~12 Rabi' al-Awwal (traditional), Year of the Elephant (c. 570 CE) · 52 BHDate debatedAll agree he was born on a Monday (Sahih Muslim); the day of the month is disputed. Ibn Kathir (al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya) lists, within Rabi' al-Awwal: the 2nd (Ibn Abd al-Barr; al-Waqidi from Abu Ma'shar); the 8th (reported by Malik, Uqayl and Yunus from al-Zuhri from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im, held by Ibn Hazm and al-Khwarizmi, and preferred by Ibn Dihyah); the 10th (Ibn Asakir from Abu Ja'far al-Baqir, and al-Sha'bi); the 12th (stated by Ibn Ishaq and reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah from Jabir RA and Ibn Abbas RA), which he calls the best known view of the majority; the 17th, which he rejects; and the 22nd. He also cites al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar for the 12th of Ramadan, a view he doubts.
Dating debated
All agree he was born on a Monday (Sahih Muslim); the day of the month is disputed. Ibn Kathir (al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya) lists, within Rabi' al-Awwal: the 2nd (Ibn Abd al-Barr; al-Waqidi from Abu Ma'shar); the 8th (reported by Malik, Uqayl and Yunus from al-Zuhri from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im, held by Ibn Hazm and al-Khwarizmi, and preferred by Ibn Dihyah); the 10th (Ibn Asakir from Abu Ja'far al-Baqir, and al-Sha'bi); the 12th (stated by Ibn Ishaq and reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah from Jabir RA and Ibn Abbas RA), which he calls the best known view of the majority; the 17th, which he rejects; and the 22nd. He also cites al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar for the 12th of Ramadan, a view he doubts.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant, on a Monday. A report attributes the moment to high noon, relayed by the later tabi'i Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib without a clear chain back to a direct witness. Others of his generation later dated their own births by it: Qays ibn Makhramah said he and the Prophet ﷺ were both born in the Year of the Elephant, and Qubath ibn Ashyam RA said he was born before him (al-Tirmidhi); one report has Suwayd ibn Ghafala say the same of himself, though another has him say he was two years younger.
On the seventh day, by a report that al-Bayhaqi relates without a sound chain, his grandfather Abdul Muttalib slaughtered for him, held a feast and named him Muhammad ﷺ, a name the Quraysh asked about because it was not among the names of his family. His uncle Abu Lahab freed his slave girl Thuwaybah, who later nursed him; a popular account, not found in the sources checked, says he freed her for joy at the news of the birth.
Established as the day of his birth by his own later statement that he fasted on Mondays because it was the day he was born and the day revelation first came to him.
Other events recorded in 52 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
When my mother gave birth to me, she saw a light emanate from her that reached all the way to the palaces of the city of Busra in al-Sham.
Why do you fast on Mondays?
This was the day I was born on, and this was the day revelation began to me.
The Prophet ﷺ and I were both born in the same year, the Year of the Elephant.
I have freed my slave girl Thuwaybah, for joy at the birth of my nephew.
I want him to be praised by the people of the earth as I want him to be praised by the people of the heavens.
Asked by the Quraysh, at the feast on the seventh day after the birth, why he had given him a name not used in his family.
I saw Abu Lahab after his death in a dreadful state. I asked him, "Didn't your relationship with the Prophet ﷺ benefit you?" He said, "No, except for the one thing that I did: when the good news came that he was born, I freed Thuwaybah, and because of this, I am allowed a few drops of water."
A recollection told well after Abu Lahab's death, of a dream in which al-Abbas saw him being punished.
Are you older than the Prophet ﷺ?
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is greater than me, but I was born before him. I saw the droppings of the birds turned green.
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
“Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our Signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”
Cited as scriptural support for al-Sham being a blessed land, offered as one explanation for why the birth-light reached Busra.