Amid the whole Danish cartoon debacle, I figure this post would give a more accurate description of our beloved Prophet. No pictures or absurd caricatures, just a few authentic hadith.

ChillYoIslamYo rounded up some good hadith regarding this topic.

His companions described the beauty of the Prophet (s) in these terms:
“The Prophet (s) had a most handsome constitution. Some gave the smile of his beauty to that of the full moon,His nose was thin, His face was smooth,His beard was thick,His neck was the most beautiful,If the rays of the sun fell on his neck, it appeared like a cup of silver mixed with gold. The place between his shoulders was wide.

Anas bin Malik (ra) says:
The Messenger of Allah (SWT), was not excessively tall or short. He was not very pallid nor dark. He did not have curly hair or lank hair. Allah (SWT) commissioned him at the age of forty. He stayed in Mecca ten years and at Medina for ten years and Allah (SWT) the Mighty, the Majestic made him die when he was sixty. There were not twenty white hairs in his hair or beard, may Allah (SWT) bless him and grant him peace.

Anas bin Malik (ra) says:
“The Prophet (s) was neither tall nor short. He was handsome. His hair was neither delicate nor curly. He was neither very white, nor very brown.

Abu Huraira (ra) describes:
“The complexion of Rasulullah (s) was white with redness in it. The blessed eyes of Rasulullah (s) were extremely black. His eyelashes were long.

Umm Ma’bad (ra), who was known for her generosity, uprightness and courage, was visited by the Prophet (s) during the Prophet (s) migration from Mecca to Medina, but failed to recognize him. However, she described him to her husband, who recognized the Prophet (s) from her description:

“He was innocently bright and had a broad countenance. His manners were fine… He had black attractive eyes… His hair glossy and black, inclined to curl, he wore long. His voice was very commanding. His head was 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 rosary of beads. His stature was neither too high nor too small. He was 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 a commandment, they vied with each other in carrying it out. He was a master and a commander. (Shaykh Safi ur-Rahmân al-Mubarakpoori, The Prophet’s Attributes and Manners From “The Sealed Nectar”, Islam’s Youth Voice)

Abu Huraira (ra) reports:
“I did not see anyone more handsome than Rasulullah (s). It was as if the brightness of the sun had shone from his blessed face. I did not see anyone walk faster than him, as is the earth folded for him. A few moments ago he would be here, and then there. We found it difficult to keep pace when we walked with him and he walked at his normal pace.”

“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 a rather 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 blessed glance was focused more to the ground than towards the sky. His noble habit was to look at something with a slight glance. He made salaam (greeted) first to whomsoever he met.” (Shamaa-il Tirmidhi, Islamic Book Service Publications, New Delhi, 2000, p. 118)

Hassan (ra) says:
“He had great qualities and attributes, 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 blessed 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. Rasulullah (s) had a very luminous complexion (color), and a wide forehead. His eye brows were of dense and fine hair

… His neck was beautiful and thin, like the neck of a statue shaved clean, the color of which was clear, shining and beautiful like silver. All the parts of his body were of moderate size. His body was proportionately jointed.

“His forehead was wide and the place between his eyebrows was bright like pure silver and eye-balls were black tinged with reddish hue. The hairs of his eye lashes were profuse, When he smiled or laughed, they (his teeth) shone like lightning. His lip was most beautiful,His beard was thick,His neck was most beautiful, neither long, nor short. If the rays of the sun fell on his neck, it appeared like a cup of silver mixed with gold. His chest was broad. It was even like a mirror and white like the moon light,His shoulders were wide. His palms were softer than wool.