Abū Qāsim al-Suhaylī, in summary, says the following in his work "al-Rawḍ": "It is not conceivable that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away on Monday, the twelfth day of the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the eleventh year of the Hijra. For, during the Farewell Pilgrimage in the eleventh year of the Hijra, he performed the standing (wuqūf) on a Friday. That year, the first day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijja was a Thursday. If we calculate the months of that year as complete or incomplete, or some complete and some incomplete, it still does not seem possible for the twelfth day of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of that year to fall on a Monday. However, a group has tried to respond to this. Even if they tried to answer, there is only one possible way to do so, which is the difference in moon sighting (ikhtilāf al-maṭāliʿ). That is, the appearance of the new moon occurs at different times in different regions. Accordingly, the Meccans saw the crescent of Dhū al-Ḥijja on Thursday night, while the people of Medina saw it only on Friday night. This is confirmed by the statement of ʿĀʾisha and others:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) set out from Medina for the Farewell Pilgrimage five nights before the end of Dhū al-Qaʿda."
As we have previously stated, this means that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) must have departed from Medina on a Saturday. He did not leave Medina on a Thursday, as Ibn Ḥazm claimed, because at that time there would have been more than five nights left before the end of Dhū al-Qaʿda. There is no doubt about this. It is also not possible that he left Medina on a Friday, for Anas said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the ẓuhr prayer in Medina as four rakʿas, and the ʿaṣr prayer at Dhū al-Ḥulayfa as two rakʿas." From this, it is understood that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) set out from Medina five days before the end of Dhū al-Qaʿda, on a Saturday. Thus, the people of Medina saw the crescent of Dhū al-Ḥijja on Friday night. If, according to the people of Medina, the first day of Dhū al-Ḥijja was a Friday, and if the subsequent months were counted as complete, then the first day of Rabīʿ al-Awwal would be a Thursday, and the twelfth day would be a Monday. Allah knows best.
It is narrated in the authentic collections of al-Bukhārī and Muslim that Anas b. Mālik said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was neither excessively tall nor short. He was not completely white with a reddish tinge, nor was he dark. His hair was neither very curly nor completely straight. Allah sent him as a prophet at the beginning of his fortieth year. He remained (as a prophet) in Mecca for ten years, and in Medina for ten years. Allah caused him to die at the age of sixty. At his death, there were not twenty white hairs in his hair and beard."
According to a narration transmitted through Sulaymān b. Bilāl, Anas b. Mālik said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three."
Al-Bayhaqī narrated from Abū Ghālib al-Bāhilī as follows:
"I asked Anas b. Mālik the following question:
- At what age did the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) become a prophet?
- At the age of forty.
- What happened after that?
- He stayed in Mecca for ten years. He stayed in Medina for ten years. Thus, on the day Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, caused him to die, he had completed sixty years. He was among the strongest, most handsome, and most beautiful of men."
Muslim narrated from Anas b. Mālik that he said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three. Abū Bakr passed away at the age of sixty-three. ʿUmar passed away at the age of sixty-three."
It is narrated in the authentic collections of al-Bukhārī and Muslim from ʿĀʾisha that she said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three." Al-Bukhārī narrated from ʿĀʾisha and Ibn ʿAbbās that they said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in Mecca for ten years after becoming a prophet. During that time, the Qur'an was being revealed to him. He also stayed in Medina for ten years."
Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī narrated through Shuʿba from Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān that he said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three. Abū Bakr passed away at the age of sixty-three. ʿUmar passed away at the age of sixty-three."
Ibn ʿAsākir narrated through Abū Yūsuf from Anas b. Mālik that he said: The Messenger of God passed away at the age of sixty-three. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar also passed away at the age of sixty-three.
Ibn Luhayʿa narrated from ʿĀʾisha that she said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abū Bakr mentioned their birth dates in my presence. The Messenger of God was older than Abū Bakr. The Messenger of God passed away at the age of sixty-three. After him, Abū Bakr also passed away at the age of sixty-three."
Al-Thawrī narrated from Qāsim b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān that he said:
"The Messenger of God, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar all passed away at the age of sixty-three."
Hanbal narrated from Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he said: "The Qur'an was revealed to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was forty-three years old. He stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten years."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from al-Shaʿbī that he said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) became a prophet at the age of forty. He remained (in that state) for three years. Then Gabriel was sent to him with the message. After that, he stayed in Mecca for ten years. Then he migrated to Medina. He passed away at the age of sixty-three."
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) became a prophet at the age of forty. He stayed in Mecca for thirteen years. Then he was commanded to migrate. After migrating, he stayed in Medina for ten years. Then he passed away at the age of sixty-three."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-five." Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal also narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said:
"After becoming a prophet, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) resided in Mecca for fifteen years. For eight or seven years, he saw light and heard voices. For eight or seven years, revelation was sent to him. After that, he resided in Medina for ten years."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAmmār, the freedman of Banū Hāshim, that he said:
"I asked Ibn ʿAbbās the following question:
- How old was the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) when he passed away?
- I do not think that a man like you, being among the people of the Messenger of God, would be unaware of this matter.
- I asked because I have received different answers. I wanted to know what you would say about it.
- Do you know how to calculate?
- Yes...
- Then take the answer: The Messenger of God was commissioned with the message at the age of forty. After that, he resided in Mecca for fifteen years, some of it in safety and some in fear. After migrating to Medina, he lived for ten years."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Saʿīd b. Jubayr that he said:
"A man came to Ibn ʿAbbās and said:
- Was revelation sent to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for ten years in Mecca and ten years in Medina?
- Who says this? Revelation was sent to him for fifteen years in Mecca and ten years in Medina. He lived for sixty-five years or more."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-five." In his book "Shamāʾil," al-Tirmidhī, Abū Yaʿlā al-Mawṣilī, and al-Bayhaqī narrated from the genealogist Daghfal b. Ḥanzala al-Shaybānī that he said:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-five." One of the unusual opinions is that of Khalīfa b. Khayyāṭ, who narrated from Qatāda the following view:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-two." Another of these unusual opinions is that Muḥammad b. ʿĀmir narrated from Makhūl that he said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away after living sixty-two years and a few months."
Yaʿqūb b. Sufyān narrated from Makhūl that he said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-two and a half." An even more unusual opinion is that narrated by Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal from Ḥasan, who said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) received the Qur'an for eight years in Mecca and for ten years after the migration (in Medina)."
If the narrator Ḥasan is among those who say, as the majority of scholars do, that the Qur'an began to be revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the age of forty, then according to him, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lived for fifty-eight years, which is indeed a strange opinion. However, through the transmission of Musaddad, we have narrated that Ḥasan said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty." Khalīfa b. Khayyāṭ narrated from Ḥasan that he said: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) became a prophet at the age of forty-five. After that, he resided in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for eight years, and passed away at the age of sixty-three."
With this characteristic, this opinion is indeed unusual. Allah knows best.