Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon

Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon

A Universal Message
By Adil Salahi
Researcher and writer - UK

Starting from Makkah on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah, Prophet Muhammad led the pilgrims through the valley of Mina up to the Mount Arafah, and then stopped them in the valley of Uranah. They stood in front of him silently as he sat on his camel and delivered this sermon.

With a crowd of over 120,000 pilgrims, his voice could not reach out to all those who were present. Thus, a man with a loud voice, called Rabiah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf, stood next to the Prophet's camel, repeating every sentence the Prophet said, so that all those who were with the Prophet heard everything.

The Prophet's speech that day was the highlight of his pilgrimage, outlining the nature of Islamic society. As usual, his speech began with the praise and glorification of God. The Prophet then went on to say:

"O people, listen to me as I explain to you, for I do not know whether I will ever meet you again in this place after this year. O people, do you know in what month, day and city you are?"

They said: "We are on a sacred day, in a sacred month, in a sacred city."

He said: "Know, then, that your blood, property and honor are forbidden to you till you meet your Lord in the same way as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this city of yours. You will certainly meet your Lord and He will certainly question you about what you do. Have I delivered my message?"

They answered: "Yes."

He said: "My Lord, bear witness. He who holds something belonging to another for safekeeping must give it back to the person to whom it belongs.

"All usury transactions which have been made in the past days of ignorance are hereby abrogated. You may claim only your capital, neither inflicting nor suffering any injustice. God has decreed that no usury is permissible. The first usury transactions I abrogate are those of my uncle, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.

All cases of vengeance killings are hereby waived. The first case of killing I thus waive is that of Amir ibn Rabiah ibn al-Harith. Have I delivered my message?"

He said: "My Lord, bear witness. O people, the postponement of sacred months is an excess of disbelief, a means by which those who disbelieve are led astray.

They declare this postponement to be permissible in one year and forbidden in another, in order to conform outwardly to the number of months which God has made sacred, and thus they make allowable what God has forbidden. Time has now been set back in its original fashion which it had when God created the heavens and the earth.

The number of months, in the sight of God, is twelve, out of which four are sacred, three consecutive ones and a single one: Dhul-Qidah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab, which falls between Jumada and Shaban. This is the ever-true law of God. Do not, then, sin against yourselves with regard to these months. When I am gone, do not revert to disbelief, killing one another. Have I delivered my message?"

They answered: "You certainly have."

Continuing his speech he said: "My Lord, be my witness. O people, you have an obligation towards your womenfolk and they have an obligation towards you. It is their duty not to allow into your homes anyone whom you dislike without your permission. Should they do that, God has permitted you to desert them in bed, then to beat them without any severity. Should they desist, they have the right to be provided with food and clothing, in fairness.

Your womenfolk are in your custody; they are helpless. You have taken them on the basis of a pledge to God, and they are lawful to you with God's word. Fear God, then, in your treatment of women, and be kind to them. Have I delivered my message?"

They replied: "Yes, indeed."

He said: "My Lord, be my witness. O people, the believers are brothers. It is illegal for anyone to take the property of his brother unless it is given without any coercion. O people, your Lord is one and your father is one. All of you are the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust. The most noble among you is the most God-fearing. No Arab enjoys any privilege over a non-Arab except through the fear of God. Have I delivered my message?"

They answered: "Yes, you most certainly have."

He said: "My Lord, be my witness. O people, Satan has given up any hope of being worshipped in this land of yours. He is satisfied, however, to be obeyed in matters which you consider trivial. Guard yourselves against him, lest he corrupts your faith.

I have left with you what should keep you safe from going astray should you hold fast to it. It is something clear and simple: God's Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet. You will be questioned about me. What will you say?"

They said: "We bear witness that you have delivered your message complete and you have discharged your mission and given good counsel."

The Prophet pointed his forefinger at the sky and lowered it to point to the people, saying all the time: "My Lord, bear witness. My Lord, bear witness."

The Prophet then said: "Let those who are present communicate what I have said to those who are not with us today. It may happen that those who come to know of it in this way may understand it better than some of those who have listened to it."

Thus the Prophet concluded his major speech.


Adil Salahi is the Executive Director of Al-Furqan Heritage Foundation. He teaches Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, England. After working for the BBC Arabic Service for several years, he worked for the Arabic daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat. He continues to publish a column, "Islam in Perspective", in its sister publication, Arab News, an English daily published in Saudi Arabia. He has produced an English translation of several volumes of Sayyid Qutb's commentary, In the Shade of the Quran (Leicester, Islamic Foundation), as well as several other books on Islamic subjects.