A Hundred Line Poem Recounting the Life of the Most Noble of all Creation
by ʿAlī ibn Abil-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī (author of Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah) · trans. Aboo Shaybah
A versified timeline of the Prophet's ﷺ life — 100 lines, 18 stages
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What This Poem IsPlain-English
A 100-line poem that walks through the Prophet's ﷺ entire life as a dated timeline — birth to death — in short, memorisable couplets.
Its built-in memory system: the poem pegs each event first to the Prophet's ﷺ age (weaned at 2, orphaned at 6 and 8, Messengership at 40, Hijrah at 53, death at 63), then switches to Hijrah-year numbering (Year 1 → Year 10 AH) once he reaches Madinah. Learn each stage against its age-or-year peg and the events hang off it naturally.
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The Age PegsThe spine of the whole poem
Age
What happened
Birth
Year of the Elephant, Rabīʿ al-Awwal (10th / commonly 12th), Monday at dawn; father already died.
2 · 6 · 8
Weaned at 2; mother dies at 6 (al-Abwāʾ); grandfather ʿAbdul-Muṭṭalib dies at 8.
12 · 25
First trip to Shām (Baḥīrā); second trip at 25 and marriage to Khadījah.
35 · 40
Rebuilding the Kaʿbah & the Black Stone; Messengership at 40 (Sūrah Iqraʾ).
51 · 53
The Night Journey (Isrāʾ) & five prayers; Hijrah to Madinah at 53.
63
Passed away on a Monday, having completed 63 years.
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The Timeline — 18 StagesFilter by period, then study each
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Easily Confused Points
Trap
Keep it straight
The birth date
The poem gives the 10th, then says the common view is the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Monday at dawn.
The two Zaynabs
His daughter Zaynab (died year 8) is not Zaynab bint Jaḥsh (whom he married, year 4).
Which battle when
Badr = year 2, Uḥud = year 3, al-Aḥzāb (Khandaq) = year 4/5, Khaybar = year 7, Conquest of Makkah = year 8, Tabūk = year 9.
Order at the end
Ibrāhīm's death, the Farewell Ḥajj, the completion verse, then his passing at 63 — all in year 10.
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“Before You Use This” Checklist
Can I recite the age pegs in order (2, 6, 8, 12, 25, 35, 40, 53, 63)?
Can I place Badr, Uḥud, Khandaq, Khaybar, Conquest, Tabūk in their correct years?
Do I know the Year of Sorrow (Abū Ṭālib & Khadījah) and roughly when it fell?
Can I name what happened at the Farewell Ḥajj (the completion verse)?
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Rapid-Fire Memory QuestionsCover the answers first
1. In which year was the Prophet ﷺ born, and in which month?
Reveal
The Year of the Elephant, in Rabīʿ al-Awwal (commonly the 12th), on a Monday. 📖 Line 3–4
2. At what age did he receive Messengership, and with which sūrah?
Reveal
Forty, with Sūrah "Iqraʾ." 📖 Line 22–23
3. At what age did he make Hijrah to Madinah?
Reveal
Fifty-three. 📖 Line 40
4. Which battle fell in year 2, on the 17th, during fasting?
Reveal
Badr. 📖 Line 51
5. What was revealed at the Farewell Ḥajj?
Reveal
"This day I have perfected for you your religion." 📖 Line 94
6. How old was he when he passed away, and on which day?
Reveal
Sixty-three, on a Monday. 📖 Line 96
Built from A Hundred Line Poem (trans. Aboo Shaybah). Line numbers refer to the poem. Study the full poem for each event's exact wording.