Time of death of the Holy Prophet (saw)'s father

Allegation

Opponents of the Promised Messiah (as) make the charge that the Promised Messiah (as) allegedly would have made a mistake in the indication of the time of death of the father of the Holy Prophet (saw). The following passages are concerned. The Promised Messiah (as) said:

آنحضرت صلی اﷲ علیہ وسلم کو والدین سے مادری زبان سیکھنے کا بھی موقعہ نہیں ملا کیونکہ چھ ماہ کی عمر تک دونوں فوت ہو چکے تھے۔

“The Holy Prophet (saw) did not even have the possibility to learn the mother tongue from his parents, as both had died when he had reached the age of six months.” (Ayyām aṣ-ṣulḥ, Rūḥānī khazāʼin, vol. 14, p. 396)

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And he also said:

تاریخ کو دیکھو کہ آنحضرت صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم وہی ایک یتیم لڑکا تھا جس کا باپ پیدائش سے چند دن بعد ہی فوت ہو گیا۔

“Have a look at history; the Holy Prophet (saw) was that one orphaned boy whose father died just a few days after his birth.” (Paig̲hām-i ṣulḥ, Rūḥānī khazāʼin, vol. 23, p. 465)

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Response

Below several primary sources will be quoted which establish the fact that the father of the Holy Prophet (saw) may have died after his birth.

Ibn Isḥāq (d. 768 AD) writes in as-Sīrah an-nabawiyyah:

ويقال : إن عبد الله هلك والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا.

“And it is said: Certainly, ‘Abdu llāh died while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months of age.”

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Ibn Sa’d (d. 845 AD) writes in Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabaqāt al-kabīr:

أخبرنا هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي، عن أبيه، وعن عوانة بن الحكم، قالا: توفي عبد الله بن عبد المطلب بعدما أتى على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثمانية وعشرون شهرا، ويقال: سبعة أشهر.

“Hishām ibn Muḥammad ibn as-Sā’ib al-Kalbī told us from his father and from ‘Awānah ibn al-Ḥakam, they both said: ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh (saw), and it is said: Seven months.”

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Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb al-Baghdādī (s. 859 AD) writes in al-Muḥabbar:

وتوفي عبد الله، أبوه، بعد ما أتى له ثمانية وعشرون شهراً.

“And ‘Abdu llāh, his father, died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon him.”

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al-Quḍā’ī (d. 1062 AD) writes in ‘Uyūn al-ma’ārif wa-funūn akhbār al-khalā’if:

وقال الطبري: ومات أبوه بعد ولادته بثمانية وعشرين شهرا.

“And aṭ-Ṭabarī said: And his father died after his birth by twenty-eight months.”

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al-Bayhaqī (d. 1066 AD) writes his Dalā’il an-nubuwwah:

ويقال: إن عبد الله هلك، والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا. […] وقال بعضهم: مات أبوه وهو ابن سبعة أشهر.”

“And it is said: Certainly, ‘Abdu llāh died while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months of age. […] And some said: His father died while he was seven months of age.”

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Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 1071 AD) writes in al-Istī’āb fī ma’rifat al-aṣḥāb:

وقيل : بل توفي أبوه بالمدينة والنبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرًا […] وقيل: بل خرج به إلى أخواله زائرًا وهو ابن سبعة أشهر، وقيل: بل توفي أبوه وهو ابن شهرين، […] وقد قيل: إن عَبْد الله ابن عَبْد المطلب توفي والنبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرًا.

“And it was said: Rather, his father died in al-Madīnah while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months old. […] And it was said: Rather, he went out with him to his maternal uncles for a visit while he was seven months old, and it was said: Rather, his father died while he was two moths old. […] And it has been said: Certainly, ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months old.”

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Ibn ‘Asākir (d. 1176 AD) writes in Ta’rīkh madīnat Dimashq:

توفي عبد الله بن عبد المطلب بعدما أتى على رسول اللَّه صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثمانية وعشرون شهرا وَيُقَالُ سبعة أشهر. […] عن ابن خربوذ، قال: توفي عبد الله بن عبد المطلب بالمدينة، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من شهر.

“‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh (saw). […] Ibn Kharrabūdh said: ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died in al-Madīnah while the Aposte of Allāh (saw) was one month old.”

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And in another passage he writes:

ويُقَالُ : إن عبد اللَّه هلك والنبي ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا

“And is it said: Indeed, ‘Abdu llāh died while the Prophet was twenty-eight months of age.”

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as-Suhaylī (d. 1185 AD) writes in ar-Rawḍ al-unuf fī tafsīr mā shtamala ‘alayhi aḥādīth as-sīrah an-nabawiyyah:

وأكثر العلماء على أنه كان في المهد. ذكره الدولابي وغيره، وقيل ابن شهرين ذكره ابن أبي خيثمة. وقيل: أكثر من ذلك، ومات أبوه عند أخواله بني النَّجار. ذهب ليمتار لأهله تمراً، وقد قيل: مات أبوه، وهو ابن ثمانٍ وعشرين شهراً.

“And most of the scholars consider that he was in the cradle. ad-Dūlābī and others have expressed this and it is said that that he was two months old, how Ibn Abī Khaythamah reports it. Furthermore, it is said that he was older and that his father died at his maternal uncles, the Banū an-Najjār. He went to provide his family with dates. In addition, is said that his father died when he was twenty-eight months old.”

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Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 1201 AD) writes in al-Muntaẓam fī sulūk al-mulūk wa-l-umam:

وروي لنا: أن عبد الله توفي بعد ما أتى على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثمانية وعشرين شهرا، وقيل: سبعة أشهر.

“And it has been reported to us that ‘Abdu llāh died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh (saw), and it was said: Seven months.”

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And in Talqīh fuhūm ahl al-athar fī ‘uyūn at-ta’rīkh wa-s-siyar he writes:

وقيل: لم يمت حتى أتى على رسول الله شهران، وقيل: سبعة أشهر، وقيل: ثمانية وعشرون شهرا.

“And it was said: He did not die until two months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh, and it was said: Seven months, and it was said: Twenty-eight months.”

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And in Ṣifat aṣ-ṣafwah he writes:

وقد روي عن عوانة بن الحكم أن عبد الله توفي بعد ما أتى على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثمانية وعشرون شهرا، وقيل سبعة أشهر.

“And it was related from ‘Awānah ibn al-Ḥakam that ‘Abdu llāh died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh (saw), and it was said: Seven months.”

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an-Nawawī (d. 1277 AD) writes in Tahdhīb al-asmā’ wa-l-lughāt:

قال الحاكم أبو أحمد: يقال: مات عبد الله والد رسول الله – صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – ولرسول الله – صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – ثمانية وعشرون شهرًا، وقيل: تسعة أشهر، وقيل: سبعة أشهر، وقيل: شهران.

“al-Ḥākim Abū Aḥmad said: It is said: ‘Abdu llāh, the father of the Apostle of Allāh (saw), died while the Apostle of Allāh (saw) was twenty-eight months old, and it was said: Nine months, and it was said: Seven months, and it was said: Two months.”

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Ibn Sayyid an-Nās (d. 1334 AD) writes in ‘Uyūn al-athar fī funūn al-maghāzī wa-sh-shamā’il wa-s-siyar:

إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان في المهد حين توفي أبوه. رويناه عن الدولابي، وذكر ابن أبي خيثمة أنه كان ابن شهرين، وقيل: ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا. […] وقيل : بل خرج به إلى أخواله زائرا ، وهو ابن سبعة أشهر.

“Verily, the Apostle of Allāh (saw) was in the cradle when his father died. This was reported to us from ad-Dūlābī, and Ibn Abī Khaythamah expressed that that he was two months old, and it was said: He was twenty-eight months old. […] And it was said: Rather, he went out with him to his maternal uncles for a visit while he was seven months old.”

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al-Mizzī (d. 1341 AD) writes in Tahdhīb al-kamāl fī asmā’ ar-rijāl:

ومات أبوه عَبد الله بن عبد المطلب وقد أتى له ثمانية وعشرون شهرا، وقيل: أقل من ذلك.

“And his father, ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib, died while twenty-eight months had gone by on him, and it was said: Less that that.”

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adh-Dhahabī (d. 1348 AD) writes in Siyar a’lām an-nubalā’:

وتوفي عبد الله أبوه وللنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ثمانية وعشرون شهرا. وقيل: أقل من ذلك.

“And ‘Abdu llāh, his father, died while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months old, and it was said: Less that that.”

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Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 1350 AD) writes in Zād al-ma’ād fī hady khayr al-’ibād:

توفي بعد ولادته بسبعة أشهر.

“And the second [opinion] is that he died seven months after his birth.”

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‘Izz ad-Dīn ibn Jamā’ah al-Kinānī (d. 1366 AD) writes in al-Mukhtaṣar al-kabīr fī sīrat al-Rasūl:

وقيل: توفي وله شهران، وقيل: سبعة أشهر، وقيل: ثمانية وعشرون شهرا.

“And it was said: He died while he was two months of age, and it was said: Seven months, and it was said: Twenty-eight months.”

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Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373 AD) writes in al-Bidāyah wa-n-nihāyah:

قال محمد بن سعد: وقد أنبأنا هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي عن أبيه، وعن عوانة بن الحكم قالا: توفي عبد الله بن عبد المطلب بعدما أتى على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثمانية وعشرون شهرا، وقيل: سبعة أشهر. […] وقال الزبير بن بكار، حدثني محمد بن حسن، عن عبد السلام عن، ابن خربوذ، قال: توفي عبد الله بالمدينة، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ابن شهرين. […]

ويقال : إن عبد الله هلك والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا.

“Muḥammad ibn Sa’d said: And Hishām ibn Muḥammad ibn as-Sā’ib al-Kalbī told us from his father and from ‘Awānah ibn al-Ḥakam, they both said: ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died after twenty-eight months had gone by upon the Apostle of Allāh (saw), and it was said: Seven months. […] And az-Zubayr ibn Bakkār said, Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan related to me from ‘Abd as-Salām, from Ibn Kharbūdh, he said: ‘Abdu llāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib died in al-Madīnah while the Aposte of Allāh (saw) was two month old. […]

And it is said: Certainly, ‘Abdu llāh died while the Prophet (saw) was twenty-eight months of age.”

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al-Maqrīzī (d. 1442 AD) writes in Imtā’ al-asmā’ bi-mā li-n-nabī min al-aḥwāl wa-l-amwāl wa-l-ḥafadah wa-l-matā’:

وقيل: مات بعد ولادته بثمانية وعشرين يوما، وقيل: بسبعة أشهر، وقيل: بسنة، وقيل: بسنتين، وقيل: بشهرين.

“And it was said: He died twenty-eight days after his birth, and it was said: Seven months after, and it was said: One year after, and it was said: Two years after, and it was said: Two months after.”

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al-’Aynī (d. 1453 AD) writes in ‘Umdat al-qārī fī sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:

وقال مقاتل: بعد ولادته بثمانية وعشرين شهرا، وقيل : بعد ولادته بسبعة أشهر.

“And Muqātil said: Twenty-eight months after his birth, and it was said: Seven months after his birth.”

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al-Qasṭallānī (d. 1517 AD) writes in al-Mawāhib al-laduniyyah bi-l-minaḥ al-Muḥammadiyyah:

وقيل: توفى وهو فى المهد، قاله الدولابى. وعن ابن أبى خيثمة: وهو ابن شهرين. وقيل: وهو ابن سبعة. وقيل: وهو ابن ثمانية وعشرين شهرا.

“And it was said: He died while he was in the cradle, ad-Dūlābī said this. And from Ibn Abī Khaythamah: While he was two months old. And it was said: While he was seven. And it was said: While he was twenty-eight months old.”

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aṣ-Ṣāliḥī ash-Shāmī (d. 1536 AD) writes in Subul al-hudā wa-r-rashād fī sīrat khayr al-’ibād:

وقيل: إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان في المهد حين توفي أبوه. وعليه فقيل: وله شهران. وقيل: ثمانية وعشرون شهراً. وقيل: تسعة أشهر.

“And it was said: Surely, the Apostle of Allāh (saw) was in the cradle when his father died. And it is said: He was two months of age. And it is said: Twenty-eight months. And it is said: Nine months.”

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