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THE FAREWELL PILGRIMAGE
After the accomplishment of the Call, the proclamation of the Message and the establishment of a
new society on the basis of ‘There is no god but Allâh,’ and on Muhammad’s mission, a secret call
uprose in the heart of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) telling him that his stay in the
Lower World was about to terminate. That was clear in his talk to Mu‘adh whom he had dispatched
to Yemen in the tenth year of Al-Hijra: “O, Mu‘adh! You may not see me after this current year. You
may even pass by this very Mosque of mine and my tomb.” Upon hearing that Mu‘adh cried for fear
that he would part with the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him).
Allâh’s care was so bounteous as to let the Prophet (Peace be upon him) see the fruits of his Call for
the sake of which h e suffered various sorts of trouble for over twenty years. Those twenty years had
elapsed actively. He used to spend his last days meeting, at the outskirts of Makkah, members of
tribes and their representatives who used to consult him and learn the laws a nd legislation of Islam
from him, and in return he used to exact their testimony that he had delivered trust and
communicated the Message and counselled the people.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) announced an intention to proceed with this blessed
pilgrimage journey himself. Enormous crowds of people came to Madinah, all of whom seek the
guidance and
Imamate
of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in the pilgrimage (
Al-Hajj)
.
On a Saturday of the last four days of Dhul-Qa‘dah, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) started the
departure preparations procedure. He combed his hair, applied some perfume, wore his garment,
saddled his camel and set off in the afternoon. He arrived at Dhul-Hulaifa before the afternoon
prayer. He performed two
Rak‘a
and spent the night there. When it was morning he said to his
Companions:
·
“A comer, sent by my Lord, has called on me tonight and said: ‘Pray in this blessed valley
and say: I intend ‘
Umrah
combined with pilgrimage (‘
Umrah
into
Al-Hajj
).
Before performing the noon prayer, he bathed for
Ihram
(ritual consecration), and ‘Aishah (May
Allah be pleased with her) perfumed him on both his body and head with her hand with a
Dharira
(a
plant) and with a perfume containing musk. The thick sticky layer of perfume could be seen among
his parts of hair and beard. He left it unwashed, wore his loincloth and garment. He performed the
noon prayer shortened, two
Rak‘a
. He proclaimed pilgrimage procedure associated with ‘
Umrah
at
his prayer-place. He, then mounted his she-camel ‘Al-Qaswa’, and proclaimed: ‘There is no god but
Allâh’. When he moved into the desert, he acclaimed the Name of Allâh.
He proceeded with his journey till he approached Makkah. He spent the night at Dhi Tuwa and
entered Makkah after performing the d awn prayer. He had a bath on Sunday morning, the fourth of
Dhul-Hijjah the tenth year of Al-Hijra. He spent eight days on the way, which was an average
period. As soon as he entered Al-Haram Mosque he circumambulated Al-Ka‘bah and walked to and
fro (
Sa‘i
) between As -Safa and Al-Marwah. He did not finish the
Ihram
(ritual consecration) because
he was
Qarin
(i.e. intending ‘
Umrah
and
Al-Hajj
associated). He then took
Al-Hadi
(i.e. the sacrificial
animals) in order to slaughter them. He camped on a high place of Makkah — Al-Hajun. As for
circumambulation, he performed only that of
Al-Hajj
(pilgrimage circumambulation).
Those of his Companions who had no
Hadi
with them to sacrifice, were ordered to observe
Ihram
(i.e. the state of ritual consecration) into ‘
Umrah
(i.e. lesser pilgrimage), and circumambulate Al-
Ka‘bah and stride ritually to and fro between As-Safa and Al-Marwah. After that they could relieve
themselves from
Ihram
. They, however, showed reluctance to do what they had been told.
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said: ”Had I known beforehand what I
knew afterward, I would not bring
Hadi
, and if I did not have
Hadi
, I would break
Ihram
. On hearing
these words, his Companions obeyed the orders to the latter.
On the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah — that is the Day of
Tarwiyah,
he left for Mina where he performed
the noon, the afternoon, the sunset, the evening and the dawn prayers. — i.e. five prayers. Then he
stayed for a while till the sun rose up then he passed along till he reached ‘Arafah, where there was
a tent built for him at Namirah. He sat inside till the sun went down. He ordered that Al-Qaswa’, his
she-camel, should be prepared for him. They saddled it and had it ready, so he went down the
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