In the middle of Monday, 12th Rabi’ah Al-Awwal in this year, the beloved Prophet (may the prayers and peace of the Lord be on him) died after he had conveyed his Lord’s Message to the people and fulfilled the trust that he carried around his neck.
Anas ibn Malk told us about the day the Prophet (peace be upon him) died. He said, “When the Muslims were praying Fajr Prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) suddenly appeared as he had pulled back the curtain of Aisha’s room. He (peace be upon him) looked at them when they were praying in rows and smiled with pleasure. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) moved backwards to join the rows, thinking that the the Prophet (peace be upon him) was going to come out for the prayer. The Muslims were put to test as they were about to leave their prayer, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) indicated for them to continue their prayer and he let the curtain fall. He died the same day” [related by Al-Bukhari].
The Prophet (peace be upon him) looking at the Muslims as they prayed the Fajr Prayer and his (may Allah’s prayers and peace be on him) smiling at them was a farewell sign to his companions and that he was pleased with them (may Allah be pleased with them), after he had seen how they stood together like one body in front of Allah in the prayer. He (peace be upon him) had trained men who would carry the message of Islam after him and spread it throughout all the world, from one end to another. Therefore, he (peace be upon him) had a reason to smile and be happy with them, and sleep in comfort (may the Lord’s prayers and peace be upon him).
When the sun had risen, the Prophet (peace be upon him) called his daughter, Fatima, and he told her something, upon which she cried, and he then called her to come near again and told her something else, so she laughed. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “We asked her (Fatima) about this, and she said, ‘The Prophet (peace be upon him) told me that he was in his final illness, so I cried. Then he told me that I would be the first of his family that would follow him, so I laughed’” [related by Al-Bukhari].
When Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) saw the great difficulties the Prophet (peace be upon him) was experiencing, she said, <‘Oh, what great difficulties you have, my father!’ So he told her, ‘Your father will not have any more difficulties after today’> [related by Al-Bukhari].
At the time of his death, Aisha made him lean on her. Aisha said, “One of the blessings Allah gave me is that the Messenger of Allah died in my home, on the day allocated for him to come to me, [leaning] on my chest, and that Allah made my saliva mix with his saliva when he was dying” [related by Al-Bukhari].
This was because her brother Abdur-Rahman had entered, carrying a siwak (tooth stick) in his hand. Aisha saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was looking at the siwak and so realized that he wanted it. Consequently, she took it (from Abdur-Rahman), made it soft (by chewing on it), and the Prophet (peace be upon him) used it to clean his teeth. There was a jug of water in front of the Prophet, so he dipped his hands in the water and wiped his face with them, saying, <There is no god (worthy of worship) but Allah; truly, death is painful> [related by Al-Bukhari].
When he (peace be upon him) finished cleaning his teeth with the siwak, he raised his hand (or finger), fixed his sight to the heavens, and moved his lips. Aisha listened to him as he was saying, <Oh Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, and join me with the highest company (of the most pious)> [related by Al-Bukhari]. Then his hand lowered and he (may the prayers and peace of his Lord be upon him) joined the highest company. Truly, we belong to Allah and truly, we are (all) returning to Him.
Not just Medinah, but all the world went dark after his death. With his death, the revelation from the heavens to the earth stopped for all the time until the Resurrection Day.
This painful afflication happened at the time when the sun was high in the sky on Monday, 12th of Rabi’ Al-Awwal, in the eleventh year after the blessed immigration to Medinah, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was 63 years old.
