What is beauty?
What makes one beautiful?
Is it just one’s external appearance? Or could it be the manifestation of certain inner qualities into a form of outer beauty?
I recently stumbled upon a picture while browsing the net.
Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions but, subhanAllah, this had to be one of the most beautiful images i have ever seen.
It was of a young girl. I could tell she was young because of the absence of any gray hairs on her head and the fact that she did not have a single wrinkle on the small amount of skin that was visible; namely her forehead, hands, and some parts of her arms.
She appeared to be sitting by herself in an empty room, and had on a gorgeous, Indian styled, blue wedding dress
I could not see her face, or even her eyes. And the position she was seated in made it completely impossible to make out a figure. If anything, you could only tell that she may have been thin due to the width of her arms.
But why couldn’t i see the face? And how can i possibly claim her to be beautiful without having a face to put on that beauty, or even the shape of a body to gaze upon and admire?
. . .
Her face was hidden behind her hands.
They were raised up towards the heavens, she was praying to her lord.
She had humbled herself before God Almighty,
placing all her faith and trust in Him alone.
She was about to go begin a new life with a man she barely knew,
leaving behind all her family and friends.
All she had now was God, and frankly, that’s all she ever needed.
She knew that only Allah (swt) could protect her from harm.
That only He could grant her happiness and success, Majestic is He.
She knew that it was Allah (swt) who could create bonds of love and affection between husband and wife.
And she knew that He alone was worthy of worship.
So she cleared her mind, and forgot about everything else in the world.
Engulfing her self with thoughts of her Supreme Lord, she closed her eyes and prayed.
And despite all the gold and diamonds decorated over her body, it was the light which emanated from her heart and soul that shone brightest.
It was this light that pulsed throughout the picture. this faith and devotion in her Lord that materialized itself into pure, timeless beauty.
it was this that made her beautiful.
