The Prophet Had the Most Handsome Face amongst Men
Fatwa No: 370006

Question

Assalamu alaikum we know that the prophet was very handsome and he was above 50 when he migrated to madina and died st 63. How can we reconcile this handsomeness with age. Generally it is that people loose vigor and get weak when they grow old. Was the sign of aging apparent in the prophet? Or did he look young and beautiful always? Or he looked moderate neither too old nor young? It is amazing that people of all age loved him. This is not normal. Please explain.Barak Allah feekim wa jazakum Allah khairan

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is no doubt that Allah has given the Prophet the beauty of creation and the beauty of appearance.

Al-Baraa’ narrated: “The Prophet had the most handsome face amongst men and he had the best appearance….” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

However, you should know that his Companions did not love him just because he was handsome, but because he was the Messenger of Allah and he had good morals.

Allah Says (what means): {So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you.} [Quran 3:159]

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas said that the Prophet was described in the Torah……. He is neither hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. He does not return evil for evil, but he excuses and forgives…..” [Al-Bukhaari]

On one hand, the Prophet died at the age of sixty-three; so he was not very old. On the other hand, Allah preserved him in his stature, so he did not change much.

Abu Zahrah said in his book Khaatem an-Nabiyeen (The Seal of the Prophets):

Everything in the Messenger of Allah heralded his strength and beauty and perfection. In his form, he was young while he was over sixty years of age and his hair did not turn grey. Rather, he had black hair, to the extent that the companions who kept company with him and his servants counted his grey hair and said that he only had twenty grey hairs in his beard and head. His servant Anas counted his grey hair and said that it was eleven hairs only....” [End of quote]

Finally, we draw the attention of the brothers to ask questions about what necessitates action.

Allah knows best.

Related Fatwa