How did Muhammad die?

Muslim sources say Muhammad died in Medina in 632, aged sixty-three, and that in the illness of which he died he still felt the poison from food he had eaten at Khaybar. Watt’s Britannica biography dates that death to 8 June 632.

Key points

• Sahih al-Bukhari 3536Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) died when he was sixty three years old.Sahih al-Bukhari 3536 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ and 4466Narrated `Aisha: Allah 's Apostle died when he was sixty-three years of age.Sahih al-Bukhari 4466 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ say he died at sixty-three.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 2617Narrated Anas bin Malik: A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet (ﷺ) who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) .Sahih al-Bukhari 2617 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ says a Jewish woman brought a poisoned sheep, that he ate from it, and that he said not to kill her.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 4428Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) in his ailment in which he died, used to say, "O `Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison."Sahih al-Bukhari 4428 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ records Aisha: in the final illness he said he still felt the food from Khaybar, as if his aorta were being cut from that poison.
• Qur’an 3:144Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful.Qur’an 3:144 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ says he was a messenger who could die or be killed.
• Qur’an 69:44–46⁴⁴ And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings, ⁴⁵ We would have seized him by the right hand; ⁴⁶ Then We would have cut from him the aorta. ⁴⁷ And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him.Qur’an 69:44-47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ says that if he had invented sayings about God, God would have cut the aorta.
• Christians confess a Jesus who died and whom Thomas calls Lord and God in John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version. The resurrection of Jesus

The age and the day

Sahih al-Bukhari 3536Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) died when he was sixty three years old.Sahih al-Bukhari 3536 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says:

Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) died when he was sixty three years old.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3536 · Muhammad Muhsin Khan

Sunni hadith

Sahih al-Bukhari 4466Narrated `Aisha: Allah 's Apostle died when he was sixty-three years of age.Sahih al-Bukhari 4466 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says:

Narrated `Aisha: Allah ’s Apostle died when he was sixty-three years of age.

Sahih al-Bukhari 4466 · Muhammad Muhsin Khan

Sunni hadith

Britannica dates the death to 8 June 632 in Medina. Who was Muhammad?

The poison at Khaybar

Sahih al-Bukhari 2617Narrated Anas bin Malik: A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet (ﷺ) who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) .Sahih al-Bukhari 2617 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says:

Narrated Anas bin Malik: A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet (ﷺ) who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet and he was asked, “Shall we kill her?” He said, “No.” I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) .

Sahih al-Bukhari 2617 · Muhammad Muhsin Khan

Sunni hadith

Sahih al-Bukhari 4428Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) in his ailment in which he died, used to say, "O `Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison."Sahih al-Bukhari 4428 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says:

Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) in his ailment in which he died, used to say, "O Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 4428 · Muhammad Muhsin Khan

Sunni hadith

What the Qur’an says about his death

Qur’an 3:144Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful.Qur’an 3:144 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:

Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful.

Qur’an 3:144 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

Qur’an 69:44⁴⁴ And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings, ⁴⁵ We would have seized him by the right hand; ⁴⁶ Then We would have cut from him the aorta. ⁴⁷ And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him.Qur’an 69:44-47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ through 69:46⁴⁴ And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings, ⁴⁵ We would have seized him by the right hand; ⁴⁶ Then We would have cut from him the aorta. ⁴⁷ And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him.Qur’an 69:44-47 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) say:

And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings,

Qur’an 69:44 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

We would have seized him by the right hand;

Qur’an 69:44 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

Then We would have cut from him the aorta.

Qur’an 69:44 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

The hadith uses that same word, aorta, for the pain he said he still felt. The Qur’an uses it for a judgment if he had invented revelation. The two sentences are not the same claim.

If you’re talking with a Shia Muslim

The age and the poisoned sheep are in Sahih al-Bukhari, a Sunni collection. Which Muslims accept which hadith? Qur’an 3:144Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful.Qur’an 3:144 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ is the shared book: Muhammad was a messenger, and a messenger can die or be killed. The date 8 June 632 is the date in Britannica’s biography, which both readers can check.

The Christian claim

Christians bury their dead and confess that Jesus did not stay dead. John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version (King James Version):

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.

John 20:28 · King James Version

The resurrection of Jesus is that claim. What do Christians believe about Muhammad?

Frequently asked questions

Did Muhammad say he would die?

Qur’an 3:144Muḥammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allāh at all; but Allāh will reward the grateful.Qur’an 3:144 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ raises his death or his being killed as a real possibility. Qur’an 46:9Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."Qur’an 46:9 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ has him say he does not know what will be done with him.

Who succeeded him?

Sunni Muslims count Abu Bakr as the first caliph. Shia Muslims hold that leadership belonged to Ali. What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam? What is a caliphate?