Authored by: Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Anwar Zāhid ḥafiẓahullāh
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar, in Fatḥ al-Bārī (Volume 2, Page 344), has cited—based on Sīrah of Wāqidī—that the Prophet ﷺ spoke while in the cradle. It is also mentioned in Khaṣā’iṣ of Ibn Sabʿ that angels would rock his cradle, and the first phrase that came from his blessed tongue was:
**
الحمد لله كبيرا والحمد لله كثيرا
**
Some other phrases are also attributed in works like those of Ibn ʿĀ’id and other books on Mawlid (Prophetic Birth), such as:
**
لا إله إلا الله يا جلال ربي الرفيع
**
➤ If "Sīrah of Wāqidī" refers to his well-known work al-Maghāzī, then the Calcutta printed edition, which is currently available for reference, does not contain this incident.
➤ Even if it were present, the narrations of Wāqidī hold no weight in matters of ḥadīth authenticity due to his well-known unreliability.
➤ Ibn Sabʿ and Ibn ʿĀ’id are later scholars (muta’akhkhirīn) who are known to lack rigor in narrating from early sources.
➤ There is no evidence of this narration being found in any early, reliable source.
➤ It remains unclear where these later scholars sourced these narrations from, making their credibility questionable.
The claim that the Prophet ﷺ spoke in the cradle with specific phrases such as “الحمد لله كبيرا” or “لا إله إلا الله يا جلال ربي الرفيع” is not supported by any reliable early source.
The narrators who have recorded such claims—like Wāqidī, Ibn Sabʿ, and Ibn ʿĀ’id—are either weak or chronologically distant and unsound in transmission.
Hence, this incident cannot be considered authentic.
❖ Speaking in the Cradle
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar, in Fatḥ al-Bārī (Volume 2, Page 344), has cited—based on Sīrah of Wāqidī—that the Prophet ﷺ spoke while in the cradle. It is also mentioned in Khaṣā’iṣ of Ibn Sabʿ that angels would rock his cradle, and the first phrase that came from his blessed tongue was:
**
الحمد لله كبيرا والحمد لله كثيرا
**
Some other phrases are also attributed in works like those of Ibn ʿĀ’id and other books on Mawlid (Prophetic Birth), such as:
**
لا إله إلا الله يا جلال ربي الرفيع
**
❖ Verification of the Narration (Taḥqīq al-Ḥadīth):
➤ If "Sīrah of Wāqidī" refers to his well-known work al-Maghāzī, then the Calcutta printed edition, which is currently available for reference, does not contain this incident.
➤ Even if it were present, the narrations of Wāqidī hold no weight in matters of ḥadīth authenticity due to his well-known unreliability.
➤ Ibn Sabʿ and Ibn ʿĀ’id are later scholars (muta’akhkhirīn) who are known to lack rigor in narrating from early sources.
➤ There is no evidence of this narration being found in any early, reliable source.
➤ It remains unclear where these later scholars sourced these narrations from, making their credibility questionable.
✔ Summary:
The claim that the Prophet ﷺ spoke in the cradle with specific phrases such as “الحمد لله كبيرا” or “لا إله إلا الله يا جلال ربي الرفيع” is not supported by any reliable early source.
The narrators who have recorded such claims—like Wāqidī, Ibn Sabʿ, and Ibn ʿĀ’id—are either weak or chronologically distant and unsound in transmission.
Hence, this incident cannot be considered authentic.
