Hajjaj ibn Muhammad

Hajjaj ibn Muhammad mentioned, with a link to his account, that he said: "The Year of the Elephant" [(35)]. He said: "Abu 'Abdullah the Hafiz told us: Abu al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya'qub said: Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar al-'Ataridi told us: Yunus ibn Bukayr, from Ibn Ishaq, said: al-Muttalib ibn 'Abdullah ibn Qays ibn Makramah told me, from his father, from his grandfather: Qays ibn Makramah, I mean Ibn al-Muttalib ibn 'Abd Manaf- said: "I was born, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in the Year of the Elephant, we were contemporaneous" [(36)]. Ibn Ishaq said: "And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was twenty years at the time of 'Ukaz."

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn

Abu 'Abd al-Rahman: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Musa al-Sulami- Allah have mercy on him- said: Abu al-Hasan [(37)] : Muhammad ibn Mahmoud al-Marwazi, [(35)] with this chain, from the way of Yahya ibn Ma'in is in "Tabaqaat Ibn Sa'ad" (1:101), as also mentioned by al-Hakim in "al-Mustadrak" (2:603), and said: "Hameed ibn al-Rabee' alone mentions this word ('day') in this hadith, and wasn't followed upon it, just like Hakim mentioned before this narration the correct narration: "Year of the Elephant" and that's clearly stated by Ibn Haban in his book "al-Thiqaat" (1: 14-15). He stated: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, was born in the Year of the Elephant, on a Monday, twelve nights into the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, on the day when Allah sent birds against the Elephant army."

Additional Notes

This narration has been referenced in Tirmidhi's book of virtues (5:589), by Imam Ahmad in his "Musnad" (4:215), in the biography by Ibn Hisham (1:171), in "Tabaqaat Ibn Sa'ad" (1:101), in "al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah" (2:261), and "Dala'il an-Nubuwwah" by Abu Na'eem (101), and authenticated by al-Mas'udi and al-Suhayli. (Lidain) : It's said that so-and-so was born at the same time as so-and-so, and al-Jawhari said: "A man’s 'lidah' is his companion, the 'ha' is a replacement for the lost 'waw', as it comes from childbirth, and the plural is 'ladat' and 'ladun'.

The Scholar's Statement

It was narrated to us by Abu Abdullah who said, "Muhammad bin Ali Hafiz related to us, saying: Abu Musa, Muhammad bin Muthanna related to me, as Wahb bin Jarir bin Hazim recounted to him, who recounted from his father who had heard Muhammad bin Ishaq narrate the following from Mutallb bin Abdullah bin Qays bin Makramah, from his father and grandfather."

"I and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, were born in the Year of the Elephant."

Othman's Inquiry

He said, "Othman bin Affan asked Qubais bin Ashaym, the brother of the Bani Yaamur bin Layth, 'Are you older or the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?' He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is older than me, and I was born before him. I saw the droppings of the elephant, green and fresh.'"

The Testimony of Muhammad bin Bashshar

The account was also relayed by Muhammad bin Bashshar from Wahb bin Jarir who said, "The droppings of the bird were green and fresh."

The Corroboration of Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz

Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz affirmed to us, as Ahmad bin Ali Al-Maqri told him, "Abu Isa At-Tirmidhi related to me, as Muhammad bin Bashshar had related to him," he mentioned.

The Credible Sources

Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz and Ahmad bin Hasan Al-Qadi shared with us the information that Abu Abbas: Muhammad bin Ya'qub narrated to them. They were told by Abu Bakr Saghani about Ibrahim bin Al-Mundhir Al-Jizami who said, "Abdul Aziz Bin Abi recounted to me."

[Note 38] The chain of transmission is without the word "said". [Note 39] The narration is in "Jami` at-Tirmidhi" Vol. 5, p. 589, and "Musnad Ahmad" Vol. 4, p. 215, and Dalail Al-Nubuwwah of Abu Nu’aim p. 101. [Note 40] Dalail Al-Nubuwwah of Abu Nu’aim, p. 100, ('And Droppings') refers to feces. [Note 41] Without the word, "said", and with the term "Narrated to us". [Note 42] "Narrated to us", and without the term "said".

An Exchange between 'Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan and Qubath ibn Ashyam al-Kinani

Thabit al-Madini narrates that Zubayr ibn Musa reported from Abu al-Huwayrith, who said, "I heard 'Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan speaking to Qubath ibn Ashyam al-Kinani, who was also known as al-Laythi, saying: 'O Qubath! Are you older or the Prophet of God (peace and blessings be upon him)?' Qubath responded: 'The Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, is greater than me, but I am older than him. The Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, was born in the Year of the Elephant, and I remember my mother making me sit down upon the dung of the Elephant. The Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, started preaching when he was forty years old.'

The Reporting of Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im

Proceeding from another source, Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl al-Qattan, Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Yaqub ibn Sufyan, Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir, and 'Abdul 'Aziz ibn Abi Thabit, reported from Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Abi Sulayman al-Nawfali about his father, who heard from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im, who said: 'The Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, was born in the Year of the Elephant, and the 'Ukaz Market was established fifteen years after the Year of the Elephant. The Holy Kaaba was built at the beginning of the 25th year after that Year, and the Prophet of God, peace be upon him, began to prophesy at the age of forty, which is from the Year of the Elephant.'

The Accounts of Ibn Shihab

Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl reported from Abdullah ibn Ja'far, who heard it from Yaqub ibn Sufyan and Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir ibn Abdullah ibn al-Mundhir ibn al-Mughirah ibn Abdullah ibn Khalid ibn Khuzaymah, who reported from Muhammad ibn Fulayh ibn Sulayman, who heard it from Musa ibn Uqbah, who reported from Ibn Shihab who said: 'God sent Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, when he was fifteen years after the construction of the Kaaba, and there was a span of seventy years between the mission of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the Incident of the Elephant.'