Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 100 - The Farewell Hajj ~ Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 21st January 2015

Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 100 - The Farewell Hajj ~ Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 21st January 2015

 Today we discuss the incident of the Farewell Hajj, the last and only Hajj of the Prophet PBUH. There is a lot of material to discuss in the particular section.

 

When Was the Verse of Hajj Revealed?

&

Must You Go for Hajj as Soon as You Are Financially Capable?


When did Allah reveal the obligation for Hajj? This is actually a very difficult question and it has a fiqh analogous scenario. And that is, can a person delay Hajj for a few years once they are qualified to go? There are two opinions:

1. If you say you can, of the evidence that group uses is that Hajj was revealed a few years before the Prophet PBUH went for Hajj.

2. The other opinion is that no, Hajj was revealed (the ayat of Hajj) in the 9th year of the Hijrah so the Prophet PBUH only went as soon as Allah revealed the revelation for Hajj.

This controversy lingers on to the four madhahib. Must you go for Hajj as soon as you are financially capable? Or are you allowed to wait for a future year of your life thinking 'insha'Allah I will be alive in a few years and I can go then.' This is the classic controversy from the beginning of time. And it goes back to, among other things, when did Allah actually reveal the obligation for Hajj? Ibn al-Qayyim and many scholars follow the opinion that, it is not allowed to delay the Hajj once you are able (financially) to do so. They also then say the ayat of Hajj came down in the beginning of the 10th year. So as soon as the ayat came down, the Prophet PBUH went for Hajj in the same year, according to them.

However the fact is we don't know for sure when the ayat really came down. Historically speaking, the bulk of the Muslim world has not gone for Hajj the same year they get the means to do so. So insha'Allah, as long as you have a reasonable intention that, 'I am going Hajj soon' and you don't delay it forever and ever, then it is permissible to delay, even though it is better not to delay it. Nonetheless there is an ikhtilaf over when Allah revealed the verse of Hajj. And what is this verse? Surah Ali Imran verse 97.

فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا ۗ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ

3:97. In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.

So some ulama say this ayat came down in the 10th year of the Hijrah, even though it is a part of Surah Ali-Imran. When was this revealed? At the time of Uhud. Jabir RA narrates that, "The Prophet PBUH spent 9 years after Hijrah not performing Hajj. And then in the 10th year he announced he will be going for Hajj, so multitudes of people came to Madinah, all of them wanting to do Hajj with the Prophet PBUH, and follow his actions. Therefore the Prophet PBUH announced a few months before or maybe even a month and a half before he is going for Hajj, so let the people who want to come, come to do Hajj with him.

 

______________

 

The Farewell Hajj

 

So from across the lands people flocked to Madinah and the city swelled up, tens of thousands of people continued to come. And even along the way throughout the entire journey, tens of thousands of people continued to flock. A number of ahadith report that the sahaba said, "As far as the eye could see, we could see flocks of humanity. We looked in front, behind, left, and right and all we could see was men." Never in the seerah did the Prophet PBUH have a larger audience and group of people following him. And the Prophet PBUH told them, "Take your rights of Hajj from me." Of course the Prophet PBUH only did one Hajj, therefore all of the fiqh of Hajj comes from this one Hajj. All of the controversies and madhahib discuss what did the Prophet PBUH do, how did he do it, is it obligatory, sunnah, wajib, etc. All of the controversy is over one Hajj of the Prophet PBUH.

Ibn Ishaq and others say the Prophet PBUH left for Hajj on the 25th Dhu al-Qa'dah in the 10th year of the Hijrah. Of course he PBUH passes away on the 12th Rabbi al-Awwal in the 11th year of the Hijrah. So just a few months before he passes away. And he prayed Zuhr in the masjid, and he left Madinah on the 25th. And he made his way to Dhu al-Hulayfah, right outside Madinah, prayed two rak'at and entered the state of ihram. From the time of the Prophet PBUH, the people called this Hajj, Hajjat al-Wada'. This name was given even in the lifetime of the Prophet PBUH. Where did it come from? We learn in a hadith in Sahih Muslim, that ibn Umar says, the Prophet PBUH stood on the day of sacrifice (10th Dhu al-Hijjah). And he said, 'This is the Day of the Big Hajj.' And he kept on saying, 'O Allah, bear witness,' and he was bidding farewell to the people, saying goodbye to the people. So the people began calling this Hajj the Farewell Hajj" and Ibn Umar said, "We did not understand the implication." That is, they are calling it the Farewell Hajj, and this means the Prophet PBUH is going to pass away. It didn't click in their minds - they didn't understand the Prophet PBUH is literally bidding farewell.

So the term comes from the seerah, sunnah, and the actions of the sahaba while the Prophet PBUH was still alive. And of course the Prophet PBUH had a premonition, he knew this was the end, that is why he is bidding farewell to the tens of thousands of people.

Our early scholars give a nice round number that 100,000 people were there at the Farewell Hajj. But this is a complete guess. No doubt this was the largest gathering of sahaba; the bulk of them we don't even know their names. We have plenty of narrations from anonymous people that, 'Someone who heard the khutbah of the Prophet PBUH said such and such.' Of course he is a sahabi because he heard and saw the Prophet PBUH. So there are tens of thousands of people performing the Hajj with the Prophet PBUH. As we mentioned, the Prophet PBUH left on the 25th Dhu al-Qa'dah and he reached Makkah the 4th Dhu al-Hijjah. This is 10 days exactly - it would take 10 days on average for a large caravan that is going at an average speed. Not too slow, not too fast. So our Prophet PBUH camped outside of Makkah since he arrived at night; it was not his sunnah to enter any city at night time. Also, for adab for the Ka'bah as he did not want to enter in a tired state. He rested, woke up in the morning, prayed Fajr and then took a ghusl in the state of ihram. This is of course well known with no ikhtilaf that you can take a ghusl in the state of ihram.

He then entered Makkah in the day time, early morning on a Sunday and he performed the tawaf, the first three of them quickly and the rest of the four slowly. And then he announced a change in the plans and he said, "If I had known then (in the beginning of my journey) what I know now, I would not have made the intention of combining the Hajj and Umrah, and I would have made the intention of separating the Hajj and Umrah, and I would not have brought my animals with me." In other words, he's changed his mind but he can't act upon that change of mind. Fiqh: If you have animals with you, in the sharia, those animals are sacred in Hajj. This is very rare in our times of course, but anyway when you enter ihram you will then consecrate the animals and distribute them after the sacrifice. So our Prophet PBUH told Ali RA to bring 100 camels from Yemen. When he got to Makkah said, "If I knew then what I know now," which is an Arabic expression i.e. "If I knew better, I would have done something else." What is that something else? Hajj Tamattu'. You do the Umrah, get out of ihram, remain in Makkah without ihram until the 8th, re-enter ihram and then do Hajj. So he announced to the people, "Everyone who came without animals, get out of your ihram and become halal again." This was unique and new; this was not allowed in pre-Islam. So some sahaba asked how can they become halal again? And the Prophet PBUH said, "Yes everything is halal" - getting out of ihram in between Umrah and Hajj was unimaginable for them.

Aisha narrates, "Therefore some people made the intention for both Umrah and Hajj together (Qiran), others made the intention only for Umrah at that time (Tamattu'), and some people made intention only for Hajj (Ifrad)." From this we get the famous fiqh that there are three types of Hajj:

1. Hajj Qiran (joining Umrah and Hajj with one ihram - you stay in ihram throughout).

2. Hajj Ifrad (only doing Hajj)

3. Hajj Tamattu' (separating Umrah from Hajj with separate ihram for each).

All three types are jaiz and there is a controversy as to which one is better, but all three are permissible. Our Prophet PBUH performed Qiran, but he clearly told the sahaba to do Tamattu', and some of them also did Ifrad. Ali RA (as stated earlier), was in Yemen to be a judge and dispute settler; the Prophet PBUH sent word to Ali to bring 100 camels from Yemen and to meet in Makkah for the Hajj.

So Ali arrived with an entourage plus the 100 camels and he immediately entered into the tent of Fatima RA because he had not been with her for a long time. Now Ali is in ihram, so obviously everything is not allowed. But then he sees Fatima and she is wearing perfume, and is out of ihram, and is beautified. At this he says, "What are you doing? We are doing Hajj! How can you be dressed like this?" So she says, "My father (the Prophet PBUH) told me to do this." And this is of course news to him; so he marches to the Prophet PBUH and says, "Ya Rasulullah Fatima is dressed in such a way and she says you told her to do this." So the Prophet PBUH said, "Yes she has spoken the truth; I commanded them to get out of ihram, and you as well can get out of it. Which intention did you come with?" Now if he came with the intention of only doing Hajj, this is okay because it can become Tamattu'. So Ali RA said, "When I came from Yemen, I said 'labbayk' upon the intention of the Prophet PBUH." Wallahi this shows us the status of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He didn't know what to say, so rather he said, 'Whatever the Prophet's PBUH intention is, that is mine.' So that meant Qiran, so he has to stay in ihram. Thus the bulk of the sahaba ended up doing Tamattu', some of them did Ifrad (those who came later), and a very small few i.e. those who brought their animals with them did Qiran, including the Prophet PBUH.

So the Prophet PBUH camped outside of Makkah on Saturday and entered on Sunday morning. And he did tawaf Sunday morning and he stayed in Makkah on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Four full days, and on the morning of Thursday which was the 8th of Dhu al-Hijjah, he prayed Fajr in the Ka'bah and he then made his way towards Mina. From here the books of seerah and hadith all mention hundreds of narration of what he did. That analysis is more befitting in a fiqh class; every single hadith of fiqh pertaining to Hajj takes place now. We have literally hundreds; entire books dedicated to this topic, and there's one hadith considered to be the mother of all hadiths when it comes to the Hajj of the Prophet PBUH. And that is the Hadith of Jabir. Why? Because it is the longest, around 3-4 pages long. We'll quickly discuss it to be thorough but note most of this is fiqh related.

 

______________

 

The Farewell Hajj: The Hadith of Jabir


This is recorded in Sahih Muslim, that it's reported by Ja'far ibn Muhammad from the Ahl al-Bayt, from his father, that, "We went to Jabir ibn Abdullah, and he began asking about who all of us were. Until it was my turn." So this is Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. Of course for the Twelver Shia these are their imams. From our perspective they are extremely righteous but they don't have the powers other groups give them.

So this is the great-great grandson of the Prophet PBUH. Jabir ibn Abdullah was one of the last sahaba to die. At this point in time he was a blind old man. The narration continues: "When I said I am Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, he stood up, placed his hand on my head and he opened up my shirt and he touched me." So he wanted to touch and feel the great great grandson of the Prophet PBUH. "And he then said, 'Ask what you want you are welcome my nephew'" i.e. he is showing respect to the Ahl al-Bayt, and this is a part of Sunni Islam to do this. Eventually Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn says, "Tell me about the Hajj of the Prophet PBUH." So this is the great great grandson of the Prophet PBUH asking Jabir about the Hajj of the Prophet PBUH, and Jabir begins his long hadith. He pointed out with nine fingers and said, "For nine years the Prophet PBUH did not perform the Hajj. Then he made the announcement in the 10th year he will perform the Hajj, so large numbers of people came to Madinah, all of them eager to follow the Prophet PBUH and be behind him. So we reached Dhu al-Hulayfah, and Asma bint Umays gave birth to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr." So Abu Bakr married Asma who gave birth to his final son, Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. "And she sends a message to the Prophet PBUH to ask, 'What should I do?' The Prophet PBUH said, 'Take a bath, put on ihram.'" So women can enter ihram even though they can't pray or do tawaf while they are bleeding.

The Prophet PBUH prayed at Dhu al-Hulayfah, mounted on Qaswa (his camel) and stood with his back towards one of the valleys. And Jabir says, "As far as I could see in front of me, there was nothing but riders and pedestrians, and to my right, and to my left, and behind the same. And the Prophet PBUH was prominent amongst us (meaning in the middle), and the Qur'an was still coming down." Subhan'Allah this is 70 years afterwards and Jabir is reminiscing. So he's saying the Qur'an was still being revealed at that time, so he himself is getting excited. "And he was the most knowledgeable of the Qur'an, and whatever he did, we followed him in all that he did. And when he got off his camel he said the talbiyah. We did not have any intention other than the Hajj." Here he is saying he didn't understand Tamattu' i.e. doing Umrah and Hajj. "But when we came with him to the Ka'bah, he touched the Black Stone and made seven round of tawaf, three of them running and four of them walking. Then he prayed behind the maqam of Ibrahim." Note this is where the fiqh of Umrah and Hajj comes from, the hadith of Jabir. So Jabir said he prayed behind the maqam of Ibrahim and recited the verse from the Qur'an. And Jabir says, "He recited Surah al-Kafirun and Surah Ikhlas in the first and second rakat. Then he returned to the the maqam of Ibrahim and kissed it.

He then went out of the gate to al-Safa, and when he reached it he recited the verse in the Qur'an, 'Verily, Safa and Marwa are signs of Allah....' [2:158]

إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ


Then the Prophet PBUH said, "I shall began with what Allah began with" i.e. Safa, and he climbed up Safa until he could see the Ka'bah, he turned around, faced the Ka'bah and said a du'a ("Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu'l-mulk, wa lahu'l-hamd, wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay'in qadeer. Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdah, anjaza wa'dah, wa nasara ‘abdah, wa hazamaa al-ahzaaba wahdah"). In this du'a the Prophet PBUH says that Allah has fulfilled His promise, and He has spoken the truth, and He has aided His servant, and He has destroyed all of the enemies of Islam by Himself, and what a beautiful thing to say when Makkah is returned to the Prophet PBUH.

Remember the Prophet PBUH did not have to fight any battle for Makkah, the Prophet PBUH took an army but there was no war. Allah averted the battle; so the Prophet PBUH is now praising Allah for having given him Makkah and fulfilling His promise. The Prophet PBUH spent a long time making du'a, repeated these words three times, descended and walked towards Marwa, and when his feet came to the bottom of the valley he ran (in our times we run between the green lights). In the Prophet's PBUH time it was still two mountains which you literally go under. The green lights are meant to indicate when you would dip under; our mother Hajar couldn't see Ismail which is why she ran under to get to the other side and see him. And the Prophet PBUH did the same at Marwa.

When he finished he said, "If I knew then what I know now I would not have brought my sacrificial animals, and would only have performed Umrah. Whoever amongst you did not bring animals should only do Umrah and get out of ihram." Jabir says at this Suraqa ibn Malik stood up; this is that same Suraqa who the Prophet PBUH met during Hijrah. Now he has come back to Makkah just to do Hajj. Suraqa said, "Ya Rasulullah is this rule only for this year? Or every year?" Meaning this is a new thing so is it for all the years? So the Prophet PBUH intertwined the fingers of his hands and said, "Hajj and Umrah has been combined together until the Day of Judgement" meaning this new law of being able to Umrah and Hajj in one journey while getting out of ihram (Tamattu'), this is until the Day of Judgement. Ali RA came back from Yemen with the hadi of the Prophet PBUH and found Fatima RA to be there amongst those who had taken the ihram off as we mentioned. She was wearing colorful clothing and had applied make up. Ali RA became irritated at her, but she said, "My father told me to do so" as we discussed before.

Jabir said, "The total number of animals brought by Ali from Yemen was 100." This is a massive amount of money; a mini fortune which the Prophet PBUH purchased from the people of Yemen. On the 8th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the rest of the sahaba clipped their nails, entered into ihram and went to Mina. And the Prophet PBUH led the way, prayed in Mina: Zuhr and Asr, Maghrib and Isha, and then Fajr. So he's telling us what to do in Mina. Jabir continues: "the Prophet PBUH then waited until the sun rose a little," (this is the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah), "And commanded a tent be pitched for him at Namirah." Now, Namirah is the land right outside Arafat; it's the one stop before Arafat. "So the Prophet PBUH then set out, and the Quraysh did not doubt that he would stop at 'al-Mash'ar al-Haram' (the Sacred Site)."

What is the sacred site? One needs to understand the Quraysh's rituals of Hajj. Muzdalifah and Mina are inside the Haram area of Makkah. That is where all the rules apply: You cannot hunt animals, pluck trees, carry weapons, etc. That is the Haram area defined by the sunnah and seerah. Now Mina and Muzdalifah are both inside this area; however Arafat is sacred, but not inside the Haram. Arafat is sacred and holy because of Hajj, but it's not inside the Haram area. So the Quraysh invented a new doctrine: They said, "We are the people of the Haram, how can we leave the Haram in Hajj and stand at Arafat? That's for the rest of you guys. We will stay at the very boundary of the Haram, which is Muzdalifah, at a place called 'al-Mash'ar al-Haram.'" So they reinvented the rules of Hajj to make it elitist for themselves. So the Quraysh would not stand at Arafat, believe it or not. They would not go to the pillar of Hajj, thinking they are too holy to leave the Haram. So when the Prophet PBUH said, "Set my tent at Namirah", the Quraysh who are new Muslims assumed, "Okay, he will stick with our tradition," because Namirah is right outside Arafat; it's not inside. So they thought he would stop at al-Mash'ar al-Haram. The Prophet PBUH however passed on that point, he continued going until he came to Arafat and he camped at Namirah. So as we said, Namirah finishes and Arafat begins - there is literally a line to this day in the masjid of Arafat, called '
Masjid Namirah,' signifying where Arafat begins.

"So our Prophet PBUH camped a stone's throw away from the line i.e. right outside the Plains of Arafat. Then he got down until the sun had passed the meridian, and then he commanded, 'Bring my camel to me' and continued going inside Arafat." In other words he waited until right at the beginning of Zuhr, and then he entered Arafat. He literally camped waiting for the millisecond after Zuhr begins, then he enters Arafat which was new for the Quraysh. "And he made his way to Batn al-Wadi" which is a valley inside Arafat, "And he addressed the people over there." By the way a common misconception is that the Prophet PBUH gave only one 'final' khutbah. In reality he gave at least three khutbahs: He gave a khutbah on the day of Arafat (i.e. right now) and this was the most important as it established the sunnah that every year the imam/khatib gives a khutbah on Arafat. He also gave khutbahs in Mina as well, on the 10th and 11th (maybe even on the 12th). Of course there is 100,000 plus people and he has multiple opportunities to speak to the masses so he takes advantage of conveying different information in each khutbah.

"Then the Prophet PBUH asked Bilal to make the iqama, and the Prophet PBUH led the people in Zuhr and Asr, and he did not pray anything in between." As we know in Hajj, when you get to Arafat you pray Zuhr and Asr together: Two and two. "Then the Prophet PBUH, after giving the khutbah, mounted his camel again, and made his way to wear the rocks are." That is, the place we now call Jabal al-Rahma. So from the masjid (which is now the masjid of course it was built afterwards), he gives the khutbah, and then goes to what is now Jabal al-Rahma. And in all likelihood he did not climb the mountain; if he climbed it, he only climbed a little. No narration says he climbed to the top. In any case, what he said there was, "I happen to stand here, but all of Arafat is a place of standing." So he's literally saying, 'There is nothing special coming to Jabal al-Rahma." That's something very important to know because a lot of people go to extreme lengths to go to Jabal al-Rahma, but there's no need to do that. Anywhere in Arafat is the same. He said the same in Mina, that, "I happen to camp here, but all of Mina is a place of camping." And the same in Muzdalifah. Wallahi this shows us the fiqh of the Prophet PBUH and his care and concern: He fully understands that people might somehow think, "Only that area" - but no, all of Arafat, all of Mina, all of Muzdalifah is the same.

Back to the hadith of Jabir: "And he continued to stand there from after Zuhr until sunset. And he continued to make du'a." Wallahi you read this and your mind boggles. Anyone who's been to Hajj knows: You cannot stand there for more than 20-30 minutes. It's physically impossible. The Prophet PBUH stood non-stop from the time of Zuhr until Maghrib, he is standing there with his hands raised making du'a upon du'a. Hours go by and of course that is the essence of Hajj. The Prophet PBUH said, "The essence of Hajj is Arafat." And Jabir says, "Until the sun had set and the yellow light had disappeared in the sky, and the disc of the sun had gone below, he then put Usama ibn Zayd (son of Zayd ibn Harithah - the Prophet's PBUH 'adopted son') on the camel behind him and he pulled the nose-string of Qaswa (his camel) until it almost touched his saddle." Meaning the Prophet PBUH is holding his camel back. He's not rushing it forward i.e. he's taking the camel very slowly. "And he continued to go to Muzdalifah telling the people with his hands to slow down." All of us who have been to Hajj know this is the most chaotic time; our Prophet PBUH even though no-one is going to block him, he wants to set the example for us. Subhan'Allah. He wants to show us, so he's telling the people with his hands, 'Slow down.' "And he proceeded this way until he reached Muzdalifah. Someone asked him, "Ya Rasulullah, al-salah?!" And he pointed forward and said, "The salah is in front of you,"" meaning they will pray Maghrib and Isha together in Muzdalifah.

"The Prophet PBUH continued until he reached Muzdalifah, and there he led them in Maghrib and Isha with one adhan and two iqamas." Again it's shortened, three rak'at and two for Isha. "The Prophet PBUH then laid down and rested, until he offered the dawn prayer; he then made du'a in Muzdalifah until the sun had become bright." This is a sunnah most people don't do, to stay in Muzdalifah and make du'a. "And then he made his way to al-Mash'ar al-Haram, faced the qibla and glorified Allah. He then hastened before the sun rose up to go to Mina, and followed the middle road and there he threw his seven pebbles saying, 'Allahu'akbar.'" So the Prophet PBUH threw from the bottom of the valley but we can throw from anywhere. "Then he went to the place of sacrifice and sacrificed 63 camels with his own hands." 63 out of the 100 Ali RA had brought him. Jabir's report does not mention this, but it's reported in another hadith that when the Prophet PBUH took the knife the 100 camels were rushing and racing to see who would be the first to be slaughtered by the hands of the Prophet PBUH. "He then gave the remaining to Ali to slaughter (37)." So the Prophet PBUH slaughtered one camel for every year of his life (he's 63 years old now).

"He then commanded a piece of flesh be taken from each of those animals, put it in a pot to cook and when it was cooked he took some meat out, he ate and drank a bit of soup." So this is a sunnah to cook the meat, eat a bit ourselves and share with others. This is something we all do, the meat of the sacrificed animals is halal for us and we should distribute it to the poor and fuqara. "Then the Prophet PBUH rode again to the Ka'bah and prayed the Zuhr prayer in the Haram. He then went to the Banu Abdul Muttalib who were in charge of taking the zamzam water out. He asked them, 'Draw water out, O Banu Abdul Muttalib, were it not for the fact that the people would take this right away if I were to do it, I would have helped along with you.'" Meaning what? It's amazing the Prophet PBUH understands if he were to draw water, everybody will try to draw water too because it will become a sunnah. So to save the ummah from that he did not do it. He understands people are so eager and extreme they will try to copy him in every way; because of this he didn't draw water; rather he drank from the water they gave him.

 

This is the long hadith of Jabir, and as we said there are hundreds of hadith about the Hajj of the Prophet PBUH each one of which gives primarily fiqh rulings. Most important for us is the khutbahs of our Prophet PBUH.

 

_______________

 

The Farewell Sermon


As we said the Prophet PBUH gave multiple khutbahs, one in Arafat and 2-3 in Mina. One of the day of Arafat of that year it happened to be a Friday. So this is where the notion comes from that the Prophet PBUH called that Hajj, "Al Hajj-akbar" meaning 'the great Hajj.' A number of points: 'al Hajj-akbar' is the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah. Every Hajj we go to is a great Hajj. If there is anything called 'a smaller Hajj' it is Umrah. But unfortunately what has happened is there's this cultural notion that if Arafat falls on a Friday, then it becomes 'Hajj akbar.' This is a misunderstanding of what the Prophet PBUH said. However, if Arafat does fall on a Friday, no doubt there is some extra blessings and we thank Allah for that. But if it doesn't, the Hajj is no lesser of a Hajj. Every single Hajj is 'al Hajj akbar' and in particular the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah is the day of 'al Hajj akbar.' However no doubt in the time of the Prophet PBUH Arafat did fall on a Friday. It was on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah standing on the Plains of Arafat that Allah revealed wahy to him. So the wahy of the Qur'an came down on this auspicious occasion, and what was revealed is the famous verse in the Qur'an:

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا

5:3. ...This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...

Note this wasn't the last verse revealed, but it is one of the last verses and what a beautiful verse. One of the Jews came to Umar RA and said, "You have a verse in your Qur'an, if we had its equivalent we would have taken that day as the day of Eid." Umar asked, "What verse?" And the Jew recited it to him. Umar said, "I know exactly when this verse was revealed: The Prophet PBUH was standing on Arafat on the day of Hajj akbar and Allah revealed it so it's already a day of celebration for us."

And wallahi what a fitting ayat to come down when Islam is at its glorious peak. When 100,000+ people are doing Hajj. When the entire Arabian Peninsula is upon Islam, when there isn't a single idol that is being worshiped, and when all the Arabs have embraced Islam. So this verse came down and it was here the Prophet PBUH stood up, some said he was on his camel, and he gave a sermon and told al-Abbas and Ali to quieten the crowd, and he told Abbas to repeat after him. In the Sunan of Abu Dawud it's said that one of the sahaba said, "We listened to the Prophet's PBUH khutbah and we could hear it, even from our tents." So what appears to be the case, somehow the voice of the Prophet PBUH was amplified i.e. it was a miracle. So from this we get a miracle that Allah blessed his voice so the people of Arafat could hear his voice directly. This is the important khutbah of Arafat, and he said:

1. "O people, listen to me for I know not whether I shall meet you again after this year."

So he most likely had a premonition from Allah that he will die soon.

2. "Your blood, your money are haram for you"

Meaning you cannot kill each other or steal each others money

3. "Just like this day has its sanctity in this month and in this land."

So here he abolished the law of the jungle, which was rampant in Arabia. The 'survival of the fittest' is gone - nobody can steal, rape, plunder, etc. other people anymore. This law is gone. Note the Arabs, all of them, despite their paganism they upheld the sanctity of the Haram. They respected the Haram, the Ka'bah, the Hajj, they respected especially the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah. No blood was ever shed on these days. So the Prophet PBUH is saying, "You understand how sacred this land is, how holy this place is and how blessed this day is, each one of your lives and properties is just as sacred as the Ka'bah, as the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, etc."

4. "Verily, everything from the time of Jahiliyyah, it is under my foot."

Here the Prophet PBUH uses a harsh term to say everything from Jahiliyyah is now gone, obliterated forever. All of the ways of Jahiliyyah, everything: Cultural ways, rituals, idol worship, etc. All of Jahiliyyah is now gone. This is such a comprehensive and powerful statement. Islam has come with something new.

5. "All of the blood feuds from the days of Jahiliyyah are gone."

All of the tribal warfare is gone, and this too was rampant in Arabia. Every single tribe had a long list of enemies, and a long list of allies written in blood. Every tribe had its feuds, its grievances, this was what was preventing the tribes from uniting. What did our Prophet PBUH say?, "All of these feuds are under my foot: Obliterated."

6. "The first blood money that I obliterate is the blood money from my own family, the son of Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith ibn Abdul Muttalib."

Note al-Harith is the uncle of the Prophet PBUH, Rabi'ah is his cousin. Brief story: One of the sons of Rabi'ah was killed in a war between two tribes, the Banu Sa'd and the Hudhayl. And he was being raised by the Banu Sa'd (like the Prophet PBUH). This boy however was caught in the battle and killed by the tribe of Hudhayl. So the Quraysh had a long feud against the Hudhayl because of this: They wanted blood money (100 camels) which hadn't been paid, and they were willing to go to war. So this is something owed to the Quraysh. What did the Prophet PBUH say?, "The first blood money I obliterate is my own family's." He is being the role model here.

7. "Verily, riba (interest) from the days of Jahiliyyah is under my foot. And the first I abolish is that of my uncle, al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib."

Abbas was a wealthy man, and he was well known for giving lots of loans on riba. And when Islam came riba was prohibited but this was old news, so he was due lots of interest. So the Prophet PBUH said, "The first money obliterated is the money of my uncle," meaning Abbas is paid back what he loaned out, not a penny more. Subhan'Allah this is being the leader by example. His family will benefit from the blood money and riba, but no more. The Prophet PBUH himself is showing the people he is serious about this.

8. "And fear Allah with regards to women and their rights. For you have taken them with the protection of Allah, and made them permissible with the name of Allah."

So in a society where women had no rights whatsoever, and this is something so important. There was no reason for Islam to come and talk about women. There was no reason for our Prophet PBUH to mention women in the farewell pilgrimage on the day of Arafat in the most important khutbah he ever gave. Yet he did. He has a paragraph about women. Why? Because no ummah can flourish if its women are mistreated. No ummah can rise if its women are not treated with dignity and respect. So he is saying Allah has given us the women; the nikah contract happens in the name of Allah, so they are with us under Allah's protection.

9. "And their right upon you is that they do not allow anyone to step on your bed, or that you would hate."

Meaning the women have to be faithful and loyal to their husband.

10. "And if they do something (disobey you), you have the right to discipline them in a manner that is not painful."

No doubt this phrase may be problematic in our time, this is a separate tangent. The fact of the matter is that, in this society when it was the norm that men would beat their wives without any question. This was the normal rule. What did the Prophet PBUH say? 'If they do something of a serious consequence, they you can discipline WITHOUT any pain.' Now, whether it should be done in our time is a separate discussion. In our times any type of discipline will break a marriage rather than save it so we should be careful. The point is our Prophet PBUH set guidelines but one needs to realize when this was said. Wallahi it's groundbreaking and it's leaps and bounds beyond what was going on at the time.

11. "And they have a right over you, that you give them their risk (sustenance) in a manner suitable to you."

Meaning the men are obliged to take care of their women financially and in terms of all other needs in a manner that is in accordance to what men have. So the Prophet PBUH is stressing the importance of family rights; and saying the money of the husband should be spent on his wife and children.

12. "And I have left among you something that as long as you hold it, you shall never go astray. The kitab-Allah."

This was the Khutbat al-Wada' in Arafat. Then he said:

13. "You shall soon be asked about me so what shall you say?"

And the people replied, "We will testify you have conveyed the message, done your duty and you were sincere." When they said this, the Prophet PBUH raised his hands to the sky and said three times, "O Allah bear witness they have said they've heard me and understood me." Why? Because Allah says in the Qur'an:

فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

"On that day every ummah will be asked about its Messenger, and the Messenger will be asked." [7:6]

Subhan'Allah the messenger will be asked and the people will be asked. So our Prophet PBUH wanted the ummah to respond that, "O Allah our Prophet PBUH has done the job," and they all indeed testify to this.

 

 

 

Another Sermon

 

On the next day, the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Prophet PBUH gave another khutbah and said:

1. "Verily time has returned to its rightful place as it was on the day that Allah created the heavens and the earth. A year is 12 months, four of which are sacred  (Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, Rajab)."

Now the Quraysh had a weird custom of changing the years around whenever they wanted. So if they wanted to go to war and it happened to be a sacred month, they would say, 'Let's just swap months,' and literally they will just swap a month. Obviously this will jumble up all the months, so this year in which the Prophet PBUH did Hajj just so happened to be perfectly aligned (qaddar'Allah) i.e. just as how it should be. The order of the months are the same as when Allah created the heavens and earth. Meaning, 'keep the calendar as it is this year.' Then he paused and asked, "What month is this?" The people were shocked because it's such an obvious question. He said, "Isn't this the month of Dhu al-Hijjah?" They said, "Yes." Then he said, "What day is this?" Again they were shocked because it's an obvious answer. Then he said, "What place is this?" Again the people were embarrassed to answer because it's so obvious. The point is, he is saying the same message again by asking them these questions to make them realize how holy Makkah is and how holy Dhu al-Hijjah is.

2. "Verily your lives, money, and honor are haram upon you just as sacred as this month, this day and this place is upon you."

What is he doing in all of this? Subhan'Allah he is uniting the ummah and making it one. He is saying, 'Forget everything, you are one ummah under Allah.' Your honor is haram means that do not backbite one another. Do not dishonor others by backbiting them.

3. "Woe to you. Do not return to being kuffar after me. Killing one another."

He is saying, 'Those were such ridiculous, pagan, evil ways - don't go back to that.' But astaghfirullah, look at the ummah today, it's exactly what the Prophet PBUH warned us about. That, 'Don't kill each other.'

4. "Let the one who is present inform the one who is absent."

Meaning go and tell people about this khutbah. In one version in Tirmidhi he said, "Shaytan has given up hope of being worshiped in this land. Arabia will not return to idolatry until the days of Dajjal. BUT he is hopeful in you obeying him in matters you consider trivial." In another version he said, "What he is hoping for is to make you fight one another" i.e. disunity. This is where he is optimistic. He won't trick the Muslims in worshiping idols anymore. The ummah as a whole will not return to that.

5. "The Muslim is the one from whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe from. And the mu'min is the one whom the people trust with their money and property. And the Muhajir is the one who has left his sins. And the mujahid is the one striving in the path of Allah."

Note this is a famous hadith, but all of these narrations are different hadith which different sahabi heard and we piece them together.

6. "Fear Allah, pray your 5 prayers, fast Ramadan, give zakat, and obey your rulers and you shall enter Jannah."

Meaning concentrate on the basic tenants of Islam and we will enter Jannah. This is the famous hadith in Tirmidhi.

7. In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad the Prophet PBUH said, "O people, your Lord is one and your father Adam is one. There is no favoritism of an Arab over a foreigner, nor a foreigner over an Arab, and neither red skin over black skin, nor black skin over red skin, except through Taqwa (righteousness). Have I not conveyed the message?"

This is another famous hadith in Muslim. This is an authentic hadith, and is completely revolutionary. No philosopher, leader, intellectual in the history of humanity ever said, 'All humans are equal.' Nobody. Every society thought, 'We are better,' whether it was race, ethnicity, etc. The first person to say this was the Prophet PBUH. Clearly this is from the divine. This is not something the son of Abdul Muttalib would say. The person who has the most noble lineage among all the Arabs. He is saying it doesn't matter if you are Arab or not. White or black, etc. Except Taqwa. It's revolutionary for humanity. Even now we are struggling with this concept.

So as we said the Prophet PBUH gave a khutbah in Arafat, on the 10th, 11th, 12th, etc. All of them put together we get the big poster we usually see. But realize that poster is not one khutbah, it's a mixture of all of them.

______________

 

Returning to Madinah

 

We conclude and say the Prophet PBUH spent three nights in Mina, typically we spend two and leave on the 12th. The Prophet PBUH spent three and left on the 13th. At night he went to perform Tawaf al-Wada' and returned on his journey to Madinah.

 

______________

 

Eagerness of Aisha RA

 

Aisha RA narrates when they first arrived in Makkah (4th Dhu al-Hijjah) the Prophet PBUH entered in his tent and she was crying. The Prophet PBUH said, "What is the matter have you started your menses?" Subhan'Allah this shows us the intuitive nature of the Prophet PBUH. Also, for the women who get their menses during the blessed times i.e. last 10 days of Ramadan, etc. Aisha RA also experienced this! So she was crying because the menses had begun and she is literally right outside of Makkah. The Prophet PBUH said, "Don't worry, this is something Allah has ordained for all of the daughters of Adam. Do everything the hujjaj do except for tawaf." Before the 13th she finished her menses, so she asks, "Ya Rasulullah are all of your wives going to go back having performed Umrah and Hajj and I only have Hajj?" So the Prophet PBUH said, "Ya Aisha, it's sufficient." But Aisha said, "Your wives will have double and I have one? No." So the Prophet PBUH then told Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr to take her to Tan'im, the closest place to Makkah outside of the Haram. It's the smallest distance from the Ka'bah to the circle of Makkah. So he took her to Tan'im, put her in ihram and let her do Umrah. Abd al-Rahman himself did not do Umrah. From this and more we note it's clear that it's permissible but not an encouraged thing to do multiple Umrahs.

The Prophet PBUH already left so they meet him back on the journey and go home to Madinah.

 

______________

 

Another Sunni-Shia Controversy: The Sermon of Ghadir Khumm

 

One final incident that is a very big source of controversy between the Sunni and Shia schools of thought. It's very important for the Shia; for us it's an innocent story with a very simple explanation. But for the Shia this story becomes the basis of Ali RA becoming the next khalifa. For us the story is so innocent that ibn Hisham and others mention it almost in passing. There's a context which we understand and after that there's no big deal. But for the Shia this story is so huge that from it they claim Ali RA should have been the next khalifa. And this story is in the books of hadith, it's well known. The Sunnis do not change history; there's a charge that we as Sunnis hide the blessings of Ali RA. No wallahi we say Ali RA is the best of the sahaba, and his blessings are countless, and he was the son-in-law, and the cousin and the Ahl al-Bayt and his blessings go on and on. But Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman radiAllahu-anhum are also blessed. And Abu Bakr deserved to be the khalifa before him, there's no doubt. Ali RA was deserving of it at a later time. We don't compete between the sahaba. Ali deserved to be the khalifa and he became it when it was his time.

In any case, what is this incident? It is the incident of Ghadir Khumm: The well of Khumm. And it occurred the next day outside of Makkah. And it's an innocent story from the Sunni perspective. What happened? Recall that Ali RA came from Yemen to do Hajj. And as he's coming he obviously has his people with him. And he has the wealth of Yemen, the zakat and sadaqa, etc. along with 100 camels for the Prophet PBUH. He arrives in Makkah, he's very excited and so he rushes to meet the Prophet PBUH and leaves someone else in charge of the entourage. That person decides to distribute new clothes to the entire entourage from the treasury i.e. the sadaqa. Yemen was known for its good clothes and cloth, so this person made his own ijtihad that, 'We deserve this and we're supposed to look good.' This of course is not allowed. Ali RA comes back and he is incensed: He tells them to take the clothes off and put them back. How will they feel? Not too happy, they are grumbling, angry, etc. As soon as Hajj finishes they complain to the Prophet PBUH. So the Prophet PBUH then gives that paragraph which is known as the sermon of Ghadir Khumm.

And in this khutbah the Prophet PBUH says, "Whoever is the mawla of Ali, I am the mawla of Ali, and Ali is to me like Harun and Musa were," so he praises Ali RA in a very high manner. And there is no denying this. And he rebukes those people for criticizing Ali RA, and they deserved to be rebuked. Who are they to take the garments out of the treasury? That is not their right. And the Prophet PBUH says Ali RA is indeed the mawla, and Allah loves him. And so he says, "So stop complaining to me about Ali." And the Prophet PBUH also says, "I leave behind two things; as for the first of them hold onto it, it is the book of Allah. As for second fear Allah with regards to my family." Note the Prophet PBUH didn't say, "Hold onto my family." Rather he said, "Fear Allah with regards to them," meaning, 'Make sure you treat them well.' The context is crystal clear, and that is why, a simple point: When the Prophet PBUH passed away four months later and the sahaba are gathered together, none of them including the supporters of Ali mention Ghadir Khumm. It wasn't even in their minds that Ghadir Khumm is about who will be the khalifa. It was simply in the context of what is going on, "Stop irritating me about Ali, he is my family and he's done the right decision," and that is absolutely valid. This is in the incident of Ghadir Khumm: It's all valid and it did happen, but we don't read in the politics as the Shia do.

 

______________

 

Points of Benefit From the Sermons of the Prophet PBUH


Final point, of the main benefits of the sermons of the Prophet PBUH:

1. Obliterating all the old customs of Jahiliyyah.

2. Beginning with his own family to demonstrate the reality of what he is preaching.

This is a new beginning for the ummah. All old laws are destroyed and the new laws of Islam are now in place.

3. Stressed the rights of Muslims amongst each other.

4. Strengthening the ties of the ummah - if the ummah was not united, the Persian Empire and Roman Empire would not have been conquered.

5. Obliterating Jahiliyyah tribes and racism. These are the two things that destroy the ummah to this day. Skin color, racism, etc. All of these are just figments of the imagination.

6. He emphasized the rights of women.

7. Most importantly he left them with the primary source of law: The book of Allah and told the people to hold firm to it.

 101 - The Death of Prophet Muhammad SAW