will eventually be forgiven and enter Jannah. All because the Prophet PBUH saved that one du'a for us. There can be no greater sacrifice than this. This shows us the love that he PBUH had for us.

 

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Conclusion

 

We conclude by mentioning a beautiful hadith reported in Bukhari: Anas ibn Malik narrates: A man came to the Prophet PBUH and said, "O Messenger of Allah, when is the Day of Judgement?" The Prophet PBUH asked him back, "What have you prepared for it when it comes?" The man was silent for a while, and then he said, "I really do not have that much salah (صلاة - prayer), siyam (صيام - fasting), or sadaqa (صدقة - charity), but I have a genuine love for Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet PBUH said, "A man shall be with he whom he loves [in Jannah]." Anas commented, "Wallahi, we were never as happy and overjoyed as we were on that day when we heard that a man shall be with he whom he loves, because we love the Prophet PBUH and we want to be with him [in Jannah], but we thought our levels would be so different we would never get to see him."

 

So let us have a genuine love for the Prophet PBUH, let us understand the sacrifices he made for us, let us understand what a great personality he was, and most importantly let us study his life and times so that we can implement and follow his teachings and come closer to Allah SWT. Allah says in the Quran:

 

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ

"Say, 'If you truly love Allah, then follow me. Allah will love you and forgive your sins.'" [see Quran, 3:31]

 

May Allah SWT make us amongst those who truly follow the Prophet PBUH, and may He forgive our sins.

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