Jumu'ah Khutbah | Mufti Azeemuddin | Muhammad ﷺ - As if You Can See Him

The Beauty of Allah's Creation

As-salamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.

Beloved friends, elders and brothers, mothers and sisters, dear students, As-salamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.

As we walk into the masjid on this sunny beautiful day in the autumn, we see the beautiful changing of the colors of the leaves around us. And this reminds us of one of many countless signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's beauty and greatness that surrounds us every single day. What is hidden beneath the ocean, the beautiful types of animals of the sea that we have never seen, we'll never see, Allah knows best. But we know for sure that Allah azza wa jal has hidden some of the most amazing, beautiful creatures of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala under the sea.

Similarly in far distant lands of remote areas of the world, mountainous regions, forests, snow-peaked mountains where no human has ever gone, none of us will be going, but Allah azza wa jal has perfected beauty in all of these places. Because Allah is beautiful, He loves beauty.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 164)

Allah is beautiful, He loves beauty and the earth, whether you see it or not, whether you will ever go there or not, is beautiful. This is just how naturally Allah azza wa jal works.

The Greatest Sign of Allah

Now imagine if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala were to take something, someone, and make him not just by the way you see him or you don't see him, it's okay, but instead makes him a representative of His. Makes this individual the sign of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the greatest sign of Allah on earth. And makes him the leader of all humans, of all jinn, of all angels. And then gives him the keys to paradise. That is none other than Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

Can we just imagine what level of beauty Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam must have had? Internal and external. Beauty that we cannot comprehend.

The Character of the Prophet

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's character as you famously have heard many times shared, that Aisha radiallahu anha would say that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's character كَانَ خُلُقُ النَّبِيِّ الْقُرْآنَ. That the characteristic of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was the Qur'an.

We know the Qur'an is the greatest gift to mankind. We know the Qur'an is not even a creation of Allah. It is an attribute of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Such a lofty thing as the Qur'an. Such a lofty gift of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Aisha radiallahu anha says, if you want to know what Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was like, look in the Qur'an. As beautiful as outstanding the Qur'an. Words cannot describe the Qur'an. That is the character of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

The Veiled Beauty

Imam Qurtubi rahmatullahi alayhi, in al-mawahib al-laduniya, mentions that Allah azza wa jal really did not allow us to fully see Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's beauty. Because if Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's true beauty were to be manifested, we would not be able to bear the sight of him. It would not have been possible for man to look and truly capture the beauty of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Hence Allah azza wa jal put veils upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's beauty, and exposed only a portion of it to mankind.

The companions have described Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's various physical characteristics, physical appearance, as well as moral character to such detail, that if you were to listen and to study, it would be as though you are standing in front of him. And the purpose of it, that level of description and detail is to allow each and every one of us to fall in love with him.

Creating Desire and Excitement

When you hear about a place you're gonna visit, someone describes a vacation spot, someone describes a beautiful car, someone describes a very nice tasting food. What happens before you even go see it or before you taste it? The desire for it gets created. And a person starts preparing to enjoy that.

Well, we have to prepare for the day when you and I will be able to see Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam on the Day of Judgment. He'll be waiting to, inshallah, receive us at the Hawd al-Kawthar. He'll be waiting to receive his ummah. But we have to be excited to see him. We have to be excited to follow in his footsteps. And one great way of creating that excitement within us is to study how he was. His physical appearance, his moral character, this will create within us, inshallah tabarak wa ta'ala, a burning desire to love Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and eventually go meet him on the Day of Judgment and be with him and his company, inshallah, on the Day of Judgment.

Descriptions of the Prophet's Beauty

Hassan ibn Thabit's Poetry

Hassan ibn Thabit radiallahu anhu, describing the beauty of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the famous poet of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the sha'ir of Islam, he says:

He says, when I saw his light shining forth, when I saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's light shining forth, in fear I covered my eyes with my palms, afraid for my sight because of the beauty of his form, so I was hardly able to look at him at all, a soul made of light in the form of the moon, as if the brilliant stars were woven into his form, subhanallah.

Amr ibn al-As's Testimony

This is something that he's saying not only poetically, but there have been companions like Amr ibn al-As radiallahu anhu, the conqueror of Egypt, such a brave, bold man. He's saying, لَمْ أَكُنْ أَمْلَأُ عَيْنَيَّ مِنْهُ إِجْلَالًا لَهُ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. If you were to ask me to describe the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, I couldn't, because I was never able to truly look at him properly and enjoy just looking at his countenance out of extreme reverence and respect for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, a man of great valor, courage, but he says, I didn't have the courage to be able to look into the eyes of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and I cannot describe that.

So it is not just mere poetry of Hassan ibn Thabit radiallahu anhu, it is the truth that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was blessed with such beauty, mixed with such awe, that those who were even close found it difficult to describe him properly.

Physical Description of the Prophet

And the description of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's physical appearance is a lengthy topic, in which the place here, we don't have a spot for that, but just a few basic shemail I would like to share with you today inshallah.

Ali ibn Abi Talib's Description

Ali ibn Abi Talib radiallahu anhu, in a very lengthy hadith, describes Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam how he used to look. He said, لَمْ يَكُنْ بِالطَّوِيلِ الْمُمَّقِطِ. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was not extremely tall, nor was he extremely short, and he was of medium height in comparison to other people.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, everything as you will hear now, is made to perfection. The gold standard, that everything can be compared to that. So not too tall, out of place, not too short, but just the medium height in comparison to everyone else.

His hair was neither overly curly, nor was it fully straight. And his face was slightly round with a white, reddish complexion. His eyes were dark black, and his eyelashes were long. He had broad muscular shoulders and well-proportioned joints. Whoever saw him suddenly, would become awe-inspired. And whoever got to know him, loved him.

This was the interesting, unique characteristic of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that you couldn't surprise him, he would surprise you. You couldn't just come out of nowhere and just look at him like that. If your eyes unexpectedly fell upon him, whether Muslim, non-Muslim, you would be awestruck. But as you spent more time with him, of course most definitely, he would become someone that you would be able to get much closer to, and you would fall in love with him, obviously.

Anyone who describes his noble features can say, Ali ibn Abi Talib radiallahu anhu says, whoever attempted to describe Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, يَقُولُ نَاعِتُهُ لَمْ أَرَ قَبْلَهُ وَلَا بَعْدَهُ مِثْلَهُ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. That he would be forced to say, I have never seen anyone before nor after like him, sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

Anas ibn Malik's Description

And then Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu describes Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he says, كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَحْسَنَ النَّاسِ وَأَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ وَأَشْجَعَ النَّاسِ. That the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, was the most handsome of men, the most courageous of men, and the most generous of all people.

You will see Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, all great attributes come in him. You cannot find another person like that, you can find someone who's a great athlete, but will be sorely lacking in character. A man who's got great character, but sorely lacking in athleticism. Someone who's great in academics, but maybe lacking in spirituality. Someone who's great in spirituality, but lacking in some other field. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah jalla jalaluhu made him, a place where all great beautiful qualities gather together.

Hasan ibn Ali's Detailed Account

The grandson of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Hasan ibn Ali radiallahu anhu, in a very lengthy hadith, he says, I asked my uncle, Hind ibn Abi Hala, who was well known for his ability to describe the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam about the noble features. So the grandson is asking the uncle, please describe to me Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And so I will just read through some portions of the English due to the shortage of time here. And it's because it's a very lengthy hadith.

He says, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, was such a great man, that people held him in high esteem. His face shone like the full moon. His head was moderately large. His hair was slightly wavy. If his hair was undone, he would part his hair right in between. But if he let his hair grow, it would not go beyond his earlobes.

He had a very luminous complexion and a wide forehead. He had beautifully arched eyebrows, which were dense and separate from one another. There was a vein between the two eyebrows that would expand when he would become angry. His nose was perfectly curved and had a shine on it. If someone did not look at it carefully, he would think that he had a large nose.

His beard was full and dense. His eyes were deep black. His cheeks were full of flesh. And his mouth was moderately wide. And Arabs would use wide mouth to denote eloquence and speech. His teeth were thin and bright, with the front ones well spaced. His chest hair was thin.

His neck was beautiful and slim like the neck of a deer, clear and shining like silver. All the parts of his body were of moderate size and fully fleshed. His body was proportionately jointed. His chest and stomach were in line, meaning neither was he overweight nor was he too thin. But his chest was broad and wide. The space between his shoulders was wide. The bones of his joints were strong and large.

When he removed his clothing, his body looked bright and shone with a glow. Between the chest and the navel, there was a thin line of hair. Besides this line, neither the chest nor the stomach had any hair on them. His arms and shoulders and the upper part of his chest had hair. His forearms were long. His palms were wide. He had perfect strong bones. The palms and the feet were moderately long. The soles of his feet were a bit deep. His feet were smooth. And because of their cleanliness and smoothness, the water did not remain there but flowed very quickly off of his feet.

His Noble Walk and Demeanor

When he walked, he lifted his legs with vigor, did not drag his feet. He leaned always slightly forward when walking, a walk of a humble man, and placed his feet softly and moderately on the ground, staying away from any form of arrogance. He walked at a quick pace and took a rather long step. When he walked, it seemed as though he was descending from a lower place. This is his humility and his humbleness. Even when he's walking, it's always fast pace and it's always looking down.

When he looked at something, he turned his whole body towards it, looking down. His sight was more often to the ground than towards the sky, because it's safer to look towards the ground. And he usually looked from the side of his eyes, from the corner of the eyes. When he wanted to look, he would look from the corner of his eyes.

While walking, he would ask his companions to walk in front. And he himself walked behind them. And he would greet whomsoever he met.