Setting Out for the Farewell Pilgrimage

In 10 AH, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to perform Hajj. This Hajj is known as Hajj al-Wida‘ (the Farewell Pilgrimage).

On Thursday, 24 Dhul-Qa‘dah, 10 AH, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ departed from Madinah al-Munawwarah for Hajj al-Wida‘. He departed during the daytime. Before leaving, he combed his hair, applied oil to his blessed head, offered the Zuhr prayer in Madinah al-Munawwarah, and offered the ‘Asr prayer at Dhul-Hulayfah.

All of the blessed wives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ accompanied him on this journey. At that time, they were nine in number. They travelled in howdahs placed on camels.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was riding his she-camel, Qaswa. When Qaswa rose while carrying him ﷺ, he was in the state of Ihram. At that time, there was an old saddle on Qaswa, which may have been worth four dirhams, and the cloak he ﷺ was wearing was also quite ordinary. At that time, he ﷺ was reciting this supplication:

Translation: “O Allah! Make this Hajj accepted and make it such that there is neither ostentation nor deception in it, nor showing off and outward display.”

“Command your Companions to raise their voices while reciting the Talbiyah. This is the symbol of Hajj.”

Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed his Companions to do so. They began reciting the Talbiyah in loud voices.

On the way, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stopped at a place called Dhu Tuwa. He spent the night there. After offering the morning prayer, he departed from there until he reached the area facing Makkah, where he stopped. Then, during the forenoon, he entered Makkah al-Mukarramah and entered the Kaaba through Bab ‘Abd Manaf. This gate is famous as Bab Salam.

As soon as he ﷺ saw the House of Allah, he supplicated in these words:

Translation: “O Allah! You are the One who possesses peace, and peace comes only from You. So, O our Lord, keep us alive in peace and continue increasing the honor and awe of this House.”

Then he ﷺ performed Tawaf around the House of Allah, making seven circuits. He began the Tawaf from the Black Stone. He first went toward it and touched it. At that time, tears came into his ﷺ eyes.

During the first three circuits of Tawaf, he ﷺ performed Raml, meaning that he walked briskly with his chest held upright. During the remaining four circuits, he walked at his normal pace.

After completing the Tawaf, he ﷺ kissed the Black Stone, placed both of his hands upon it, and then wiped them over his blessed face.

After completing the Tawaf, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered two rak‘ahs of prayer at Maqam Ibrahim. Then he ﷺ drank Zamzam water.

Now he ﷺ proceeded toward the hill of Safa. At that time, he ﷺ was reciting this verse:

Translation: “Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah.” (Surah al-Baqarah)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made seven circuits between Safa and Marwah. These are two hills, and moving between them in circuits is called Sa‘i.

During the first three circuits, he ﷺ walked quickly, and during the remaining four, he walked at his normal pace.

Whenever he ﷺ climbed Safa and turned his face toward the Kaaba, he proclaimed the Oneness of Allah in these words:

Translation: “There is no deity except Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. There is no deity except Allah; He is One and Alone. He fulfilled His promise, helped His servants, and defeated the united armies by Himself.”

When he ﷺ reached Marwah, he also praised and glorified Allah.

After completing Sa‘i between Safa and Marwah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed those who did not have sacrificial animals with them to come out of Ihram. Those who had sacrificial animals with them were instructed to remain in Ihram.

On 8 Dhul-Hijjah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ departed for Mina. Before departing for Mina, all those who had previously come out of Ihram entered Ihram again.

In Mina, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered the Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Isha prayers and spent the night there. It was the night of Friday. He ﷺ also offered the morning prayer in Mina.

After sunrise, he ﷺ departed from there for ‘Arafat.

He ﷺ ordered that a dome made from camel hair be prepared for him. In the plain of ‘Arafat, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained inside this dome until the time of midday.

At that time, he ﷺ ordered that his she-camel, Qaswa, be brought to him. He ﷺ mounted Qaswa and proceeded into the valley. While sitting upon his she-camel, he ﷺ delivered a sermon before the Muslims.

In this sermon, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“People! Listen to my words. Look, I do not know whether I will ever meet you at this place again after this year.

People! Listen carefully. Indeed, your blood (that is, your lives) and your wealth are sacred and inviolable among one another until you meet your Lord (that is, throughout your lives), just as this day and this month are sacred and inviolable for you.

Look, you will soon meet your Lord after death. He will question you about your deeds, and I have conveyed all the commands to you concerning every matter.

Therefore, whoever has a trust belonging to someone else should return that trust, when asked, to the very person who entrusted it to him.

Listen! Every kind of interest (that was owed by someone to another) has been abolished. However, your principal amount remains lawful for you. You will neither commit injustice nor will injustice be committed against you.

Allah has decreed that no interest is permissible anymore, and all the interest of al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib has been abolished.

All cases of killing that had occurred during the period of ignorance before Islam have also been abolished (no revenge will now be taken for them). The first case of blood revenge that I abolish is the killing of Ibn Rabi‘ah ibn al-Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. Ibn Rabi‘ah had been nursed among Banu Layth, and Hudhayl killed him. Therefore, this is the first killing for which I am beginning the practice of forgiveness.

People! Listen carefully. Satan has lost all hope that he will ever again be worshipped in this land. However, if you obey him, he will be pleased with those sins of yours that you consider insignificant. Therefore, beware of Satan and fear him regarding the matter of your religion.

People! Listen carefully! You have rights over your women, and they have rights over you. Continue treating women with kindness and goodness, because they are like captives in your possession. You have received them as a trust from Allah.

People! Try to understand what I am saying. I have conveyed everything, and I have left among you something which, if you hold firmly to it, you will never go astray: the clear thing is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.

People! Listen to me and understand carefully: every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim, and all Muslims are brothers to one another. Therefore, it is not lawful for any person to take anything belonging to his brother without his permission, except when that person himself gives it willingly and wholeheartedly.

So do not wrong yourselves in any situation.

People! Tell me, have I conveyed the message properly?”

The people replied, “Certainly, certainly.”

Upon this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned his face toward the sky, raised his index finger, and said:

“O Allah, bear witness! O Allah, bear witness! O Allah, bear witness!”

(Meaning: “O Allah, be a witness. O Allah, be a witness. O Allah, be a witness.”)

After completing the sermon, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed Bilal رضي الله عنه to call the Adhan.

After the Adhan, the Iqamah for Zuhr was called and the prayer was offered. Then the Iqamah for ‘Asr was called and the prayer was offered. Thus, both prayers were offered together. One Adhan was called for both prayers, while separate Iqamahs were made.

A group of people came to the blessed presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in ‘Arafat. They asked:

“How is Hajj performed?”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

“Hajj is, in reality, the standing at ‘Arafat. That is, standing at ‘Arafat is Hajj. The entire plain of ‘Arafat is a place for standing.”

Now the Messenger of Allah ﷺ departed for al-Mash‘ar al-Haram, meaning Muzdalifah.

At that time, he ﷺ seated Usamah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه behind him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued instructing the people to travel calmly and peacefully. In this manner, they reached Muzdalifah.

There, he ﷺ offered the Maghrib and ‘Isha prayers together. Both prayers were offered at the time of ‘Isha.

For women and children, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed that they should leave Muzdalifah for Mina one hour after midnight so that they could stone the Devil before the crowds became heavy there.

When the time of Fajr arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led the prayer in Muzdalifah while it was still dark.

Then, before sunrise, he ﷺ departed from Muzdalifah for Mina.

When he reached Jamrat al-‘Aqabah (the largest Devil), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ threw seven pebbles. The act of throwing pebbles at the Devils is called Rami. These pebbles are collected from Muzdalifah.

Whenever he ﷺ threw a pebble, he said “Allahu Akbar.”

At that time also, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was riding his she-camel. Bilal and Usamah رضي الله عنهما were with him. Bilal رضي الله عنه was holding the reins of the Prophet’s ﷺ she-camel, while Usamah رضي الله عنه was providing shade over him ﷺ with a piece of cloth.

On this occasion, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon to the Muslims. In it, he declared the wealth and honor of one another sacred and inviolable.

He ﷺ declared the tenth of Dhul-Hijjah to be a sacred day and said:

“People! Indeed, your blood, your wealth, and your honor and dignity are sacred and inviolable among you, just as this day is sacred for you, just as the sanctity of this city is sacred, and just as the sanctity of this month is sacred.”

He ﷺ repeated these words several times.

At the end, he ﷺ asked:

“People! Have I conveyed the message properly?”

The people affirmed that he had.

Then he ﷺ said:

“Now, whoever among you is present should convey this message to whoever is absent. Do not return to the darkness of disbelief after me, causing one another to fight and shed one another’s blood.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also told the people:

“Learn the rites and rituals of Hajj from me, because perhaps after this year I may not have the opportunity to perform Hajj.”

(And this indeed happened, because only three months after this Hajj, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away.)

After this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to the place of sacrifice in Mina and sacrificed 63 camels.

All these animals had been brought by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from Madinah al-Munawwarah itself, and he ﷺ sacrificed them with his own blessed hand. In this way, he ﷺ sacrificed one animal for each year of his age.

Some of the meat from the sacrifices was cooked for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he ﷺ ate from it.

He ﷺ then instructed ‘Ali رضي الله عنه to slaughter the remaining camels. There were 100 camels in total. Thus, ‘Ali رضي الله عنه slaughtered 37 camels.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed that the meat of these animals and other things be distributed among the people.

The entire area of Mina is a place for sacrifice. An animal may be sacrificed at any part of it.

After completing the sacrifice, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had his blessed head shaved.

The hair from his blessed head was distributed among the Companions.

At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ supplicated:

Translation: “O Allah! Forgive those who shave their heads.”

After having his head shaved, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was given perfume by ‘Aishah al-Siddiqah رضي الله عنها.

Now the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mounted his riding animal to go to Makkah.

After reaching Makkah, he ﷺ performed Tawaf before Zuhr. This was Tawaf al-Ifadah, which is obligatory in Hajj. Without it, Hajj is not complete.

Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ drank Zamzam from the well of Zamzam. He ﷺ also sprinkled some of the water upon his blessed head.

After that, he ﷺ returned to Mina. He offered the Zuhr prayer there.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed in Mina for three days.

For three days, he ﷺ performed Rami al-Jamarat, that is, he threw pebbles at the Devils. He threw seven pebbles at each Devil.

After his stay in Mina, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Makkah and instructed the Companions:

“People! Before returning to your homeland, perform Tawaf around the House of Allah.”

This is called Tawaf al-Wida‘, meaning the Tawaf performed at the time of departure. It is obligatory upon every pilgrim.