حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ زُرَيْعٍ حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ عَنْ عَمَّارٍ مَوْلَى بَنِي هَاشِمٍ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ كَمْ أَتَى لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ مَاتَ قَالَ مَا كُنْتُ أُرَى مِثْلَكَ فِي قَوْمِهِ يَخْفَى عَلَيْكَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ قُلْتُ إِنِّي قَدْ سَأَلْتُ فَاخْتُلِفَ عَلَيَّ فَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أَعْلَمَ قَوْلَكَ فِيهِ قَالَ أَتَحْسِبُ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ قَالَ أَمْسِكْ أَرْبَعِينَ بُعِثَ لَهَا وَخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ أَقَامَ بِمَكَّةَ يَأْمَنُ وَيَخَافُ وَعَشْرًا مُهَاجِرًا بِالْمَدِينَةِ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 2640
It was narrated that 'Ammar, the freed slave of Banu Hashim, said: I asked Ibn 'Abbas: How old was the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the day he died? He said: I did not think that a man of such standing among his people as you would be unaware of that. I said: I asked the people and they gave me different answers. I want to know what you say. He said: Do you know how to count? I said: Yes. He said: Bear in mind that he was sent as a Prophet when he was forty. Fifteen years in Makkah, with times of safety and times of fear, and ten years in Madinah after he migrated.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020