❖ Compilation: Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Anwar Zāhid ḥafiẓahullāh
✦ Narration of the Event
It is narrated that at the time of the blessed birth of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, Shifāʾ bint ʿAwf (RA)—the mother of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (RA)—was present with Āminah (RA), the Prophet’s mother.She reports:
“When the Prophet ﷺ was born, a voice came from the unseen, and the entire expanse of the East and West became illuminated before me, until I saw the palaces of Shām (Greater Syria).
As I wrapped him in cloth and laid him down, darkness suddenly spread, and I began to tremble in fear.
Then from the right side, light emerged again, and a voice asked:
‘Where was he taken?’
The reply came:
‘To the West.’
Shortly afterward, the same darkness and fear returned.
Then the voice asked again:
‘Where was he taken?’
The response came:
‘To the East.’”
✦ Ḥadīth Authentication:
➤ Verdict: Weak and Unreliable (ضعیف اور ناقابلِ اعتبار)
- This narration is found in Abū Nuʿaym’s Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah.
- Shaykh Sayyid Sulaymān Nadwī writes:
❝This narration appears in Abū Nuʿaym’s work, but the chain contains Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Zuhrī, who is unreliable.
The rest of the narrators in the chain are majhūl al-ḥāl (their reliability is unknown).❞
Sīrat al-Nabī, Vol. 3, p. 243
Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (Urdu), p. 139⚠ Conclusion:
Although the story of seeing the palaces of Shām and the accompanying supernatural voices adds dramatic detail to the Prophet’s birth, the chain of narration is weak and includes unreliable transmitters. Therefore, this report is not acceptable as authentic and should not be presented as part of reliable sīrah literature.وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ
