Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘The Messenger was not very conspicuously tall nor short-statured; not glaringly white-skinned nor dark-brown; and not very curly-haired nor completely straight-haired. Allah, Exalted is He, sent him as a messenger at the age of forty years. He stayed in Mecca for ten years, and in al-Madinah for ten more years. Allah, Exalted is He, caused him to die at the age of sixty years, and at that time, he had only twenty white hairs in his head and beard.’
General Meaning of the Hadith
In the abovementioned Hadith, Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, described the physical appearance of the Messenger Muhammad. He mentioned that the Messenger was not very long nor very short, but tending more towards being tall. He was not glaringly white-skinned nor dark-brown, but had rosy white color skin. His hair was not very curly nor very straight, but in between. He received the divine revelation of prophet-hood when he was forty years old. He stayed ten years in Mecca after receiving the divine revelation. Then he emigrated to al-Madinah, where he stayed for ten more years. Finally, he died when he was sixty years old, at which age, he had only few white hairs in his head and beard as was authentically transmitted.
Learned Lessons
1. The appearance of the Messenger Muhammad was one of the most beautiful forms, having the most good-looking characteristics that indicate he enjoyed the highest degree of human perfection.
2. In the abovementioned hadith, tallness was qualified, i.e. by stating: not “very conspicuously” tall, but shortness was not. That is because the Messenger tended towards being tall. Besides, shortness of stature is always disliked, whereas tallness is only disliked when it is very conspicuous.
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