When Allah The Almighty completed the religion and had acquired its trustworthy - men whom the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, had educated- , and when the religion prevailed and the true path became clear, Allah The Almighty decreed that His Messenger, , would face the same fate that everyone else would, as stated in the verse (what means): {Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection} [Quran 3:185]
The Prophet, , began to bid the worldly life farewell with both words and deeds. There were many signs and indications for this. Of these was his saying in the Farewell Hajj, “I do not know - I may not meet you again after this year.” Another sign that his death was near was that Jibreel (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention, revised the Quran with him twice that year, whereas, before that, he would revise it with the Prophet, , only once a year. Another sign was the revelation of the verse which confirms the completion and perfection of the religion (what means): {Today I have completed your religion for you, and I have perfected My favor on you, and I am satisfied with Islam as a religion for you} [Quran 5:3]
Yet another sign was the revelation of the one hundred and tenth chapter (what means): {When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest. And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes. Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance} [Quran 110:1-3]
Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented that this chapter was the obituary of the Prophet, .
On Monday, 19th Safar 11 AH, the Prophet, , fell ill. He suffered a severe headache that prevented him from movement on its first day. The Prophet, , was at that time at the house of the Mother of the Believers, Maymoonah, may Allah be pleased with her. When his illness worsened , he asked for his wives’ permission to move to the house of ‘Aaishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and they all agreed. He dragged his feet until he reached the house of ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. Both ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib and Al-Fadhl ibn Al-‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with them, assisted him. He remained ill and in pain for days. He would only go out to perform the prayers and then return to bed. Five days before he died, he defied the severe pains and went out to deliver a sermon. He reminded the people that he would meet them at the Hawdh (basin in Paradise) and informed them that he could see his position there. He also warned them against competing over worldly matters. He also ordered them to be kind to women. Then he said: “Allah, The Almighty, has given one of His slaves a choice between this world and what is with Allah. He chose what is with Allah.'” Abu Bakr wept and said, “We would ransom you with our fathers, we would ransom you with our mothers.” People were amazed at the weeping of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who had in fact correctly understood the speech of the Prophet, , and knew that he was the one who had been given the option. The Prophet, , praised Abu Bakr and extolled his virtues. Seeking justice, the Prophet, , said: “If I have oppressed anyone, let him take his rights now. If I have taken anything from anyone, let him take it back now.”
The Prophet, , then went back to his bed, and a group of the Companions visited him while he was suffering intense pain. He asked them to do three things
· To expel the Jews and the Christians from the Arabian Peninsula
· To honor and give gifts to delegates, as the Prophet, , used to do.
· To let the army led by Usaamah, may Allah be pleased with him, march towards the Romans.
Then the pain became so severe that the Prophet, , fainted, and when he regained consciousness he said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians! They have taken the graves of their prophets as places of prostration - do not make my grave an idol that is worshipped.”
Having seen the pain the Prophet, , was suffering, Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “What a great severity you are experiencing, O my father!” He said to her:“No severity shall afflict your father after today.” With the pain becoming worse, the Prophet, , ordered that Abu Bakr should lead people in Salah (prayer). Abu Bakr led people in seventeen Salahs during the lifetime of the Prophet, . One day before he died, the Prophet, , freed his slaves, gave away seven dinars he owned as charity, and gave his weapons to the Muslims. ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that when the Prophet, , regained consciousness, he said: “O Allah, let me join the high companions [i.e., the apostles who live in the most elevated place of Paradise]!” She thus realized that he was dying. The Prophet would supplicate at this time: “O Allah, forgive me, have mercy upon me and make me join the high companions - O Allah - with the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions!”
On the day of his death, he drew the curtain of the house aside and looked at people during the dawn prayer and smiled - and the people thought that he had recovered. However, he then said his last words, which were: “[Adhere to] the prayer, [Adhere to] the prayer and [fear Allah in] what your right hands possess [i.e., your slaves].”At noon on Monday, 12 Rabee‘ Al-Awwal, 11 AH, the Prophet, , died while his head was on the chest of ‘Aai’shah, may Allah be pleased with her. She was astounded and went out to inform the people.
Everyone was astounded. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, threatened to kill anyone who claimed that Muhammad, , had died. He thought that the Prophet, , was absent in the same way Moosa (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention, was absent for forty days, and that he would surely return.
The Companions remained shocked until Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came to the Prophet, , kissed him, then went out and delivered a speech before the Companions. He said,“If you worship Muhammad, then (know that) Muhammad has died; but if you worship Allah, indeed Allah Is Alive and never dies. [Allah the Almighty Says (what means):] {Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful. } [Quran 3:144] Having heard this, people began to rethink and therefore became certain as to what had actually occurred.
Al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Al-Fadhl ibn Al-‘Abbas, Qutham ibn Al-‘Abaas, Shuqraan, the slave of the Prophet, , and Usaamah ibn Zayd , may Allah be pleased with all of them, took charge of preparing the body of the Prophet, , for burial. Thus, the Prophet, , departed this life for the life of eternal bliss after he had rendered the trust, conveyed the message, advised the nation and left us on the straight path on which we abide by the Quran, the Sunnah and the actions of the rightly guided Caliphs. May Allah The Almighty send peace, grace and blessings on him and give him the best reward a prophet would obtain!
O Allah The Almighty, make him intercede for us! Ameen!