Asked for details of the Prophet’s external appearance, Ali said, “ He was of medium height, neither very tall nor very short. His complexion was pinkish white, his eyes were black, and his hair was thick, glossy and beautiful. A full beard framed his face. Hairs of his head were long, falling to his shoulders.
They were black. His walk 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 not 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 was a gap between his teeth. Sometimes he would let the hair of his head fall naturally, at other times 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.