A Picture of Mohammed?

vicwatson

You know the way christians are led to believe that Jesus had a beard and long hair? So..

What does Mohammed look like?

Where can I find a picture?

Thank you

hivizman

vicwatson wrote: »

You know the way christians are led to believe that Jesus had a beard and long hair? So..

What does Mohammed look like?

One of the most extensive descriptions of Muhammad is attributed to Hind bint Abi Haalah:

He had great qualities and attributes in him, others also held him in high esteem. His blessed face shone like the full moon.
• He was slightly taller than a man of middle height, but shorter than a tall person.
• His head was moderately large.
• His hair was slightly twisted. If his hair became parted naturally in the middle he left it so, otherwise he did not habitually make an effort to part his hair in the middle. Occasionally he used to part his hair in the middle with a comb etc. When the hair of the prophet was abundant, it used to pass over his ear- lobes.
• His complexion was very luminous, with pink cheeks and lips.
• He had a wide forehead.
• He had dense and fine hair on his eye brows. Both eye brows were seperate and did not meet each other in the middle. There was a vein between them that used to expand when he became angry.
• His nose was prominent and had a lustre on it. When one first looked at him, it seemed as if he had a large nose, but looking at it carefully showed that the lustre and beauty made it look large, otherwise in itself the nose was not large.
• His beard was full and dense.
• The pupils of his eyes were black.
• His cheeks were full and fleshy.
• His mouth was moderately wide.
• His teeth were thin and bright. The front teeth had a slight space between them.
• His neck was beautiful and thin, like the neck of a statue shaved clean, the colour of which was clear, shining and beautiful 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, but his chest was broad and wide.
• The space between his shoulders was wide.
• The bones of his limbs were strong and large (denoting strength).
• Between the chest and navel there was a thin line of hair. Besides this line neither the chest nor the stomach had other hair on it. Both sides, the shoulders and the upper portion of the chest had hair.
• His forearm was long and palms were wide and fleshed.
• His feet were fully fleshed.
• The fingers and toes were moderately long.
• The soles of his feet were a bit deep.
• His feet were smooth, because of their cleanliness and smoothness the water did not remain there but flowed away quickly. When he walked, he lifted his legs with vigour, leaned slightly forward and placed his feet softly on the ground.
• He walked at a quick pace and took rather a long step. He did not take small steps. When he walked it seemed as if he was descending to a lower place.
• When he looked at something he turned his whole body towards it.
• He always looked down. His sight was focused more to the ground than towards the sky. His modest habit was to look at something with a light eye, i.e. he looked at a thing, with modesty and bashfulness, hence he did not stare at anything.
• While walking he asked his companions to walk in front, and he himself walked behind. He greeted whomsoever he met.

(Hind bint Abi Haalah was the daughter of Khadijah, the first wife of Muhammad, by her first husband Abu Haalah bin Zuraarah. ]

vicwatson wrote: »

Where can I find a picture?

Thank you

Although Muslims consider it inappropriate to provide visual images of any of the prophets, this is not to say that they do not exist. Shi'a Muslims seem to be less strict than Sunni Muslims on the issue of portraying Muhammad. I suggest that you search for "Muhammad" on Google Images, or search for "Muslim devotional pictures" on Google.

whydoc

http://sunnah.com/shamail

Frank Grimes

hivizman wrote: »

Shi'a Muslims seem to be less strict than Sunni Muslims on the issue of portraying Muhammad.

I've seen one myself in a museum in Tehran; it can be found by googling, I won't link directly to it. There are also portraits of Ali and Hussein everywhere, although I was there during Muharram so the latter were more prevalent for obvious reasons.

vicwatson

whydoc wrote: »

http://sunnah.com/shamail

Where is the picture here on this link sorry?

vicwatson

hivizman wrote: »

One of the most extensive descriptions of Muhammad is attributed to Hind bint Abi Haalah:



(Hind bint Abi Haalah was the daughter of Khadijah, the first wife of Muhammad, by her first husband Abu Haalah bin Zuraarah. ]




Although Muslims consider it inappropriate to provide visual images of any of the prophets, this is not to say that they do not exist. Shi'a Muslims seem to be less strict than Sunni Muslims on the issue of portraying Muhammad. I suggest that you search for "Muhammad" on Google Images, or search for "Muslim devotional pictures" on Google.

Why is it inappropriate ? The description is very very very detailed, yet no picture?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Perhaps just have some respect for those who believe it is inappropriate.

:mad:

wes

Sariah Long Landscape wrote: »

Perhaps just have some respect for those who believe it is inappropriate.

:mad:

Calm down, the posters seems to be genuinely curious. No need to get mad.

vicwatson

Sariah Long Landscape wrote: »

Perhaps just have some respect for those who believe it is inappropriate.

:mad:

Jeez, is this the reaction I'm going to get when I ask some serious questions.

Calm down or don't bother posting.

blackthorn

There is a tradition that talks about a community who made images of some pious ancestors as a way of remembering them. The generations passed and the reason for making the images got forgotten, until eventually they became objects of worship. Now, worshipping something other than God is considered spiritually disastrous by Muslims and is something we want to avoid. We don't want to take even the first baby step towards idolatry, so we don't make images of prophets or angels etc.

c montgomery

Sariah Long Landscape wrote: »

Perhaps just have some respect for those who believe it is inappropriate.

:mad:

Perhaps you could show some courtesy to somebody who is asking genuine questions about a religion some of us know little about.

hivizman

vicwatson wrote: »

Why is it inappropriate ? The description is very very very detailed, yet no picture?

I think that the main reason is that there are various hadiths (traditions stating the words or actions of Muhammad) that are negative about portraying living creatures. For example the great hadith collector Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj narrates a hadith where ibn Umar, one of Muhammad's companions, reports Muhammad as saying: "Those who paint pictures would be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it would be said to them [by Allah]: Breathe soul into what you have created." Muslim narrates similar hadiths from other sources.

Muslim also narrates that Abu Tilha, another companion, reported Muhammad as saying: "Verily, angels do not enter a house in which there is a picture."

As regards prophets, there is another reason why pictures are not liked: images of prophets could become objects of worship, which would represent the major sin of shirk - associating partners with Allah.

It's standard practice in Islamic art, if prophets are pictured at all, to show them without facial features, or with their faces veiled.

Frank Grimes

hivizman wrote: »

As regards prophets, there is another reason why pictures are not liked: images of prophets could become objects of worship, which would represent the major sin of shirk - associating partners with Allah.[/URL].

That's also the common theme I've heard from Muslims I've spoken about this; i.e. that it could encourage idolatry - but like everything else relating to Islam and/or Muslims, the variety of opinions is of such magnitude that making anything approaching a general statement is virtually impossible.

frag420

Out of curiosity if I were to draw an image of a man and claim it to be or call it Mohamed and it has no resemblence st all to what is described above would that be insulting or would it have to be a drawing as described in the physical description above?

Thanks

hivizman

frag420 wrote: »

Out of curiosity if I were to draw an image of a man and claim it to be or call it Mohamed and it has no resemblence st all to what is described above would that be insulting or would it have to be a drawing as described in the physical description above?

I think that it would depend on the context of the image and what the man in the image is doing/saying. As "Mohamed" (including variant spellings) is one of the most common names in the world, a picture of a random man called "Mohamed" would not necessarily be identified by Muslims (with the possible exception of weird fanatics) as portraying the Prophet Muhammad.

But if you specifically identify the image as being the Prophet, and show the Prophet doing or saying something that contradicts what Muslims believe, then I think that it would not matter how near to or far from the accepted description of Muhammad your image is, it would offend many Muslims.

frag420

Thanks for the quick reply. I was under the illusion that any image said to be the prophet was insulting. So am i correct in thinking that if someone were to draw an image of the prophet doing something good or charitable then it is not insulting?

hivizman

frag420 wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply. I was under the illusion that any image said to be the prophet was insulting. So am i correct in thinking that if someone were to draw an image of the prophet doing something good or charitable then it is not insulting?

I think that the word "insulting" can be understood in different senses. In the broad sense, "insulting" would mean showing Muhammad doing or saying something that most people (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) would consider demeans him. For example, one of the notorious Danish cartoons showed Muhammad wearing a black turban with a lit fuse sticking out, implying that Muhammad was a terrorist bomber.

In the narrower sense, any attempt to portray Muhammad could be regarded as "insulting" in that Muslims believe that it is wrong to prepare images that purport to be of any of the prophets. Some Muslims take the view that the Islamic prohibition on images of the prophets is so well known that anyone publishing an image of Muhammad must be doing so as a deliberate insult or provocation.

To give an analogy, there's nothing insulting in the first sense in a canteen having pork chops on the menu (particularly if there is a choice of other food), but if most of the customers are known to be Muslims, and pork chops are the only thing on the menu, then many Muslims will conclude that the canteen is being deliberately insulting in the second sense.

Abu Baraa

Describing the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], who passed by her tent on his journey of migration, Umm Ma‘bad Al-Khuza‘iyah said to her husband:

"He was innocently bright and had broad countenance. His manners were fine. Neither was his belly bulging out nor was his head deprived of hair. He had black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows. His hair glossy and black, inclined to curl, he wore long. His voice was extremely commanding. His head was large, well formed and set on a slender neck. His expression was pensive and contemplative, serene and sublime. The stranger was fascinated from the distance, but no sooner he became intimate with him than this fascination was changed into attachment and respect. His expression was very sweet and distinct. His speech was well set and free from the use of superfluous words, as if it were a rosary of beads. His stature was neither too high nor too small to look repulsive. He was a twig amongst the two, singularly bright and fresh. He was always surrounded by his Companions. Whenever he uttered something, the listeners would hear him with rapt attention and whenever he issued any command, they vied with each other in carrying it out. He was a master and a commander. His utterances were marked by truth and sincerity, free from all kinds of falsehoods and lies."
[Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/45]

Ali bin Abi Talib describing him said:

"The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was neither excessively tall nor extremely short. He was medium height among his friends. His hair was neither curly nor wavy. It was in between. It was not too curly nor was it plain straight. It was both curly and wavy combined. His face was not swollen or meaty-compact. It was fairly round. His mouth was white. He had black and large eyes with long haired eyelids. His joints (limbs) and shoulder joints were rather big. He had a rod-like little hair extending from his chest down to his navel, but the rest of his body was almost hairless. He had thick hand palms and thick fingers and toes. At walking, he lifted his feet off the ground as if he had been walking in a muddy remainder of water. When he turned, he turned all. The Prophethood Seal was between his shoulders. He is the Seal of Prophets, the most generous and the bravest of all.
His speech was the most reliable. He was the keenest and the most attentive to people’s trust and was very careful to pay people’s due in full. The Prophet [pbuh] was the most tractable and the most yielding companion, seeing him unexpectedly you fear him and venerate him. He who has acquaintance with him will like him. He who describes him says:
‘I have never seen such a person neither before nor after seeing him.’ "
[Ibn Hisham 1/401; Jami' At-Tirmidhi 4/303]

Jabir bin Samurah reported that Allâh’s Messenger [pbuh] had a broad face with reddish (wide) eyes and lean heels.
[Sahih Al-Muslim 2/258]

Abu At-Tufail said: "He was white, good-looking. He was neither fat nor thin; neither tall nor short."

Anas bin Malik said: "He had unfolded hands and was pink-coloured. He was neither white nor brown. He
was rather whitish. In both his head and beard there were as many as twenty grey hairs, besides some grey hairs at his temples." In another version: "and some scattered white hairs in his head."
[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/502]

Abu Juhaifa said: "I have seen some grey colour under his lower lip."

Al-Bara’ said: "He was of medium height, broad-shouldered, his hair went up to his earlobes. I saw him dressed in a red garment and I (assure you) I have never seen someone more handsome. At first he used to let his hair loose so as to be in compliance with the people of the Book; but later on he used to part it."
[ibid 1/503]

Al-Bara’ also said: "He had the most handsome face and the best character." When he was asked: "Was the Messenger’s face sword-like?" "No," he said: "it was moon-like." But in another version: he said, "His face was round." Ar-Rabi‘ bint Muawwidh said: "Had you seen him, you would have felt that the sun was shining." Jabir bin Samurah said, "I saw him at one full-moony night. I looked at him. He was dressed in a red garment. I compared him with the moon and found that — for me — he was better than the moon."
[Mishkat Al-Masabeeh 2/518]

Abu Huraira said: "I have never seen a thing nicer than the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. It seems as if the sunlight were moving within his face. I have never seen one who is faster in pace than the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. It seemed as if the earth had folded itself up to shorten the distance for him. For we used to
wear ourselves out while he was at full ease." [ibid 2/518]

Ka‘b bin Malik said: "When he was pleased, his face would shine with so bright light that you would
believe that it was a moon-piece." [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/502] Once he sweated hot at ‘Aishah’s, and the
features of his face twinkled; so I recited a poem by Abu Kabeer Al-Hudhali: "If you watch his face-features, you will see them twinkling like the lightning of an approaching rain."
[Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/72]

Whenever Abu Bakr saw him he would say:
"He is faithful, chosen (by Allâh), and calls for forgiveness. He shines like a full-moon light when it is far
from dark (clouds)." [Khulasa As-Siyar p.20]

‘Umar used to recite verses by Zuhair describing Haram bin Sinan:
"Were you other than a human being, you would be a lighted moon at a full-moon night."
Then he would add: "Thus was the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. [ibid]

When he got angry his face would go so red that you would think it were "an inflected red skin-spot with pomegranate grains on both cheeks." [Mishkat Al-Masabeeh 1/22]

Jabir bin Samurah said: "His legs were gentle, delicate and in conformity. His laughter is no more than smiling. Looking at him will make you say ‘He is black-eyed though he is not so.’" [Jami' At-Tirmidhi 4/306]

Ibn Al-‘Abbas said: "His two front teeth were splitted so whenever he speaks, light goes through them. His neck was as pure and silvery as a neck of doll. His eyelids were long haired but his beard was thick. His forehead was broad; but his eyebrows were like the metal piece attached to a lance, but they were unhorned. His nose was high-tipped, middle-cambered with narrow nostrils. His cheeks were plain, but he had (little hair) running down like a rod from his throat to his navel. He had hair neither on his abdomen nor on his chest except some on his arms and shoulders. His chest was broad and flatted. He had long forearms with expansive palms of the hand. His legs were plain straight and stretching down. His other limbs were straight too. The two hollows of his soles hardly touch the ground. When he walks away he vanishes soon; but he walks at ease (when he is not in a hurry). The way he walks seems similar to one who is leaning forwards and is about to fall down." [Khulasa As-Siyar p.19,20]

Anas said: "I have never touched silk or a silky garment softer than the palm of the Prophet’s [pbuh]; nor have I smelt a perfume or any scent nicer than his." In another version, "I have never smelt ambergris nor musk nor any other thing sweeter than the scent and the smell of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]."

Abu Juhaifa said: "I took his hand and put it on my head and I found that it was colder than ice and better scented than the musk perfume." [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/503]

Jabir bin Samurah — who was a little child then — said: "When he wiped my cheek, I felt it was cold and scented as if it had been taken out of a shop of a perfume workshop." [Sahih Muslim 2/256]

Anas said, "His sweat was pearl-like." Umm Sulaim said: "His sweat smelt nicer than the nicest perfume."

Jabir said: "Whoever pursues a road that has been trodden by the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], will certainly scent his smell and will be quite sure that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] has already passed it." The Seal of Prophethood, which was similar in size to a pigeon’s egg, was between his shoulders on the left side having spots on it like moles. [ibid 2/259]