5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

He would give great consideration to his appearance and smell, and would love perfume. Anas – may Allah be pleased with him – said, “He had the Looking after one’s appearance brightest skin colour. His sweat was pearl-like. When he walked, he leant forward slightly. I have never touched a piece of silk as soft as the hand of the Messenger of Allah . I have never smelt a perfume or an ambergris better than the smell of the Prophet . His hand was perfumed as though he had just withdrawn it from the place where a perfume maker keeps his tools. He was recognised merely by his scent whenever he came.” Anas – may Allah be pleased with him – also said, “The Messenger of Allah  would never refuse perfume. He had the most beautiful face. His face was as bright as the sun. Whenever he became happy, his face brightened, as if it were a piece of moon.” Jabir bin Samurah said, “I once saw the Messenger of Allah  on a night illuminated by a full moon. I compared the Messenger of Allah  to the moon whilst he was wearing a red robe. To me, he seemed more beautiful than the moon.” The Prophet  would encourage the Muslims to look after their appearance. Abul-Haws narrates from his father that he said, “I came to the Prophet  wearing a rough garment. He said, ‘Do you have any wealth?’ ‘Yes’, I said. He said, ‘What do you have?’ I said, ‘Camels, cows, cattle, horses and slaves.’ He said, ‘If Allah gives you wealth, then let the affects of Allah’s bounty and honour upon you be shown in your appearance.’” The Prophet  said, “Whoever Allah blesses with a bounty, Looking after one’s appearance Allah likes to see the affects of that bounty appear on His servant.” Jabir bin ‘Abdullah – may Allah be pleased with him – said, “Once the Messenger of Allah  came to our house for a visit and saw a man with dishevelled hair. He said: ‘Couldn’t he find anything to comb his hair with?’” On another occasion he saw a man wearing dirty clothes, and said, “Couldn’t he find water to wash his clothes with?” He  also said, “Whoever has hair should honour it.” He used to encourage people to demonstrate good behaviour and have a beautiful appearance, nice clothes and a fine smell. He often used to say, “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.” (Muslim) Experience… The first look makes up for 70% of the impression people get of you. Looking after one’s appearance (68) Honesty I was once invigilating in an examination room on a Thursday. Although Thursday is not a weekday in Saudi Arabia, we were forced to have an exam on that day due to the large number of subjects we had. A few minutes after the beginning of the exam, a student came in late. The poor lad was looking bewildered. I said to him, “Sorry, you have come late and I cannot let you into the examination room.” He began to beg me to allow him in. I asked him, “Why are you late?” He said, “By Allah, dear teacher, I overslept!” I was impressed at his honesty and said, “OK. You may come in.” He entered and sat his exam. A few minutes later another student came late. I said to him, “Why are you late?” He said, “By Allah, dear teacher, there is so much traffic on the road! As you know, everyone leaves for work in the morning – some are going to the university, others are heading for work, etc.” He then began mentioning all the different people on road to assure me that there really was heavy traffic on the road, but the wretched lad forgot that it was a Thursday and that it was therefore a weekend. Perhaps there was nobody at all on the road that day except students from our university! I said to him, “So there was a traffic jam and the road was packed with cars?” He said, “Yes, by Allah, dear teacher! If you were with me you would know what I mean!” I said to him, “You sly person! If you want to lie, then at least plan it properly! Dear brother, today is a Thursday!” Meaning, a weekend - no one goes to work on a Thursday! What traffic are you talking about? He said, “Oh! Sorry, dear teacher! I forgot to say that my tyre was punctured.” Meaning, one of his tyres was punctured so he got delayed while fixing the tyre.The poor lad was thrown, so I just laughed and let him into the examination room. Yes! How horrible it is for people to find out that you are lying to them! Lies repel people from you and affect your friendships. It makes people feel that you can never again be trusted.