Sons of the Prophet ﷺ

The Prophet ﷺ had three sons: Qasim and Abdullah, by his wife Khadija, and Ibrahim, by Maria the Coptic. All three died in infancy, during their father's lifetime. It is from his eldest son Qasim that the Prophet ﷺ derived his kunya, 'Abu al-Qasim' (father of Qasim).

Qasim was the first child of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadija, born before the revelation. It is from him that the Prophet ﷺ received his kunya, 'Abu al-Qasim,' which he liked to be given. Qasim died very young, in Mecca.

Abdullah, also a son of Khadija, was born after the beginning of prophecy; he was nicknamed at-Tahir ('the pure') and at-Tayyib ('the good'). He too died in infancy.

Ibrahim, the last-born, came from Maria the Coptic, in Medina. The Prophet ﷺ named him in honour of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). He died at about sixteen or eighteen months. The Prophet's ﷺ grief was great: it is authentically reported (Bukhari) that at Ibrahim's death, his eyes shed tears, and he said: 'The eyes weep, the heart is grieved, but we say only what satisfies our Lord. O Ibrahim, we are saddened by your loss.'

On the day of Ibrahim's death, a solar eclipse occurred. People believed the sun had eclipsed out of sadness at the death of the Prophet's ﷺ son. But he firmly denied this idea: 'The sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of God; they do not eclipse for the death or the life of anyone.' — a lesson against superstition.

None of the Prophet's ﷺ sons is named in the Quran. Their memory comes from the Sira and hadiths. The death of Ibrahim and the Prophet's ﷺ words on that occasion are reported in Bukhari (authentic). An important pedagogical point: the eclipse episode shows the Prophet ﷺ himself refusing a superstitious interpretation — it would have been easy to let people believe the sky was weeping for his son, but he restored the truth. This is a model of intellectual integrity.

The sons of the Prophet ﷺ teach patience in hardship: the one whom God most honoured knew the pain of losing all his sons. The Prophet ﷺ showed that one can weep — tears are not a lack of faith — while submitting to the will of God. His refusal of the superstition of the eclipse also teaches never to sacrifice truth, even in grief.