Birthplace of Prophet Muhammad or Mawlid (مولد) is a very important historical location in human history because this is the place where the Holy
The birthplace of Prophet Muhammad holds great value for Muslims. This location enjoys a very high national and religious status, and its authenticity has been proven by Khabr-e-Mutawatir (the irrefutable chain of successive narrators). 1 According to Shaikh Nabhani, this place is considered to be the most sacred, after the Holy Ka’bah in Makkah. 2 Many people come to pray at this place as the scholars of Islam state that prayers are accepted here. 3
This birthplace is located in one of the ancient streets of She’b Bani Hashim, i.e., Souq Al-Layl, situated at the eastern side of the Masjid Al-Haram. Currently, Makkah AL-Mukarramah library is located on the birthplace of the Holy
Different scholars of different eras have quoted numerous opinions regarding the exact location of the Mawlid. Some stated that its exact location cannot be determined because the location was not preserved in the early days of Islam. Later on, however, such reservations have been taken care of and all the questions regarding the location of Mawlid have been answered, and details of its transformation throughout the phases of history have been provided.
Al-Ayash States that it was difficult to indicate the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (which is the size of a bed) because it was unclear whether he was born in Makkah or elsewhere. Hence, firstly, it had to be determined whether he was born in Makkah or not. If he was born in Makkah, then the house, and the part of the house needed to be determined as well. He also stated that these places were not preserved or protected initially because Prophet Muhammad was born in the age of ignorance and no arrangements were made to preserve this location. When Islam came to these regions, even then, these places were not protected since the companions of the Holy
The fact that Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah is based on a hadith quoted by Imam Fakehi in Akhbar-e-Makkah fe Qadeem Al-Dahr wa Hadithehi. Imam Fakehi was an eminent historian 9 and scholar of hadith of the 9th century C.E. who is revered by many, and his research and books are considered to be one of the authorities on the history of Makkah. He narrates that the Holy Prophet said:
مولدي مكة ومهاجري المدينة. 10
Place of my birth is Makkah and the place where I migrated to is Madinah.
The hadith has also been quoted in Musnad Abi Bakr Al-Siddiq. 11 Imam Al-Fasi also endorsed the fact that Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah and stated that this has been proved by Khabar-e-Mutawatir (irrefutable chain of narrators). 12 Furthermore, Imam Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyah categorically rejected the confusion which was created by some people about the location of the Mawlid and wrote:
لا خلاف أنه ولد بجوف مكة، وأن مولده كان عام الفيل، وكان أمر الفيل تقدمة قدّمها الله لنبيه وبيته. 13
There is no disagreement regarding the fact that the (Holy) Prophet was born in the in Makkah in the year of the Elephant. The incident of the Elephant was a divine favor presented by Allah to His Prophet and his household.
This shows that Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah. However, in Makkah, people gave various opinions regarding the exact location of the Mawlid initially. Imam Yousef Al-Shami 14 and Ali Shabbir 15 quoted that there was a possibility that the Mawlid was located in Radam, however, Al-Shokani provided evidence that the chain of those narrations was weak 16 and unreliable. This clarifies that Radam did not contain the location of the Mawlid.
Some people said that Prophet Muhammad was born near Mount Safa, but the scholars refuted this claim and termed it to be strange 17 and illogical. Majority of the scholars agree on the fact that Prophet Muhammad was born in an old house located in a street called Zuqaq Al-Mawlid (later on known as Zuqaq Al-Madkak) in Souq Al-Layl in She’b ibn Banu Hashim (also known as She’b ibn Abi Talib) in Makkah. Muhammad Abd Al-Rauf Al-Manavi states:
ولد رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم بمكة داخل الزقاق المعروف بزقاق المدكك. 18
The Messenger of Allah was born in a famous alley called Zuqaq al-Madkak in Makkah.
Ali Shabbir also endorses this view. 19 This alley was located in Souq Al-Layl. Abdullah Muhammad Abkar writes:
تقع دار مولدہ فى شعب بنى ھاشم قدیما ویسمى بشعب على كما یسمى سوق اللیل وهو مكان شرقى الحرم الشریف. 20
The house of the Holy Prophet is located in ancient She’b Bani Hashim. It is also known as She’b Ali and Souq Al-Layl. The house is located in the east side of the Masjid Al-Haram.
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Makki states:
الموضع الذى یقال له مولد النبى وهو مشھور فی الموضع الذى یقال له سوق اللیل وفى حاشية شیخنا على مولد الدردیر ولد بسوق اللیل على الصحیح فى الدار التی كانت لمحمد بن یوسف اخى الحجاج وكانت قبل ذلك بید عقیل ابن ابی طالب رضى اللّٰه عنه. 21
The place, which is known as the birth place of the Holy Prophet , is well-known and located in Souq Al-Layl. In the commentary of my Shaikh, which is written on Mawlad Al-Durdeer, on the authority of the authentic report that the Holy Prophet was born in that house of Souq Al-Layl, which was the house of Muhammad Ibn Yousuf (purchased later on from the descendants of Aqeel ibn Abi Talib), the brother of Hajjaj ibn Yousuf. Earlier, this house was owned by Aqeel ibn Abi Talib.
The above-mentioned extract is transmitted by the scholar of Hadith, Shaikh Abdullah Al-Ghazi in his book 22 and by Imam ibn Hajjar Al-Haythmi 23 as well. In this regard, Imam Al-Shokani has written that it is prevalent that the Holy
وكذا فى مولد النبی وھو موضع مشھوربشعب بنى ھاشم. 25
And similarly, (the prayers are accepted) at the birthplace of the Holy Prophet which is a famous place in She’b Bani Hashim.
The same has been endorsed by Muhammad Al-Fasi as well. 26 Ibn Abd Al-Bar adds the following, regarding the birthplace of the Holy
انه ولد في شعب بني هاشم. 27
The Holy Prophet was born in the valley of Bani Hashim.
The evidence provided above alludes to the fact that there was no contradiction or confusion in locating the Mawlid of Prophet Muhammad . 28 Furthermore, Abdullah Muhammad Abkar added that the location of the house mentioned was well known to the people of Makkah. 29
Likewise, Shaikh Abu Suleiman also cited a list of authors belonging to Makkah, including their works, as evidence for the location of the sacred birthplace. He states that the history of Makkah, in terms of research, was acquired through the writers of Makkah. Fortunately, these works were written by those scholars and jurists, who distinguished the right information from doubtful or false ones. Indeed, the study of their intellectual works is a proof of their intellectual standards. These writings include Sheikh Abu Al-Waleed Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad Al-Azraqi’s (223 A.H.) book: ‘Akhbar Makkah wa ma Ja’a feha min Al-Aathar’..., Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ishaq Al-Fakehi’s (225 A.H.) book: ‘Akhbar Makkah fe Qadeem Al-Dahr wa Hadithih’… Hafiz Abu Al-Taiyyab Taqi Al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali Al-Fasi Al-Makki Al-Maliki’s (775 A.H.) book: ‘Shifa’ Al-Ghiram be Akhbar Al-Balad Al-Haram’, Jamal Al-Din Muhammad Jarullah ibn Muhammad Nooruddin ibn Abi Bakr ibn Ali ibn Zaheer Al-Qureshi Al- Makhzomi’s (986A.H.) book: ‘Al-Jamie al-Latif fi Fadal Makkah wa Ahluha wa Bna' Al-Bait Al-Sharif’, Muhammad Qutb Al-Din ibn Ahmad Aladdin ibn Muhammad Al-Nehrovani Al-Makki Qutubi's (917 A.H.) book: ‘Al-'Ielam be-‘Ielam Bayt Allah Al-Haram fe Tarikh Makka Al-Musharifa’, Ali ibn Abdul Qadir Al-Tabri's (1070 A.H.) book: ‘Alarj Al-Maski Fe Tarikh Al-Makki wa Tarajim Al-Muluk Al-Khulafa’, Ali ibn Taj Al-Din Al- Sanjari's (1057 A.H.) book: ‘Minaayih Al-Karam fe Akhbar Makkatan wal Mayt wa Walat Al-Haram’, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Salim ibn Umar Al-Makki Al-Maliki Al-Marof ibn Sabagh’s (1321 A.H.) book: ‘Tehsil Al-Maram fe Akhbar Al-Mayt Al-Haram wal Mashair Al-Azam wa Makkatu wal Haram wa Walatha Al-Fakham’, Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Hazrawai’s (1327 A.H.) book: ‘Al-Aqd Al-Thameen fe Fadail Al-Balad Al-'Amin’, Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazi Al-Makki Al–Hanifi’s (1365 A.H.) book: ‘Afadt Al-Anam be Dhikr Akhbar Al-Balad Al-Haram’, Marbi Sheikh Abdul Malik ibn Abdul Qadir ibn Ali Al-Maroof Al-Tarablesi's (1416 A.H.) book: ‘Dalil Al-Athar Al-Matlubat fe Makka Al-Mahbuba’ and historian Sheikh Atiq ibn Ghayis Al-Baladi's (1431 A.H.) book: ‘Maealim Makka Al-Tarikhiat wa ‘ala Thirya’. According to these mentioned scholars, the birthplace of the Holy
In 20th century A.D., a library was built over it, and was called Makkah Al-Mukarramah Library. The exact location of this library is: Al-Masjid Al-Haram Rd, Al-Haram, Mecca 24231, Saudi Arabia, and its location coordinates are: 21.4249° N, 39.8298° E. 31
It is clear from all the aforementioned references that the existing location of the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad is transmitted by numerous chains of narrators, which is illustrated explicitly by scholars of history and there is no doubt or confusion in it.
Determining the exact place or room in which the Holy
وموضع مسقط رأسه الشریف فى هذا المحل المعروف الى الآن وهو موضع مثل التنور. 32
The sacred area in the birthplace of the Holy Prophet , which became famous (when it was known that) he prostrated here (after his sacred birth) is as bright as (a lightened) oven.
Ibn Jubair has mentioned some details which elucidate the meaning of ‘as bright as a (lightened oven)’ as recorded by Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ahmed. He states:
... والموضع المقدس الذي سقط فيه ساعة الولادة السعيدة المباركة التي جعلها اللّٰه رحمة للأمة أجمعين محفوف بالفضة 33
… The sacred place where the blessed moment of the joyous birth occurred, ordained by Allah as a mercy to the entire nation, is adorned with silver.
The aforementioned references clarify that the birthplace of the Holy Prophet is known and narrated through authentic sources. The exact location was marked and people used to visit it, but later on, when the Ottoman Caliphate was destroyed, many historical monuments and artefacts were destroyed by the local government, so it is possible that the exact details mentioned above (regarding the place where the blessed body of Prophet Muhammad was laid after birth) cannot be located, but in the light of the evidence presented above, it becomes clear that it was marked.
This claim has been staunchly made because the narrations have been provided by a group of authors who are reliable, and most of them are scholars, jurists, hadith transmitters, and judges of Makkah; and their reports about the birthplace of the Holy
The house in which Prophet Muhammad was born, originally belonged to Abdul Muttalib, who was the paternal grandfather of the Holy Prophet . The house was given to Abdullah 40 and later on, it was given to Prophet Muhammad . When the Holy