Imām al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī رحمه الله recorded in his book; al-Mustadrak ʿalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn the ḥadīth of Umm Maʿbad in which she beautifully mentioned the description of the Prophet ﷺ.
Hishām ibn Ḥubaysh ibn Khuwaylid رضي الله عنه; the companion of Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ left Makkah, migrating to Madīnah with Abū Bakr, ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah; a freed slave of Abū Bakr and their guide; ʿAbdullāh ibn Urayqiṭ al-Laythī رضي الله عنهم. They passed by the tent of Umm Maʿbad al-Khuzāʿiyyah رضي الله عنها who was an outstanding, robust woman. She used to take care of passers-by, feeding them and giving them drink. They wanted to buy meat and dates from her but she didn’t have anything to give as they were experiencing a drought.
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ saw a sheep and asked her about it. She said that it was an old, tired sheep. He ﷺ asked her if the sheep had any milk to which she replied: ‘No.’ He asked: ‘Would you allow me to milk it?’ She said: ‘May my mother and father be sacrificed for you. If you think it has milk, milk it.’
When it was brought to him, he ﷺ passed his hand on its udder, pronounced the name of Allāh and supplicated to Him. Suddenly, its udders became full and started producing milk. He ﷺ requested for a container, milked it and gave it to Umm Maʿbad to drink to her fill. He then gave his companions and they drank until they were all satisfied. Then, he milked it a second time, filling the container to the brim and left it with Umm Maʿbad. Thereafter, he left with his companions.
Not long after her husband; Abū Maʿbad returned and saw the container of milk. Surprised, he said: ‘How did you get this milk when the sheep are celibate, O Umm Maʿbad?’ She said: ‘By Allāh, indeed a blessed man passed by us and his demeanour was such and such.’ He said: ‘Describe him to me, O Umm Maʿbad.’ She then went on to describe him beautifully and eloquently. Below is a poem written by Aḥmad ibn Sālim al-Shinqīṭī in which he composed the description of the Prophet ﷺ mentioned by Umm Maʿbad رضي الله عنها.
With regards to the description of the Prophet ﷺ, he said:
إليكَ نظما في صِفاتِ أحمدِ
I present to you a poem about the traits of Aḥmad
عَقَدتُ فيه لفظَ أمِّ مَعبدِ
in which I recorded the articulation of Umm Maʿbad
بادِي الوضاءةِ، وسيمٌ، أبلجُ
He had pronounced beauty and was truly handsome with a radiant face
وحَسَنُ الخَلقِ، قسيمٌ، أدعجُ
He had an exceptional disposition and was wholly beautiful with wide, clear eyes
أَحورُ أَقرنُ أَزَجُّ أكحلُ
He had beautiful eyes and thin, separated eyebrows. It was as if his eyelids naturally had kohl.
أوْطَفُ، كَثُّ لِحيةٍ، وأصحلُ
His eyelashes and beard were thick and his voice was void of hoarseness
وساطعُ العُنُقِ، فاحِمُ الشَّعَرْ
His neck was long and his hair was extremely black
مَنطِقُه لا نَزْرَ فيه أو هَذَرْ
His speech was neither short, nor pointlessly long
في صَمْتِه الوَقارُ والسَّناءُ
His silence was awe-inspiring and radiated eminence
إنْ يَتكلَّمْ يَعْلُهُ البَهاءُ
And when he spoke, his magnificence rose
بلْ هُوَ حُلوٌ، إنْ تَكلَّمَ رُئِي
Rather, it was sweet, when he spoke, it seemed
مِنْ فيه مِثْلُ خَرَزاتِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ
as if strings of pearls emanated from his mouth
أبْهَى الوَرَى في البُعْدِ دونَ رَيْبِ
He is no doubt the most beautiful creation from afar
أحسنُهمْ، أحلاهمُ مِنْ قُرْبِ
and the most perfect and captivating up close
رَبْعٌ، فلا طُولٌ يُرَى أوْ قِصَرُ
He was of medium height, neither tall nor short
كالغُصْنِ بَيْنَ اثنيْنِ، لَكِنْ أَنضَرُ
Like a branch between two branches (Abū Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما), yet he was the most radiant
وهْوَ رفيعٌ، حَسَنٌ في قَدْرِه
He was eminent, of excellent worth
له رِفاقٌ قد عَنَوْا لأمْرِه
He had companions who aspired to fulfil his every command
ولم تَعِبْ محمدًا مِّن ثُجْلَهْ
A bulging stomach did not blemished Muḥammad
كذاكَ لم تُزْرِ به مِن صَعْلَهْ
Nor was he degraded by an unusually small head
لا عابسُ الوجهِ، ولا مُفَنَّدُ
He was neither a scowler nor a chatterbox
بلْ هُوَ مَحشودٌ لَه، مُحَفَّدُ
Rather, he was well served and attended to
صلَّى عليه اللهُ ما شخصٌ قَرا
May Allah send salutations upon him as long as someone reads
سيرتَه ووصْفَه، فانبَهَرَا
his way of life (sīrah) and characteristics and is left in awe and astonishment.
Visit our YouTube channel for the audio coupled with the translation for the above poem.
