In Dhul-Hijjah of this year, the Messenger (peace be upon him) performed the farwell Hajj, which was his first and last Hajj, in which he bid farewell to the Muslims before his departure to the highest and most pious companions. Jabir Ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) said, “The Messenger (peace be upon him) stayed in Medina for 9 years, and then an announcement was made to the people in the tenth year that the Messenger (peace be upon him) would perform Hajj that year. Consequently, many people came to Medina. Another report states that no one who was able to come riding their mounts or walking was left behind.So the people arrived [in Medinah] to leave to do Hajj with the Messenger (peace be upon him), all of them seeking to learn from the Messenger and copy everything that the Messenger would do [throughout the trip]” [related by Ahmed].
The Messenger (peace be upon him) left for Hajj and the people left with him until they reached Dul-Hulayfah. At Dhul-Halifah, Asma bint Umays Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr gave birth, so she sent a message to the Messenger (peace be upon him) asking him what she should do with regards to Hajj. He told her to have a ritual bath, contain the postpartum blood using a cloth, and then put on the state of Ihram for Hajj. The Messenger (peace be upon him) then prayed in the mosque, being quite and not saying any talbiyah (supplication made during Hajj).
Next, the Messenger (peace be upon him) rode Al-Qaswa, his camel, and entered the state of Hajj, saying the talbiyah, “Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk. Labbayk la Sharīka Laka Labbayk. Innal-Ḥamda wan-Niʻmata Laka wal Mulk, la Sharika Lak (Here I am at Your service, O Lord, here I am. Here I am at Your service, You have no partners. To You alone belongs all praise, all bounty, and all sovereignty. You have no partners,” and the people started to say the talbiyah in the same way the Mssenger said it [related by Muslim].
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) described this amazing scene in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) left repeating Talbiya with so many Muslims around him saying talbiya that they could be seen as far as the eyes could reach. Jabir said, <I looked as far as my eyes could see, looking at those who were riding and those who were walking. On the right there was a similar number, and on the left there was a similar number. Moreover, there was a similar number behind me too. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was among us, and as the Qur’an was being revealed to him he knew its explanation. And whatever the Messenger did based on it (the Qur’an), we also did> [related by Muslim]. "
This continued until they reached Mecca when the forenoon had risen on the morning of the fourth day of Dul-Hijjah. The Messenger (peace be upon him) arrived at the door of the mosque, got off his ride and entered the mosque. There, he greeted the black stone and then started to walk very quikly (raml) from his right until he completed three cicumambulations, and after that he completed four more circumambulations, walking calmly.
He (peace be upon him) then went to Maqam Ibraheem [the station of Ibraheem] (peace be upon him), and recited, {They took the Maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer} [Surah Al-Baqarah: 125]. He raised his voice for the people to hear him, made the Maqam Ibraheem between him and the sacred house, and prayed two rakats of prayer, reciting: “Say ‘He is Allah, the One’” and: “Say ‘Oh disbelievers’” in the prayer.
Next, he (peace be upon him) went to the spring of Zamzam, drank from it, and poured some on his head. After that, he returned to the corner of the Kabba, greeted it, and then returned to Mount Safa and said, <Start with what Allah (Glorified be He) started with> [related by Ahmed].
When the Messenger (peace be upon him) reached Mount Safa, he recited, {Safa and Marwa are among the landmarks of Allah} [Surah Al-Baqarah: 158]. Starting from Safa, he crossed it until he could see the sacred house, and then he faced the Qiblah (the direction of prayer), announced the oneness of Allah, said, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest)” three times, and praised Him. Next he walked down the mountain to Mount Marwah and crossed it until he could see the sacred house. There he (peace be upon him) did the same he had done on Mount Safa [ibid.]. He continued like this until he was performing the last round and was standing on Mount Marwah, when he (peace be upon him) said, <Oh people, if I had formerly known what I came to know recently, I would not have brought a slaughtering animal with me and would have made this an Umrah. Whoever of you who does not have a slaughtering animal with him, release yourselves from Ihram and make this an Umrah for you.>
Suraqah ibn Malik stood up and asked the Messenger (peace be upon him), “Is this for only this year or for all time?” So the Messenger (peace be upon him) entwind his fingers together and said, <Umrah is included in Hajj until the Resurrection day.> Then Ali came from Yemen with the Messenger’s sacrificial animals (cows and camels). All the people left Ihram and cut their hair, except the Messenger (peace be upon him) and those who had a slaughtering animal with them.
On the day of Tarawah, the people went towards Mina and put on the Ihram for Hajj at Al-Bat’ha. They prayed Dhuhr and Asr at Mina as well as Maghrib, Isha and Fajr. They stayed at Mina until the sun rose, and the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered that a tent of hair should be pitched at Namira [at Mount Arafah], where he stayed until the sun set. After that, they moved until they reached the middle of the valley, where the Messenger (peace be upon him) gave his well-known sermon to the people that included the basic aims of Islam: the sanctity of blood (life), money and honour, as well as abandoning the beliefs and actions of the times of ignorance, like taking revenge for blood and dealing with usury.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) started with himself and his relatives, being a good role model and perfect example. Consequently, he abolished the the blood revenge for Ibn Rabi’ah ibn Al-Harith ibn Abdul-Muttalib, and he renounced the usury of his uncle Al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib. He also instructed them to look after the women and treat them kindly. Moreover, he stated the marital rights of both spouses and ordered them to adhere to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) finished his sermon by asking the people for their testimony, saying, <‘You will be asked about me, so what will you say?’ They replied, ‘We bear witness that you conveyed all the message, fulfilled your duties [as a prophet], and gave wise and sincere counsel.’ After that, the Messenger raised his index finger to the sky and then pointed it at the people, saying, ‘Oh Allah, bear witness. Oh Allah, bear witness’ three times> [ibid.].
Next, the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered that the call for the Dhuhr and Asr Prayers be made with one prayer call. He stood up and prayed Dhuhr and then prayed Asr, without praying anything between them. Next, the Messenger (peace be upon him) went calmly towards the plain of Arafat to spend time there supplicating Allah.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) then reached Al-Muzdalafah where he prayed Maghrib and Isha with one athan (call to prayer) and two iqamahs (the call immediately before the prayer), not praying any sunnah prayer between them. After this, the Messenger (peace be upon him) rested until Fajr (dawn). On the morning of this second day, the Messenger (peace be upon him) rode his camel, Al-Qaswa, until he reached Al-Masha’ar Al-Haram (at Muzdalifah), where he faced the Qiblah (direction of prayer) and supplicated Allah, saying, ‘Allahu Akbar’, ‘Alhamdulillah’ and ‘La illah ila Allah.’ He continued standing there until light began to appear on the horizon. Next, the Messenger (peace be upon him) left Al-Muzdalifah moving towards the middle of Muhaasir [a narrow strip of land between Mina and Muzdalifah], where he quickened his pace until he reached Al-Jamrah pillar at the tree. He (peace be upon him) stoned this Al-Jamrah at the time of the forenoon with seven pebbles, saying, ‘Allahu Akbar’ with each pebble. Each pebble was the size of a small bean.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) threw the pebbles on An-Nahr day (first day of Eid) when he was sitting on his ride, saying to the people, “Take your rituals from me (and follow what I do in Hajj), as I do not know if I will do another Hajj after this Hajj.” This was a way of telling them that he was bidding them farewell, indicating that he would soon die. Following this, the Messenger (peace be upon him) left to the slaughtering place and slaughtered 63 sacrificial animals himself. He (peace be upon him) then asked Ali to slaughter the rest of the animals, 100 altogether. After that, he made Ali eat some of the meat with him.
The Messenger (peace be upon him) then mounted his ride and returned to the sacred house in Mecca, where he prayed Dhuhr [ibid.]. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said there was no blame on anyone who performed some rituals on the day of An-Nahr (the first day of Eid) before other rituals, thereby highlighting the fact that the religion and its aims are easy.
Death of the Prophet...
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