The Real Birth Date of Muhammad ﷺ

Yasir Qadhi

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Channel: Yasir Qadhi

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Episode Notes

Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi delves into a topic which is extremely interesting and warrants an elaborate discussion. This topic is related to the real birth date of our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

As is the viewpoint of the majority of the Muslim Ummah, the birth of the Prophet ﷺ took place on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. But as we dig deeper into an academic perspective, we gather evidence and support text that substantiate the 2nd, 8th or 10th of Rabi al-Awwal as viable and respected birth dates than the earlier accepted one. 

And even among these dates, the 8th of Rabi ul Awwal seems to stake the highest claim.

Listen intently and unravel the mystery for yourself with an explicit lecture on the same.

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We have been told that the Prophet system is was born on the 12th of the Bureau of wood and this is the commonly known date. Yet the fact of the matter is that our early historical textbooks mentioned a number of dates. And there is no unanimous agreed upon decision regarding the date of the Prophet solace items birth. The Prophet system told us certain things that we know for sure of them. In the famous hadith of a Muslim that a man asked the process of why do you fast on Mondays? Why do you fast every Monday, he said, this was the day I was born on.

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And this was the day that revelation began to me. I came down on Monday. So we know for a fact he was born on a Monday. Okay, that narrows on a day of the week. How about a year? Well, there are some narrations that mentioned the year as well. There's a beautiful narration in which this might have been a fan asks one of the oldest Porsches and his name is Judith initium. After the death of the Prophet system, he asks him and baru Minh Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Are you a borrower? Meaning what is Akbar here mean? Older until October because he's an old old man. But of course, Akbar also means bigger or grander. Right? So Kobe, Kobe smiles, and he goes, the profits of

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cinema is Uc borromini. But I am older than him ascend Newman, who he changed the question because the question gave it's, it's the question is alluding to the fact Are you bigger than the Profit System? So I said, No, the process is bigger than me. But I am older than him. And I send new men who and then he says, the Profit System was born Amalfi Aha, we have a year now. He was born in the year of the elephant. And as for me, I remember my mother taking me outside of MCC as a child. And I saw the dried up green dung that the elephants had left. What is this show?

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What is this show that he remembers the elephant's dung, which is basically the same year of the elephants, right? And the process was born that year, so he's a little bit older than the Prophet system. And the process was bigger than him. Boom, and with this hadith narrated in Timothy, so

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Kobe therefore puts a date. Also we have somebody asked another Sahabi suede nephila about the process from his birth. And he said, the prophet system and I were both born the same year that we were born and feel the year of the elephant. So from both of these narrations, we can pretty much verify that the Prophet system was born in the year of the elephant, even though there are some opinions he was born 10 1520 years before after, but these are very miniscule minority, the bulk where the vast majority of early historian said he was born in the year of the elephant. We already said the Arabs did not have a calendar, we already said that they would have a calendar based upon

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events, the year of the drought, the year of the invasion, the year of the elephant. And then for the next 510 years, they would say two years after the year of the elephant three years before the other until something else big happened. And then they begin something else. Right. So this was their calendar system until Bob came and said, We need a calendar. This is a part of civilization to have your calendar, right, we need a calendar. And then he made the Islamic Hijri calendar, which we follow to this day. So pretty much we are confirmed now two things, the year of the elephant and a Monday. Okay, what is the year of the elephant? Difficult to date because we don't have any type of

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chronicles of the abyss Indians and what they did. But by and large, piecing together various factors that are beyond the scope of this majority of historians say this corresponds to 570 of the Christian era 570 of the Christian era 570 c e, the profits are sort of was born. Now how about the day of the so what's the year of the elephant fine, how about the month and then the the day of the month?

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When we look at two of the earliest books ever written about the history of the prophets of Salaam we find different accounts. The most famous book of history is of course, it is how we talked about it the secret of happiness how it had been his half died. 150 hijra

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in this half says without any chain of narrators. He is writing from himself that the Prophet system was born on a Monday, the 12th of the year and oh one in the year of the other fit. So this explains why this opinion is present. He says very clearly

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The processor was born on a Monday on the 12th of February in the year of the elephant, however, between him and the Prophet system are 100 and almost 200 years because remember going back to the birth of the Prophet system is is 53 before digital, so between him and the birth of the process is 200 years. And he doesn't tell us where he gets it from who's narrating this to him, what is the chain of narrators, when we look at the second earliest book, and this is called the double causative inside, which was written around 220 or so hinged on the double content inside, the double causative inside says, that it is said that the Prophet system was born on a Monday.

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Some people say I quote, he was born on the 10th of rubella while

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others say he was born on the second of the beard, and quote,

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two opinions neither of which conformed to

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the 12th over a B or

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even a bus, it is said also set the 10th of a beard.

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Even casier, the famous historian of Islam, had been considered in his albida when they hire says that the majority opinion is that the Prophet system was born in a world but others have other months as well. And then scholars differed with regards to the date of his birth. One group said he was born on the second of revere and over number second every bit of work. Even Kathy says, this was the opinion of Marsha Cindy, a famous scholar of history died 171. It was also dependent even Abdullah borrow a very famous scholar under this diet for 63. It was also the opinion of Anwar Creedy who died 207 and Walker is one of the most famous historians of early Islam. So we have three

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very early authorities saying he was born on the second of a beard or would have been because he goes on. Another opinion is that he was born on the eighth of revere.

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It says this is the opinion of Eben hasm, famous scholar of Andrews, eema, Malik Eben, and as you all know, Mr. Malik, the scholar of Medina, and the opinion of Zhu Li, who's again, I mean, I cannot explain how famous he is 128 ager and opinion of Mohammed bin Jubail even more time a number of famous people of the past the eighth of a beard award, because he moves on a third opinion is that he was born on the 10th and the 10th of the Year award. So we have now second eighth and 10th, the 10th of the beard award. He says this is the opinion of urban asaka and the opinion of Jeff Otto sada, whose job for the solder

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cousin

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is the descendant of the Prophet system and they shall consider him to be one of the Imams is the 16 month for the Shabbat. He's a descendant of the Prophet Solo Solo. So one of the descendants of the process of them says that he was born on the 10th on the 10th of revere, Allah would

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use as the fourth opinion is that he was born on the 12th of February oh one. And this is the opinion of a bin is how but there is no it's not on this matter. In other words, there's no chain of narrators that mentioned anything about the the 12th attribute over here does say that this is the most popular opinion in his time. He'd been Katia died 770 something way after. In medieval Islam. 12 or below is the most popular opinion and from medieval it's not up until our times is the most popular. But in earliest time it was not the most popular. The fifth opinion, the 17th of who was the sixth opinion the 22nd of a bid Oh well, the 70 Penny he was even born and available. He was

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wondering Ramadan and his opinion of Zubaydah. Boubacar, who is the first scholar to ever write a history on maca, and he died 256 hedgerow. And then there are other opinions as well. So to summarize, there are over 10 opinions in the earliest books of Islam, about the exact day that the Prophet system was born. None of them are,

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is, let's say, indisputable, none of them are clear cut. None of them have solid evidence. All of them are the opinions of early authors and narrators. And to be very academic, the opinion of the 12th of the bureau one seems to have much less weight than the second and the eighth and the 10th. Because these three have tab, your own tab, a tab your own, they have descendants of the Prophet system, whereas the opinion of the 12th it is by

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Urbanus half who is 200 years after the birth of the Prophet system and he doesn't have any chain. So if this is the case, why then is the opinion of the 12th the revered or was the most popular so much so that for many of you, it's shocking that I'm daring to go against this fact of history. Right? It's might be blasphemy to do that. How dare you. Why is it so popular? Very easy to respond. Point number one in his house.

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I already mentioned that 90% of authors write about pseudo they only rely on evidence.

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They just take him in his house and summarize it, redo it translated do this and that that's what they do. And it's a good book, but it's not the only book. So because even his house is in his house. And because he says 12 to reveal our end of story, no questions asked is going to be the 12th of reveal our the second opinion, or the second reason why the 12th reveal is our this becomes became so popular

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is that, and this leads us to a controversial issue. But I don't shy away from controversy, as you all know, is that the first time that the profits or sums birthday was celebrated as a public event, ie the Modi, the Navy, or the milada. Navy, as we call it, the first time that it was celebrated. The authorities who celebrated it chose the 12th of the beard award.

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And because they chose the 12th third beard, oh, well, now that's it, it just spread like wildfire, the day and the event and the customer. Now I have written a detailed article about the history of the molded and who started it, and how did it become popular, and you can refer to it on Muslim Adler is called a history of the molded by myself, you can just Google it, and you'll find it three parts. And just to summarize, the molded or the milada nebby. The first recorded instance that we have of anybody celebrating milada nebby is around 517 517 Digital, ie the sixth century of Islam. So for 500 years, the concept of celebrating the birthday, the process of is simply unknown to the

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Muslims, they cannot because celebrating birthdays is not a custom that comes from Islam or from I'm not saying it's Haram, but I'm saying it's not something that the Arabs would do. They wouldn't record birthdays to celebrate them in the first place. Right? Many of you I know my own grandmother had no idea when she was born. They didn't record these things. It was not something of significance to them, the day in the month and the year that you were born. This is a Western concept that is now modern, everybody records it. But it was not something that if you even ask your own grandparents, many of them would not know, you know, it's not something that was recorded. And so, the concept of

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celebrating it is a very late addition. And the first group that celebrated it were the fatimids of Egypt. And the fatimids are a dynasty that are not of Sunni theology. They are an extreme sheary dynasty. The fatimids are the ancestors of in today's time the OG ohanaeze and the boora. The Smiley's the Fatima's are the ancestors of these groups, the extreme Shia groups and for a number of years, they ruled over Egypt, the Fatima dynasty ruled over Egypt, and they instituted over 3040 festivals. And of course, there's a reason why rulers have festivals, why do people have festivals? What does it do?

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distracting

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and

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the economy, people come and buy and sell popularity of whatever it's called the nation state in our times, or in their times the ruling family, right? So there's a reason why the ruling class want to have public festivals. there's a there's a philosophy behind it. And the Feltham is had over 30 or 40 public festivals throughout the every few weeks, there was a major event and festival and they celebrated it at home. They celebrated 10th of Muharram. These are all Shia festivals, they celebrated the birth of this Imam the death of that Imam. And of those celebrations It is said they celebrated the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed awesome. This is the first time in Islamic history

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that we come across the celebration of the birth of the Prophet of Islam, as I said, 517 100 517 and the people who are doing it are these fatimids. And as we said there's clearly a motive for them to do it. When it was done in Feltham in Egypt. Then 150 years later.

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Some Sunni Governor's thought this was a good idea and they imported this particular festival. And because it was done in Egypt on the 12th of their beard, oh well. They Egypt at that time was a faulty midstate they imported it to Mosul, which is outside of above that it's a place in Iraq, the first Sunni governor. He was not a hottie for the first Sunni governor who celebrated the moded celebrated at around 670 or so hijra. So for 670 years This was unknown in the Muslim world to celebrate their birthday the process of and this celebration was done once again on the 12th and it became a very luxurious festival. And various governors and rulers would then compete with each

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other who could have the bigger festival and the grander festival. Free meat and free bread and free you know, gifts were given out and people so it became a

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literally a national festival. And as I said, there are reasons why rulers want to do this. And so they began to compete with one another in order to attract the trade, the commerce, just like Now, why do governments want the Olympics to happen in their country? Right? Why do governments want the World Cup to come to their country? There's reasons there, we need to be a little bit more reading in here. And so the governors wanted these festivals to become the biggest. So each one once there's to be bigger and bigger, and of course, is the birthday of the process. And who's ever going to say anything about that? And so slowly, but surely, from 660, ah, it began to spread in, in Sunni lands.

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Initially, some scholars opposed it. Some scholars, you know, said, Well, if you do it with these conditions, it's okay. After a while, under public pressure, just the floodgates opened, and it became a very, very common festival. And you all know, my opinion on this is that

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the way to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet system, who really, if you really want it to celebrate it, is too fast on Mondays? Because that's what he would do. If you really want to celebrate his birthday, then you should fast every Monday. Because when he was asked, Why do you fast on Monday, he said, because I was born on a Monday. So to take one day of the year and do events and whatnot, I mean, I'm not going to be harsh here. But let me just say, it's a really easy cop out to show that you're loving the processor. If you do something one day, real love is to be dedicated throughout the year, right? Real Love is to show that love every single day, and not just

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one day of the year by giving some money and going to a festival nonetheless. So because the first time that demoted was celebrated was the 12th of the beard Oh, and what happened, it became the date associated in the minds of the people, even though that we conclude here with this section, move on to the next one, even though academically speaking, it is actually a very weak date, and the eighth and the 10th, and even the second or more authentic historically, and they have evidence from the Sahaba into the room more than the 12th of October. And now we also know that there are chains of narratives back to say who say who died 95 hijra. So there's a gap he didn't see the processing. But

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he said that it has been narrated to me that the Prophet system was born at high noon. So there's a gap but it is a gap in early Islam so we can overlook it. Say the numbers say about 95 his father is over the age of the companions right? So we can overlook this little gap. And this is the only narration that we have about the timing of his birth. And that is high noon, when the sun was at its Pinnacle and peak and of course, there is a clear symbolism here that is not lost on anybody that when the sun is brightest. This is when the Prophet system is coming out with his own truth that is when it was revealing or Alize sending down the process to them because it is coinciding with the

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time of the bright sun just like the bright sun illuminates everything so to this profit so the center will illuminate everything and nothing will remain dark around him.