His age: the views of the scholars

The most widespread view is that he died at sixty-three. The two Sahihs report, from Aïcha: the Messenger of Allah died at sixty-three years. Mouslim reports through Jabir, from Mouawiya: the Prophet died at sixty-three, Abou Bakr died at sixty-three, and Oumar died at sixty-three. And Ibn Abbas used to say, in the versions of Mouslim and Ahmad: he was sent at forty, remained in Mecca thirteen years, then emigrated ten years, and died at sixty-three. Ammar, freedman of the Banu Hachim, reports from Ibn Abbas: forty years at his mission, fifteen years at Mecca between fear and safety, and ten years at Medina: making sixty-five. As for the hadith of Anas in the two Sahihs: "He was neither imposingly tall nor short; neither glaringly white nor brown; neither crisp-curly in tufts nor long and flowing; Allah sent him at the head of forty years: he remained ten years in Mecca and ten in Medina, and Allah took him at the head of sixty, with not twenty white hairs upon his head or beard": it does not contradict it, for the Arabs often omit fractions of numbers.

Other, weaker views are also related: sixty years (one version of Anas, held by Rabi’a as best preserved), sixty-five (again, from Ammar and from Daghfal ibn Hanzala, whom the Tirmidhi judges unknown in transmission), sixty-two (in Qatada), sixty-two years and a half (in Mak’houl), and the very strange report of al-Hasan: the Quran came down eight years at Mecca and ten after the emigration, which would make fifty-eight years on the majority view of his age at mission. Ahmad rules: what is established with us is sixty-three years. And the correct is the most widespread: sixty-three years, agreeing with the sound versions of Aïcha, Anas, Mouawiya, Ibn Abbas and Sa’id ibn al-Moussayyab.