When was Prophet Muhammad born?

The four schools agree on this.

Explanation

The Prophet ﷺ himself said Monday was the day he was born. When asked about fasting on Mondays, he said: "That is the day I was born and the day revelation came to me." So the day of the week is certain.

The year is known as the Year of the Elephant, when Abraha, the ruler of Yemen, marched on Makkah with elephants to destroy the Kaaba and Allah destroyed his army, as Surah al-Fil tells. Historians place it around 570 CE, some say 571. The Arabs had no fixed calendar then, so they dated years by great events.

The month most historians give is Rabi al-Awwal. The day is debated: Ibn Ishaq gives the 12th, which is the most widely known view, while others give the 2nd, the 8th or the 9th. Some later scholars calculated the 9th from astronomy. Since the Prophet ﷺ did not fix the date for us, there is no act of worship tied to one day of the month; the Sunnah he left is fasting on Mondays.

His father Abdullah died before he was born, and his mother Aminah died when he was six. He was raised by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and then his uncle Abu Talib. See the family tree and his life. On fasting Mondays, see this answer.

The evidence

Where the ruling is recorded

• Sirat Ibn Hisham, Account of the birth of the Messenger of Allah. Ibn Ishaq's dating to Monday, 12 Rabi al-Awwal, Year of the Elephant.
• al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (Ibn Kathir), Chapter on the birth of the Prophet. Lists the different reported dates.
• al-Rahiq al-Makhtum (al-Mubarakpuri), Chapter on the birth and the first forty years. A modern summary that also mentions the astronomical calculation of the 9th.

This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.