http://www.islam21c.com/islamic-thought/8080-the-birth-date-of-the-prophet-and-the-history-of-the-mawlid-part-i-of-iii/
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This
article comprises of three parts. In part one, the various opinions regarding
the birth-date of the beloved Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) are
mentioned. In part two, the history of celebrating this day will be documented.
The
Date of the Prophet’s Birth
It
is a commonly held belief that the birth-date of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu
‘alayhi wa salam) is the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, in the
‘Year of the Elephant’, which is the year that the Abyssinian Emperor Abraha
attacked the Kaʿbah with an army of elephants. However, most Muslims are
unaware that there has always been great controversy over the precise date of
the Prophet’s (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) birth, and it is quite
possible that the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal is not in fact the
strongest opinion on the matter.
There
is no narration in the famous ‘Six Books’ of ḥadīth that specifies when the
Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) was born. Rather, the only
narration that exists specifies the day he was born, and not
the date. Abū Qatāda narrates that a Bedouin came to the Prophet
and asked him about fasting on Monday, to which the Prophet (Ṣallāhu
‘alayhi wa salam) replied, “That is the day I was born on, and the day
that the revelation began”. [1] Therefore, the Prophet (Ṣallāhu
‘alayhi wa salam) was born on Monday. But Monday of which month, and which
year? For that, we need to turn to other sources. Again, no standard source
book of ḥadīth mentions any precise date. However, there is a tradition of
disputed authenticity, in the Sunan of al-Bayhaqī [2] states
that Suwayd b. Ghafla narrated, “The Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa
salam) and I were born in the same year, the ‘Year of the Elephant.’”
Certain other evidences also indicate that he was born this year. Hence, from
the extended books of ḥadīth, two pieces of information can be gleaned: that he
was born on a Monday (and this is confirmed), and that he was born in the ‘Year
of the Elephant’ (and this is most likely correct).
When
we turn to books of history, a number of dates regarding the birth of the
Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) are found. Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150
AH), the earliest and most authoritative biographer of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu
‘alayhi wa salam), states, without any isnād or other
reference, that the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) was born on Monday,
the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, in the ‘Year of the Elephant’.
Between Ibn Isḥāq and the birth of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa
salam) lies almost two centuries, so some more proof is needed before this
date is settled on.
Another
extremely important early source, Ibn Saʿd (d. 230 AH) in his Ṭabaqāt,
mentions the opinion of a few early authorities regarding the date of his
birth. In order, they are:
1)
Monday, 10th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, the ‘Year of the Elephant’.
2)
Monday, 2nd of Rabīʿ al-Awwal.
3)
Monday, no precise date.
4)
The ‘Year of the Elephant’, no precise date.
It
is interesting to note that Ibn Saʿd, one of the most respected historians of
early Islam, does not even list the date of the 12th of Rabīʿ
al-Awwal as a possible candidate. Of course the last two opinions are correct
and do not clash with any specific date, but by quoting earlier authorities
who only gave this information, it can be noted that the
precise birth date of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) was not known
to them, hence they only gave the information they knew.
Ibn
Kathīr (d. 774), the famous medieval historian, also lists many opinions in his
monumental al-Bidāya wa-l-nihāyah regarding the birth-date of
the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam). He states that the majority
of scholars believed that the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) was
born in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, but differed regarding the precise day of
the month. Some of these opinions are:
1.
2nd Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This was the preferred opinion of Abū
Maʿshar al-Sindī (d. 171), one of the earliest scholars of sīra,
and of the famous Māliki jurist and scholar, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (d. 463). It was
also listed by al-Wāqidī (d. 207) as a possible opinion. [Al-Wāqidī is one of
the most reputable early historians of Islam, despite his weakness as a
narrator of ḥadīth].
2.
8th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This was the opinion of the Andalusian
scholar Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456), and many of the early scholars. Imām Mālik (d. 179)
reported this opinion from al-Dhuhrī (d. 128) and Muḥammad b. Jubayr b. Muṭʿim
(a famous Successor), amongst others. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, while subscribing to
the first opinion, said that this opinion was the opinion of most historians.
Ibn Diḥya (d. 610), one of the first to write a treatise on the birth of the
Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam), also considered this date to be the
strongest opinion.
3.
10th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This has been reported by Ibn ʿAsākir
(d. 571) from Abū Jaʿfar al-Bāqir (d. 114 AH), a descendant of the
Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam)and an alleged imām of the
Shiʾites. It is also the opinion of al-Shaʿbī (d. 100), a famous scholar and
student of the Companions, and al-Wāqidī (d. 207) himself.
4.
12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This is the opinion of Ibn Isḥāq (d.
150), who reported it without any reference. In other sources, it is reported
as the opinion of Jābir and Ibn ʿAbbās, but there is no isnād found
in any primary source book to them. Ibn Kathīr writes, “…and this is the most
common opinion on the matter, and Allāh knows best.” I could not find
this opinion attributed to any other authorities of the first few generations
of Islam.
5.
17th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This was the opinion of some Shiʾite
scholars, and is rejected by most Sunnī authorities.
6.
22nd of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. This opinion has also been attributed
to Ibn Ḥazm.
7.
In the month of Ramaḍān, without a specific date, in the ‘Year of the
Elephant’. This was the opinion of the famous early historian al-Zubayr b.
al-Bakkār (d. 256), who wrote the first and most authoritative history
of Mecca, and some early authorities agreed with him.
8.
12th of Ramaḍān, in the ‘Year of the Elephant’. This opinion
was reported by Ibn ʿAsākir as being held by some early authorities.
These
are the most predominant opinion regarding the date of the
Prophet’s (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) birth. However, this is by no
means comprehensive – for example, a modern researcher has concluded that the 9th of
Rabīʿ al-Awwal is the strongest candidate for the exact date, whereas a few
earlier authorities even disputed the very year, claiming that it was ten, or
twenty-three, or forty years after the ‘Year of the Elephant’.
Why
is the opinion of the 12th of Rabī al-Awwal so popular?
As
can be seen, there are numerous opinions regarding the precise date of the
birth of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam), some of which differ
about the month, and others even the year. However, an overwhelming majority of
historians and scholars agreed that he was born on a Monday, in Rabīʿ al-Awwal,
in the ‘Year of the Elephant’, which corresponds to 570 (or 571) C.E.
Within
the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, more than half a dozen opinions exist. Out of all
of these dates, the two dates of the 8th and the 10th were
in fact more popular opinions in the first five centuries of Islam, and in
particular the former opinion was given greater credence. Why, then, is the
date of the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal considered the most popular
in our times, so much so that most people are unaware of alternate opinions?
This question is all the more compelling in light of the fact that Ibn Isḥāq
narrates this opinion without any reference. This can be explained,
and Allāh knows best, by two factors.
Firstly,
the popularity of Ibn Isḥāq himself. His book of sīra is a
primary source of information regarding the biography of the
Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam). Since his bookis a standard reference for
all later writings, many scholars simply copied and pasted his opinion,
disregarding the other opinions (some of which were given more weight by
earlier authorities).
Secondly
– and this perhaps is a stronger factor – the first time that a group of people
decided to take the birthday of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa
salam) as a public day of celebration (i.e., the inception of the
celebration of the mawlid) , it so happened that they chose this
opinion (viz., the 12th of Rabī al-Awwal). Hence, when
the practice of the mawlid spread, so did this date. This also
explains why Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, writing before the conception of the mawlid in
the fifth century of the hijrah, stated that the most common opinion
amongst historians was in fact the 8thof Rabīʿ al-Awwal, and yet Ibn
Kathīr, writing three centuries later, after the mawlid had been
introduced as a public festival, stated that the 12th of Rabīʿ
al-Awwal was the most common opinion.
Conclusion:
The
exact birth-date of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam) has always
been the subject of dispute amongst classical scholars. Nothing authentic has
been reported in the standard source books of tradition, and this fact in
itself shows that it was not held in the significance that later authorities did.
The 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal is a strong candidate for being the
exact birth date of the Prophet (Ṣallāhu ‘alayhi wa salam), but the 2nd,
8th and 10th are also viable and well-respected
positions, with the 8th being the weightiest.
As
to who was the first to celebrate the mawlid, and how it spread in
Muslim lands, that shall form Part II of this article, insha Allāh.
[1] Muslim
[2] vol. 1, p. 79
http://www.islam21c.com/islamic-thought/8080-the-birth-date-of-the-prophet-and-the-history-of-the-mawlid-part-i-of-iii/
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