According to legend, Muslimov worked hard every day, up to 167 years. He did not smoke or drink. He ate fruits, vegetables, wholemeal bread, chicken broth, cheese and yogurt. He had several wives through his lifetime. Muslimov became ill with pneumonia between 1972 and 1973, but survived only to die later in 1973. Muslimov's story was picked up in 1973 by National Geographic Magazine. The article told that on the occasion he still rode horses and tended an orchard planted in the 1870s. National Geographic later recanted on the claim. The same story was told by the Guinness Book of World Records, stated as unconfirmed along with other similar claims. According to National Geographic, he had an 120-year-old wife whom he had married 102 years earlier. However according to his obituary, published by Time magazine, he was survived by his 107-year-old third wife. 