THE FAREWELL HAJJ

YEAR 10 A.H.

In the Year 10 A.H. the power of the kuffar and oppositions of the non Muslims
states had virtually disappeared. The mission of Rasulullah had been
completed. The Muslims began to enjoy peace, prosperity and security. Arabia
became an Islamic State and this afforded the Muslims the opportunity to
practise their faith freely and without any hindrance from anyone.

Rasulullah appointed his trustworthy and pious Sahaba (R.A.) to various

parts of Arabia to propound and to consolidate the principles of Islam and to
guide those, who in their weakness, might bring disrepute to the faith. Islam had
reached the highest pinnacle of glory. The Sahaba (R.A.) were tutored and
trained by their beloved Nabi on the five pillars of Islam: (1) Imaan (belief) (2)
Salaah (prayer) (3) Saum (fasting) (4) Zakaat (charity) (5) Hajj (pilgrimage).

Rasulullah established "madaris"; courts of justice; protection for the

underprivileged and the oppressed. Learned Sahaba (R.A.) were appointed
Amirs, magistrates, judges and governors under the banner of Islam.

Hazrat Khail ibn Walid (R.A.) was responsible for bringing the tribes of Najraan
into the fold of Islam. Hazrat Ali Abu Talib (R.A.) annexed the formidable Bazaan,
the king of Yemen to the Islamic State. Then came the revelation of Surah Nasr:

"When come the help of Allah, and victory, and

when you see the people enter Allah's Deen in
Crowds,
Then celebrate the Praise of your Lord, and pray
for his Forgiveness: for no doubt He accepts
repentance'.

Rasulullah understood that Allah was pleased with his humble work and
gaining the impression of his approaching end, he announced his intention to
perform Hajj, the ultimate rite of every Muslim. He advised his Sahaba (R.A.) to
do likewise.

The month of Dhu al Qadah was almost at an end, to be followed by Dhul Hijjah
the month of Hajj (pilgrimage). Until that time, Nabi had not performed the
Hajj, though he had performed Umrah on two previous occasions. The ritual
(arkan) of Hajj had to be established in its entirety so that Muslims might learn to
follow it.
As soon as the people knew of Rasulullah 's intention and heard his call to
march with him for Hajj, the whole Peninsula reverberated with the call, and
thousands and thousands of people from all corners poured into Madinah. From
every town and village. From every mountain and valley, from every plain and
desert across the wide Peninsula the people arrived to perform the Hajj. It was as
if this very vast expanse of land had all been illuminated by the dazzling light of
Allah and his Rasool Around Madinah tents were set up to accommodate the
new visitors, numbering 100,000 or more, who rose up in response to the call of
their Nabi . All these men came as brethren, in love and respect for one
another, and united in true bond of friendship and Islamic brotherhood. whereas
but yesteryear they had been the most hostile of enemies. These thousands
upon thousands of men filled the streets of Madinah, all manifesting the smiles of
faith, the certainty of conviction and the confidence and pride of true religion.
Their gathering was an inspiring evidence of the victory of truth, of the wide reach
of the light of Allah and the deep bond of truth and righteousness which had
cemented them one to the other so that they stood like one great fortress.

There was feverish activity in Madinah. But above all, every Muslim longed to
see Rasulullah People jostled and clamoured to touch him or part of his
garment for blessings. The scene of respect, love and tenderness and the
reverence of the Sahaba (R.A.) towards their beloved Nabi could never have
been witnessed in any kingdom of the world.

On the twenty fifth of Dhul Qadah of the year 10 A.H. (23rd February 632 A.D.)
Rasulullah set forth towards Makkah accompanied by all his wives each
riding her own carriage. He was followed by a great multitude, numbering
114,000. These men marched with consciences deeply moved by their Imaan,
with hearts full of joy and contentment at their intended accomplishment of Hajj to
the holy sanctuary of Allah.

They reached Dhu al Hulayfah at the end of the day and there they spent the
night. On the following morning, Rasulullah put on his Ehram (sacred state)
and the Muslims followed his example. Everyone changed their clothes and put
on two pieces of unsewn white cloth, the simplest of all garments. In this way,
they expressed the absolute equal political, economic and legal right for all its
citizens-Islam, in its most eloquent highest sense. Muhammed turned to Allah
with all his heart and mind praying, "At your service O Allah! At your service! You
have no associates! At your service, O Allah! Praise be to Allah! Thank be to
Allah! At your service' O Allah! You have no associates, O Allah! At your service
O Allah". all the Muslims repeated these words after him. Deserts, valleys and
mountains reverberated with this prayer. The sky itself reverberated with the call
of all those pious, believing and worshipping souls.
Thus the procession continued on its way to Makkah, its thousands and
hundreds of thousands filling the air with the sound of his prayer. At every masjid
on the way to Makkah, the procession would stop to pray, and the voices of
thousands would rise proclaiming the unity of Allah, their praise and blessing in
anticipation of the great day of Hajj that awaited them. Everyone impatient to
reach the sanctuary of Allah that he revered and honoured more than anything
else in the world. Undoubtedly the deserts, mountains , valley, the trees, birds
and skies were moved by what they witnessed in this great call, the like of which
they had never heard before. They and the Peninsula had been blessed by the
coming Nabi Muhammed , the servant of Allah and his Rasool.

The procession reached Makkah on the fourth of Dhul al Hijjah. Upon arrival,
Rasulullah followed by the Sahaba (R.A.) hastened to the Ka'bah. There
Rasulullah went to the Hajr-e-Aswad (Black Stone) and kissed it. Then he
circumambulated the holy sanctuary seven times, the first three of which he did
at a trotting pace, just as he had done during the Umra. He then proceeded to
the sanctuary of Ibrahim (A.S.) where he performed salaah. Returning to the
Hajr-e-Aswad, he kissed it once more than went to Mount al Safa and from there
performed the Sai between that mount and the mount of Marwah.

On the eight day of Dhul al Hijjah Rasulullah went to Mina and spent the day
and night in that locality. There he performed all Salaah incumbent during that
period. The following day, Nabi S.A.W. recited his Fajr Salaat and, at sunrise,
proceeded on his camel al Qaswa, to the Mount of Arafat, followed by all the
pilgrims. As he ascended the mountain, he was surrounded by thousands of his
Sahaba (R.A.) reciting the talbiyah and the takbir. Nabi asked some of the
Sahaba (R.A.) to put up a tent for him on the east side of the mountain as a spot
called Namirah. When the sun passed the zenith, he ordered his camel to be
saddled, and rode on it until he reached the valley of 'Uranah'.

It was there that he, while sitting on his camel, delivered his sermon in a loud
voice to his people. Hazrat Rabi'ah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf (R.A.) repeated the
sermon after him sentence by sentence.

He began by praising Allah and thanking Him, and turning to the people, he said:
"O Men. listen well to my words, for I do not know whether I shall meet you again
on such an occasion in the future. O men, your lives and your property shall be
inviolate until you meet your Lord. The safety of your lives and of your property
shall be as inviolate as this holy day and holy month. Remember that you will
indeed meet your Lord and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Thus do I
warn you. Whoever of you is keeping a trust of someone else shall return that
trust to its rightful owner. All interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your
capital however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer injustice. Allah
has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to 'Abbas
ibn 'Abd al Muttalib shall hence forth be waived. Every right arising out of
homicide in pre-islamic days is henceforth waived. And the first such right that I
waive is that arising from the murder of Rabi'ah ibn Hrith ibn 'Abd al Muttalib. (ibn
Rabi'ah, a cousin of Rasulullah . He was confided, in infancy, to the care of a
family of the Banu Laith. This child was cruelly murdered by the member of the
tribe of Huzail, but the murder was not yet avenged). O Men, the shaytaan has
lost all hope of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. Nevertheless, he still
is anxious to induce you in the lesser of your deeds. Beware of him, therefore, for
the safety of your religion. O Men, adding or tampering with the calendar is
evidence of great unbelief and confirms the unbelievers in their misguidance.
They include in it one year and forbid it in the next in order to make permissible
that which Allah forbade, and to forbid that which Allah has made permissible.
The pattern according to which the time is reckoned is always the same. With
Allah, the month are twelve in number. (The Arabs added a month every three
years to re-established equilibrium and bring the same dates back to the same
seasons). O men, to you a right belongs with respect to your women a right with
respect to you. It is your right that they do not fraternize with any one whom you
do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery. But if they do, then Allah
has permitted you to isolate them within their homes and to chastise them
without cruelty. But if they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to
be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them,
for they are you partners and committed helpers. Remember that you have taken
them as your wives and enjoy their flesh only under Allah's trust and with His
permission. Reason well, therefore, O men, and ponder my words which I now
convey to you. I am leaving you with the Kitab of Allah and the Sunnah of His
Rasool. If you follow them, you will never go astray . O Men, listen well to my
words. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslim
constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which
belonged to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not
therefore do injustice to your own slaves. Let him that is present tell it unto him
that is absent. Possibly he that shall be told may remember better than he who
had heard it".

As Rasulullah delivered his speech, Hazrat Rabi'ah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf
(R.A.) repeated it sentence by sentence and asked the people every now and
then whether or not they had understood Rasulullah 's words and committed
them to memory. In order to make sure that the people understood and
remembered, Rasulullah used to ask his message bearer to say "The Rasool
of Allah asks, 'Do you know which day is this?" The audience would answer,
"Today is the day of Hajj".

At the end of the speech, Rasulullah exclaimed. "O Allah! I have delivered my
message and accomplished my work". The assembled Sahaba (R.A.) below with
one voice cried, "Yes, indeed so! Allah be witness". O Allah I beseech you, bear
you witness unto it".
With these words Rasulullah finished his address, which according to
tradition, was remarkable for its length, its eloquence and enthusiasm.
Rasulullah dismounted and waited till noon, at which time he performed both
the noon (zohar) and the mid afternoon (Asr) salaah. He then mounted his camel
and proceed to al Sakarat where he recited to the people the concluding divine
revelation : "Today I have completed for you your religion, and granted you the
last of my blessings. Today I have accepted for you Islam as the religion". When
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiqe (R.A.) heard these verse he realized that with the
completion of the divine message, Rasulullah 's life was soon to come to a
close.

Rasulullah left 'Arafat and spent his night at Muzdalifah. In the morning, he
first visited the sanctuary of al Mash'ar, and then Mina on the road to which he
threw pebbles against the symbol of Shaytaan. When he reached his tent, he
sacrificed sixty three camels, one for each year of his life. Hazrat Ali ibn Abu
Talib
(R.A), sacrificed the rest (37) of the animals which Rasulullah S.A.W had brought
with him from Madinah. Rasulullah then had his head shaved by Hazrat
Mi'mar ibn Abdullah (R.A.) and returned to Makkah to perform the Tawaf. On the
same day he returned to Mina where he stayed for three days. On the 13th day
after midday he departed from Minah towards Makkah. On the way he stopped
over in the valley of Muhassab and performed the Zohar, Asr, Maghrib and Esha
Salaah there and rested for the night. In the last part of the night he entered
Makkah, performed his last Tawaf thereafter read his Fajr Salaah and departed
for Madinah.

This Hajj is sometimes called "The Farewell Hajj". Others have called it the "Hajj
of the Annunciation" and others, the "Hajj of Islam". In reality, Rasulullah 's
Hajj was all these at once. It was the "Farewell Hajj: because Rasulullah saw
Makkah and the holy Haram for the last time. It was also the "Hajj of Islam"
because Allah completed His religion for the benefit of mankind and granted
them His total blessing. Finally, it was also the "Hajj of Annunciation" because
Rasulullah completed his announcement and conveyance to the people of
what had been commanded by Allah to announce and to convey.