Question

Is this Hadith authentic?

Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibril (‘alayhis salam) about his age. Jibril responded that he was unaware of his exact age but mentioned a star in the fourth heaven that appears once every seventy thousand years, which he had seen seventy-two thousand times. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) then stated that he was that star.

Answer

This narration appears in some books that discuss the birth of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reported that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) once asked Jibril (‘alayhis salam) “O Jibril, how old are you?” Jibril (‘alayhis salam) replied, “O Messenger of Allah, I do not know exactly, but in the fourth veil [of the heavens], there is a star that appears once every seventy thousand years. I have seen it seventy-two thousand times.” Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) then said, “By the might of my Rabb, I am that star.”

However, Shaykh ‘Abdullah Siddiq Al Ghumari (rahimahullah), a Moroccan Scholar of the recent past has declared the Hadith a fabrication. It is not suitable to quote.

(Murshidul Ha-ir, pg. 30)

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.

Answered by: Mawlana Suhail Motala

Approved by: Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar

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التخريج من المصادر العربية

مرشد الحائر لبيان وضع حديث جابر
وروي في بعض كتب المولد النبوي عن أبي هريرة قال: سأل النبي ﷺ جبريل عليه السلام فقال: يا جبريل كم عمرت من السنين؟ فقال: يا رسول الله لست أعلم غير أن في الحجاب الرابع نجما يطلع في كل سبعين ألف سنة مرة، رأيته اثنتين وسبعين ألف مرة، فقال النبي : وعزة ربي أنا ذلك الكوكب.
وهذا كذب قبيح، قبح الله من وضعه وافتراه.