The Lion of Allah, the venerable ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and fifteen of the Companions have handed down this description of the Chosen Messenger, Muhammad Mustafa, may Allah bless him and give him peace.
In character and conduct he was the most perfect of human beings. All the great Prophets were physically complete and beautiful of face, but the beloved of Allah was the most beautiful of them all. His chaste body was beautiful, his limbs well proportioned, his figure most comely. His forehead was wide and his chest was broad, as were his palms and the space between his shoulders. His neck, which was long and graceful, was like pure silver. His shoulders and arms, as well as the calves of his legs, were sturdy and solid, while he was long in the wrists. His fingers were fairly long, and fingers and hands alike were rather thick. His blessed stomach was not fat, and did not protrude below his chest. His insteps were arched, not flat. Medium tall in height, he was well built, powerful and strong. He was neither too thin nor overweight, but a good medium. As for his blessed skin, this was softer than silk. The large head, arched brows and straight nose were in perfect balance. His face was more oval than circular, neither too fat nor too round in the cheeks.
His eyebrows were close, but did not meet in the middle. He was not beetle-browed. There was a vein between his two eyebrows that used to swell and show up when he was angry. His eyelashes were long and the eyes themselves were black and beautiful and quite large. There was a touch of red in the whites of his eyes. His coloring was light, neither as white as chalk nor dark enough to be swarthy. The radiance that glowed in this blessed face was of a gentle rosy whiteness, bright and gleaming. His teeth were as lustrous as pearls; his front teeth sparkled as he talked, and when he smiled his blessed mouth beamed flashes as of exquisite lightning. When he let his hair grow, it came down past the lobes of his ears. His beard was thick and full. It was not long, but more than just enough for him to grasp. When he departed for the world of Eternity, his hair and beard had only just begun to turn gray: he had about twenty gray hairs on his head, a few in his beard. His body was clean and sweet-smelling whether he perfumed himself or not, his skin smelled better than the finest perfumes. Anyone who shook hands with him could smell his fragrance all day long. If he stroked a child’s head with his blessed hand, that child could be distinguished from other children by his delightful fragrance.
At the moment of his birth he was clean and neat and naturally circumcised. He was born with his umbilical cord already cut. His senses were unusually acute. He could hear from a great distance, and could see further than anyone else. All his movements were gentle. When he set out to go somewhere, he would make his way calmly and unhurriedly, deviating neither to right nor to left, but he walked briskly and smoothly. He might appear to be strolling along, yet those who approached him would find themselves falling behind, even though they were walking fast. There was a light and sweetness in his blessed face, fluency and charm in his speech. His language was articulate and eloquent, and he expressed himself with extraordinary lucidity. He never spoke unnecessarily and there was wisdom and counsel in all that he did say. He always addressed people at the level of their understanding. His face was smiling, his words were sweet. He never said a bad word to anyone, nor treated anybody badly. He would never cut a person short. He was affable and humble. Bad-tempered and coarse he was not. But he was serious and dignified. His laugh was also a smile. A person who suddenly happened to see him would be struck with awe.
Whoever enjoyed his company and friendship would come to love him with all his heart and soul. He respected the virtuous according to their degrees. He also treated his relatives with very great honor, yet never preferred them over those more worthy than they. Just as he treated with kindness the members of his own household and his companions, so did he deal gently and graciously with other people too. He was very good to his servants. He fed them whatever he ate himself, gave them the same clothes to wear. He was generous, gracious, tender and compassionate, courageous and tolerant. He was firm in pledge and promise, true to his word. He was superior to all in goodness of character and excellence of mind, worthy of every kind of praise and commendation. He gave all praise to God. In short, he was beautiful in form, perfected in character, a happy and blessed being whose like has never been and never will be created, may Allah bless him and give him peace.
(Hadith quoted in Irshad by Shaykh Muzaffer, may his secret be sanctified