known expert of astronomy from Egypt, Mahmood Pasha has established the following points in his book, ‘At-Taqweem Al-ArabeeQabl Al-Islam Wa Tareekh Miladar-Rasool Waa Hijrati' based on his mathematical findings and other numerous factors. He said, “On the basis and in light of the event of the Elephants (of the army of Abraha) which occurred on Monday in Rabi Al-Awwal and also on the basis of the Solar eclipse that occurred at the time of the death of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) son, Ibrahim, Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) correct birth date corresponds to the ninth of Rabi Al-Awwal. With regards to the Christian Gregorian calendar this correlates to April 20 571 CE which was a Monday morning.” His research is spread over a number of pages and can be summarized as follows: 1. The Sahih of Imam Bukhari mentions at the time of the death of Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) youngest son there was a solar eclipse. This solar eclipse occurred in the year tenth Hijri and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at that time was 63 years old. 2. Using the principles of Mathematics and calculating the time of the solar eclipse that occurred in the tenth Hijri, this corresponds to Jan. 7 632 CE at approximately 8:30 A.M. in the morning. 3. This calculation also establishes that if we subtract these 63 lunar years from 632CE, we get 571CE which in specific relates to the April 12 which in turn correlates to first of Rabi Al-Awwal. 4. There are differences of opinion relating to the birth date of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), however what is universally agreed upon is that it was on Monday in the Rabi Al-Awwal and this date is restricted between the eighth and twelfth of Rabi Al-Awwal. 5. In the month of Rabi Al-Awwal (in the year 571 CE), Monday only falls on the ninth between these restricted dates i.e between the eighth and twelfth. So on this basis the birth date seems to be unequivocally on the April 20, 571 CE corresponding to the ninth Rabi Al-Awwal 632H. Furthermore, although the report of twelfth of Rabi Al-Awwal is culturally famous, it is not by any means correctly established via the appropriate calculations. So we find from the aforementioned discussion and details that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was not born on the twelfth of Rabi Al-Awwal, rather what is correct is that he was born on the ninth of Rabi Al-Awwal. Yet, what we do find and what we know correctly is that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away on the twelfth of Rabi Al-Awwal, which is well documented in the books of History and biographies, and this is not the place for such details or discussion. At this instance our intention is just to mention the day our brothers allegedly celebrate the birth day of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is not the day of his birthday, but in actual fact it is really the day that on which he died. The twelfth of Rabi Al-Awwal is generally known as the date of the demise of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); so why all this happiness and celebrations on the day he died? May Allah the most High grant us understanding and comprehension. — Translated & Annotated by Abu Khuzaimah Ansari and Abu Hibban __
