Khaled bin Sinan

Khaled bin Sinan al-'Absi (Arabic: خالد بن سنان العبسي) was a semi-legendary historical figure from the Banu Abs tribe and a Prophet claimant living on the Arabian Peninsula, a generation before Muhammad. He is the earliest known historical Prophet claimant from pre-Islamic Arabia who, like Muhammad, fought paganism and preached monotheism to his people in the Hejaz. Many details about the life of Khaled are disputed in Islamic sources, such as the location of his tomb or whether he was a true or false Prophet.

In Islamic tradition, the legacy of Khaled is defined by three legendary miracles. The most famous was his extinguishing the Nar al-Harratayn, a catastrophic volcanic fire or inferno that rose from a cave to threaten his region. He was also credited for saving his people from a monstrous and mythical bird of prey that snatched up livestock and children, by praying to God to strike down the species down into extinction. His final famous feat was his deathbed prophecy, where he instructed his sons to exhume his corpse three days after his burial once they spotted a specific animal herding sheep around his grave, promising that he would temporarily resurrect to reveal the secrets of the past and the future. While the animal appeared, as he predicted, his sons aborted Khaled's commands out of fear for the tribal mockery that would result from them exhuming his corpse.

Khaled continues to be revered in the present day by some Muslim populations, especially in North Africa. There are at least five locations across the Muslim world that are believed to have his grave: Gorgan in Iran, Manbij in Syria, Biskra in Algeria, Tebessa in Algeria, and a site near Kairouan in Tunisia. In Algeria, one town, Sidi Khaled, is named after Khalid, and the community at this town believes that the local Sidi Khaled Mosque, which is one of Algeria's national heritage sites, has the tomb of Khaled. This mosque had, in some periods of Islamic history, become pilgrimage destination.

Ancestry Genealogists including Ibn al-Kalbi have attributed Khaled bin Sinan as being a descendant of Adnan through the Banu Abs branch of the Ghatafan, hence making Khaled an Adnanite of the Qays 'Aylan tribal group. His full lineage was given as; Khalid, son of Sinan, son of Ghaith, son of Maritah, son of Makhzum, son of Rabi'ah, son of 'Aws, son of Malik, son of Ghalib, son of Qutay'ah, son of 'Abs, son of Baghid, son of Rayth, son of Ghatafan. Genealogists, while they agreed that Adnan was descended from Ishmael, differed on how many fathers there were between Adnan and Ishmael; hence Khalid bin Sinan was an Ishmaelite but with uncertain lineage.

Time period Muhammad Shafi places Khaled bin Sinan as existing before the coming of Jesus. Ibn Kathir, however, places Khaled as existing in the 6th century CE, being born 50 years before the Year of the Elephant event. Khaled's daughter lived contemporary to the Sasanian ruler Khosrow I (c. 531–579).

Prophethood Dispute of prophethood There is a dispute whether Khaled was considered to be a prophet or not in the Islamic tradition. Ibn Arabi considered Khaled to have been a prophet, but not a messenger. Majlisi stated in Bihar al-Anwar that Khaled was "most likely" a prophet. Some Islamic scholars have also transmitted narrations of Khaled having a status as being a prophet who was forgotten by his people, but these narrations are of disputed authenticity. There are also narrations where Khaled is identified as being the prophet sent to the Companions of the Rass that are mentioned in the Qur'an. Ibn Babawayh states that Khaled was a minor prophet whose prophethood "should not be denied" by Muslims.

Ibn Kathir disagreed that Khaled was a prophet, citing a Hadith where Muhammad himself narrated that there was no prophet that appeared between him and Jesus.

Prophetic miracles Muslim scholars have transmitted narrations and traditions regarding miracles that Khaled allegedly performed during his lifetime as a prophet. Another tradition cites Khaled as being able to stop a large man-eating avian beast by faithful prayers to God.

One of the transmitters of the stories was Al-Mu'alla ibn al-Mahdi. The authenticity of Al-Mu'alla was criticized by Nur al-Din al-Haythami and Abu Hatim, the latter also noted that Al-Mu'alla generally brought unsound narrations. Ibn Kathir affirms that the story of Khaled and the fire is disputed, but attributes its chain of narration to Ibn Abbas and then adds on that the story is not reliable evidence of Khaled's prophethood. The mausoleum of Khaled bin Sinan, on the top of a mountain at the edge of the Khalid Nabi Cemetery in Golestan province, Iran. Algerian Islamic traditions, such as those transmitted by 'Abd al-Rahman al-Akhdari, state that Khaled was buried in Biskra, Algeria where the Sidi Khaled Mosque now stands.