Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3619
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ الْعَبْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا وَهْبُ بْنُ جَرِيرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي قَالَ، سَمِعْتُ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ إِسْحَاقَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، قَالَ وُلِدْتُ أَنَا وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم عَامَ الْفِيلِ . وَسَأَلَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ قُبَاثَ بْنَ أَشْيَمَ أَخَا بَنِي يَعْمُرَ بْنِ لَيْثٍ أَأَنْتَ أَكْبَرُ أَمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكْبَرُ مِنِّي وَأَنَا أَقْدَمُ مِنْهُ فِي الْمِيلاَدِ وُلِدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَامَ الْفِيلِ وَرَفَعَتْ بِي أُمِّي عَلَى الْمَوْضِعِ قَالَ وَرَأَيْتُ خَذْقَ الْفِيلِ أَخْضَرَ مُحِيلاً . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Muttalib ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Qays ibn Makhramah reported from his father, from his grandfather: ‘I and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were born in the Year of the Elephant.’ ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan asked Qubath ibn Ashyam, the brother of Banu Ya‘mar ibn Layth: ‘Are you older, or the Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘The Messenger of Allah is greater than me, and I was born before him. The Messenger of Allah was born in the Year of the Elephant, and my mother raised me to the place.’ He said: ‘I saw the elephant’s dung, green and decayed.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan gharib hadith; we know it only through the narration of Muhammad ibn Ishaq.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase ‘my mother raised me to the place’ (rafa‘at bi ummi ‘ala al-mawdi‘) is unclear in this context and has been rendered literally.
وَسَأَلَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ قُبَاثَ بْنَ أَشْيَمَ أَخَا بَنِي يَعْمُرَ بْنِ لَيْثٍ أَأَنْتَ أَكْبَرُ أَمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكْبَرُ مِنِّي وَأَنَا أَقْدَمُ مِنْهُ فِي الْمِيلاَدِ وُلِدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَامَ الْفِيلِ وَرَفَعَتْ بِي أُمِّي عَلَى الْمَوْضِعِ قَالَ وَرَأَيْتُ خَذْقَ الْفِيلِ أَخْضَرَ مُحِيلاً .
The statement about Qubath being earlier in birth, his mother raising him ‘to the place,’ and the elephant dung is difficult to interpret from this wording.
What does ‘wa rufi‘at bi ummi ‘ala al-mawdi‘’ mean in this context?