Pretty Eyes – have Muslims have got it right?

It is a weird thing to draw someone; to focus your attention so intensely on their physical body. I complimented my cousin on how pretty her eyes are whilst drawing her, but in doing so felt odd because why should someone’s physical appearance deserve praise?

In the past I felt that people are more than just their outer appearance – particularly when it comes to attraction. But you are your body, aren’t you? The physical and mental parts of you are equally essential and they are both organic structures.

So does liking someone because of their personality have equal standing to liking them because of how they look? After all both are tangible parts of that person, right? Either way you are judging them by their physical appearance (although some bits may only appear in an MRI scan).

By a natural way of looking at it, your body is a vessel for its genetic code. The only thing that matters to it is whether it is able to pass on its DNA to the next generation. Everything else is built around that one sole aim. So what is really important at the end of the day: our comfortable illusions or the reality?

I'm more inclined to favour personality over physical appearance, but am I fighting my nature in doing so? In this unnatural world where people get married with the intention of spending the rest of their lives together, is personality more important than physical appearance?