it has been observed that some individuals have lived beyond one hundred years—indeed, they are a sizeable group, as we have noted elsewhere in this book under the obituaries of notable figures; Allah knows best.

This ḥadith, moreover, has additional lines of transmission from the Prophet ﷺ.

Narration of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah (may Allah be pleased with him)

Imām Aḥmad said: “Abū al-Naḍr narrated to us; al-Mubārak narrated to us; al-Ḥasan narrated to us, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the Hour one month before he passed away. He replied,

‘You ask me about the Hour, while its knowledge rests with Allah alone. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, I do not know today of any soul that will still be alive when a hundred years have elapsed.’”

Aḥmad alone reported this chain. Its isnād is good and sound: all its narrators are trustworthy. Abū al-Naḍr Hāshim ibn al-Qāsim is cited by both Ṣaḥīḥs; Mubārak ibn Faḍālah’s ḥadiths are found in the Sunan collections; and al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī is one of the great, reliable imams whose narrations appear in all the Ṣaḥīḥ compilations and elsewhere (1).

Another route from Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him)

Imām Aḥmad also said: “Ḥajjāj narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj said: Abū al-Zubayr informed me that he heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one month before he died, declare,

‘You ask me about the Hour, yet its knowledge lies with Allah. I swear by Allah, there is no soul on earth today upon which a hundred years will pass.’”

Muslim likewise related it through Hārūn ibn ʿAbd Allah and Ḥajjāj ibn al-Shāʿir, from Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad al-Aʿwar, and through Muḥammad ibn Ḥātim from Muḥammad ibn Bakr, both of them from Ibn Jurayj, with this wording (2).

Muslim further states in his Ṣaḥīḥ—Chapter: The Near Approach of the Hour: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and Abū Kurayb both narrated to us; Abū Usāmah narrated to us, from Hishām, from his father, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: When Bedouins came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ they would ask him about the Hour. He would look at the youngest person among them and say,

‘If this one lives, decrepitude will not overtake him before your Hour has come upon you.’

Imām Muslim alone recorded this ḥadith (may Allah have mercy on him) (3).

Muslim then said: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Yūnus ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thābit, from Anas: A man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “When will the Hour be?” At that moment a young boy from the Anṣār named Muḥammad was beside him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

‘If this lad lives, it is likely that old age will not overtake him before the Hour is established.’

Muslim transmitted this through this particular line alone.