The exact date of the Prophet's birth (Peace be upon him) Synopsis The Prophets birth was recorded

according to the then existing calendar as 12th Rabiul Awwal Monday in the Elephant year. The calculated date according to AD is 2 !"!#$1AD. This date does not correspond to 12!%!#%&'. The author inspects this and gi(es a )ethod *or calculating the correct date o* the Prophets birth. Those interested )ay try it and +now the truth. The exact date of the Prophet's birth ,Peace be upon hi)The exact date of the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) birth has not been determined so far and we do not know the correct date of his birth according to the Christian calendar. Historians and astronomers who had worked on this sub ect in the past ha!e gi!en !arious dates for the Prophet"#$s birth. %!en the famous %nc&clopedia 'ritannica gi!es doubtful dates and puts a (uestion mark as to the &ear of his birth. )rom this it is clearl& known that the world is not sure of the date on which the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)* who claimed to be the last of the prophets* was born. The commonl& accepted date for the Prophet"#$s birth is +,th -pril ./0 -1. 2t is said that the famous astronomer Mahmood Pasha of %g&pt* who li!ed in the 03th centur&* calculated this date. Calculations re!eal that this date does not tall& with the date recorded according to the -rabic calendar* which was same as the Hebrew calendar. The date of the Prophet's birth according to that calendar is 0+th of 4abiul -wwal of the %lephant %ra. The historic records sa& that the Christians had build a church in order to attract the -rabs* but the 5a"#$aba attracted more attention than the newl& built place of worship and -braha* the 6o!ernor of 7emen* came to Mecca to destro& the 5a"#$aba* the long re!ered place of worship of the -rabs. He brought an elephant to facilitate the task. 'ut his plans were foiled and all ended in a disaster. The Hol& 8ur"#$an refers to this e!ent in the chapter 0,.. 2t is recorded that the Prophet was born after .. da&s of the e!ent* which occurred on the 0/th of Muharram in the &ear ./, -1. The examination of the scientific records of the phases of the moon for the &ear ./, -1 re!eals that this date is Monda& the .th of Ma& ./, -1. The moon was eclipsed on Tuesda& the 9th of Ma& ./, ust before the infant Muhammad (pbuh) completed the first da& of his life on the %arth: -ccording to the songs remembered since time immemorial* it is Monda&* the 0+th of 4abiul -wwal. -t that time their calendar had a fixed number of da&s for the twel!e months; Muharram* <afar* 4abiul -wwal* 4abiul akhar* =amadul awwal* =amadul akhar* 4a ab* <hahaban* 4amadan* <hawwal* >ul ka"#$ad* and >ul ha . The twel!e months of the &ear had ?, or +3 da&s alternating from Muharram to >ulha with an occasional leap &ear in which >ulha got ?, da&s* in order to ad ust with the natural s&stem. 2n this artificial lunar calendar* which was same as the Hebrew Calendar* the dates need not necessaril& tall& with the phases of the Moon. The full moon occurred on the 0+th or0?th and the new moon on the +@th or +3th in the -rabic calendar as against the 0Ath or 0.th for the full moon and the +3th or ?,th for the new moon in the 2slamic

calendar in which the dates must tall& with the phases of the Moon. The -rabic calendar is better than man& others of its kind* because the error accumulated in +,,, &ears in it is onl& one da&. The =ews use this calendar e!en toda&. 2slam does not accept e!en this minute error in recording time. - mistake in recording historic e!ents can create a lot of confusion to the posterit&. The error in calculating the date of the Prophet"#$s birth is onl& due to this confusion. 2t had baffled e!en the renowned astronomers and their calculations ha!e gone wrong. People are made to belie!e a falsehood about the Prophet: How can 2slam* which is the perfect code of life for mankind* tolerate such a serious mistakeB <o 2slam has prescribed an errorCfree dating s&stem for the people. The last Prophet in his last da&s during the Ha athul Dida ga!e instructions to reform their calendar. 1uring the Ha athul Dida he laid down rules and regulations for the 2slamic Calendar. He made the se!en da&s of the week and the dates* which represented them* and the months* which depended on the lunar c&cle* sacred and in!iolable. He named the months in which war is forbidden (-shChurul hurum) as >ul 8aid* >ul ha * Muharram and 4a ab. The 8ur"#$an explains this automatic ceaseCfire arrangement in the !erse 3E?9. -ll wars must cease in these months* which allows a warring people enough time to think of the after effects of a war. The Prophet abolished the use of a leap &ear and ordered them to use the dates of the natural calendar* which depended strictl& on the ManFils (the phases) of the Moon. He wanted the calendar to be full& natural so that there will not be an& ad ustments and confusion in future. -ll other calendars need periodical ad ustments known as intercalation (Gasie) which is forbidden in the 8ur'an.(3E?/) The 6regorian calendar* now in !ogue in the world for recording the dates of e!ents in histor& is not scientific. 2t accumulates errors in course of time and the accumulated da&s ha!e to be remo!ed at inter!als. Dhene!er this is done* the method of calculation would change and the calendar must be renamed. The present calendar was known as the =ulian calendar in the beginning. 2n 0.@+ -1 the Pope 6regor& 0? reformed it after remo!ing 0, da&s* which had accumulated in that calendar b& then. 2t was renamed as the 6regorian calendar. The calculation methods in =ulian and 6regorian periods are different. <o if the date calculations are made without taking the intercalations into consideration* the results would be wrong and this is serious. Telling a lie about the Prophet who forbade falsehood is not a simple thing in the sight of -llah (swt). 2f we tell his date of birth* we must tell the truth. Htherwise we should admit that we do not know. 2n a recent publication under the 'oard of 2slamic Publications* the book entitled "#IThe Prophet Muhammad in the 2ndian context the Prophet"#$s date of birth is gi!en as on +, or ++ -pril ./0 -1. This clearl& shows our ignorance about the dates. The fact that a person cannot be born on two dates is totall& ignored. The commonl& accepted date for the Prophet"#$s birth +, or ++ -pril ./0-1 must correspond to 0+th of 4abiul -wwal of the -rabic calendar. 'ut according to the records* the &ear of the %lephant is ./,* not ./0-1. De can check

whether this date is correct b& simple calculations. The date of the Prophet"#$s demise is recorded correctl&* for he was famous when he passed awa&* on Monda& the @th of =une 9?+ -1 corresponding to the 0+th of 4abiul -wwal in the -rabic calendar. The span of the Prophet"#$s life can be calculated under two calendars. The number of da&s in both the calendars should be same if the dates are correct. 2t should be remembered that the 0+th of the -rabic calendar corresponds to the 0Ath of the 2slamic calendar. 1emiseE ,@ C ,9 C ,9?+ -1 J 0+ C ,? C ,,00 -H 'irthE +, C ,A C ,./0 -1 J 0+ C ,? C ,,.? 'H K He passed awa& on Monda& in the middle of 4abiul -wwal (full moon) K Hi ra took place in 4abiul -wwal after .? &ears of the %lephant %ra. Gow this has to be con!erted in to da&s to see whether both are e(ual. The number of da&s in the Christian and the -rabic &ear is ?9..+.(?9..+A++ true figure to be used for long periods) and ?.A.?9/0 da&s respecti!el&. ThereforeE -H C 9A x ?.A.?9/0 J ++9/3.A3 da&s -1 C 90 x ?9..+. L ., J ++??3.+. da&s 1ifference J ?A,.+A da&s This difference of ?A,.+A da&s is because the dates in both the calendars are not correct. Therefore the mistake must be in the calculation of the =ulian date for the Prophet"#$s birth. Gow we can examine the Prophet"#$s date of birth (,. C ,. C ,./, -1) which we ha!e arri!ed at b& following the ancient historic records. 1emiseE ,@ C ,9 C ,9?+ -1 J 0+ C ,? C ,,00 -H 'irth E ,. C ,. C ,./, -1 J 0+ C ,? C ,,.? 'H ,? C ,0 C ,,9+ &ears J ,, C ,, C ,,9A &ears Gow let us con!ert this in to da&s so that both could be compared 9+ x ?9..+. L ?0 L? J ++9/3..,, da&s -ccording to Christian %ra 9A x ?.A.?9/0 J ++9/3.A3A da&s -ccording to Muslim %ra. The absence of disparit& pro!es that both the dates are correct. Gow we can cross check this b& using another method of calculation and see if we can get the same date. The Prophet"#$s migration (Hi ra) to Madeenah is an important e!ent in the histor&. This is called the Hi ra and Hi ra %ra began with this incident. The Prophet was .? &ears old at that time. De can take the date of Miladunnabi of 0333 for this calculation. 1ate of Miladunnabi of 0333 J +/C,9C0333-1 J 0AC,?C0A+,-H Hi ra %ra attained 0A+, lunar &ear on +/C,9C0333. <o the Prophet"#$s age on this date would be 0A+, L .? J 0A/? lunar &ears. This subtracted from the date +9C,9C0333 should gi!e the Prophet"#$s date of birth according to Christian calendar. To enable this* 0A/? lunar &ear must be con!erted in to Christian calendar. ThereforeE 0A/? x ?.?.?9/0 M ?9..+A++ J0A+3.0A0? &ears (0A+3 &ears 0 month and +0 da&s). That isE ,.0A0? x 0+ J 0.93.9 months C To con!ert &ears to months multipl& b& 0+.. ,.93.9 x ?,.A? J +0.09/ 1a&s Cto con!ert months into da&s multipl& b& ?,.A?. <ubtracting this 0A+3 C ,0 C +0 from 0333 C ,9 C +/ 0333 C ,9 C +/C 0A+3 C ,0 C +0 J ,./, C ,. C ,9-1 Tuesda&. 'ut the Prophet was born on a Monda& for

certain. This discrepanc& is due to the error in the Christian calendar. '& deducting 0da& to correct the error existing in the Christian calendar we get the true date as* 0570 - 05 - 05AD. Monday. These calculations pro!e be&ond an& doubt that the last Messenger of -llah* Muhammad (pbuh) was born on MHG1-7 the ,.th of M-7 ,./, -1 according to the Christian Calendar. -N2 M-G25)-G +3M3M0A+,C.M0M+,,,