Special features of the best of creation, Prophet Muhammad [Allah bless him], based on Ahadith [narrations]. Taken from ‘Khasais Nabawiyatul Kubra‘ by Allamah Imam Suyuti [911 AH], who is one of the most prolific authors in the Islamic world. Headings and subheadings are also included for ease. The Ahadith goes in chronological order, beginning with narrations from before Prophethood, regarding our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Finally, a summary after each chapter has been included to ease understanding.
Contents
Before Prophethood
The Prophethood of The Prophet ﷺ before the blowing of the soul into Adam عليه السلام
Taking a pledge from all the Prophets to believe in our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Supplication of Ibrahim عليه السلام for The Prophet ﷺ
Mention of The Prophet ﷺ in the earlier scriptures
Statements of Rabbis and Priests regarding The Final Prophet ﷺ
The year of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Amazing events that occured during the suckling period of The Prophet ﷺ
Special features and miracles regarding the creation of The Prophet ﷺ
What has been narrated regarding the seal of Prophethood
[More chapters coming Insha-Allah]
Before Prophethood
The Prophethood of The Prophet ﷺ before the blowing of the soul into Adam عليه السلام
Hadith 1
عَنْ مَيسَرَةَ الفَجْرِ قال قلتُ يا رسولَ اللَّهِ متى كُنتَ نَبِيًّا قال وآدَمُ بينَ الرُّوحِ والجَسَدِ
On the authority of Maisarat Al-Fajr [Allah bless him], he said: I said, O Messenger of Allah, when were you a Prophet? He said, “ Whilst Adam [Allah bless him] was between the soul and the body.”
[Musnad Imam Ahmad (59/5), Mustadrak Imam Hakim (608-609/2), Imam Bukhari in Tarikh Kabir (274/7)]
Hadith Grade: Sahih
Hadith 2
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَتَى وَجَبَتْ لَكَ النُّبُوَّةُ قَالَ “ وَآدَمُ بَيْنَ الرُّوحِ وَالْجَسَدِ
[Sunan at-Tirmidhi (3377), Mustadrak Imam Hakim (609/2)]
Grade: Sahih according to the conditions of Imam Muslim
Hadith 3
[عن العرباض بن سارية]
قال رسل الله صل الله عليه وسلم: إنِّي عندَ اللهِ لخاتِمُ النَّبيِّينَ، وإنّ آدمَ لمنجدِلٍ في طينتِه
Narrated Irbad Ibn Saribah [Allah bless him] that the Messenger of Allah [Allah bless him] said: ‘Surely I [was] by Allah seal of the Prophets [Allah bless them], whilst Adam [Allah bless him] was [still] in earth form.
[Musnad Imam Ahmad (127/4), Ibn Hibban (2093), Mustadrak Imam Hakim (600/2)]
Hadith Grade: Sahih (The chain of Imam Ahmad and Ibn Hiban). As for the chain of Imam Hakim its weak due to Abu Bakr Ibn Abdullah Abu Maryam.
SummaryThese Ahadith establish that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was chosen above all the the creation. Also all these narrations establish that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the best of all creation. |
Taking a Pledge From all the Prophets to Believe in Our Prophet, Muhammad (ﷺ)
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَـٰقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ لَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُكُم مِّن كِتَـٰبٍۢ وَحِكْمَةٍۢ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌۭ مُّصَدِّقٌۭ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِۦ وَلَتَنصُرُنَّهُۥ ۚ قَالَ ءَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكُمْ إِصْرِى ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَقْرَرْنَا ۚ قَالَ فَٱشْهَدُوا۟ وَأَنَا۠ مَعَكُم مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰهِدِينَ ٨١
˹Remember˺ when Allah made a covenant with the prophets, ˹saying,˺ “Now that I have given you the Book and wisdom, if there comes to you a messenger1 confirming what you have, you must believe in him and support him.” He added, “Do you affirm this covenant and accept this commitment?” They said, “Yes, we do.” Allah said, “Then bear witness, and I too am a Witness.” [3:81]
Supplication of Ibrahim [peace be upon him] for The Prophet (ﷺ)
رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ١٢٩
Our Lord! Raise from among them a messenger who will recite to them Your revelations, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Indeed, You ˹alone˺ are the Almighty, All-Wise.” [2:129]
Insha Allah we will soon bring the hadith of Irbad [Allah bless him] in full:
أنا دعوة أبي إبراهيم وبشارة عيسى عليهما السلام
‘I am the [answer to the] supplication of [my father] Ibrahim, and the good news of Jesus, peace be upon them’.
[Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and others]
The above two divine verses are refleccted in this noble hadith.
SummaryThe Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was the answer to the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim [Allah bless him]. He (ﷺ) was from the descendant of Ismail [Allah bless him].He (ﷺ) resided in Makkah and was bestowed with Prophethood at the age of 40. He (ﷺ) then emigrated to Madinah at the age of 53. |
Mention of The Prophet (ﷺ) in the earlier scriptures
Allah says:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ [١٥٧]
“˹They are˺ the ones who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whose description they find in their Torah and the Gospel. He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil, permits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure’’. [7:157]
The definition of ‘Rasul’ in Language is ‘One who is sent’. Its technical definition is ‘A human who receives a divine law via divine inspiration and is commanded to propagate it.
A ‘Nabi’ is one who receives divine inspiration and is not commanded to propagate.
The definition of ‘Ummi’ [unlettered] is: ‘One who can’t read or write’ and The Prophet (ﷺ) being ‘Ummi’ is a miracle [as this shows his truthfulness in his Prophethood]. The Arabs before Islam were [generally] unlettered and only a very few could read or write.
Hadith 4
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّ هَذِهِ، الآيَةَ الَّتِي فِي الْقُرْآنِ {يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا} قَالَ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَحِرْزًا لِلأُمِّيِّينَ، أَنْتَ عَبْدِي وَرَسُولِي سَمَّيْتُكَ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ لَيْسَ بِفَظٍّ وَلاَ غَلِيظٍ وَلاَ سَخَّابٍ بِالأَسْوَاقِ وَلاَ يَدْفَعُ السَّيِّئَةَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ وَلَكِنْ يَعْفُو وَيَصْفَحُ وَلَنْ يَقْبِضَهُ اللَّهُ حَتَّى يُقِيمَ بِهِ الْمِلَّةَ الْعَوْجَاءَ بِأَنْ يَقُولُوا لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ فَيَفْتَحَ بِهَا أَعْيُنًا عُمْيًا وَآذَانًا صُمًّا وَقُلُوبًا غُلْفًا.
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-As:
This Verse: ‘Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner.’ (48.8) which is in the Qur’an, appears in the Torah thus: ‘Verily We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner, and as a protector for the illiterates (i.e., the Arabs.) You are my slave and My Apostle, and I have named you Al-Mutawakkil (one who depends upon Allah). You are neither hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. You do not return evil for evil, but excuse and forgive. Allah will not take you unto Him till He guides through you a crooked (curved) nation on the right path by causing them to say: “None has the right to be worshiped but Allah.” With such a statement He will cause to open blind eyes, deaf ears and hardened hearts.’
[Sahih Bukhari: 4838]
SummaryThe Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) has been mentioned in previous scriptures, thus indicating of a final Prophet to come, who must be followed. |
Statements of Priests and Rabbis regarding the final Prophet
Hadith 5
Narrated by Asim Ibn Umar Ibn Qatadah from a group of people [Sahabah] of his tribe, who stated:
From the events that led us towards Islam: ‘We were polytheists and we used to worship Idols. The Jews were people of religion and they had knowledge, we [polytheists] didn’t.
Enmity and altercations continued between us two.
They used to threaten us by saying: ‘Surely the time is coming close, of a Prophet (ﷺ) being sent. Together with him, we shall fight you and we will destroy you just like Aad and Iram [Thamud].
We used to hear this frequently. So when Allah sent His Messenger (ﷺ) we [polytheists] accepted him when he called us towards Allah and we recognised what they used to threaten us with. So we [polytheists] believed in him and they [Jews] disbelieved in him.
So regarding this the following verse in Surah al-Baqarah was revealed:
وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ كِتَـٰبٌۭ مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌۭ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم مَّا عَرَفُوا۟ كَفَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ ۚ فَلَعْنَةُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ٨٩
Although they used to pray for victory ˹by means of the Prophet˺ over the polytheists, when there came to them a Book from Allah which they recognized, confirming the Scripture they had ˹in their hands˺, they rejected it. So may Allah’s condemnation be upon the disbelievers.’ [2:89]
[Ibn Hisham 1/141, Sunan al-Baihaqi]
Hadith Grade: Hasan
SummarySimilar to the last chapter, we find that the rabbis and pope’s have prophesied of a final prophet to come.From amongst the prophecies we find the famous story of Salman Farsi [Allah bless him]. His story can be read here: https://deenwaypoint.com/biography-of-salman-farsi/We also learn an important lesson from this Hadith. Having knowledge alone is of no benefit unless implemented into one’s life. We find in the above narration and others that the Rabbi’s had knowledge of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) but they rejected him out of sheer stubbornness and hatred. |
The pure lineage of The Prophet (ﷺ)
Hadith 6
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ بُعِثْتُ مِنْ خَيْرِ قُرُونِ بَنِي آدَمَ قَرْنًا فَقَرْنًا، حَتَّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الْقَرْنِ الَّذِي كُنْتُ فِيهِ ”.
Narrated Abu Huraira [Allah bless him]:
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “I have been sent (as an Apostle) in the best of all the generations of Adam’s offspring since their Creation. Now I am in the generation that I am in”.
[Sahih Bukhari: 3557, Musnad Ahmad 2/373,417]
Hadith 7
عن واثلة بن الأسقع عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى كِنَانَةَ مِنْ وَلَدِ إِسْمَعِيلَ وَاصْطَفَى قُرَيْشًا مِنْ كِنَانَةَ وَاصْطَفَى مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ وَاصْطَفَانِي مِنْ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ
2276 صحيح مسلم كتاب الفضائل باب فضل نسب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وتسليم الحجر عليه قبل النبوة
Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’ reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah chose Kinanah from the sons of Ishmael, he chose the Quraysh from Kinanah, he chose the tribe of Hashim from the Quraysh, and he chose me from the tribe of Hashim.”
[Sahih Muslim: 2276]
Hadith 8
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ أَبِي وَدَاعَةَ، قَالَ جَاءَ الْعَبَّاسُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَكَأَنَّهُ سَمِعَ شَيْئًا فَقَامَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ فَقَالَ ” مَنْ أَنَا ” . قَالُوا أَنْتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمُ . قَالَ ” أَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الْخَلْقَ فَجَعَلَنِي فِي خَيْرِهِمْ ثُمَّ جَعَلَهُمْ فِرْقَتَيْنِ فَجَعَلَنِي فِي خَيْرِهِمْ فِرْقَةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَهُمْ قَبَائِلَ فَجَعَلَنِي فِي خَيْرِهِمْ قَبِيلَةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَهُمْ بُيُوتًا فَجَعَلَنِي فِي خَيْرِهِمْ بَيْتًا وَخَيْرِهِمْ نَفْسًا ” .
Narrated Al-Muttalib bin Abi Wada’ah [Allah bless him]:
“Al-Abbas came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and it is as if he heard something, so the Prophet (ﷺ) stood upon the Minbar and said: ‘Who am I?’ They said: ‘You are the Messenger of Allah, upon you be peace.’ He said: ‘I am Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib, indeed Allah created the creation, and He put me in the best [group] of them, then He made them into two groups, so He put me in the best group of them, then He made them into tribes, so He put me in the best of them in tribe, then He made them into houses, so He put me in the best of them in tribe and lineage.‘”
[Musnad Ahmad 1/210, Sunan at-Tirmidhi 3608]
SummaryThe Prophet [ﷺ] was from the best of all generations, and had a pure lineage. All his forefathers were from the most honoured of their time and the best of them. Allah chose them above all the other tribes as mentioned by Ibn Qayim [Allah bless him] who states: ‘the best from all creation in lineage’.We find in the Hadith of Hiraql in Sahih Bukhari, that even Abu Sufyan [at that time he opposed the muslims] when asked by King Hiraql regarding the lineage of The Prophet [ﷺ] replied:‘He is from a noble lineage amongst us’. |
The year of the birth of the Prophet ﷺ
عَنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، قَالَ وُلِدْتُ أَنَا وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم عَامَ الْفِيلِ
Narrated Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abdullah bin Qais bin Makhramah:
from his father, from his grandfather, that he said: “I and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), were born in the Year of the Elephant“
[Sunan at-Tirmidhi: 3619, Musnad Ahmad: 215/4, Mustadrak al-Hakim: 603/2]
Hadith Grade: Sahih according to the conditions of Imam Muslim [Imam Hakim], and likewise Imam Dhahabi agrees on its authenticity.
From the above narration and others we can establish that The Prophet ﷺ was born on what was call ‘The year of the elephant’. The reason for why this particular year was called ‘The year of the elephant’ was due to an extraordinary event that occurred. This event is mentioned in the Quran:
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ ١ أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍۢ ٢ وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ ٣ تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ ٤ فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍۢ مَّأْكُولٍۭ ٥
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the People of the Elephant? Has He not turned their plan into nullity? And He sent upon them flying birds in flocks, throwing upon them stones of baked clay, and thus He turned them into an eaten-up chaff. [105: 1-5]
The Noble Surah of the Quran, Surah al-Fil [The Elephant] is regarding Abraha and his army, who marched on intending to destroy the Kabah. Almighty Allah turned their plan into nothing, destroying Abraha and his army and protecting the Kabah.
Summary
The event of year of the elephant occurred 50 days before the birth of the Prophet ﷺ according to authentic reports. The wisdom behind this event was to lay the foundation of what was going to occur [The birth of The Prophet ﷺ]. Also to show the great status our Prophet ﷺ will have in the future.This event is a sign and a great lesson, so be conscious of Allah regarding the prohibitions and worship Allah till the end! |
Amazing events that occurred during the suckling period of The Prophet ﷺ
The companions of the Prophet ﷺ asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ‘Inform us regarding yourself [ﷺ]’ ? He ﷺ said “Ok, I am [the answer] to the supplication of my father Ibrahim [Alahisalaam], the glad tidings of Esa [Alahisalaam] [which he prophesied], and when my mother gave birth to me, she saw a bright light coming out from her, that enlightened the palaces of Sham. I was suckled by [Halima Sa’diya Radiyallahu Anha] from Banu Sa’d Ibn Bakr.
Once when I was with them two men with white clothes came to me, along with them was a basin of gold, filled with cold water. They made me lie down, thereafter split my chest and washed my heart with water, until it was purified and returned to how it was. Then one of them said to the other: ‘Weigh him with 10 people from his nation’. I outweighed them [in terms of status and honour]. Then he said: ‘Weigh him with 100 from his nation’. I outweighed them. Then he said: ‘Weigh him with a 1000 from his nation’. I outweighed them. Then he said: ‘Leave him [ﷺ], for if you to weigh him with his entire nation, he will outweigh them’ ’’.
[Narrated by Ibn Ishaq [Radiyallhahu Anhu] with a good chain]
Summary
This vision that Aaminah [Radiyallahu Anha] saw when she gave birth to the Prophet ﷺ in which the palaces of Sham were lit, happened in a wakeful state. All of this is from the virtues of the Prophet ﷺ and his great status, at the same time a never-ending manifestation to the Prophethood of The Messenger of Allah ﷺ.Also we learn from this Hadith, the great status of The Prophet ﷺ! |
What has been narrated regarding the seal of Prophethood
عَنِ الْجَعْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ السَّائِبَ بْنَ يَزِيدَ، يَقُولُ ذَهَبَتْ بِي خَالَتِي إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ ابْنَ أُخْتِي وَجِعٌ فَمَسَحَ بِرَأْسِي وَدَعَا لِي بِالْبَرَكَةِ وَتَوَضَّأَ فَشَرِبْتُ مِنْ وَضُوئِهِ فَقُمْتُ خَلْفَ ظَهْرِهِ فَنَظَرْتُ إِلَى الْخَاتَمِ بَيْنَ كَتِفَيْهِ
فَإِذَا هُوَ مِثْلُ زِرِّ الْحَجَلَةِ .
[جامع الترمذي, كتاب المناقب عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم, باب فِي خَاتَمِ النُّبُوَّةِ]
Narrated As-Sa’ib bin Yazid:
“My maternal aunt took me to the Prophet (ﷺ), and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Indeed my nephew is in pain.’ So he wiped over my head and supplicated blessings for me. And he performed Wudu and I drank from the water of his Wudu. Then I stood behind his back, and I looked at the seal between his two shoulder blades, and it resembled the egg of a partridge [a type of bird].
[Jami’ at-Tirmidhi: 3643]
Summary
There are few different narrations regarding the seal of Prophethood on the shoulder of The Prophet ﷺ. The summary is that:It was like a visible gland on the upper part of his ﷺ left shoulder, which was the size of a pigeon egg or slightly smaller, or even likening it to a small lump with hairs resembling the whiteness of an egg.This was present on The Prophet ﷺ from birth as mentioned in books of Seerah. The Seal of Prophethood (خاتم النبوة) is a distinguishing mark on the Prophet’s (ﷺ) body, regarded as a unique physical sign of his prophethood. |
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– Extracted from Tahzib Khasais Nabawiyatul Kubra, Imam Suyuti [911 AH]
