The time and place of Prophet Muhammad’s Birth

 Although some scholars have different opinions regarding the year in which the Prophet was born, most of them agree that he was born in the Year of the Elephant.  Ibn ^Abd al-Barr said that the Prophet was born a month after the incident of the elephant.  It was also said his birth was forty (40) days after that incident, and others said after fifty (50) days.  Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his book, Dala’il An-Nubuwwah, from the route of Ibn ^Abbas, that he said,  “The Prophet was born in the year of the Elephant.”

The Prophet was born in the month of Rabi^ al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar.  The adopted saying is that he was born after the lapse of twelve (12) nights of the month of Rabi^ al-Awwal.  The scholars agree that he was born on a Monday.  Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih from the route of Abu Qatadah al-Ansariyy that when the Messenger of Allah was asked about why it is sunnah to fast on Monday, he replied:

This means:  <<This is the day on which I was born and the day on which I received the Revelation.>> The Prophet was born in the honorable city of Makkah, most likely in an area known as Suq al-Layl.  The mother of Harun ar-Rashid turned this place into a mosque, as was mentioned by the Hafidh al-^Iraqi and others.  Al-Azraqi said, “There is no difference in opinion among the people of Makkah that the Prophet was born in that house.”  Nowadays this place is known as ‘Mahallat Al- Mawlid.’

Allah knows best.