The Person
It is not easy to describe a prophet, a person sent as a role model to all of humanity, nor is it easy to comprehend that which his prophethood embraced. The nature of Muhammad’s (pbuh) prophethood as ‘a mercy to the worlds’, a phrase that defines his exceptional place in the history of humanity, defies the ordinary efforts of our minds to formulate and understand, but rather creates new ways of perception. It is for this reason that the difficulty involved in portraying Prophet Muhammad motivated the development of novel forms in Islamic sciences, like ‘hilye’ and ‘shamail’, which then brought about a whole new, rich literature in this field. These special forms that describe Prophet Muhammad in every possible aspect, from his physical appearance to his morality, have been passed down through the generations. In this way, all believers, from different places and different eras, have had the chance to form a perception of their Prophet blended with the depth and richness of their own personal world. The fact that the physical appearance of the Prophet has never been reduced to a certain form has kept his timeless example alive at all times and in all places. The question ‘Who is he?’ is answered in such a way that we have a picture of every aspect of the Prophet’s daily and spiritual life, from his ancestry to his names and attributes, from his personality formed by divine revelation to his manners in dressing and eating; these are aspects that give direction to the life of humanity.
