EVENTS
631 CE / The Farewell Pilgrimage. 10th Year after Hijrah (Migration)
Important events and incidences that took place
Towards the end of February 631 the Prophet announced his intention to make the pilgrimage journey known as Hajj. He set out with all his wives and a huge crowd of pilgrims, arriving outside of Makkah on the 3rd of March. He began to utter the ancient call of the pilgrims: ‘Here I am at your service, O God.’ Then he began to lead them through the old pagan rituals, so dear to the hearts of the Arabs, giving them a new significance. Instead of being reunited with their tribal deities, the Muslims were to gather round the “house”-the Ka’bah-built by their ancestors Abraham and Ismael.
As he entered the Holy Mosque he circumambulated the Ka’bah leading the pilgrims and walked between Safa and Marwah just as Haajar, Ismael’s mother, had done in search of help.
On the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah he left for Mina remaining there for a day. The next morning a while after the sun rose he continued to Arafah were he gave a grand sermon to the people informing them that he would not live to meet them on the Hajj again. He went on to explain some of the final commandments, that it is unlawful to shed blood (unjustly), to confiscate the wealth of one another, and that usury is forbidden. He incited the people to fear God concerning their women in that it is incumbent upon all believers to honour their conjugal rights. He went on to explain the most powerful means of reform for followers to come: the Book of God, the Qur’an, and his Prophetic Traditions; if his nation were to hold fast to the two, they would never go astray. In closing, he asked the masses whether he had delivered the message of God to which they responded positively. He then looked to the sky calling upon his Lord to bear witness to his proclamation of the message. After the speech, the pilgrims recalled their unity with the rest of humanity, when they made a standing vigil on the slopes of Mount ‘Arafah, where, it was said, God had made a covenant with Adam, the father of the entire human race. Then at Mina, they threw stones at the three pillars as a reminder of the constant struggle (jihad) with satan. Finally, they sacrificed a sheep, in memory of the sheep Abraham sacrificed after he offered his own son to God.
LESSONS & WISDOMS
631 CE / The Farewell Pilgrimage
A closer look at the events; in search of deeper meanings and drawing lessons
In the eleventh month of this year it was proclaimed throughout madinah that the Prophet himself would lead the Hajj trip (a pilgrimage to Makkah in order to perform certain acts of worship) and this trip was later to become known as the ‘Farewell Pilgrimage’, as it was as if the Prophet was bidding farewell to his Companions before his departure from this earthly abode.
In many ways the Hajj journey of the Prophet, along with a hundred thousand or so companions, symbolised the pinnacle of his Prophecy and the finest hour of his life. On one occasion after ending a brief sermon delivered during the Hajj the Prophet asked an earnest question: “O people, have I faithfully delivered to you the message?” A powerful murmur of assent, “O God, yea!”, arose from thousands of throats and vibrant words Goduma na’m rolled like thunder throughout the valley, at which point the Prophet looked up to the heavens and asked God to bear witness to their testimony.
The Prophet delivered many sermons during the Hajj journey as many people were present and he sensed that this was the last chance to address his people as a whole. He forewarned his disciples of outbreaks of apostasy and returning to pre-Islamic habits that would occur after his death. He exhorted them to keep their duty in adhering to the teachings of the Quran and his Prophetic teachings. The fundamentals of Islam were re-emphasised as many new converts were present in the Hajj and the Prophet was trying to break their attachment to polytheistic practices.
On many occasions the Prophet would perform certain acts of the Hajj at odds with previous practice known to the Arabs; this was to show his followers the discontinuity of some pre-islamic heathen practices that were at odds with their new faith. For instance, instead of stopping at Ma’sharul Haram en route to Arafah (a practice of the Qurashites to remain inside the sacred precinct whilst everyone else was made to continue out of the haram) he continued on with the journey, and when making the Talbiyyah call he merely reiterated the Talbiyyah of the Qurashites without the polytheistic last phrase.
The Prophet also spoke out against racism and instead implored them to enjoin the ties of brotherhood, saying that superiority of one person over another was only based on piety before God. In many respects his last sermons are a detailed methodology in cultivating an upright & just society.
***
The Prophet demonstrated his dynamic teaching ability during the Hajj and lead his people by employing a variety of different teaching methods. He would at times strike similitudes that were pertinent to the audience as they related to their particular lifestyles; on other occasions he would use practical demonstration rather than spoken instruction, this what the Prophet meant when he said, “Take from me your rites (of Hajj)”. He would often repeat and reemphasize certain points which he felt were more important; for his intention was not amaze the audience with eloquence but rather to benefit them with guidance. Moreover, it is only human to forget and hence reminders were needed. The Prophet would engage with his audience and often ask them questions, some of which were rhetorical but nevertheless helped draw the attention of the people.
***
In this year the Prophet’s son Ibrahim passed away momentarily after which a solar eclipse took place- the only eclipse to occur in the Prophet’s life as a Messenger of God
EDICTS & RULINGS
631 CE / The Farewell Pilgrimage
Revelation and rulings particular to this year
The Prophet delivered a moving speech whilst standing at Arafah. He explained the Hajj rituals and then God revealed to him the following verse. He recited it aloud and the companions began to cry realizing that the departure of their Prophet was now due:
Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed My blessing upon you and I am pleased with Islam as a religion for you.
***
Most of the Fiqh rulings (religious injunctions) pertaining to Hajj were revealed during the Hajj journey of the Prophet. Amongst them was the burial procedure of the pilgrim who dies whilst in a state of Ihram. He is not be perfumed nor have his head included in the shroud.
***
A delegation from the Christians of Najran (in Yemen) came to Madinah to argue about the status of Jesus, claiming that he was divine and the son of God. God sent down the beginning of the Quranic chapter aal-‘Imran until verse 61 refuting their claim:
If anyone argues with you about him after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come then! Let us summon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us make earnest supplication and call down the curse of God upon the liars.’
CONTENTIOUS NARRATIVES
631 CE / The Farewell Pilgrimage
How did Muhammad deal with those who didn’t believe in him?
Islam has a comprehensive approach to dealing with non-adherents to it. As head of state in Madinah, Prophet Muhammad embodied Quranic teachings in establishing non-Muslims as citizens of the new Islamic State.
In the year 10 A.H. (631 CE), Prophet Muhammad received a delegation of sixty Christians from a place called Najran about 450 miles south of Medinah. The Prophet invited them to Islam and discussed matters of doctrine. The discussions did not end with conversion to Islam, though a treaty was agreed.
The treaty provided religious and administrative autonomy for non-Muslim citizens of the Islamic State. This then became a blueprint for tolerating other religions in Muslim administered territories. This was not the only treaty made by the Prophet. He had already made peace between the Aws and Khazraj tribes of Madinah who were previously locked in a sequence of debilitating wars with each other. They collectively became known as the Ansar (The Helpers) and by embracing the brotherhood of Islam, they also treated the emigrants from Makkah as their own.
Madinah was also home to three small tribes of Jews that were economically very powerful. The Prophet had earlier laid down the basis of a relationship with these tribes in order to create peace and stability in the city. This came in the form of a citizens’ charter. Salient points of the document were as follows:
“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. This is a document from Muhammad, the Prophet, governing the relation between the Believers from among the Qurayshites (i.e., Emigrants from Mecca) and Yathribites (i.e., the residents of Madinah) and those who followed them and joined them and strived with them. They form one and the same community as against the rest of men.
“No Believer shall oppose the client of another Believer. Whosoever is rebellious, or seeks to spread injustice, enmity or sedition among the Believers, the hand of every man shall be against him, even if he be a son of one of them. A Believer shall not kill a Believer in retaliation of an unbeliever, nor shall he help an unbeliever against a Believer.”
“Whosoever among the Jews follows us shall have help and equality; they shall not be injured nor shall any enemy be aided against them…. No separate peace will be made when the believers are fighting in the way of God.…”
“The Jews shall contribute (to the cost of war) with the Believers so long as they are at war with a common enemy. The Jews of Banu Najjar, Banu al-Harith, Banu Sa’idah, Banu Jusham, Banu al-Aws, Banu Tha’labah, Jafnah, and Banu al-Shutaybah enjoy the same rights and privileges as the Jews of Banu Aws.”
“The Jews shall maintain their own religion and the Muslims theirs. Loyalty is a protection against treachery. The close friends of Jews are as themselves. None of them shall go out on a military expedition except with the permission of Muhammad, but he shall not be prevented from taking revenge for a wound.”
“The Jews shall be responsible for their expenses and the Believers for theirs. Each, if attacked, shall come to the assistance of the other.”
“The contracting parties are bound to help one another against any attack on Yathrib. If they are called to cease hostilities and to enter into peace, they shall be bound to do so in the interest of peace; and if they make a similar demand on Muslims it must be carried out except when the war is against their religion.
“God approves the truth and goodwill of this covenant. This treaty shall not protect the unjust or the criminal. Whoever goes out to fight as well as whoever stays at home shall be safe and secure in this city unless he has perpetrated an injustice or committed a crime…. God is the protector of the good and God-fearing people.”
This treaty became the one of the first written constitution of any state in history. Jews were allowed to keep their own judiciary and had some of their own autonomy even though some Jews preferred to seek the arbitration of the Prophet rather than their own rabbis. This peace was unfortunately upset when some of the Jewish tribe of Qurayzah tried to assassinate the Prophet and help the pagan Makkans attack the Muslim citizens of Madinah.