According to researchers, he was born on the morning of the ninth (9) of Rabi’ al-Awwal, which was the 20th of April 571 AH in solar terms.
Year
It is certain that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born in the year of the Elephant, and all historians and biographers agree on this. (Al-Bidayah wa’l-Nihaa’ 2/321, Sifah al-Safwah 1/51. See also: Al-Rawd al-Anf 1/276)
How many days after the incident of the Elephant was he born? There are various opinions about this; but the most popular opinion is 50 days.
Born in the year of the Elephant… Some say: after Bashaar…
Some say: in the month of Ashura… (Al-Bidaayat al-Nahiya 2/321).
Month
In this regard, Allamah Qastalani (d. 923 AH) has quoted six opinions:
1;Muharram (2) Safar (3) Rabi’ al-Awwal (4) Rabi’ al-Akhira (5) Rajab (6) Ramadan;
But the majority is agreed that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal.
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (d. 320)
The renowned scholar and researcher Allamah Muhammad Zahid al-Kausari (d. 1371 AH) has done a good research on the date of birth. He says that the opinion that any month other than Rabi’ al-Awwal is considered to be a precedent of the pen according to the critical scholars. (Essays of Al-Kawthari, p. 405).
Day
The great historians also agree that he was born on Monday.
In the hadith: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about Monday? He said: That is the day on which you were born, and the day you were sent forth… (Sahih Muslim, no. 1162, chapter on the preference of three days from every month) (Al-Bidayah and Al-Nihayah 2/319).
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Date
On which date of the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal was he born? Some scholars say that he was born on a Monday in Rabi’ al-Awwal; but the date could not be determined; while the majority say that the date is certain. Then what date was it?
Allama Qastalani (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 923 AH) has narrated a total of seven narrations in this regard: (1) The second of Rabi’ al-Awwal (2) The eighth (3) The tenth (4) The twelfth (5) The seventeenth (6) The eighteenth (7) The twenty-second. (Al-Mawahib al-Dunniyah 1/140-142) Allama Kauthari says: (1) After the eighth date, that is, the ninth date (2) The tenth date (3) The twelfth date. Apart from these three narrations, the other four narrations are not worth mentioning. So, the focus of the discussion is on the preference of the most reliable of the three narrations.
The narration of the tenth date
This narration has been attributed by Ibn Sa’d (d. 168 AH) to Muhammad Baqir (d. 114 AH); but its chain of transmission contains three narrators who are speakers; therefore, the narration with ten dates is not preferable. Allamah Kawthari (may Allah have mercy on him) has pointed out this narration. That narration is narrated from Tabaqat:
Ibn Sa’d said: I am Muhammad bin Umar bin Waqid Al-Aslami. He said: Abu Bakr bin Abdullah bin Abi Sabra narrated from Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Abi Farwah from Abi Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali (who is known as Muhammad Al-Baqir) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was born ten days apart from the city of Rabi’ al-Awwal…, so between the elephant and the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) there were five and fifty nights. (Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra by Ibn Sa’d 1/100 Dhikr Al-Mawlid Al-Rasulullah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The narration of the twelfth date
This saying has been narrated by Muhammad bin Ishaq (d. 151 AH); But there is no chain of transmission for this, although this saying is the most famous and the people of Mecca have been holding their birthday gatherings on this date since ancient times, and birthday gatherings and gatherings are held all over the world on this day; but there is no proof from the narration that the birth took place on this day. Note: In Mustadrak al-Hakim (405 AH) it says:
Abu al-Hasan Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Shabwayah of Marw narrated, Ja’far bin Muhammad al-Nisaburi narrated, Ali bin Mahran narrated, Salamah bin al-Fadl narrated from Muhammad bin Ishaq that: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was born on the twelfth night of the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal. (Mustadrak al-Saheeheen by al-Hakim, No. 4183)
This narration is also not worthy of attention due to the lack of a continuous chain of transmission and its situation is similar to other narrations that do not have a chain of transmission.
The opinion of the ninth date
Intellectually and by tradition, it is preferable that he was born on the ninth date, after the end of the eighth date.
Narrated: (1) Allama Ibn Abdul Bar (d. 463 AH) narrated a difference of opinion about this and mentioned this opinion first.
Abu Umar said: It was said: For eight people, they should not speak, and they said…, and they said… (Al-Isti’ab by Ibn Abdul Bar 1/30)
(2) Hafiz Ibn Kathir says: And he said: For eight mouthfuls, the narration of Al-Hamidi from Ibn Hazm, and the narrations of Malik, Aqeel, and Yunus bin Yazid and others from Al-Zuhri from Muhammad bin Jubayr bin Mut’im, and the narration of Ibn Abdul Bar from the companions of the history that they are Sahih, and it was agreed by the great Hafiz Muhammad bin Musa Al-Khwarizmi, and the preferred narration of Hafiz Abu Al-Khattab bin Dihiyah in his book “Al-Tanwir fi Mawlid Al-Bashir Al-Nazeer” (Al-Bidayah Wal-Nihayah 2/320)
(3) Hazrat Maulana Hifz-ur-Rahman Sahib (d. 1382 AH) writes: The popular opinion among the people is that it was 12/Rabi’ul-Awwal, and some weak narrations support it, and most scholars say 8/Rabi’ul-Awwal; But the correct and authentic opinion is that 9/Rabi’ al-Awwal is the date of birth, and the famous scholars of history and hadith and the great Imams of the religion call this date correct and proven; thus, this is the opinion of the authoritative scholars like Hamidi, Aqeel, Yunus bin Yazid, Ibn Abdullah, Ibn Hazm, Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi, Abu al-Khattab bin Duhya, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and Sheikh Badr al-Din Aini, may Allah have mercy on them all. (Qasas al-Quran 4/253
(4) Allamah Sayyid Sulayman al-Nadwi has also considered the date of birth to be the most likely. (Rahmatullahi alaihi wa sallam 1/38-39)
Intellectually/wisely:
(1) Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi (d. 235 AH) is a great Imam of astronomy, his reference was mentioned in the above passage.
(2) The great scholar of mathematics, Allama Mahmud Pasha, the Egyptian astronomer (d. 1302 AH), has compiled an unparalleled book in French on the subject of “Al-Taqwim al-Arab Qabbul-Islam” and Allama Ahmad Zaki Pasha (d. 1353 AH) has translated it into Arabic, which is called “Nataq al-Afham fi al-Taqwim al-Arab Qabbul-Islam wa fi taqwiq al-Mawlid al-Nabi wa ‘Umrah ’alayhi salaam wa sallam”. The research done in this book, taking into account the statements of several astronomers from the East and the West, also makes it clear that there are nine (9) dates. (Nataq al-Afham pp. 28-35)
One of the reasons he explained is as follows:
During the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), there was a solar eclipse on the last day of the month of Shawwal in the year 10 AH, and on that day his son, Hazrat Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him), died.
Al-Hafiz (d. 852 AH) said: The day when Ibrahim died, meaning the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the majority of the people of the Seer mentioned that he died in the tenth year of the Hijrah, and he said: … and most are of the opinion that it occurred on the tenth of the month. (Fath al-Bari 2/529)
If we count backwards from this calculation, it will be proven that the blessed birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was on the ninth of Rabi’ al-Awwal; because it is agreed that Monday is the day of birth, and it falls on nine (9) dates in Rabi’ al-Awwal of the Year of the Elephant. Allamah Mahmood Pasha said:
They all agreed that the birth was on Monday, since there is no Monday between the eighth and twelfth of this month, except for the ninth day, so we cannot consider the day of birth to be different from this day.
Hazrat Maulana Hifz-ur-Rahman Sahib writes:
Mahmud Pasha Falaki (who was a famous astronomer and astrologer of Constantinople) compiled the horoscope according to the horoscope in order to find out the correct calculation of eclipses and khushups from the time of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to his own time, and has proven with thorough research that in the year of his birth, Monday does not fall on 12/Rabi’ul-Awwal by any calculation; rather, it falls on 9/Rabi’ul-Awwal. Therefore, based on the strength and accuracy of the narrations and based on the calculation of the horoscope and astrology, the authentic date of the blessed birth is 9/Rabi’ul-Awwal. (Qasas al-Quran 4/253)
(3) The great and renowned historian and writer of his time, Sheikh Ali Tantawi (d. 1420 AH), has written a review on an edition of the above-mentioned book “The Results of Understanding in the Pre-Islamic Arab Calendar and in the Investigation of the Birth of the Prophet and His Umrah”, in which he strongly supports the author of the book for declaring the ninth (9) of Rabi’ al-Awwal as the day of his blessed birth. (Maqdamat al-Tantawi 83)
(4) The great hadith scholar and excellent researcher Sheikh Ahmed Shakir (Ahmad bin Muhammad Abdul Qaderim 1377 AH) has also adopted the research of Sheikh Mahmud Pasha al-Falki and sought his help in determining the eclipse of the sun. (Note by Sheikh Ahmad Shakir on “Al-Muhalla’i Bil-Athar” 5/114-115 by Ibn Hazm Al-Dhahri, 456 AH)
(5) A Saudi Arabian scholar and astronomer, Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim (d. 1416 AH), writes in his book “Taqweem Al-Azmaan”:
It has been proven beyond doubt from authentic narration that his birth – may God bless him and grant him peace – was on 20/Nisan April 571 AH… So it is possible to know the day of his birth and the day of his death with precision… Therefore, his birth – may God bless him and grant him peace – was on Monday, corresponding to 9/Rabee’ Al-Awwal 53 AH, and corresponding to 20/Nisan April 571 AH by narration and calculation. (Taqweem Al-Azmaan for the guidance of those with understanding to know the principles of years and months through calculation, p. 143, first edition)
See more: (1) A detailed article entitled “Definition of Milad-e-Sharif” is also mentioned in our book “Masha’a walam yathtab fi al-Siraat al-Nabawiyyah” by Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Awshan, published by Dar Tayyiba, Riyadh, in which, in addition to the above-mentioned passage by Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim, the date is considered to be 9/11 in the light of the sayings of other scholars.
(2) A short and insightful article by Allama Muhammad Zahid Kauthari (may Allah have mercy on him) entitled “Mawlid al-Sharif al-Nabawi” has been published on this subject. He has also benefited from the above-mentioned book by Mahmud Pasha Falaki and has written high words about the author.
See: (Maqalat al-Kawthari, pp. 405-408, published by Al-Anwar Press, Cairo).
(3) Hazrat Maulana Mufti Umar Farooq Loharvi, may Allah bless him, Sheikh of Hadith, Darul Uloom, London (U.K.) An article by Muhammad (PBUH) entitled “The Birth Date of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)” is available in his valuable scholarly and informative treatise “Fiqhi Jawahir” (Vol. 1/pp. 68-71). These treatises contain comments from eminent scholars, including the Sheikh of Hadith and Sadrul-Mudraseen of Darul Uloom Deoband, Hazrat Mufti Saeed Ahmad Sahib Palanpuri, may God bless him.
Warning
Some scholars have adopted the view of the eighth date, so it should be remembered that an attempt has been made to give priority to the two views of the eighth and ninth dates. One interpretation is that of Hazrat Maulana Hifz-ur-Rahman Sahib, which is that the difference between the eighth (8) and the ninth (9) of Rabi’ al-Awwal is not real. Maulana writes:
“The difference between the 8th and the 9th is not a real difference; rather, it is based on the calculation of the 29th and 30th of the month. When it was proven from the calculation that the correct date was April 21st, all the views regarding the eighth (8) can actually be presented in support of the ninth (9).” (Qasas al-Quran 4/254).
Time
It is clear in the book of Seerat that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born at dawn, and in Makkah on April 20th (39:4) dawn occurs; Therefore, it can be said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered this world on Monday, 9th Rabi’ al-Awwal, 20th April 571 AD, at approximately 4:40 AM.
Place of Birth
He was born in Mecca, near Jamhur. There are three opinions regarding the location. The most popular opinion is that he was born in the tribe of Banu Hashim. This is a famous place and until a few years ago people used to visit it. A few years ago, the Saudi government closed it and replaced it with a school.
Summary
The result of the above details is that, both historically and logically, the reliable date of his birth is 9th Rabi’ al-Awwal.
It can be concluded from this that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was born on Monday, 9th Rabi’ al-Awwal, corresponding to the 20th of April 571 AD. So be careful about this investigation and do not be influenced by imitation. (The Results of Understanding in the Pre-Islamic Calendar, p. 35).
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