Table of Contents
The Year of the Elephant
The birth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ took place in a year that became famous among the Arabs as “ʿĀm al‑Fīl,” the Year of the Elephant. This name came from a major incident shortly before his birth, when an Abyssinian Christian ruler, Abraha, marched with a large army that included elephants to destroy the Kaʿbah in Makkah.
Abraha had built a grand church in Yemen and wanted to divert the Arabs’ pilgrimage away from the Kaʿbah. When he failed to attract them peacefully, he decided to attack the Sacred House. The Quraysh were too weak militarily to face him. They left the protection of the Kaʿbah to Allah and moved away from the city.
Allah defended His Sacred House without the Arabs lifting a sword. The Qur’an records this event in Sūrat al‑Fīl:
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ
وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ
تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ
فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَأْكُولٍ
“Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the People of the Elephant?
Did He not make their plot go astray?
And He sent against them birds in flocks,
Striking them with stones of baked clay,
And He made them like eaten-up straw.”
(Qur’an 105:1–5)
The army was destroyed before it could harm the Kaʿbah. This miraculous protection of the Sacred House took place shortly before the Prophet’s birth. The Arabs marked time by this event, so they would say about a person’s age that he was born in the Year of the Elephant, or so many years before or after it.
Most scholars of Sīrah agree that the Prophet ﷺ was born in the Year of the Elephant. This timing is full of wisdom. At the very moment when Allah preserved His Ancient House from destruction, He was preparing the world for the birth of the one who would purify that House from idols and call all of humanity to the worship of Allah alone.
The Birth in Makkah
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in the city of Makkah, the place of the Kaʿbah and the center of Arabia’s religious and social life. His clan, Banū Hāshim, was among the most honored families of Quraysh, the custodians of the Sacred House and the leaders of the city.
The scholars mention that he was born on a Monday. This is confirmed in an authentic hadith. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Mondays, he said:
عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ سُئِلَ عَنْ صَوْمِ يَوْمِ الِاثْنَيْنِ، فَقَالَ:
«فِيهِ وُلِدْتُ، وَفِيهِ أُنْزِلَ عَلَيَّ»
“He was asked about fasting on Monday. He said, ‘On it I was born, and on it the revelation was sent down to me.’”
(Sahih Muslim)
The exact date in the lunar month is a matter where scholars differed, though many biographers mention the 12th of Rabīʿ al‑Awwal. What is important for the student of Sīrah is to know that his birth is historically and religiously connected to the lunar calendar, and that the day of Monday has a special link to both his birth and his prophethood.
He was born into a noble household. His father, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbd al‑Muṭṭalib, had passed away before his birth, so he came into the world as an orphan from the father’s side. This early test was part of the divine plan for his life and will be discussed in detail in later chapters.
The home in which he was born was known among the people of Makkah, and later became a place people could point to historically. His birth in Makkah, at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, placed him at the crossroads of tribes, travelers, and trade routes, which would later be important for the spread of his message to all corners of Arabia.
Meaning and Significance of His Name
Before the coming of the Prophet ﷺ, the name “Muhammad” was extremely rare among the Arabs. They usually named their children with common tribal names or names linked to strength or honor. Some reports mention that very few people carried this name before his birth. His grandfather, ʿAbd al‑Muṭṭalib, chose this unique name for him.
The name “Muhammad” comes from the Arabic root ح م د which has the meaning of praise. “Muhammad” means “the one who is often praised” or “the one praised over and over again.” Another of his names, “Ahmad,” carries the meaning of “the one who praises Allah most” or “the most praiseworthy.”
The Qur’an records the name “Muhammad” explicitly, and also “Ahmad”:
مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.”
(Qur’an 33:40)
وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَا بَنِيٓ إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ
“And when Jesus, son of Mary, said, ‘O Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad.’”
(Qur’an 61:6)
The Prophet ﷺ described some of his names in a famous hadith. He said:
عَن جُبَيْرِ بْنِ مُطْعِمٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ:
«إِنَّ لِي أَسْمَاءً، أَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، وَأَنَا أَحْمَدُ، وَأَنَا الْمَاحِي الَّذِي يَمْحُو اللَّهُ بِيَ الْكُفْرَ، وَأَنَا الْحَاشِرُ الَّذِي يُحْشَرُ النَّاسُ عَلَى قَدَمِي، وَأَنَا الْعَاقِبُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بَعْدَهُ أَحَدٌ»
“I have several names. I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, and I am al‑Māḥī by whom Allah erases disbelief, and I am al‑Hāshir at whose feet the people will be gathered, and I am al‑ʿĀqib, after whom there is no prophet.”
(Sahih al‑Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
Each name carries a meaning that reflects a part of his mission and status. The name “Muhammad” indicates that he is praised by Allah, by the angels, by the believers in this world, and by the creation on the Day of Judgment. The frequent repetition of his name in prayer, in the call to prayer, in the tashahhud, and in daily speech among Muslims across the world is a living reflection of this meaning.
His name is directly linked with faith itself. The testimony by which a person enters Islam includes his name:
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أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
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“I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
The name “Muhammad” is not just a historical label. It expresses his reality as the most praised and praiseworthy servant of Allah, and it is joined with the name of Allah in the declaration of faith that defines a Muslim.
Early Signs and Blessings
From the very beginning of his life, there were indications that this child was chosen by Allah for a great mission. The detailed miracles and events of his childhood will be discussed in their own chapters, but here it is important to note that the earliest period surrounding his birth was marked by blessings and signs.
Reports from his wet nurse, Ḥalīmah al‑Saʿdiyyah, will appear in the later chapter about his nursing and early childhood. There she describes how her family experienced sudden increase in provision and goodness when he came under her care. These accounts, while belonging to that later period, show that those who interacted with him from the earliest days felt that his presence brought khayr, or goodness.
Even before his birth, some of the People of the Book were expecting a final prophet. The Qur’an mentions that previous scripture contained descriptions of him:
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written [mentioned] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel.”
(Qur’an 7:157)
This means that his coming was not random. His birth in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant, his noble lineage, and the anticipation preserved in earlier scripture were all part of a divine plan that was unfolding gently from the day he entered this world.
From the time of his birth, he was under the special care of Allah. Later events in his youth and adulthood, which this course will cover in sequence, will show how he was protected from common evils, guided toward truth, and prepared for the heavy responsibility of prophethood.
The birth of Muhammad ﷺ is not only a date in history. It is the starting point of the final and universal message to humanity, a mercy that Allah Himself described:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
“And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”
(Qur’an 21:107)
His coming into the world in Makkah, in the Year of the Elephant, with the blessed name Muhammad, and surrounded by early signs of divine care, marks the beginning of that mercy in human history.