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A view of Arafat where Muslim pilgrims spend the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month of the Islamic calendar) |
The Farewell Pilgrimage
In the tenth year of the Hijrah the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be
upon him) went to Makkah as a pilgrim for
the last time — his "pilgrimage farewell" it is called
– when from Mt. Arafat he preached to an enormous throng of
pilgrims. He reminded them of all the duties Islam enjoined upon
them, and that they would one day have to meet their Lord, who would
judge each one of them according to his work. At the end of the
discourse, he asked: "Have I not conveyed the message?"
And from that great multitude of men who a few months or years
before had all been conscienceless idolaters, the shout went up,
"O Allah! Yes!" The Prophet said, "O Allah! Be a
witness!"
Illness and Death of the Prophet
It was during that last pilgrimage that the
surah entitled "Succor" was revealed, in which Muhamad
received as an announcement of approaching death. Soon after his
return to Madinah, Muhammad fell ill. The tidings of his illness
caused dismay throughout Arabia and anguish to the folk of Madinah,
Makkah, and Taif.
At early dawn, on the last day of his
earthly life, Muhammad came out from his room beside the mosque in
Madinah and joined the public prayer, which Abu Bakr had been
leading since his illness. And there was great relief among the
people because they thought he had recovered.
Later in the day, the rumor grew that Muhammad
had died. Umar threatened those who spread the rumor with
dire punishment, declaring it a crime to think that the Messenger of
God could die. He was yelling at the people when Abu Bakr came into
the mosque and overheard him. Abu Bakr went to the chamber of his
daughter Aishah, where the Prophet lay.
Having ascertained Muhammad's death, Abu
Bakr kissed the dead man's forehead and went back into the mosque.
The people were still listening to Umar, who was saying that the
rumor was a wicked lie, that the Prophet who was all in all to them
could not be dead. Abu Bakr went up to Umar and tried to stop him by
a whispered word. Then, finding he would pay no heed, Abu Bakr
called to the people, who, recognizing his voice, left Umar and came
crowding round him. He first gave praise to Allah, and then said,
"Oh people! Lo! As for him who worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is
dead. But as for him who worships Allah, Allah is Alive and does not
die." He then recited the verse of the Quran:
And Muhammad is
but a messenger, messengers the like of whom have passed away
before him. Will it be that, when he dies or is killed, will you
turn back on your heels? He who turns back will do no hurt to
Allah, and Allah will reward the thankful. (Quran 3:144)
"And," said the narrator who had
been an eyewitness, "it was as if the people had not known that
such a verse had been revealed till Abu Bakr recited it." And
another witness tells how Umar used to say, "When I heard Abu
Bakr recite that verse, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground,
for I knew that Allah's messenger was dead, may Allah bless and keep
him!"
All the surahs of the Quran had been
recorded in writing before the Prophet's death, and many Muslims had
committed the whole Quran to memory. But the written surahs had been
dispersed among the people and when, in a battle which took place
during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr —within two years of the
Prophet's death — a large number of those who memorized the Quran
by heart were killed. In order to preserve the Quran, a collection
was made and put in writing.
In the caliphate of Othman, all existing
copies of surahs were called in, and an authoritative version, based
on Abu Bakr's collection and the testimony of those who had the
whole Quran by heart, was compiled exactly in the present form and
order. The present order is regarded as traditional and to be based
on the arrangement made by the Prophet himself. Caliph Othman and
his helpers were Companions of the Prophet and the most devout
students of the Revelation. The Quran has thus been very carefully
preserved.
* Taken, with some
editorial changes, from Pickthall's introduction to his translation
of the Quran.
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