Monday, May 4, 2009

Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon

The last sermon of the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) is known as 'Khutbatul Wada'. It is mentioned in almost all books of Hadith. The following Ahadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari refer to the sermon and quote part of it, Hadith 1623, 1626, 6361. Sahih of Imam Muslim also refers to this sermon in Hadith number 98. Imam al-Tirmidhi has mentioned this sermon in Hadith nos. 1628, 2046, 2085. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal has given us the longest and perhaps the most complete version of this sermon in his Musnad, Hadith no. 19774.

This Khutbah of the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) contained much guidance and instructions on many issues. The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) gave this sermon in front of a large gathering of people during Hajj. It is a great khutbah and we should all pay attention to its message and guidance. (excerpt from soundvision.com)

The following are the basic points mentioned in this khutbah:

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' (in Mecca).

After praising, and thanking Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) he said:

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds. ALLAH has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. 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 your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

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This khutbah is just as relevant now as it was then. Imagine if we all paid heed to this message. Let us pass it on, and may we all benefit from it, Ameen!

9 comments:

  1. As Salaamu 'alaikum sister,

    MashaAllah i agree with you! The khutbah's as important as it was then. In fact i believe us Muslims of today need to heed the words of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam much more than the Muslims of the past. With Nationalism, Racism, Tribalism and all the 'ism' are rife in the Ummah. SubhanaAllah!

    May Allah reward you for this beautiful reminder :)

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  2. Wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh dear Sis Sacrifice4Allah, you are absolutely right, all these 'isms' have no basis in the Ummah and they need to go, sometimes it seems as if we are going backwards instead of forwards *sigh*.

    Ameen to your dua, May Allah reward you also, Ameen!

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  3. Alhamdulillah,

    I love this man. Peace be upon him.

    People paint bad images of the Prophet and ignore the beautiful words he spoke. Beautiful speech.

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  4. MashaAllah ! Assalamu alaikum Sister Maryam, many people do not know the truth about Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu alahi wa salam) or they would love him as much as we do :)

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  5. Salaams Dear Sister:

    Alhamdulillah, it's like he knew what issues the Muslims would always struggle with.

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  6. Wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh Sister Safiyyah, yes its as if he knew that, and its so sad that 1400 years ago we still havent gotten rid of those issues :(

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  7. The quoting style of yours is very beautiful but as far as I know, this is not the complete speech. If I'm not forgotten Rasool-uLLAH (Peace be upon him)(Sal-ALLAH-o-alaih-e-wa-SALLAM) also reminded us not to kill our children for the fear of poverty and not to kill our fellow men. (I can not quote because I haven't learned it all I'm sorry) please don't take it as all and keep searching for the complete speech.

    (I might be wrong but I remember a few words which I can not find here, I'm not sure if he said anything about children or not because my memory isn't so good)

    The Muslims He (Rasool-uLLAH Peace be upon him) spoke to, at Khutbah-tul-Wida, were about one hundred thousand in number.

    Lovely work anyway! You see you've got a true Muslim's style of writing MashaALLAH.

    Please do inform me if anything I said is wrong. It would be a great gift for me from you.

    JazakALLAH

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  8. MashaAllah, brother Aurangzeb. I will try to see if I find the entire speech InshaAllah. JazakAllah Khair for your comments.

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