In order to understand beauty as Allah describes it, first we should know that the Qur’an does not speak about beauty as something shallow or decorative. When it uses the word jamal, it directs the heart. It teaches us that true beauty is connected to tranquillity, purpose, and spiritual growth.
I traced the word jamal and its derivatives throughout the Qur’an and also looked at the related word zeenah, which refers to adornment and outward decoration. By gathering these verses together and reflecting on them carefully, a clearer picture begins to form. Sometimes the Qur’an speaks about physical beauty. Sometimes it speaks about inner beauty. Sometimes it warns us about beauty that deceives.
When we read these verses together, we begin to see that the Qur’an makes a distinction between appearance and reality, between what shines and what endures. In the Qur’anic worldview, beauty is not just what attracts the eye. It is what refines the soul and brings it closer to Allah.
Beauty as satisfaction, rest, and inner ease
One of the most striking verses is the one in which Allah speaks of cattle in Surat an Nahl:
“He created the cattle for you: in them there is warmth, and numerous benefits, and from them you eat.
And in them there is beauty for you when you bring them home in the evening,
and when you drive them out to pasture in the morning.” (16:5)
Here the Qur’an explicitly uses the word jamal, beauty. Classical tafseer noticed how unusual it is that Allah uses this word here, because at first glance, a herd of animals does not fit our instinctive sense of beauty: there is dust, noise, muddy legs, bells clanking, dogs barking. Yet Allah insists: “In them there is beauty for you.” Why? The answer emerges when we consider the order in which Allah describes the daily cycle: He mentions bringing them home before taking them out, although real life is the opposite.
This reversal invites reflection. When a shepherd takes the cattle out in the morning, his heart is still anxious: Will they find food? Will there be water? Are there predators? Will one get injured? Responsibility weighs on him. But when he brings them home at the end of the day, something else happens inside him: a deep satisfaction, tranquillity, rest, relief that the task is complete and the animals are safe. That inner state is itself beauty.
The Qur’an is teaching us that beauty is not only colours and shapes; beauty is contentment, calm, a job completed, worry lifted, order restored. Beauty is peace of heart when life’s small cycles complete themselves. There is also beauty in the morning scene, the movement of the herd, the rhythm, the harmony of the animals setting out with purpose. But the deeper beauty lies in the emotional calm at day’s end.
Allah opens our eyes to a particular insight – even in the routine of our lives, if we reflect, we will find beauty. Even in our work, if it is halal and beneficial, we can find meaning, purpose, and tranquillity if we look at it from the right angle. Beauty is all around us, but it requires a conscious heart to see it.
Beautiful patience – sabr jamil
The phrase “beautiful patience” appears three times in the Quran. In Surat Yusuf, Prophet Yaqoob (peace be upon him) used the word jamil to describe patience, saying of the situation that is causing him extreme pain, “a-sabrun jamil, “beautiful patience is most fitting.”
فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ
Notice how the Qur’an here takes a quality of the heart, which has no physical form, and calls it beautiful. This lifts patience from a burdensome duty to an inner art. Sabr jamil is patience that is:
- free of resentment against Allah.
- free of bitterness towards people.
- free of the type of complaining that harms others or poisons one’s own soul.
It is patience suffused with dignity, trust, and quiet submission to the wisdom of Allah. This form of patience beautifies the believer and becomes a source of radiance in the unseen.
Beautiful forgiveness – ʿafw jamil
Allah also commands in Surah Hijr: “fa-sfahi s-safha l-jamil”, meaning “Forgive them with beautiful forgiveness.”
فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ
“So forgive with beautiful forgiveness.” (15:85)
Again, this is beauty relates to character. What is beautiful forgiveness?
- It is forgiveness without keeping score.
- It is forgiveness that does not throw past wounds back at a person during the next argument.
- It is forgiveness that gives a fresh beginning, where appropriate.
- It is forgiveness that does not merely neutralise wrongdoing, but sometimes even responds with goodness, reflecting the verse:
Allah says in Surah Fussilat:
وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ
“And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity will become as though he was a devoted friend.” (41:34)
This is not easy, but it is beautiful. And beauty always has a cost, the cost is ego. Only those who uproot their ego taste the beauty of true forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean allowing oppression, ignoring boundaries, or tolerating abuse. Beautiful forgiveness is not naivety. It is the ability to cleanse the heart, and to enforce justice with wisdom.
Allah wants us to build a society where people can repent, rebuild themselves, and be given space to return after wrongdoing.
A world with no second chances is a world without beauty.
Beautiful release in marriage and divorce – sarah jamil
Allah also uses jamil in the context of divorce in Surat al-Ahzab:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِأَزْوَاجِكَ إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلًا
“O Prophet, say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and release you with a gracious release.” (33:28)
The Qur’an teaches us that even in the collapse of a marriage, one of life’s most painful experiences, there is a way to conduct ourselves beautifully.
Beautiful release means:
- No humiliation.
- No revenge.
- No cruelty.
- No using divorce as a weapon.
- No trapping a woman in limbo, refusing to divorce yet refusing to live with her honourably.
Divorce in Islam was never meant to be a battlefield. It was meant to be, where necessary, an act of closure done with dignity, compassion, and fairness.
The phrase sarahan jameelan carries the same depth as other Qur’anic expressions such as fa sabrun jameel in 12:18 and wahjurhum hajran jameelan in 73:10. In the context of divorce, it means a dignified and honourable parting without bitterness or oppression, where provision is given properly and the other person’s dignity is preserved.
Allah reminds us in Surat al Baqarah:
وَلَا تَنسَوُا الْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing.” (2:237)
Allah is reminding spouses that even when a marriage ends, they should not erase the history of kindness, love, and goodness that once existed between them. Separation is not a licence for pettiness or cruelty. Allah calls them back to fadl, generosity, grace, and magnanimity, even at the most emotionally charged moment of parting, to conclude a bond with the same goodness with which it was formed.
In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the wife of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas came to the Prophet ﷺ and said that she did not accuse her husband of bad character or weakness in religion, but she could not keep herself in the marriage. In one narration she says, “I do not fault Thabit regarding his religion or character, but I dislike kufr in Islam,” meaning she feared falling into ingratitude and wrongdoing towards him because her heart could not accept the marriage. The Prophet ﷺ did not shame her for that, and he did not force her to remain trapped in a relationship she could not uphold with ihsan. Instead, he asked her whether she would return what she had received as mahr, and it was a garden that Thabit had given her. When she agreed, the Prophet ﷺ instructed Thabit to accept the return and to separate from her. Thabit still loved her, and the separation was not painless, but he submitted to the judgement of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ and released her without dragging the matter into humiliation, threats, or spite.
Beautiful abandonment in response to harm and mockery – hajr jamil
Allah also speaks of those who used to mock the Prophet ﷺ, criticise the believers, and spread negativity. He commanded in Surat al Muzzammil:
وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا
“And be patient over what they say and leave them with a beautiful leaving.” (73:10)
This ayah came in the early Makkan period, when the Prophet ﷺ was facing constant mockery, accusation, and psychological pressure: people belittling him, criticising the believers, and poisoning the atmosphere with negativity. Allah did not simply command “be patient” in the abstract. He paired patience with a second instruction that protects the heart and preserves dignity: wahjurhum hajran jameelan, meaning “part with them with a beautiful abandonment.” That is, do not get pulled into the ugliness of their talk, do not be consumed by proving yourself to people who are committed to misreading you, and do not repay venom with venom. Instead, withdraw in a way that is clean: without revenge, without pettiness, without obsessive argument, and without compromising your character. It is not weakness and it is not surrender; it is moral control. The believer learns to disengage without becoming bitter, to walk away without becoming cruel, and to keep their conduct beautiful even when the other side is determined to be ugly. This is why it is such a remarkable concept: Allah teaches the Prophet ﷺ that sometimes the strongest response to mockery is not a louder counterattack, but sabr that holds the tongue and hajr that protects the soul.
Beautiful abandonment means:
- You do not allow mockery to disturb your spiritual centre.
- You do not feed the ego of the mocker by reacting exactly as he hopes.
- You do not internalise every insult or let it shape your self-worth.
- You remove yourself emotionally from their negativity, without hatred or vindictiveness.
Then, after disengaging, you can return, at the right time, with wise, gentle reminders. You separate your personal feelings from your duty to convey goodness. You rise above your ego. Strength is to be the vessel that accommodates circumstances rather than collapses under them.
We must learn not to overreact. Many people crumble at a single insult. But the believer learns to let such words pass like clouds, without granting them power.
Adornment (zeenah), the beauty that never lasts
Alongside jamal, the Qur’an frequently uses the word zeenah, outward adornment and decoration. It refers to clothing, ornaments, gatherings, seasonal displays, wealth, status, and the glittering surface of worldly life. It is attractive and emotionally powerful, but it is temporary by nature.
Allah describes the day of festival in the story of Musa (peace be upon him), when the people gathered publicly with their spectacle in Surat Taha:
قَالَ مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ وَأَنْ يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى
“He said, ‘Your appointment is on the Day of Adornment, and that the people will be gathered in the morning.’” (20:59)
The phrase yawm al-zinah — “the Day of Adornment” — refers to a festival day when people would gather publicly in their finest display. It was a day of spectacle, colour, and collective excitement. Firawn chose it deliberately, because outward display amplifies drama and magnifies impression. Yet even on that day of glitter and crowd psychology, truth cut through illusion. Zinah creates atmosphere, but it cannot manufacture reality.
Allah also tells us of Qarun in Surat al Qasas:
فَخَرَجَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فِي زِينَتِهِ ۖ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ
“So he came out before his people in his adornment. Those who desired the life of this world said, ‘Oh, would that we had like what Qarun has been given. Indeed, he is one of great fortune.’” (28:79)
The reaction is telling. Those whose gaze was fixed on the life of this world were instantly captivated. They equated splendour with success. They mistook visibility for virtue. Yet within the very same passage, Qarun’s wealth collapses into the earth. The zinah that dazzled the crowd could not save its owner.
While zeenah is about display and gathers crowds, the Qur’an’s culture of beauty fills jamal brings peace. The believer is not commanded to live without beauty. Rather, they can enjoy what Allah has permitted, but should walk through a world full of adornment without being swallowed by comparison, rivalry, or illusion.
The Qur’anic vision of beauty is to appreciate elegance without arrogance, wealth without worshipping it, and public recognition without becoming dependent on it. It produces people whose composure remains when applause disappears, whose patience remains when comfort is removed, and whose dignity remains when they must walk away.
In that balance lies lasting beauty – not the beauty that flashes, but the beauty that endures.
The Qur’an makes this principle explicit. Allah says in Surat Al-Kahf:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
“Indeed, We have made that which is upon the earth adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them is best in deed.” (18:7)
Here the entire earth, everything on its surface, is described as zeenah. Not as ultimate reality, not as permanent possession, but as a test. The purpose of adornment is examination. Beauty becomes a trial of priorities: will a person be distracted by what glitters, or will they respond with ahsan amal, the best conduct?
And Allah says in Surat al Hadid:
اعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا
“Know that the life of this world is but play, amusement, adornment, boasting among you, and competition in wealth and children — like the example of rain whose growth pleases the farmers; then it dries and you see it turn yellow; then it becomes debris.” (57:20)
The imagery is deliberate. Rain falls. Growth appears. It impresses. It dazzles. Then it yellows. Then it crumbles. That is the life built purely on outward display. Zeenah is not denied, but it is demystified. It has a season. It has a decline. It has an end.
This is why the Qur’an repeatedly cautions the believer: do not allow temporary adornment to dominate your heart. Use it. Appreciate it. Thank Allah for it. But do not let it define you or enslave you. If zeenah becomes your compass, you will chase what fades. If jamal shapes you, you will cultivate what remains.
The Qur’an’s culture of beauty
When all of these verses are placed side by side, a coherent vision emerges. The Qur’an does not reject beauty; it reorders it. It shifts the axis from surface to substance, from spectacle to serenity.
Real beauty in Islam is the cultivation of inner tranquillity, moral excellence, and emotional balance. It is the beauty of someone who has learned to master their impulses, soften their speech, forgive when wronged, and let go without poisoning their own heart.
Beauty becomes:
Satisfaction after fulfilling one’s duty.
Patience without bitterness.
Forgiveness without humiliation.
Letting go without cruelty.
Rising above mockery with composure.
Enjoying worldly adornment without being enslaved by it.
Jamal is not cosmetic. It is ethical. It is spiritual. Beauty does not fade when wealth fades, when youth fades, or when applause fades travels with the believer into the next world, because it was never built on decoration, but on devotion.
May Allah beautify our character, our actions, and our hearts. Ameen.
Based on the course delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on Divine Beauty.
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