Ibrahim ibn Muhammad

Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad was the son of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Maria al-Qibtiyya. He died at the age of 2.

Birth, illness and death

According to Ibn Kathir, quoting Ibn Sa'd, Ibrahim was born in the last month of the year 8 AH, equivalent of 630 CE. The child was named after Abraham (or Ibrahim in Arabic), the Biblical prophet revered in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. Ibrahim was placed in the care of a nurse named Umm Sayf, wife of Abu Sayf, the blacksmith, to whom Muhammad gifted goats to complement her milk supply. When Ibrahim fell ill, he was moved to a date orchard near the residence of his mother, under the care of herself and her sister Sirin. When it was clear that Ibrahim was unlikely to survive, Muhammad was informed. His reaction to the news is reported as: According to modern astronomical tables, a solar eclipse occurred on January 27, 632 that was visible from Medina.

Burial

Muhammad is also reported as having informed Maria and Sirin that Ibrahim would have his own nurse in Paradise. Different accounts relate that the ghusl for Ibrahim was performed by either Umm Burdah, or al-Fadl ibn ʿAbbas, in preparation for burial. Thereafter, he was carried to the cemetery upon a little bier by Muhammad, his uncle al-ʿAbbas, and others. Here, after a funeral prayer led by Muhammad, he was interred. Muhammad then filled the grave with sand, sprinkled some water upon it, and placed a landmark on it, saying that "Tombstones do neither good nor ill, but they help appease the living. Anything that man does, God wishes him to do well."

Qadi Iyad, in his commentary on the Hadith, claimed that "Muhammad forbade Mabur from talking to the mother of his son, but he didn't stop." According to Ibn Taimiyah and Ibn Al-Qayyim quoting a full-context narration of the Hadith, the order to kill Mabur was not for applying the punishment of adultery but rather for "violating the sanctity of his house", conditioned on Ali finding him alone with her and to prioritize what he sees over Muhammad's order:

Siblings

Qasim ibn Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Zainab bint Muhammad Ruqayya bint Muhammad Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad Fatima