What are the dates of the birth and death of
the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him)? I have seen many opinions
concerning that; which is the correct opinion
and what is the evidence in the light of the
Qur’an and Sunnah?

Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The biographers and historians differed
concerning the day and month of the birth of
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him). This is something for which there
is good reason, as it was not known what
status this newborn would achieve; his
situation was like that of any other newborn.
Hence no one can state with certainty the date
of his birth (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him).
Dr. Muhammad at-Tayyib an-Najjaar (may Allah
have mercy on him) said:
Perhaps the reason for this difference of
opinion is that when he was born, no one
expected that he would attend such a status.
For that reason, he did not live in the spotlight
from the beginning of his life. When Allah
decreed that the Messenger (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) should begin to
convey His message forty years after he was
born, people began to seek out whatever
memories they had about this Prophet, and
they asked one another about every detail of
his life. They were helped in that by what the
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) himself narrated about incidents
that he had experienced from his birth, as well
as the reports narrated by his Companions and
those who had also gone through those events
with him.
At that time the Muslims began to collect
everything that they had heard about the life
story of their Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) in order to transmit it to
the people down throughout the ages
Al-Qawl al-Mubeen fi Seerat Sayyid al-
Mursaleen , p. 78

Secondly:
Among the matters on which there is
consensus with regard to his birth (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) is the
definition of the year and the day.
1. With regard to the year:
It was the Year of the Elephant. Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is no difference of opinion concerning
the fact that he (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) was born in Makkah, and that his
birth was in the Year of the Elephant.
Zaad al-Ma‘aad fi Hadiy Khayr al-‘Ibaad , 1/76
Muhammad ibn Yoosuf as-Saalihi (may Allah
have mercy on him) said:
Ibn Ishaaq (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: (It was) the Year of the Elephant.
Ibn Katheer said: This is the well-known view
of the majority.
Ibraaheem ibn al-Mundhir al-Hizaami, the
Shaykh of al-Bukhaari, said: This is the opinion
concerning which none of the scholars has any
doubt. Khaleefah ibn Khayyaat, Ibn al-Jazzaar,
Ibn Dihyah, Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Qayyim
went further and narrated that there was
consensus on this matter.
Subul al-Huda wa’r-Rashaad fi Seerat Khayr
al-‘Ibaad , 1/334, 335
Dr. Akram Diya’ al-‘Umari (may Allah guide
him) said:
In fact the reports that say otherwise all have
flawed isnaads; they suggest that he was born
ten years, or twenty-three years, or forty
years, after the Year of the Elephant. But the
majority of scholars are of the view that he
was born in the Year of the Elephant. This is
supported by the modern study undertaken by
both Muslim and Orientalist researchers who
stated that the Year of the Elephant
corresponds to the year 570 CE or 571 CE.
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah as-Saheehah , 1/97
2. With regard to the day:
It was a Monday. He (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) was born on a Monday, his
mission began on a Monday and he died on a
Monday.
It was narrated that Abu Qataadah al-Ansaari
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: The
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) was asked about fasting on Mondays and
he said: “That is a day on which I was born and
on it my mission began – or Revelation came
to me.”
Narrated by Muslim, 1162.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
Those who say that he was born on Friday 17th
Rabee‘ al-Awwal were mistaken.
This was narrated by al-Haafiz Ibn Dihyah from
what he read [?] of the book I‘laam ar-Wara bi
A‘laam al-Huda by one of the Shi‘ah. Then Ibn
Dihyan stated why it was da‘eef (weak), and it
deserves to be classed as da‘eef because it is
contrary to the text.
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah , 1/199

Thirdly:
With regard to the point on which there is
scholarly disagreement, that has to do with
defining the month and the day of the month.
We have come across many opinions
concerning that, including the following:
1. That he was born on 2nd Rabee ‘ al-Awwal.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
It was said that he was born on the second of
the month. This was stated by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr
in al-Isti‘aab , and was narrated by al-Waaqidi
from Abu Ma‘shar Nujayh ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan
al-Madani.
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah , 1/199
2. It was said that he was born on 8 th Rabee‘ al-
Awwal.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
It was said that he was born on the eighth of
the month. This was narrated by al-Humaydi
from Ibn Hazm, and was narrated by Maalik,
‘Aqeel, Yoonus ibn Yazeed and others from az-
Zuhri from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut‘im.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr narrated that the historians
regarded it as saheeh; it was stated definitively
by al-Haafiz al-Kabeer Muhammad ibn Moosa
al-Khawaarizmi, and was regarded as most
likely to be correct by al-Haafiz Abu’l-Khattaan
ibn Dihyah in his book at-Tanweer fi Mawlid
al-Basheer an-Nadheer .
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah, 1/199
3. It was said that he was born on 10th Rabee ‘
al-Awwal.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
It was said that he was born on the tenth of
the month. This was narrated by Ibn Dihyah in
his book, and was narrated by Ibn ‘Asaakir
from Abu Ja‘far al-Baaqir. It was also narrated
by Mujaalid from ash-Sha‘bi.
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah , 1/199
4. It was said that he was born on 12th Rabee ‘
al-Awwal.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
It was said that he was born on the twelfth of
the month. This was stated by Ibn Ishaaq. It
was narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his
Musannaf from ‘Affaan from Sa‘eed ibn Meena’
that Jaabir and Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) was born in the Year of the Elephant on
Monday 12th Rabee‘ al-Awwal; on Monday his
mission began, on Monday he was taken up to
heaven, on Monday he migrated, and on
Monday he died.
This is the well-known opinion according to
the majority. And Allah knows best.
As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah , 1/199
It was also said that he was born in Ramadan
or in Safar or some other month.
What appears to us to be the case is that the
strongest opinion concerning the birth of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) is that he was born between the eighth
and the twelfth of Rabee‘ al-Awwal. Some
Muslim mathematicians and astronomers have
determined that the Monday in question was
the ninth of Rabee‘ al-Awwal. It may be that
this is another opinion, and it has some merit.
That corresponds to 20 th April 571 CE. This is
what the authors of some modern books on
Seerah (Prophet’s biography) regard as most
likely to be correct, including Professor
Muhammad al-Khudari and Safi ar-Rahmaan al-
Mubaarakfoori.
Abu’l-Qaasim as-Suhayli (may Allah have mercy
on him) said:
The mathematicians say that his birth occurred
in the solar month of April, on the twentieth
of that month.
Ar-Rawd al-Unuf , 1/282
Prof. Muhammad al-Khudari (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:
The Egyptian astronomer Mahmoud Basha (d.
1885 CE) who was well-versed in astronomy,
geography and mathematics, and wrote several
books based on his research stated that it was
on the morning of Monday 9 th Rabee‘ al-
Awwal, which corresponds to 20 th April 571
CE. That corresponds to the first year following
the elephant incident. He was born in the
house of Abu Taalib in Shi‘ab Banu Haashim.
Noor al-Yaqeen fi Seerat Sayyid al-Mursaleen
(p. 9). See also ar-Raheeq al-Makhtoom (p.
41).

Fourthly:
With regard to the date of the death of our
Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), there is no difference of
opinion concerning the fact that it occurred on
a Monday. The report narrated from Ibn
Qutaybah, saying that it occurred on a
Wednesday, is not correct. Perhaps what he
meant is that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) was buried on
Wednesday, which is correct.
With regard to the year of his death, there is
no difference of opinion concerning the fact
that it was in 11 AH.
With regard to the month of his death, there is
no difference of opinion concerning the fact
that it was in Rabee‘ al-Awwal.
With regard to the date of his death in that
month, there is a difference of opinion among
the scholars.
1. The majority are of the view that it occurred
on 12 th Rabee‘ al-Awwal.
2. al-Khawaarizmi was of the view that it
occurred on 1 st Rabee‘ al-Awwal.
3. Ibn al-Kalbi and Abu Makhnaf were of the
view that it occurred on 2nd Rabee‘ al-Awwal.
As-Suhayli was inclined to favour this view and
al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on
him) regarded it as most likely to be correct.
The most well-known view is that of the
majority, which is that the death of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) occurred on 12 th Rabee‘ al-Awwal 11 AH.
See ar-Rawd al-Unuf by as-Suhayli (4/439,
440); as-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Katheer
(4/509); Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar (8/130).
And Allah knows best.


source: islamqa.com

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