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Birth of the Prophet (s)

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This article is about The Birth of the Prophet (s). For Getting to know celebrations with the same title, see Celebration of the Prophet's (s) Birth.

The Birth of the Prophet (s) (Arabic: مولد النبي (ص)) occurred, according to the popular Shi'a belief, on Rabi' I 17 of 'Am al-Fil (Year of the Elephant) in a house near Valley of Abi Talib in Mecca. According to the popular Sunni view, this event took place on Rabi' I 12; however, most Shi'a scholars such as al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, and al-'Allama al-Majlisi emphasize the 17th. Shi'a devotional books have also recommended acts such as ghusl and supplication for this day, which indicates its ritual importance. Muslims in many countries celebrate this day, and it is a public holiday in these countries. However, Wahhabis consider holding the celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi as an innovation and forbidden. According to historical reports, the birthplace of the Prophet (s) was a house near Valley of Abi Talib, which was destroyed and eventually turned into a library in Mecca with the rise of Al Saud to power and due to Wahhabi beliefs regarding the prohibition of seeking blessings from the relics of prophets.

Coinciding with the birth of the Prophet (s), extraordinary events have been reported, which are called Irhas (lit. Laying the Foundation). Among these events, one can mention the trembling of the Arch of Ctesiphon and the collapse of its battlements, the extinguishing of the Fire Temple of Fars after a thousand years, and the drying up of Lake Saveh. Some researchers have doubted their authenticity due to the weakness of the narrative chain of transmission. In contrast, another group of Shi'a scholars, citing the existence of Mutawatir narrations, consider them to have strong historical evidence.

Introduction

According to the Shi'a view, Prophet Muhammad (s) was born in a house in Mecca near Valley of Abi Talib.[1] In Shi'a narrative sources, Rabi' I 17 is recognized as the date of the Prophet's birth, and this date has been specifically mentioned in reports from Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Rida (a).[2] Shi'a devotional and supplication books have also mentioned acts such as ghusl, supplication, and salawat for this day, showing its ritual importance.[3] Muslims in different countries celebrate the Prophet's birthday by holding rituals and ceremonies.[4] Also, the Prophet's birthday is a public holiday in some countries including Indonesia, Iran,[5] India,[6] Pakistan,[7] Egypt,[8] etc.[9] However, Wahhabis consider holding the celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi as an innovation and haram.[10]

Birthplace of the Prophet (s)

Prophet Muhammad (s) was born in a house near Valley of Abi Talib.[11] According to Muhammad b. Umar Bahraq, a Shafi'i scholar who died in 930/1524, the people of Mecca used to gather at the place of his birth on the night of the Prophet's birth, engaging in Dhikr and supplication, and seeking blessings from him.[12] Also, al-Allama al-Majlisi narrates that in his time, a place with this name existed in Mecca and people used to visit it for ziyarah.[13] According to a report, the house where Prophet Muhammad (s) was born in Mecca remained under the ownership of the family of Aqil b. Abi Talib (the Prophet's cousin) after his demise in 11/632.[14] In the second/eighth century, al-Khayzuran bt. 'Ata, the mother of Abbasid caliphs al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid, purchased this property during her Hajj pilgrimage and converted it into a place of worship around 171/787, and thus, this place became respected and visited as a mosque.[15] This place later had a dome and minaret and was preserved and renovated by various caliphs and rulers for centuries.[16] According to historical reports, this building remained until the beginning of the Al Saud rule over Hijaz; due to the beliefs of the Wahhabi sect regarding the prohibition of seeking blessings from the relics of Prophets and the righteous, they destroyed it.[17] Eventually, it was converted into the library of Mecca.[18]

Date of Birth of the Prophet (s)

There are different views regarding the exact date of birth of Prophet Muhammad (s).[19] The well-known date among Shi'a scholars is Rabi' I 17, and the popular date among Sunnis is Rabi' I 12.[20] The interval between these two dates has been named Unity Week between Shi'a and Sunni.[21]

Famous Shi'a View

Among Shi'a scholars, there are two main views. The famous opinion among Shi'a scholars is that the Prophet (s) was born on the seventeenth of Rabi' I.[22] Al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 413/1022) in his book Masar al-Shi'a and some of his other works considers this date as the Prophet's birthday.[23] His student, al-Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 460/1067), following his teacher, has mentioned this date in his books such as Misbah al-mutahajjid and al-Tahdhib.[24] Al-Allama al-Majlisi also believes that most Shi'a scholars agree on the seventeenth of Rabi' I.[25] Some Shi'a scholars have considered the twelfth of Rabi' I as the date of the Prophet's birth. Al-Kulayni (d. 329/941) considers the Prophet's birth on Friday, the twelfth of Rabi' I, in the Year of the Elephant.[26]

Other Views

Rabi' al-Awwal 12: This view has been counted as the most famous view among Sunnis.[27] The famous historian, Ibn Ishaq (d. 151/768) considers the birth of the Prophet (s) on Monday, the twelfth of Rabi' I, in the Year of the Elephant.[28] Today, this date is the basis for practices in Mecca and Medina.[29]

Ramadan 12: Al-Ya'qubi (d. 284/897) has narrated this date through Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) and Zubayr b. Bakkar (d. 256/870).[30]

Rabi' al-Awwal 10: Al-Waqidi (d. 207/822-3) has proposed this theory quoting Imam al-Baqir (a).[31]

Rabi' al-Awwal 28: This date have been proposed by Muhammad b. Habib (d. 245/859-60) and al-Mas'udi (d. 364/957-8).[32]

Rabi' al-Awwal 2 or 10: Al-Tabrisi in the book I'lam al-wara narrates these two dates from the Sunni perspective.[33]

According to what is mentioned in the books Dala'il al-nubuwwa by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani and al-Bayhaqi,[34] coinciding with the birth of the Prophet (s), some specific events occurred which are called Irhas.[35] Among these Irhasat (plural of Irhas) is that it is said on the night of his birth, the Arch of Ctesiphon shook and 14 of its battlements collapsed, the Fire Temple of Fars was extinguished after a thousand years, Lake Saveh dried up, and Sassanid priests and kings had strange dreams on the same night.[36] This is one of the most important mentioned miracles that with the birth of the Prophet (s), the sacred fire of Zoroastrians, which had been burning for a thousand years, was extinguished.[37]

In addition to these, according to al-Jahiz (a Mu'tazili litterateur and exegete), the event of the destruction of Abraha's army by birds in 570 CE, which is mentioned in the Qur'an, was a divine Miracle.[38] Al-Jahiz argued that since this event occurred in the same year the Prophet was born, God prepared the ground for his advent through this extraordinary event. In other words, in al-Jahiz's view, the destruction of enemies in the same year of birth was a divine sign and proof indicating that the future Prophet would be an exceptional person.[39]

Validity of Irhasat Attributed to the Birth of the Prophet (s)

The historical and hadith validity of reports related to the Irhasat of the Prophet's birth has been questioned by some Muslim thinkers; because its first reporter (al-Ya'qubi) did not provide evidence, a historian like Ibn Sa'd did not mention it, and the chain of transmission of this narration in hadith books has been evaluated as weak.[40] In contrast, some Muslim scholars believe that the miracles related to the birth of the Prophet (s), due to the existence of the science of hadith and Mutawatir narrations (narrations that have been narrated by countless individuals in every generation and their conspiracy to lie is inconceivable), have very strong and provable historical evidence.[41]

Notes

  1. ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 151; Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 1, p. 6.
  2. ↑ Shuʿayrī, Jāmiʿ al-akhbār, p. 81.
  3. ↑ Shuʿayrī, Jāmiʿ al-akhbār, p. 81.
  4. ↑ "Kishvarhā-yi ʿArabī mīlād-i Payābar (s) rā chigūna jashn mīgīrand?", IQNA.
  5. ↑ "Taqwīm-i sāliyāna", Time.ir.
  6. ↑ "Holidays", Embassy of India Tehran.
  7. ↑ "Public Holidays in Pakistan 2018".
  8. ↑ "Eid El Mawled El Nabawi", Public Holidays.
  9. ↑ "Rūz-i mīlād-i Payābar-i Aʿẓam dar tamāmī-yi kishvarhā-yi Islāmī bi juz ʿArabistān taʿṭīl-i rasmī ast", Quds Online.
  10. ↑ Duwaysh, Fatāwā al-lajnat al-dāʾima, vol. 3, p. 29.
  11. ↑ Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 1, p. 6.
  12. ↑ Baḥraq, Ḥadāʾiq al-anwār, p. 150.
  13. ↑ Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl, vol. 5, p. 174.
  14. ↑ "Mawlid al-Nabī (s)", Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.
  15. ↑ "Mawlid al-Nabī (s)", Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.
  16. ↑ "Mawlid al-Nabī (s)", Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.
  17. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 2, p. 147.
  18. ↑ "Mawlid al-Nabī (s)", Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.
  19. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 1, p. 362.
  20. ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 151.
  21. ↑ See: Khomeinī, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 15, pp. 440, 455.
  22. ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 151.
  23. ↑ Mufīd, Masār al-Shīʿa, p. 51.
  24. ↑ Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, p. 791; Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 6.
  25. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 15, p. 248.
  26. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 440.
  27. ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, vol. 1, p. 151.
  28. ↑ Ibn Isḥāq, Sīrat Ibn Isḥāq, p. 48.
  29. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl, p. 599.
  30. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 7.
  31. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 80.
  32. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, p. 9; Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 2, p. 374.
  33. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 1, p. 42.
  34. ↑ Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, p. 139, hadith 82; Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, p. 126.
  35. ↑ Fāḍil al-Miqdād, al-Lawāmiʿ al-ilāhiyya, p. 284.
  36. ↑ Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, p. 139, hadith 82; Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, pp. 126–127; Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 1, p. 57; Baḥrānī, Maṣābīḥ al-anwār, vol. 1, pp. 35–36.
  37. ↑ Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, pp. 126–127; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 2, p. 268; Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 285; Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 1, p. 56.
  38. ↑ Azmi, "The Birth of Prophet Muhammad in the Qur'an...", p. 86.
  39. ↑ Azmi, "The Birth of Prophet Muhammad in the Qur'an...", pp. 88–89.
  40. ↑ "Āyā hangām-i wilādat-i Payābar-i Islām (s)...?", IslamQuest.
  41. ↑ "The Physical Miracles of Prophet Muhammad", Yaqeen Institute.

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