What is the authenticity of the misconception raised by Christians that the Prophet’s body decomposed, citing two narrations: one being, “When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away, his companions deliberated and said: ‘Wait for your Prophet, perhaps he has ascended.’ He said: So they waited until his stomach swelled,” and the other being the statement of Al-Abbas: “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has died, and he is but a human being, and he will decay just as humans decay. O people, bury your companion”?

Allah has forbidden the earth from consuming the bodies of prophets, as has been stated in several authentic hadiths, unlike the rest of humanity. Qadi Iyad and Ibn al-Qayyim have inferred from this that his (peace be upon him) body remains and has not perished.

As for the hadiths that contradict this and mention that his (peace be upon him) body swelled or changed after his death: 1. The first hadith, which refers to the swelling of his stomach and the change in his little fingers, has a weak chain of narration (isnad) and its text is denounced (munkar), as its narrator did not meet the Companions. Furthermore, its text contradicts the sanctity of prophets, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is pure, alive and dead.

2. The second hadith, which mentions Al-Abbas's statement that the Prophet (peace be upon him) "decays as humans decay," also has a broken chain of narration (munqati' isnad). Even if it were authentic, it would be an independent judgment (ijtihad) by Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) based on common occurrences, and it does not necessitate that this actually happened. The change might have been slight and not amounted to putrefaction, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) has a pure body, alive and dead. What Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned concerning the washing of the Prophet (peace be upon him) proves that he was pure, alive and dead, and he found nothing in him that is found in a deceased person in terms of change.