Comprehensive Collection of Characteristics

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, much good, blessed praise, as our Lord loves and is pleased with. O Allah, to You be all praise, You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all therein. To You be all praise, You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all therein. To You be all praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all therein. To You be all praise, You are the Truth, and Your promise is true, and Paradise is true, and Hellfire is true, and the Prophets are true, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is true. O Allah, to You we have submitted, in You we have believed, and upon You we have relied. For Your sake, we have argued, and to You we have referred for judgment. So forgive us for what we have put forward and what we have delayed, for none forgives sins except You.

And prayers and peace be upon the gifted mercy, the bestowed blessing, the master of the saints, and the best of the chosen ones, as long as an eye connects with a gaze, and an ear shines with news, and rain falls and descends. And upon his family and companions, the noble and pure leaders, the chosen saints, who raised the banner of "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" to the highest heavens. And upon everyone who followed his methodology, traced his footsteps, sat in his gathering, and listened to his discourse, by Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

He says: "It is He who has sent among the unlettered a messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom – although they were before that in clear error." [Al-Jumu'ah: 2]. So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, delivered the message, fulfilled the trust, advised the Ummah, and left them on the clear, bright path, its night like its day, from which none deviates except the doomed. Allah Almighty honored him with beautiful merits, praiseworthy morals, noble ways, and numerous virtues. He supported him with dazzling miracles, clear proofs, and evident wonders that were witnessed by those contemporary with him, seen by those who met him, and known with certainty by those who came after him, until the knowledge of their reality reached us.

Indeed, whoever contemplates the beauty of his impact, the praiseworthiness of his conduct, the brilliance of his knowledge, the soundness of his intellect, his forbearance, the entirety of his perfection, all his qualities, the correctness of his words, and the state of his condition, will not doubt the validity of his prophethood and the truthfulness of his call. Imam Ahmad narrated in his "Musnad," and Al-Tirmidhi in his "Jami'," and Ibn Majah in his "Sunan," with an authentic chain of narration from Abdullah ibn Salam, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came to Medina, people rushed to him, and it was said: "The Messenger of Allah has arrived." So I came among the people to see him. When I discerned the face of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing he said was: "O people, spread peace, feed the hungry, and pray at night while people are sleeping, and you will enter Paradise in peace." After this, the books on the characteristics of prophethood are considered appendices and related matters to the Prophetic biography. Some scholars have dedicated separate works to them, such as Imam Ibn al-Mulaqqin, al-Suyuti, and others.

It is worth noting that the topic of the characteristics of prophethood is part of the Shamā'il (physical and moral qualities), Dalā'il (proofs), and Fadā'il (virtues). For this reason, al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir integrated them into one topic,

and he called it: "The Shamā'il of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the Proofs of his Prophethood, his Virtues, and his Characteristics." He also dedicated a separate book to it, independent of the Sīrah (biography), saying: "This is the time to present what remains for us from the matters related to the noble Sīrah, and that is four books:

The first: On the Shamā'il.

The second: On the Dalā'il.

The third: On the Fadā'il.

The fourth: On the Khasā'is (characteristics)."

The personality of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has been addressed by the pens of scholars throughout ages and generations. They wrote volumes and great books, and collected everything they pleased to gather that related to this unique and towering personality. These pens have a credit over those who came later, so may Allah reward their authors with the best and most complete reward. However, what many zealous, religious, and knowledgeable people regret and what pains their souls is that many of those who wrote about the Shamā'il (characteristics), Khasā'is (special qualities), and Fadā'il (virtues) of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not exercise caution in their writings, nor did they wish for their writings to be governed by accuracy and established rules. Their works lacked verification and awareness of the seriousness and requirements of the topic. Due to an abundance of emotion, a desire for novelty, and expansion, they narrated falsehoods and fabricated superstitions, incorporating them into their writings—an issue that any scientific topic and any conscious writing should be free from. How much more so for the topic of the Muhammadan personality, what a critical topic it is, and how much it needs authentic transmission and cohesive, jurisprudential research! For the historical events of any era and any person must be reliable and sound, so that the heart finds peace in them. How much more so for the biography of the teaching Messenger and the inspired leader, which is the first pillar on the path of faith, and the living, practical, applied image of revelation and of Allah Almighty's will for His creation!

It should be known, and one should not deviate from it, that no particularity can be established without authentic proof.

And I have traced what Allah Almighty has specifically granted to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and to the Prophets, peace be upon them, and to his Ummah (nation) from virtues and miracles, and I have arranged them well, in the following order:

First: The special characteristics of the Prophets, peace and blessings be upon them.

Second: The miracles and virtues of the Prophets, peace and blessings be upon them, and their counterpart for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. I placed this section as an introduction and prelude to

his special characteristics.

Third: The special characteristics of the Messenger.

Fourth: The special characteristics of the Prophet's Ummah.

Fifth: Special characteristics not proven for the Prophet or his Ummah.

And I ask Allah to make this work of mine sincere for His noble Face, and to grant it acceptance. Indeed, He is capable of that, and worthy of response. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet

Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.