Beauty: According to Prophet Muhammad ()
Along with the many tasks the Prophet was sent with, he also carried the task of teaching people about beauty and reviving their sense and awareness of it. Indeed, Almighty Allah is beautiful, the Noble Qur'an is beautiful, and the entire universe is beautiful. Being sent to teach people about this universal beauty, the Prophet undoubtedly had the best share of it. He was characterized by the following:
1.The beauty of smiling. Yes, smiling is a type of superior beauty. It is also a universal human language in the sense that if we see, on television for example, a Korean, German, Senegalese, American, or a national of any country smiling, we understand that he or she is smiling, feeling all the elation, joy, and human affection represented by the act of smiling. Such a picture is a beautiful one, the opposite to a picture of depression, gloom, and frowning.
This is why the attitude of smiling is one of the most important things that public relations trainees are told to assume. They are taught how to smile and how to keep smiling. Linguists say that smiling — a prelude to laughter — is a facial expression of cheerfulness, in which one's teeth are a sign of pleasure and joy.
Smiling, therefore, is one form of beauty. The Prophet was known to have a smiling face most of the time. Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) was quoted as saying, "The Messenger of Allah never declined to see me since I embraced Islam. Whenever he saw me, he would meet me with a smile" (Al-Bukhari).
Not only did the Prophet keep a beautiful smile on his face, but he also promoted smiling and encouraged others to smile. He reportedly said, "Your smiling at your brother is an act of charity" (At-Tirmidhi). He was also reported to have said, "Do not underrate any good action, even if it is just meeting your brother with a cheerful countenance" (Muslim).
2. The beauty of handsome appearance. The Prophet used to wear the nicest clothes available to him. Before meeting delegations, he would groom himself in a manner appropriate for him and for them as well; that is, he dressed what is compatible with the status and traditions of each delegation. He also liked perfume. `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reportedly said, "I used to apply to the Prophet the best scent available" (Muslim).
The Prophet would prohibit any person who had eaten onions or garlic from getting inside the mosque. He endorsed beauty in general as one of the things loved by Almighty Allah. In a hadith, he was quoted as saying, "Almighty Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty" (Authenticated by Al-Albani).
3. The beauty of gentle attitude. The Prophet reportedly said, "Gentleness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty, and it is not withdrawn from anything but that it makes it defective" (Muslim). Thus, gentleness is an adornment and beauty, while violence is an ugly, repulsive thing. The noble Prophet conducted all his affairs with gentleness, and he urged gentleness in all affairs, both public and private.
Let all people renew their sense and their strong awareness of the beauty found in religion and in the entire universe.
4. The beauty of tenderness. The following instances will demonstrate some aspects of the Prophet's remarkable tenderness:
(a) He would quicken performing Prayer upon hearing an infant crying, in consideration of the mother's anxiety about her child.
(b) He once stopped the advance of an army out of concern for a bird grieving for its babies that had been captured by some soldiers. The army resumed its advance only when the baby birds were returned to their mother.
(c) He avoided direct, face-to-face reproach. He would rather say something like "What about those people who feel too proud to do something that I myself do?"
(d) He indulged children and joked with them. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reportedly said, "The Prophet used to mix with us [children] to the extent that he would say to a younger brother of mine [bantering him], 'O Father of `Umayr! What did the birdie do?'" (Al-Bukhari).
(e) He approved and allowed for recreation in his own house. `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was reported to have said, "I used to play with dolls in the Prophet's house, and my girl peers also used to play with me. Whenever the Prophet entered [my dwelling place], they would hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me" (Al-Bukhari).
(f) He reportedly said, "None of you should say, 'My soul has become evil,' but he should rather say, 'My soul has become remorseless'" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Ibn Hajar, in Al-Fath, quoted Al-Khattabi as saying:
Evil and remorseless are close in meaning, but the Prophet disliked the evil adjective and opted for the safer expression remorseless. Indeed, it was his habit to substitute an unpleasant name with a more refined one. This hadith implies that unpleasant vocabulary should be avoided.
The point here is that avoiding an expression like "My soul has become evil" is an act of tenderness toward oneself.
(g) He was keen on honoring his wives and treating them tenderly. For example, he used to offer his knee for his wife Safiyyah to step on it whenever she wanted to mount a camel.
(h) He preached the divine "tenderness" to people. He was reported in a hadith to have said, "When Allah had finished His creation, He wrote over his Throne: My Mercy predominates My Anger" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).