All praise be to Allah.
In this article, we will talk about the sons of Prophet Muhammad (peace e upon him)
He (peace be upon him) has 3 sons and 4 daughters. All of his sons were born to his beloved wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (Radiallah-hu-anha) except for one son- Ibrahim, who was born to Maria al-Qibtiyah (Radiallahu-anha)
In the order of birth sequence, the children of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are as follows:
Qasim
Hz Zainab (RA)
Hz Ruqayyah (RA)
Hz Umm Kulthum (RA)
Hz Fatima (RA)
Abdullah
Ibrahim
The Sons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Qasim ibn Muhammad
Qasim was the first son of the messenger of Allah. It was Qasim from whom he took his qunyah: Abu al-Qasim (the father of Qasim). Prophet (peace be upon him ) liked being called by his qunyah and the companions would often call him by this name i.e. Abu-al-Qasim.
Narrated Jabi (RA):
A man among us begot a boy whom he named al-Qasim. The people said, “We will not call him (i.e. the father) by that Kunyah (Abu al-Qasim) till we ask the Prophet (PBUH) about it. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Name yourselves by my name, but do not call (yourselves) by my Kunyah.” Sahih Bukhari Vol 08, Book 73, Hadith 20
Qasim could not survive and died at a very young age, even before the prophethood of his father.
Abdullah ibn Muhammad
Abdullah was born after Hz Faatimah(Radiallahu anhu) . There is some difference in the opinion of the scholars as to if Abdullah was born after the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) or after it. He too could not survive and died at a very young age in 615 CE. He was called as al-Tahir or al-Tayyib.
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
Ibrahim was the last child of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) He was born in 630 CE or 08 AH. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) named him after the prophet Ibrahim. As per Arabic tradition of the time, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) appointed Umm Saif (RA) as the wet nurse of infant Ibrahim.
Anas bin Malik (RA) reported that Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said:
“A child was born this night and I named him after the name of my father Ibrahim (PBUH).”
He then sent him to Umm Saif (RA), the wife of a blacksmith who was called Abu Saif (RA). Sahih Muslim Book 30, Hadith 5733
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would often visit their house to see Ibrahim. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard that his son became seriously ill, he went to him with Abd ar-Rahman bin Auf (RA). Narrated Anas bin Malik (RA):
We went with Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) to the blacksmith Abu Saif (RA), and he was the husband of the wet-nurse of Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet). Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) took Ibrahim and kissed him and later we entered Abu Saif’s house and at that time Ibrahim was in his last breath, and the eyes of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) started shedding tears.
Abd ar-Rahman bin Auf (RA) said, “O Allah’s Apostle, even you are weeping!” He said, “O Ibn Auf, this is mercy.” Then he wept more and said, “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Lord, O Ibrahim! Indeed, we are grieved by your separation.” Sahih Bukhari Vol 02, Book 23, Hadith 390
Ibrahim passed away at the age of 16-18 months in year 632 CE. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led the funeral prayer of his son. He was buried in al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina.
Narrated Ismail (RA):
I asked Abi Aufa, “Did you see Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (PBUH)?” He said, “Yes, but he died in his early childhood. Had there been a Prophet after Muhammad, then his son might have lived, but there is no Prophet after him.” Sahih Bukhari Vol 08, Book 73, Hadith 214
When Ibrahim passed away there was a solar eclipse and the word went around that the sun had eclipsed as the result of sadness over the death of Ibrahim. Upon hearing this Muhammad(peace be upon him) denies any such reasons and quoted:
Narrated Abu Bakr (RA):
In the lifetime of the Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), the sun eclipsed and he went out dragging his clothes till he reached the Masjid. The people gathered around him and he led them and offered two rakah of prayers. When the sun (eclipse) cleared, he said, “The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the Signs of Allah; they do not eclipse because of the death of someone, and so when an eclipse occurs, pray and invoke Allah till the eclipse is over.” It so happened that a son of the Prophet (PBUH) called Ibrahim died on that day and the people were talking about that (saying that the eclipse was caused by his death). Sahih Bukhari Vol 02, Book 18, Hadith 170
May Allah make us among the righteous and allow us to be near Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his family in Jannat-ul-Firdous.
