10-29-2004, 08:02 PM
Asked for details of the Prophet’s (pbuh) external appearance, Hazrat Ali (as) said – “He was of medium height, neither very tall nor very short. His complexion was pinkish white, his eyes were black; his hair was thick, glossy, and beautiful. A full beard framed his face. The hairs of his head were long, falling to his shoulders. They were black. His gait was so energetic that you would have said that he tore himself from the rock with each step, and yet at the same time he moved so lightly that with each stride he seemed not to touch the ground. But he did walk proudly, as princes do. There was so much gentleness in his face that once in his presence it was impossible to leave him; if you were hungry, you were satisfied by looking at him and thought no more of food. Any man suffering from an affliction forgot his troubles when in his presence, charmed by the gentleness of his features and his discourse. All who saw him agreed that they never met, neither before nor after, a man whose discourse was so delightful. His nose was straight; there were gaps between his teeth. Sometimes he would let the hair of his head fall naturally, at others he wore it knotted into two or four bunches. At sixty-three years, no more than fifteen hairs on his whole body had yet become white with age….” (‘Universal History’, by Tabari (d. Baghdad 310 AH).
Allah knows the best.