Book of History

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Qur'an began to be revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the age of forty-three. He stayed in Makkah for ten years and in Madinah for ten years, and when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, his blessed age was sixty-three years.

Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) delivering a sermon, saying that at the time of his death the blessed age of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sixty-three years, that of the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), was sixty-three years, and "I too have reached sixty-three years."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Revelation came down to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the age of forty. Then he stayed for thirteen years in Makkah and ten years in Madinah, and at the time of his death he was sixty-three years old.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: At the time of his death the blessed age of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sixty-five years.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent as a prophet at the age of forty. He stayed in Makkah for fifteen years and in Madinah for ten years, and at the time of his death he was sixty-five years old.

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Revelation came down to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the age of forty. He stayed in Makkah for ten years and in Madinah for ten years.

Hisham bin Urwah said: Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam at the age of sixteen. He did not stay behind from any expedition with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and when he was martyred he was over sixty years old.

It is narrated from Abu Ishaq that at the time of their death the blessed age of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), of the two Shaykhs and of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was sixty-three years, and the age of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was somewhat over seventy.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I collected al-Muhkam during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator said: I said: "What is meant by al-Muhkam?" He said: "Al-Mufassal."

Someone other than Hushaym added: "He passed away when I was ten years old."

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, I was ten years old, and when he passed away, I was twenty years old.

Sayyiduna Maslamah bin Mukhallad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was born when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, and when he passed away I was ten years old.

Sinan bin Salamah al-Hudhali reports from his father that his grandfather, Sayyiduna Sinan bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him), was born on the day of the Battle of Hunayn. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for him, put his blessed saliva in his mouth, passed his hand over his face and prayed for blessing for him.

Salim said: When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) died, he was fifty-five years old.

Ma'dan bin Abi Talhah said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was wounded on a Wednesday, when four days of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah remained.

Hisham reports from his father that on the day Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) became a Muslim, he owned forty thousand dirhams.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, she was nine years old, and when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, she was eighteen years old.

Sayyiduna Amr bin Hurayth (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the day of the Battle of Badr I was in my mother's womb.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: On the day of the Battle of Uhud I was presented before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when I was fourteen years old. He (peace and blessings be upon him) considered me too young and sent me back. On the day of the Battle of the Trench I was presented before him (peace and blessings be upon him) when I was fifteen years old, and he granted me permission for jihad.

Hilal bin Yasaf said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam after forty men and eleven women.

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The first to accept Islam with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

This was mentioned to Ibrahim, and he rejected it and said: Abu Bakr.

Salim said: I said to Ibn al-Hanafiyyah: Was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) the first of the people to accept Islam? He said: No.

Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The first to make their Islam public were seven fortunate ones: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Bilal, Sayyiduna Khabbab, Sayyiduna Suhayb, Sayyiduna Ammar and the mother of Ammar, Sayyidah Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with them). As for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his uncle prevented anyone from harming him, and as for Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), his people prevented anyone from harming him. The others were seized by the disbelievers, dressed in coats of iron mail and left to scorch in the heat of the sun, until their exhaustion reached its utmost limit. Then they gave the disbelievers what they demanded. Then the people of each of them came to him with leather mats holding water, threw them into them and lifted them by their sides, except for Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him). When evening came, Abu Jahl came and began to abuse Sayyidah Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with her) and speak obscenely, then he stabbed her with a spear in her private part and martyred her. She was the first martyr in Islam. The exception was Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): his own life became of little worth to him for the sake of Allah, until even the disbelievers grew weary of him. They put a rope around the neck of Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), then ordered their boys, and they ran with him between the two mountains of Makkah, while Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) kept saying: Ahad, Ahad (One, One).

Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: They gave them what they demanded, except for Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him). They kept pressing his back against heated stones and tormenting him, until the fluid of his back was gone.

Sayyiduna Tariq bin Shihab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the Muhajirun, and he was subjected to great suffering in the path of Allah.

Kardus said: Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) was the sixth of those to accept Islam; he had a sixth of Islam.

Sayyiduna al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the day of the Battle of Badr, Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and I were presented before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he considered us too young. Then we both took part in the Battle of Uhud.

Asim said: Subayh asked Abu Uthman: Did you see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: I became a Muslim in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I paid zakah to him three times, but I was not able to meet him.

Suwayd bin Ghafalah said: The sadaqah collector of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us.

Sayyiduna Tariq bin Shihab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and during the time of the two Shaykhs, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), I took part in thirty-three or forty-three battles and expeditions.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the first person who offered prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

Amir said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): Do you dislike my caliphate? Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was in this matter before you.

Amr bin Murrah said: I heard Sayyiduna Ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him), who was one of those who took part in the Pledge of Ridwan.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw myself as the sixth of six; there was no other Muslim on the earth besides us.

Sayyiduna Abu Thawr al-Fahmi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Udays (may Allah be pleased with him), who took part in the Pledge of Ridwan, came to us. He ascended the pulpit, praised and glorified Allah, and then mentioned Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Thawr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then we went to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was under siege, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the fourth to have accepted Islam.

Sayyiduna Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the hair between his lip and chin was white. Sayyiduna Abu Juhayfah was asked: How old were you at that time? He said: I used to shape arrows and fit them with feathers.

It is narrated from Abu Ishaq that Abdullah bin Utbah and a man of Hamdan disagreed about a matter. The man of Hamdan said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was older than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abdullah said: No, rather the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was older than Abu Bakr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away at the age of sixty-three. Amir bin Sa'd al-Bajali said: I will judge between you. Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me that he was with Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away at the age of sixty-three, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred at the age of sixty-three, and I am fifty-seven years old today.

Ja'far narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam at the age of seven. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, he was twenty-seven years old, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred at the age of fifty-seven.

Amir said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): Who was the first to become a Muslim? Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Have you not heard the verses of Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him): When you wish to mention a trustworthy brother, then mention Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and his great deeds. After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he is the best of all creation, the most pious, the most just and the most faithful in keeping his word. He is second in rank and station, and first in affirming the truth of the Messengers.