Final Moments of the Prophet SA -Sh, Bilal Assad [HD]

Final Moments of the Prophet ﷺ

A Khutbah by Sheikh Bilal Assad

Opening

Introduction

My brothers and sisters in Islam, may I begin by saying that it is a pleasure for me to be your guest today, and I ask Allah to grant you forgiveness and success in all your endeavors, your children and your family.

It is a very special moment for me to be here in this blessed land, and I ask Allah to make it among the successful and among the lands which Allah is pleased with.

Brothers and sisters in Islam, the topic which has been chosen for me is the Prophet's ﷺ last days. There is no justice that I can make for this topic in this short time, and no words are enough to describe how valuable and how emotional these last days of the Prophet ﷺ were.

There is no man that exists on the face of the earth, no human, no creation of Allah whose last days are more moving, more important, more valuable than the last days of the best creature on the face of the earth: Rasul Muhammad ﷺ, Sahib al-Wajh al-Anwar wa al-Jabih al-Azhar.

The Significance of His Death

Brothers and sisters in Islam, the Messenger of Allah who came to all of mankind, to all people, the final of His messengers—the one with whom his death meant that it will mark the last time any wahi, any inspiration, will come down onto earth. No more Quran, no more ayat, no more revelations, no more wahi from Allah.

Jibril's mission was going to cease at the death of this final messenger ﷺ.

From Sirat Ibn Hisham, extracted from the great scholar and historian Ibn Ishaq—I'm sure that you have all heard of them—and also from the famous book Ar-Rahiq al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) by Al-Imam al-Mubarakfuri, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away a few years ago in India, one of the most

renowned books of the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ, coupled with the seerah of Ibn Hisham and Ibn Ishaq, I bring to you the final days of the life of the Prophet ﷺ, narrated authentically from the Sihah, the hadith which are authentic, and from these books, these great scholars.

The Farewell Pilgrimage

Brothers and sisters in Islam, on the 12th month in the 10th year of Al-Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ delivered his last sermon in public to the largest amount of people in Makkah al-Mukarramah, called the Farewell Pilgrimage.

And I wonder what the Prophet ﷺ is going to address the people in this final important sermon to the public. It is a long sermon and I'm sure that you know most of it, but to highlight the most important parts of it, the Prophet ﷺ began, after praising Allah and sending his prayers and blessings on to his Messenger:

The Prophet ﷺ said to them, "Behold, learn these words that I'm going to tell you, and pass them on to those who are absent. Those of you who are here today, pass them on to those who will come later."

Those who will come later are us, and I'm going to come to that in a bit more detail later on.

Key Warnings in the Farewell Sermon

The Prophet ﷺ commanded them to lend him a very attentive ear, and told them that they are not to practice shirk ever again, and that Allah has forbidden shirk to enter into the land of the Arabs, Makkah and Madinah and its surroundings. And he also said that Iblis has given up on causing people in these lands to make shirk as a whole, as a nation.

But it is the minor sins that Iblis or the Shaytan will continue to do, to whisper into the hearts of Muslims. And the Prophet ﷺ warned us of these minor sins from taking them for granted. For he said, "The majority of my ummah that enters hellfire, temporarily, it is because of this thing called muhaqqirat al-dhunub (taking minor sins lightly)."

He is very careful and caring about us, that he is explaining to us: do not take minor sins for granted. At least feel guilty about them, and your salawat wipe them away, yes, but don't feel as if they are something normal for you, it doesn't matter.

Then he advised us to worship Allah and obey His Messenger. He said, "I have left you on a clear white page, its night is as clear as its day. No one will err off it except those who are soon to destruction."

Abandoning Nationalism and Racism

The Prophet ﷺ then addressed us in the form of the advice of abandoning nationalism and racism, our different colors, our different backgrounds, our different genders. He said, "The attribute of Jahiliyyah in relation to tribalism and nationalism is long gone for me, and I have placed it underneath my feet today." He said this in the holy land, in the sacred month, in the time of Hajj.

He said, "Leave it, for it stinks. It's a stinking carcass, and I have placed it beneath my feet, so do not come back after me striking each other's necks." And this has many meanings: striking each other's necks physically, fighting one another, and also backbiting one another, slandering each other, accusing each other, attacking each other verbally or physically, or cheating each other.

For he said ﷺ in his final sermon, "You are one ummah, brothers and sisters in Islam. You are all like the teeth of one comb, and for a Muslim towards another Muslim is like one body. If one part of their body is ill and is complaining of pain, the other one, the rest of the body stays up during the night, throughout the night unable to sleep, full of fever and heat."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 6011, Sahih Muslim 2586

The Meaning of Ummah

These are among the primary advices the Rasul ﷺ gave us. Do you know why? A person may ask, why is this so important? Because, do you remember the state of Islam could not flourish until Rasul ﷺ broke the enmity between the Muslims and made them brothers and sisters? He called them al-mu'akhat in Madinah, and then he named us a very special name: you are an ummah.

For the first time, someone, a nation has been called ummah. Do you know where ummah is derived from, my brothers and sisters? In Arabic, the terminology ummah—there is a word just before it called umm. You all know what umm means, right? Mother. But the word umm is even derived from another word before it: ammah or amma, ammina al-bayt al-haram, which means when you make a center of attention or an objective before yourself.

And when a mother gives birth to her child, all the center of attention is on the mother, right? And when the child is born, the baby is looking for its mother. The whole world stops because the mother has given birth, so she was called umm. And you, my brothers and sisters, were called by the Prophet ﷺ ummah, ummah Muhammad ﷺ. It means that you might as well be from one mother. We are like truly, like from one mother, and so we should treat each other as such.

Advice About Women

The Prophet ﷺ went on advising more advice. He said to the men, "Look after your women, care for your women, do not oppress your women, be dutiful towards them."

And you all know the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:

"The best among you men is the one best to his wife, and I am the best among you to my wife."

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3895

Why is the Rasul ﷺ giving these strict advices in his last sermon, yet today we find many Muslims not taking them as a very serious matter? Because after being one ummah and adhering as one unity, he knows that our generations and our children and our ummah, generation after generation, cannot flourish, cannot be leaders without looking after the most important educational institution that exists for them, and she is their mother, because she spends most of the time with them.

And subhanAllah, between you and I, I find that my daughter and son, my children, they learn from their mother quicker than what they learn from me. I think you can agree with me. There's something about the voice of the mother. She says a few words, and they've memorized it, masha'Allah.

There's something about them. And men complain that women talk a lot, is that not right? When they talk a lot, it's because they give a lot of detailed explanation to children who also talk a lot. This is a positive thing, actually. We should not look at it as a negative thing.

But Rasul ﷺ took so much importance about caring and nurturing this mother, for Allah created her from you, and she is an amanah. When Allah created her from the rib of Adam, peace be upon him, Adam became incomplete, and he finds his completeness with his wife, and his wife finds her completeness with her husband. We find our completeness with our mothers, with our daughters, with our sisters, and they find their completeness with their fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands.

If we don't do that, then we can never prosper as an ummah at all.

Warning Against Riba

The other important advice that Rasul ﷺ told us is about riba in his final sermon. Why? Why such simple matters to us today? But they were so huge that Rasul ﷺ needed to leave it with us as a bequest.

Riba—is it not the result of most of our countries today, third world countries, dying of hunger and starvation, poverty and oppression? Is the result not primarily because of usury and interest? Yes, it is. And the leading

money makers are the capitalists, and they survive and thrive off interest and riba.

And when Rasul ﷺ made brotherhood and sisterhood between the Muhajireen and the Ansar, you remember when he did his hijrah? He had to break one thing very quickly, and that is the practice of usury. Because Bani Quraizah and Bani Nadir and Bani Qaynuqa, the Jewish neighbors of Al-Aws and Khazraj and the other tribes of Madinah, they used to charge them interest.

And this is how they kept the war going. They used to supply them with weapons, and when they couldn't pay them off, they used to say, "Don't worry, you can pay us later with interest." This oppression creates classes of people and hierarchies, and creates slavery.

Rasul ﷺ said, "Leave it, usury and riba."

Sacred Rights of Muslims

Rasul ﷺ then said again, repeating the brotherhood, saying, "And behold, the blood, the honor, and the wealth, the property of every Muslim is as sacred as this day of ours, as this month of ours, as this holy city of ours, if not more—even more sacred than the Kaaba itself. The blood, the honor, and the property of the Muslims towards one another."

Rasul ﷺ gave more advices along those lines, but the most highlighted advices are: adhering to Allah, not making shirk, brotherhood and sisterhood in Islam, caring for our women, and looking after the honor, the blood, and the wealth of one another.

These advices were simple, yet the Muslims today, how far we have gone off track in these matters. We ask Allah to forgive us, and to set us straight on the straight path again, to bring prosperity and leadership to the ones who will inherit this earth in righteousness.

The Farewell

Rasul ﷺ finished his last sermon by pointing his finger upwards and then pointing to the people, saying:

"Oh Allah, bear witness that I have informed them, bear witness that I have informed them."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 1741, Sahih Muslim 1218

He kept repeating it several times until the people wept. They felt the strain, the tension.

The Beginning of His Illness

After that, it was not more than about a month. In fact, on the 29th day of Safar, the 11th year after the hijrah of the Prophet from Makkah to Madinah, Rasul had come back before that from a battle. And in that battle, he had eaten some food from Khaybar by a Jewish woman, it happened to be, and the food had been poisoned.

Rasul felt okay after that. However, the pains of this poison were felt later on, about a month in the 11th year of hijrah in Safar.

Visit to Al-Baqi

He went to Al-Baqi, because he felt himself weak. So where did he go? He went to Al-Baqi. Al-Baqi is the graveyard, the cemetery of the Muslims.

I wonder why Rasul is going to the cemetery. Is it because Rasul knows that his time is coming? Or is it that the Prophet is informing us to remember death and to know that this is the reality which everyone shall be brought to, even the most beloved creature to Allah, who is Muhammad?

Rasul went to Al-Baqi, and with him was Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, and a few other companions. He made extensive long du'a for the people of Al-Baqi and for the shuhada. And after making the huge long du'a, he said, "You have beaten us and we will follow very soon. We give you glad tidings of Jannah."

And then he said this following word:

"I wish the only thing that I will miss is that I didn't get to see my brothers, brothers and sisters."

Who Are His Brothers?

Abu Hurayrah was standing there listening to this, and he was confused along with the companions. He said:

"Ya Rasulallah, are we not your brothers? We're here, we're standing next to you, Ya Rasulallah. What are you saying? Something gone wrong, Ya Rasulallah?"

And Abu Hurayrah was moved. He was scared. He said, "Ya Rasulallah, are you okay? We are your brothers. We're here, we're here."

Rasulullah looked at him and his face was tired and he was slightly sad. He said:

"Ya Abu Hurayrah, you are my companions. My beloved brothers and sisters are the ones who believed in me but never had the chance to see me. They have not come yet."

(Sahih Muslim 249)

I wish only that I could have seen them.

Rasulullah indirectly is farewelling, but at the same time, the most important thing after meeting Allah is us. Did you realize that?

Allah's Description of the Prophet

Allah says in the Quran:

"There has come to you a prophet, a messenger of God from among yourselves, like you. Not better than you, from you. Better, yes, as a messenger of Allah, but from you, the likes of you. When something, a hardship befalls you, it is so great upon his chest and heart. He cannot bear it. He is so careful that you don't fall into harm. He is so kind and compassionate and merciful towards the believers."

This is the messenger of Allah.

Meeting at the Fountain of Kawthar

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Ya Rasul Allah, will you ever be able to see these brothers of yours anyway?"

Al-Rasul said, "Ah, yes, as if I can see it. I will be awaiting for them at the Hawd, at the fountain of Kawthar, on the Day of Judgment. And I will call them, one by one, to come and drink from my hand."

Abu Hurayrah was confused. He said, "Ya Rasul Allah, how will you know them when you have never seen them?"

And he said, "Do you, let me give you an example, of a man who has many horses. Many of them are dark, pitch black in color. And among them there are horses with striped colors—white on their foreheads, white on their nose, on their backs, on their legs, on their tail. Is this person not able to tell the black horses from the ones that are striped very easily?"

He said, "Yes, Ya Rasul Allah."

He said, "On the Day of Judgment it will be so."

"They will come to me on the Day of Judgment like this."

When everyone else, because of their kufr and because of their bad deeds, their bodies and their faces will turn charcoal, these people will come, and they have different colors on their bodies. This color is noor, noor coming out from their faces, coming out from their arms, coming out from their legs.

And Abu Hurayrah asked, "Where is this noor from, Ya Rasul Allah?"

He said:

"This is the result of the wudu which they used to make. So make your wudu extra good."

(Sahih Muslim 246)

The Blessing of Wudu

Make your wudu extra good. Abu Hurayrah said, "Ever since that day, every time I made wudu, I used to make isbagh. Isbagh means, instead of reaching just to the elbow, I'd just wipe a little bit more above. I'd enjoy it."

SubhanAllah, have you ever made wudu while you've enjoyed every drop that falls? Imagining every drop that falls has a sin on it that is dropping away. Enjoying your wudu like you enjoy ibadah, worship, and not just in performance for salah.

Like Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, when Rasul went to Isra wal-Mi'raj, and he came back down and said, "Ya Bilal, bima sabaqtana? What did you beat us in?" Meaning, how come I heard you walking in front of me in Jannah, your footsteps?

He said, "Ya Rasulallah, I don't know, but at every salah I make wudu, and every time I lose it, I make it again."

And he said, "This is the reason why I heard your footsteps ahead of me in Jannah."

(Sahih Muslim 2458)

Ahead of him doesn't mean that he is better than the Prophet, but he heard his footsteps literally in front of him, meaning in a distance away. He heard Bilal, and he wondered why Bilal has a future in Jannah in such a case.

The Fever Intensifies

My brothers and sisters in Islam, Rasul then felt sicker. This was the month in which he died. And as he was walking down from the Baqi back to his house, Rasul felt a strong fever hit him like no fever he has ever felt before.

It was on a Wednesday, and it was five days before he died. Around him were some companions, and one of them was Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him.

He said, "The Messenger, I heard him say that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said, 'O Allah, many of them, of the people who were supposed to follow me, Ibrahim, have lost and gone astray. So whoever follows me is from me, and whoever disobeys You, then You, Allah, are the most merciful, the forgiving.'"

Then he recited the verse about 'Isa, peace be upon him. 'Isa said, "O Allah, if You punish them, then they are Your servants. And if You forgive them, then You are the most honorable and the generous."

Then the Prophet lifted his arms up after reciting these verses. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As said, "Then we heard the Prophet say the following words: 'And as for I, Ya Rabb, as for me'''—meaning, if Ibrahim said this in his du'a, if 'Isa said that in his du'a, then as for me, Ya Rabb:

"O my Lord, save my nation, save my nation, save my nation."

(Sahih Muslim 202)

His Care for His Ummah

Rasul is farewelling. And the only thing on his mind is his ummah, us. The only thing on his mind are his companions and the generations to come whom he hasn't seen.

He is leaving this world, and yet he is so caring for us, as though he knows we are going to go astray, we are going to have hardships without him. And so he made his famous du'a.

"He started to weep and cry until his beard was soaked with tears."

Then Allah said to Jibril, "Ya Jibril, go to Muhammad and ask him, what is making him cry, and his Lord knows why."

So Jibril said, "Ya Rasulallah, your Lord asks you why you are crying, and He knows why."

Rasul said, "Ya Rabb, I want You to save my ummah. I fear for them."

Then Allah said to Jibril, "Tell him, tell him Ya Jibril, that I will make him pleased for his ummah, and I will not make him grieve over them."

He said to him:

"We will not make him grieve on the Day of Judgment."

He will have al-wasilah, the intercession which he has been promised.

The Great Intercession

No other prophet will be given it except Rasul. On the day when we will go from Adam, to Nuh, to Ibrahim, to Musa, to 'Isa, until finally Muhammad. Every one of them will refuse. They will say, "I have no power today. My Lord is so angry, He has never been angry like this before. Go to the one after me," until we reach Muhammad.

And that is the day when he will meet us again, where he will raise his head and say:

"Ya Rabbi, O Allah, my ummah, my ummah."

That day, when Allah will save his ummah. And He has never given something like this to any prophet before him.

Asking Permission to Stay with 'Aishah

He reached his house. And he called his wives. He said to them, "Where do you think I should stay tomorrow?"

SubhanAllah. Rasul was married to many women, yes. And there was a wisdom, a great wisdom behind it. Rasul was not a lustful man. He was married to the widows. He was married to the freed slaves. He was married to the divorcees. He was married to women older than him. He was married to these women in order to spread the teachings of Islam to all the tribes and create a relationship with them.

At the same time, to teach us how to look after women, and that every woman, no matter what status or background she comes from, she has her value. For these became the mothers of the believers from different backgrounds, each one of them. Again, teaching us that everyone is equal to another, and only your piety and righteousness makes you better. And even then, only Allah knows:

"Never praise yourselves in piety. Allah knows who is most pious."

He gathered his wives. And look at the humbleness, look at the respect he gave them. You see, it had to be equal with each one of them. Each one of them had a night. He was asking them in the most polite, respectful manner.

And they knew why he was asking. Now look at the respect from his wives. He said to them, he asked, "Where should I stay tomorrow?"

And they all understood his love for 'Aishah. So they all said with one voice, "You may stay at 'Aishah's house, Ya Rasulallah."

And Rasul was very happy about that. She was the daughter of Abu Bakr.

And I will explain to you why such love existed for 'Aishah on top of that in a short while.

Entering 'Aishah's House

So he went to 'Aishah, while his cousins and his relatives—'Ali, Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, al-Fadl ibn al-'Abbas, his other cousins—they were carrying him from his armpits. And his legs were sort of dragging on the floor. His head was kneeling to one side. He couldn't hold his head up.

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5645, Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2398)

"The most who are tested in trials of hardship are the Prophets. Then the ones who are most like them, and then the ones who come after, and the ones who come after them."

He entered the house of 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her. And they left.

'Aishah says, "There was no day more beloved to me and happier to me than the day when the Prophet came to my house. He placed his head on my chest here, on my sternum, between nahri, meaning her neck, and sadri, on my sternum."

And he said to me, and I said to him—'Aishah said, "Ya Rasul Allah, wa ra'sah, my head, I have a pain in my head."

'Aishah used to constantly say this to the Prophet. It's kind of like a dalal. Some women, they like to tell their husbands that they're ill or they've got a headache because they like their husband to say nice words. Sometimes they need to take it out of us.

So she said to him, "Wa ra'sah, Ya Rasul Allah."

For the first time in his life, the Prophet replied, without asking her or making du'a for her, he said, "This time, Ya 'Aishah, bal wa ra'sah—it is my head. I am feeling extreme pain in reality."

But then he still said, "Ya 'Aishah, however, would you like me to make du'a for you? And if you die before me, I will make istighfar for you, and I will make more du'a for you."

At that point, 'Aishah said, "No, Ya Rasul Allah, I don't want to die before you because then you're going to marry someone after me. I'd like to be your last wife."

So Rasul smiled. That's how he was, even at the time of extreme pain.

The Fever Increases

What happens to us when we get painful? When we get sick, we get grumpy, we complain. And Rasul is still monitoring his kindness to these precious girls, his wives, his ummah, his companions. As he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 1283, Sahih Muslim 926)

"Patience is counted at the time when the affliction falls."

The Prophet's fever increased. And at that point, he could not stand up. He tried to stand, to go into the masjid, to pray the Maghrib prayer with them. But what happened? He fell to the ground and fainted. And then when he awoke, he said, "Please bring water, seven irab, buckets of water, and spill them on me."

In prophetic medicine, if you have a fever, your child has a fever, spill water on them. It will make the fever go away. Until the seventh bucket, Rasul then said, "Stop, stop."

And then he grabbed a little towel and started placing water on his mouth and on his forehead. And he said the following words:

"How perfect is Allah. Truly, there is agony in death."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 4449

The Pain of Death

Even Rasul felt agony. At that point, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, entered.

And when he saw the Prophet in this pain, he said, "Are you feeling pain, Ya Rasul Allah? You, the messenger of Allah?"

Rasul replied:

"I feel double the pain of what two of you strong men feel."

He said to him, "Does that mean that you have double the reward?"

He said, "Yes."

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5647, Sahih Muslim 2571)

"Not a single mu'min on the face of the earth who receives the prick of a needle of pain—Allah expiates their sins as a result."

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5647, Sahih Muslim 2571)

"The most who are put to trial are the prophets, then those who are closest to them, then those who are closest to them after that."

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2398)

"If Allah loves a servant, He puts him to trial."

Because in that trial and in that pain, the sins are expiated. Your patience only increases you in Jannah. And so on the Day of Judgment, those who look at you and ask Allah, "Why do they go up high and we don't?" Allah will say, "Because when I afflicted them with pain, they were patient and they called upon Me. But you didn't. So they earn it rightfully and justly out of their own means, out of their own work."

بِمَا عَمِلْتُمْ

"As a result of your own deeds."

Abu Bakr Leads the Prayer

My brothers and sisters in Islam, that night, Ar-Rasul was able to barely stand up. So he said, "Take me into the Masjid."

And the one who was leading the Salat, who was it? In the absence of the Prophet, it was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.

How? Ar-Rasul asked 'Aishah. He said, "Did the people pray yet?"

She said, "Ya Rasulallah, they are waiting for you."

Then he went unconscious again for a little while, then he woke up again. And he said, "Did the people pray, Ya 'Aishah?"

She replied, "They are waiting for you, Ya Rasulallah."

So he called upon them to carry him inside. He saw them lining up and he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 664, Sahih Muslim 418)

"Call Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, to pray Imam."

'Aishah said, "Ya Rasulallah, people are a little bit disturbed because Abu Bakr cries a lot in his Salat, and his voice is not very loud. Let 'Umar pray. His voice can be heard more."

Ar-Rasul repeated:

They repeated, "Ya Rasulallah, how about so and so?"

He repeated a third time and this time he said:

"You are being like the women that betrayed Yusuf, peace be upon him. Don't be like that."

At that point Abu Bakr was called to pray. But they had to look for him. Why? Because he said, "I did not want to take the position of Rasul while he's still living."

So he was forced to pray Imam. When Rasul entered, Abu Bakr wanted to move back. So Prophet signaled as he came forward and he said, "Stay where you are."

He ordered for a chair to be placed on the left side of Abu Bakr, and the Prophet prayed Imam while Abu Bakr was next to him.

These are all hints, my brothers and sisters in Islam, about the virtue of Abu Bakr being the leader after Rasul.

His Final Request for Rights

After he finished the 'Isha prayer, Rasul stood up and he gave them the following words. I wonder what the first word Rasul would say. I wonder what he would open it up to.

He said, "Whoever of you I have harmed, whoever of you I have taken something from and I haven't returned it to, today I give myself for anyone to take their right from me. Allah will forgive everything of His rights. It's possible. As for the rights of people, Allah does not forgive them, for they are not His rights, they are the rights of the people. So beware, my brothers and sisters, of taking the rights of others, even if it means a slight backbiting in a joking manner. Be careful."

Nobody said that Rasul owed them anything. But after the Salat, Rasul went down and went back up again, and one man said, "Ya Rasulallah, you owe me three dinars."

So he said to Ibn 'Abbas, "Give him." So he gave him, Al-Fadl Ibn 'Abbas.

Then one man said, "Ya Rasulallah, one time you slapped me on my stomach."

The story of that was Rasul was straightening the lines in the Salat. And he said:

"Straighten the rows."

And he went through them and he came to one of the men and his belly was a little bit outside. So he tapped it lightly, joking with him. He said, "Move this belly back." Also indirectly giving him advice to go on a diet.

So it was this man. He said to him, "Ya Rasulallah, you hit me on my stomach one time."

Rasul lifted his shirt and he said, "Take your revenge."

So the man came and he kissed Rasul's belly. He said, "Ya Rasulallah, I only did this because I wanted my mouth to be the last to kiss you."

Or "I just wanted my mouth to touch your body."

The Man Given a Choice

Rasul ﷺ then said, "A man has been given an option between living on in this world or dying. And he has chosen to meet his Lord."

Then suddenly, a man in the crowd burst into tears. And he said, "We sacrifice our mother and father for your sake, Ya Rasulallah."

They looked and it was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.

Abu Bakr. 'Amr ibn al-'As said, or Abu Sa'id al-Khudri was there. He said, "We were thinking, look at this old man. He's crying and wailing. And Rasul ﷺ is just speaking about a man who was given the option between living more or going to his Lord. And he chose his Lord. Why is he crying like that?"

Then they heard the Prophet ﷺ reply and say, "Every door of the masjid is closed except for the door of Abu Bakr. Whoever wants to enter, enters through the door of Abu Bakr. Through his way. He is the door of the masjid after me. Everyone I have given the favors back except for the door of Abu Bakr. I have not been able to close the favors between me and him. He has given me so much that I will pass from this world and I still have not given him what he has given me."

That's when they realized that Rasul ﷺ is farewelling. And when they realized that Rasul ﷺ was going to die, they realized that Abu Bakr was certainly the most knowledgeable among them.

The Seven Dinars

After that, the Prophet ﷺ explained to them a long verse again about brotherhood, about unity, about obeying Allah and His messenger, about looking after the Ansar. And he spoke so much about the Ansar that he said,

"They are going to fall in number until they are like salt in a large cup of liquid among you. Look after them, care for them."

And he made a huge du'a for the Ansar and he made a huge du'a for the Muhajireen. Then he stepped down ﷺ and entered his home.

It was the next day on a Thursday. Rasul's ﷺ pain increased. And he remembered that he had seven dinars. He said, "Ya 'Aishah, I have seven dinars, give them away to the needy."

Then he went unconscious. He woke up. He said, "Ya 'Aishah, did you give away the seven dinars?"

She said, "Ya Rasulallah, we were busy with you."

He said to her, "What will your messenger say to Allah on the Day of Judgment when he meets Him with seven dinars? Give the seven dinars away."

He went unconscious and then he came back a third time and said, "Have you given the seven dinars away?"

She said, "Yes, Ya Rasulallah."

He said, "Alhamdulillah."

That night 'Aishah had to borrow from the neighbor a bit of milk just to feed those who were in the family, in her household. There was even he had a shield from his weaponry that he gave to a Jew, to a Jew who Rasul ﷺ owed something to. He gave it to them as an insurance or an assurance that his wealth will come to him, that if it didn't come to him, he will have this armor ﷺ.

Final Days

Then Rasul ﷺ, Abu Bakr at this time is leading the prayers. Rasul ﷺ is unable to pray with them. Every time he could get up ﷺ he would look inside and come back to make sure the rows are fixed. And every time he saw the rows are straight, Rasul ﷺ would be happy and thank Allah.

Then Rasul ﷺ could not walk and he could not speak. Upon him entered the brother of 'Aishah and he had with him a miswak. Rasul ﷺ was looking at the miswak and 'Aishah, being a wife who understands her husband well, she said to him, "Do you want the miswak Ya Rasulallah?"

And he nodded. So she took the miswak and Rasul ﷺ cleaned his teeth as good as he can with a clean mouth, clean breath, clean teeth.

Do you know the miswak? "If I was not going to be a burden before my ummah, I would order them to use the miswak before every salat, to brush your teeth, to use the miswak."

There's even a hadith which is sahih that the angels, they come closer to you in salat until, if you use the miswak, until they place their mouth on your mouth and they take in your words of Quran.

Rasul ﷺ used the miswak, then 'Aishah grabbed the miswak after the Prophet ﷺ and used it on her own teeth.

She said, "That was the last time I took the saliva of the Prophet ﷺ and put it on my mouth. I wanted his saliva to come, to be a part of me. Why not? The blessed ﷺ sweat was more than musk."

His Final Words

Rasul ﷺ then at that point, she could hear him say some words. He said the following words:

"With the Prophets and the martyrs and the Siddiqeen that I want to be with."

SubhanAllah. Rasul ﷺ, the best of creation is saying he wants to be with the Prophets, with the righteous and with the Siddiqeen. And he is Rasul ﷺ. Yes, even the messengers of Allah were so humble before Allah even in their piety.

Look at Yusuf, peace be upon him, saying something very similar. He said:

"Ya Allah, O my Lord, let me die a believer and join me with the righteous ones."

Reference: Quran 12:101

Is there anyone more righteous than Yusuf? Is there anyone more righteous than the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ? And they are asking, "O our Lord, let us follow, behind, with, even if we were the last people in the line. Let us follow the Nabiyeen, the Siddiqeen, the Shuhada, the righteous."

When we ask Allah, ask Him with humbleness, brothers and sisters in Islam. And never praise yourselves with piety. Remember your sins, remember who you are, remember what you were created from. Remember there are those better than you.

"Whoever is humble before Allah, Allah will lift him."

Reference: Sahih Muslim 2588

The Final Day

The days passed. Al-Rasul ﷺ became more ill. However, on Sunday, Al-Rasul ﷺ felt a little bit better. So he asked for Al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib to carry him. They took him and he could speak. He opened the curtain and they were about to pray Salat.

He saw their lines straight, shoulder to shoulder, straight lines. All the Muslims in a row. And this brought a beautiful smile to his face.

Is that not the symbol of unity and brotherhood, my dear sisters and brothers? Al-Rasul ﷺ, when they saw him, the people were almost about to pray but then they stopped. And they started to raise their voices in Takbir:

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

"Al-Rasul ﷺ is better."

Abu Bakr was about to move. But Al-Rasul ﷺ said to him, "Stay." And Abu Bakr prayed Imam. Abu Bakr ﷺ was too weak to join them. He went back inside. He had to lie down again ﷺ.

The Angel of Death

Then he said the following words. And 'Aishah could hear him. He was saying:

"No, it is the close friend, the High One that I want."

He is Allah. "I want Him, the company of the Highest."

'Aishah understood that Al-Rasul ﷺ was being given the option between living or going. And he chose to go.

There is another narration, although I am not sure of its authenticity, that says that Al-Rasul ﷺ, Jibril asked him. He said, "This is the angel of death saying to you"—to support this hadith about 'Aishah—that the angel of death sought his permission as he did with all the prophets and told him, "If you want you can live more or you can go back to Allah now."

And Al-Rasul ﷺ looked at Jibril for his advice. And Jibril said to him:

"Allah misses you. Allah misses you."

And that is when 'Aishah said, "That's when I heard him say بَلِ الرَّفِيقُ الْأَعْلَى ."

The Day He Departed

The next day, it was a Monday. The same day Rasul ﷺ was born on a Monday. We don't know exactly which day but it was on a Monday according to the sahih hadith of Rasul ﷺ. And on a Monday was the day when Rasul ﷺ departed.

He was lying down after Fajr. He had prayed with them alhamdulillah. Entered the house of 'Aishah. And Abu Bakr had gone back to his house. And the Muslims, no one is left in the masjid. Not many people were going there after sunrise.

Rasul ﷺ entered to 'Aishah and he had a severe pain in his head and his fever started again. So he sat down and placed his head on her sternum again.

And she said, "I felt the Prophet ﷺ uttering words of his love to Allah. And I felt his body getting heavier and heavier. I looked at him and I saw his eyes looking up into the sky. The eyes follow the soul."

Rasul ﷺ died. Yes, even Rasul ﷺ died.

The Companions' Grief

'Aishah couldn't bear this. She placed him on the floor and ran outside of her house. The people could hear her. They knew that something was wrong. She said, "Rasulullah, Rasulullah."

The companions heard her and they raced back. "What's happened?"

"Rasulullah has departed. There is no more Wahi. There is no more Quran. There is no more Rasulullah. There is no more advice from the Messenger. The world is nothing without him. There is no more blessing. Rasulullah has left them. What are they going to do? He was like a mother to them, like a father to them."

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, more than their own fathers, more than their grandfathers, more than their children, more than anything. Rasulullah ﷺ has departed the world with the command of Allah.

The companions went into hysteria. They almost lost their minds. The companions said, "Wallahi, there wasn't a sadder day than the day when the Prophet ﷺ departed. We could hear the Medinah, it was like a thunder of cries and wails."

'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he stood with his sword, saying, "He is a hypocrite who says that Rasulullah ﷺ died. He did not die, and whoever says he dies, I will cut his neck off."

'Ali couldn't speak anymore. 'Uthman couldn't feel his legs, he fell to the ground. Another companion said, "Ya Rabb, if this news is true, then make me go blind."

The narration says, wallahi, that he went blind. He said, "So I can see no one after Rasulullah ﷺ."

The whole Medinah in cries and tears.

Abu Bakr's Response

Abu Bakr, when he heard this, he ran back to 'Aishah. He entered the house. And Rasulullah ﷺ was covered with a Yemeni piece of material, very simple. They had covered his face with it ﷺ.

Abu Bakr took this cloth off, and he began to weep, until his tears fell on the cheek of the Prophet ﷺ. He kneeled down, and he kissed the Prophet's face, and said to him, "You are so beautiful alive, and so beautiful dead, my friend, my companion, Ya Rasulallah."

Abu Bakr's Words

Abu Bakr, he said, "I covered his face, and he went outside." He stood up and saw the people in such hysteria. Only Abu Bakr was the true leader to set the people back on the track.

He stood up, and said to 'Umar, "Oh 'Umar, be quiet and sit down."

But 'Umar would not listen. So then the people turned to Abu Bakr and came to him.

And Abu Bakr said the following famous words:

"Whoever loves Muhammad, then Muhammad has died. But whoever loves Allah, then He is everlasting, He does not die."

Then he recited the following verse:

"And Muhammad is nothing but a messenger. Many messengers have come before him. If he is killed or died, will you turn against yourselves, away from the path of Allah and lose yourselves? Whoever does so, Allah does not need them. But Allah will reward those who are grateful."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 1241, Sahih Muslim 2382, Quran 3:144

At that point, all the Muslims fell to the ground and they said, "It is as if the Quran was being sent down upon us like the first day we ever received it."

Abu Bakr renewed it.

Truly Rasulullah ﷺ knew who had to take it after him. 'Umar fell down. He said, "I could not feel my feet." He said, "It is as if I am hearing the Quran for the first time."

That is when 'Umar said, "I then admitted and knew that Rasulullah ﷺ truly, he has died."

Closing

My brothers and sisters in Islam, the Adhan has now been called. So I do not want to take more of your time. However, Rasulullah ﷺ, he is the messenger of Allah. And his death only tells us that the only one whom we should direct our worship to and the only one we should rely on is Allah.

Allah said, "Say, He is Allah who should be your objective in the beginning and the end." No matter what we do, we worship someone. Either we worship money, or we worship ourselves, or we worship our time, or we worship our status, or we worship our family, or we worship our tribe.

Anything that governs our life and makes it our primary goal in life and our primary purpose of living becomes our God. If our work makes us deter away from Salat, our wealth deters us away from our obligation to Allah, whatever it is, my brothers and sisters be careful, it becomes your objective of worship.

So for this reason, Rasulullah ﷺ truly, He left us on the clear white page. And he made this word, he said before he died, "The curse of Allah has been bestowed upon the Jews and the Christians because they made the graves of their prophets a place of worship in mosques, a place of worship, masjid. Do not take my grave as a place of worship."

The whole message of all the prophets was to direct our worship to Allah one and only.

And I know that we do not make partners with Allah like this. But in the other way, Rasulullah ﷺ did say, "It is not that you will worship other than Allah which I fear upon you. But the greatest fear that I fear upon you, O my Ummah, is that this world, this world will become wild upon you and you will run after it and compete for it as those before you competed for it until it destroyed their hearts and destroyed them."

Is this not our state today? Generally speaking, throughout the world? Is our brotherhood still there as it was before? Or did the dunya separate us? Are we just towards those whom Allah left as a trust in our hearts, in our lives, our wives and our children, and the wives towards their husbands and towards their children, towards our parents, towards our neighbors and so on?

Do we uphold the trust that Allah has given us in our jobs, in our wealth and in everything else which we have been entrusted with? Do we still follow nationalism and are prideful in our tribalism and in our color and in our background? Do we still claim superiority over one another because we claim that we are more superior in religion or that we know more Quran or that Allah favors us more just by mere fact that I pray a few prayers or whatever?

This is exactly what our Rasul's last words were about.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to unite us with the Prophet. I ask Allah to make him stand that position which he has promised, al- wasilat al-fadhilah, on the day when he will intercede for us.

I ask Allah to make us among his ummah and to make us follow with the righteous, the martyrs and the Anbiya wal-Saliheen. I ask Allah to make us drink from his blessed hand on the Day of Judgment, a drink which we will never be thirsty after that ever again.

I ask Allah to make our companion, al-Rasul ﷺ, in Jannah and to allow us to see him, and unite us all together. I ask Allah that you and I are under a beautiful tree in Jannah where we can recall this day and recall these beautiful moments.

This is the last of our supplications.

"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds."

End of Khutbah