THE LIFE OF RASÛLULLÂH SALLALLÂHU ‘ALAYHI WA SALLAM

Rasûlullâh's s allallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam blessed name is Mu h ammad. His father's name is ‘Abdullâh, who is the son of ‘Abdul Mu tt alib, who is the son of Hâshim, who is the son of ‘Abd Manâf. His mother's name is Âminah, who is the daughter of Wahb, who is the son of ‘Abd Manâf, who is the son of Zuhrah. This ‘Abd Manâf is not the same as the previous one.

He was born on a Monday in the month of Rabî‘ al-Awwal in the same year that a kâfir king invaded Makkah on an elephant and tried to destroy the Ka'bah. When he was five years and two days old, his foster mother handed him over to his actual mother. When he was six years old, his mother took him to the tribe of his grandfather, the Banû Najjâr. She remained there for one month with him. On their return, his mother passed away at a place called Abwâ'. A woman by the name of Umme Ayman was also with them. She took him to Makkah. His father had passed away when his mother was still expecting him. His grandfather, ‘Abdul Mu tt alib, therefore took the responsibility of rearing him. On the death of his grandfather, his uncle, Abû T âlib, took over this responsibility.

His uncle took him to Syria for business. On the way to Syria, a Christian scholar and mystic by the name of Buhayrah saw him and informed his uncle that he should protect him because he is a prophet. His uncle therefore took him back to Makkah. Later he went again to Syria with the goods of Khadîjah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ . On the way, a Christian scholar and mystic by the name of Nasturah testified to his being a prophet. When he returned from Syria, Khadîjah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ married him. He was 25 years old at the time while she was 40 years old.

When he was 40 years of age, he received prophethood. When he was 52 or 53 years of age, he experienced the mi‘râj . After receiving prophethood, he remained in Makkah for approximately 13 years. When the oppression of the kuffâr of Makkah increased, he migrated to Madînah under the orders of Allah. Within two years of reaching Madînah, the decisive battle of Badr took place. Several battles took place thereafter. All the major and minor battles total 35.

He had married 11 women, out of which two had passed away in his very lifetime. They are, Khadîjah and Zaynab bint Khuzaymah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhumâ . When he passed away, he left behind 9 wives. They are: Saudah, ‘Â'ishah, H af s ah, Umme Salamah, Zaynab bint Ja h sh, Umme H abîbah, Juwayriyah, Maymûnah, and S afiyyah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhunna .

He had four daughters, the eldest of whom was Zaynab ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ . After her was Ruqayyah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ , thereafter Umme Kulthûm ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ , and the youngest was Fâ t imah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ . All these daughters were from Khadîjah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ . He had three, four or five sons (there is no certainty in the number due to a difference in the narrations). They are: Qâsim, ‘Abdullâh, T ayyib and T âhir. All these sons were from Khadîjah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ . There was one more son by the name of Ibrâhîm who was begotten by Mâriyah. She was the slave-girl of Rasûlullâh s allallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam . This last son passed away when he had not been weaned as yet. In this way we get five. Some of the scholars say that the name of ‘Abdullâh is also T ayyib. In this way we get four. Other scholars say that T ayyib and T âhir are also names of ‘Abdullâh. In this way we get three. ‘Abdullâh was born after prophethood and passed away in Makkah. The other sons passed away before prophethood.

Rasûlullâh s allallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam remained in Madînah for 10 years. He fell ill on a Wednesday, two days before the end of the month of S afar and passed away on a Monday on the 12th of Rabî‘ al-Awwal at the time of châsht , at the age of 63. He was buried on Tuesday afternoon. According to some historians, he was buried on Tuesday night. The reason for this delay is that on account of the sorrow and sadness of the S a h âbah, they were unable to function properly.

From the daughters of Rasûlullâh s allallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam , Zaynab ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ had a son by the name of ‘Alî and a daughter by the name of Umâmah. However, the progeny of both did not continue. Ruqayyah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ had a son by the name of ‘Abdullâh but he passed away at the age of six. Umme Kulthûm did not have any children. Fâ t imah ra d iyallâhu ‘anhâ had two sons by the name of H asan and H usayn ra d iyallâhu ‘anhumâ . Their progeny spread far and wide.