Journey towards Supreme Companionship
A few days were left in the month of Safar, 11th AH, when one
night, the Prophet (sws) woke one of his slaves whom he had
freed, Abu Muhibah, from sleep. He told him that he had been
instructed to go to the graveyard of al-Baqi‘ of Madinah and
pray for the faithful who had reached their Lord. “Abu Muhibah!
Come with me.” The Prophet (sws) went to the graveyard and
prayed for forgiveness for the departed souls. When he
returned home, he developed a headache. He kept performing his
duties with the pain and also stayed with each of his wives
according to his schedule. His headache continued and he also
developed fever. The day when he was staying with Umm al-Mu’minin,
Maymunah (rta), his pain increased and so did the fever. He
called all his wives and told them that his illness had gained
severity and if the wives permitted, could he spend the days
of his illness with ‘A’ishah (rta)? All of them gave
permission readily and the Prophet (sws) moved to the room of
Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah (rta) with the help of two men.
Choice to Leave the World
He went to the Mosque in the same condition, and, sitting on
the pulpit, prayed for forgiveness of the martyrs of the
Battle of Uhud, and continued to pray for God’s mercy for them
for a long time. Then he told his audience that God had given
one of His servants the choice of either staying in the world
or leaving to go to the blessings which are with God. The
servant had decided to go to God. On hearing this, Abu Bakr (rta)
started to weep. He understood that the servant was the
Prophet (sws) himself and that he was to leave the world soon.
The Prophet (sws) then instructed that the doors of people’s
homes that opened to the Mosque be closed but that of Abu Bakr
(rta) was not to be closed because he (the Prophet) had found
no other companion better than Abu Bakr (rta). If he was ever
to have made someone a close friend, he would have made Abu
Bakr (rta) so, but his relationship with him was that of a
companion and brotherhood in faith. This would remain thus
until God gathered all of them unto Himself.
Arrangements for the Last Battle
Before the advent of his illness, the Prophet (sws) had made
arrangements for the last battle of his life. He had put
together an army and made Usamah ibn Zayd (rta) its commander.
He had been ordered to go into the region where the Battle of
Mawtah had been fought and of which his father, Zayd ibn
Harithah (rta) was the commander. Zayd (rta), ‘Abdullah ibn
Rawahah (rta) and in which three commanders: Ja‘far ibn Abi
Talib (rta) had been martyred. Usamah (rta) was to attack the
region of Balqa near Palestine. Experienced and older Ansars
and Muhajirs were placed under him. The army was being
prepared when the Prophet (sws) fell ill and the pace of
preparations became slow. At this time, some people started
saying that assigning a young man like Usamah to be the
commander of and to lead older and experienced companions was
not appropriate. When the Prophet (sws) came to know of this,
he came to the Mosque with a band around his head due to his
headache and said to the people that he had come to know of
the objections of some people to the assignment of Usamah as
the commander of the army. “By my life! you had also objected
to his father being given the position of commander whereas,
undoubtedly he was fully eligible. Similarly, Usamah too is
capable of this responsibility. Hearing this sermon, people
began preparing to go for the battle. Usamah gave orders for
the army to gather at the place of Jarf, a few miles away from
Madinah. He himself reached Jarf, but kept communications open
with Madinah to ensure he knew of developments there.
The army was ready. The Prophet (sws) became severely ill.
Usamah decided to wait and see.
Fulfilling the Obligation to give Advice during Illness
When it became impossible for the Prophet (sws) to fulfill his
responsibilities of the Mosque due to severity of illness, he
ordered that Abu Bakr (rta) be asked to lead prayers instead
of himself. ‘A’ishah (rta) suggested that since Abu Bakr (rta)
was a soft hearted man and might not be able to stand at the
pulpit; his voice faltered and he started crying while
reciting the Qur’an, someone else be given this
responsibility. The Prophet (sws) did not agree and insisted
that Abu Bakr (rta) be asked to carry out this responsibility.
Hence, Abu Bakr (rta) led the prayers.
Even when he was very ill, the Prophet (sws) fulfilled the
rights of the faithful and continued to give them advice and
instructions. ‘A’ishah (rta) said that he would say often:
“May God destroy the nation that converted the graves of its
prophets into mosques.” Similarly, he instructed that there
should not be two religions in the Arabian Peninsula. He also
said that God had always given the choice to live longer to
every prophet.
Narratives on Writing the Last Instructions
Certain narratives about the last moments of the Prophet (sws)
have been quoted according to which he had asked for something
to be written down for the ummah, but it was not implemented.
For example, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (rta)
used to say: “Oh, the day of Thursday! How painful was this
day!” and he would weep so much that pebbles on the ground
would become wet. Sa‘id said that when he asked how was this
Thursday, Ibn ‘Abbas (rta) said: “On that day, the Prophet’s
illness became worse and he asked for writing material with
which to write, so that after him, people would not go astray.
At this, there was a difference of opinion among those
present, although it is not appropriate to express difference
of opinion in front of a prophet. People said: ‘Just look at
him. He is in a state of extreme illness. Try to understand
what he says.’ The Prophet (sws) said: ‘Leave my condition. I
am well in whatever condition I am. I advise you three things.
One is that you are to exile all Idolaters from the Arabian
Peninsula; second is that just as I have been welcoming
delegations, you should do the same.’” At the third, Ibn
‘Abbas (rta) became quiet, or if he did say it, I have
forgotten it.’
The second narrative about this matter is from al-Zuhri. In
this, Ibn ‘Abbas (rta) narrates that when the time for the
Prophet (sws) came, some people, including ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
(rta) were present in the house. The Prophet (sws) said:
“Bring some material with which I could write, after which you
will not be misguided.” ‘Umar (rta) said: “The Prophet (sws)
is extremely ill. You have the Qur’an, so God’s Book is
sufficient for us.” At this, a difference of opinion emerged
among the people and they began to argue with each other. Some
of them said that the things should be brought so that the
Prophet (sws) may have his instructions written down after
which they will not go astray. Others were in agreement with
‘Umar (rta). When the debate heated up and voices became loud,
the Prophet (sws) asked them to get up. One narrator,
‘Ubaydullah said that Ibn ‘Abbas said that it was such a great
calamity that became a barrier between the Prophet (sws) and
the writing, and its cause was the argument and voices of the
people.
These are the narratives on the basis of which the Shiites
claim that the Prophet (sws) had wished to write down the name
of ‘Ali (rta) as having the right to the caliphate. But the
people present at the time, including ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (rta)
did not provide the writing material due to which this
important document could not be written.
If the above two narrations are considered, we find that they
provide information about the same event but there are no
similarities between the two. The only common point is the
personal view of Ibn ‘Abbas (rta).
‘Umar’s presence is not proved by the first narration. But his
name has been mentioned deliberately in the narrative from
Zuhri. It is obvious that the purpose was to assign the
responsibility of the calamity that became a reason to prevent
the Prophet (sws) from having his words documented to ‘Umar.
As far as the purpose of the document is concerned it implies
that as long as it remained, people would not be misguided,
this is an unattainable objective and the Prophet (sws) was
very well aware of this fact. The guidance to and going astray
of humans are in the hands of God. This is why it had been
made clear to the Prophet (sws): “It is true thou wilt not be
able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides
those whom He will and He knows best those who receive
guidance.” (28:46)
The Qur’an is the book of guidance. After the Prophet (sws),
humans can find guidance only from this book. No other
document can be of equivalence to the Word of God. Therefore,
in our view, the Prophet (sws) could not have said something
which was totally against the teachings of the Qur’an. Not
communicating such important guidance before his death, acting
upon which His servants could have been protected from
misguidance, amounts to lack of fulfillment of the
responsibilities of prophet hood. The Prophet (sws) was
completely free of such errors.
When writing material was not provided to the Prophet (sws)
and he was requested to give his advice verbally, the two
points which he spoke about were not related to guidance or to
going astray. They concerned management or etiquette. The
third point was forgotten by the narrator. So, if the Prophet
(sws) had something written down, he would have stated a
similar point. Hence, the purpose of writing could not have
been what seems to be from the words of the narration.
In our view, while the narrative is weak, it is also
contaminated by the wishes of the narrators.
Increase in Illness
When his illness increased, the Prophet (sws) became
unconscious. When Usamah came to know, he came to Madinah. The
Prophet (sws) regained consciousness before his arrival but
was not in a state to speak. He recognized Usamah, raised his
hands towards the sky and passed them on Usamah. It seemed as
if he was giving his blessings to Usamah.
‘A’ishah (rta) said: “When in extreme pain, the Prophet (sws)
would often repeat: ‘No, but I want the companionship of the
supreme and highest companion in Paradise.’ Since he had
earlier told people that prophets are given a choice between
life and death, I assumed that he was making use of this
choice and choosing the companionship of the people of
Paradise. He did not wish to stay in the world after
fulfillment of his responsibilities: hence he wanted to be
raised up.”
Offering the Last Prayer
During fajr of 12th Rabi‘ al-awwal, he felt better and was
able to get up from bed to stand at the door of the room.
People were offering prayers under the leadership of Abu Bakr
(rta). Seeing them, the Prophet (sws)’s face lit up with
happiness. When people saw him, they made way for him into the
Mosque, but he asked them to stay where they were. When Abu
Bakr (rta) sensed some movement among the faithful, he
realized that the Prophet (sws) was present amongst them and
tried to give space to the Prophet (sws) at the pulpit. The
Prophet (sws) prevented him to move behind and sat down to his
right to offer his prayers. After this, he sat down facing the
others and said: “The fire of Hell has been lit. Devils are
advancing to spread like a dark night. What the Qur’an
declared to be halal, I have done the same, and what the
Qur’an declared to be haram, I have done the same.”
Death
After prayers, when the Prophet (sws) went towards his house,
Abu Bakr asked his permission to visit his home in the
locality of Sakh in the upper part of Madinah. When he had
gone, the Prophet (sws) took a turn for the worse. Meanwhile,
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr came to see him. He had a new
miswak with him. The Prophet (sws) was looking at it with
great interest. ‘A’ishah (rta) realized that he wished to
brush his teeth. She took the miswak from her brother,
softened it by chewing on it and gave it to the Prophet (sws).
He brushed his teeth well and then lay down. He was ill again.
‘A’ishah (rta) saw that his eyes had become fixed. She held
him, he was repeating the words: “No, but I want the
companionship of the supreme and highest companion in
Paradise.” While in this condition, his soul left his body.
The news of the Prophet’s death spread like fire throughout
the city. Abu Bakr (rta) came immediately from Sakh, went
inside the room, removed the cloth from the Prophet’s face and
kissed his forehead. Then he said: “My parents be sacrificed
for you. The death which God had ordained for you has been
faced by you. Now you will not need to face another death.”
This was the afternoon of Monday, 12th Rabi al-Awwal.
According to narratives, when Abu bakr (rta) came out, he saw
‘Umar (rta) overcome by extreme emotions, scolding people who
were saying that the Prophet (sws) had passed away. He was
saying that just as Musa (sws) had gone for 40 days to the
mountains, and Israelites had started to say that he had died
and would not return, the same way Muslims were saying the
same thing. In reality, the Prophet (sws) had not passed away.
Abu Bakr (rta) tried to stop ‘Umar (rta) but he kept repeating
the same thing. At this, Abu Bakr called the attention of
people to himself and said that those who had been worshipping
Muhamad (sws), should understand that the Messenger of God had
passed away, and those who had worshipped God should remember
that God was alive and would never die. He reminded people of
the verse: “Muhammad is no more than an apostle: many were the
apostles that passed away before him. If he died or were
slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn
back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah. but
Allah [on the other hand] will swiftly reward those who [serve
Him] with gratitude.” (3:144)
People were so affected by this sermon that they realized that
they had never understood the content of this verse, even
though it had been revealed after the Battle of Uhud. ‘Umar (rta),
riveted by fear, sat down on the ground.
Selection of a Successor
Some time later, the news came to the Mosque that a group of
Ansars, the Saqifah, had collected in Bani Sa‘idah and were
arguing about succession as to who would lead the Muslims
after the Prophet (sws). The influential leader of the Ansars,
Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah (rta) was also present in Saqifah. This was
most significant news as the future of Islam was related to
it. Any wrong decision at this time could have resulted in
creating rifts among Muslims. So Abu Bakr (rta) and ‘Umar (rta)
proceeded to the Saqifah. Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah (rta) was lying
down and influential Ansars were giving their opinions. They
said that the Ansars had sacrificed most for Islam and Muslims
and so it was the right of Ansars to take over the caliphate
after the Prophet (sws). Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah (rta) would be the
best person for this responsibility. Abu Bakr (rta) spoke then
and said that while the services of the Ansars were massive
and they were also highly influential in that region, but
Islam had spread over the whole of Arabia. Arab tribes would
not accept anyone from other than Quraysh. The Ansars
suggested that there be two caliphs: one from the Ansars and
one from the Muhajirin. Both should rule together. Abu Bakr (rta)
reminded people that the Prophet (sws) had said clearly that
the leader of Muslims should be from the Quraysh. When people
became satisfied at this, he asked them to take a pledge at
the hands of either ‘Umar or Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, who
would be the best candidates. ‘Umar (rta) came forward to say
that Abu Bakr (rta) was the most trusted companion of the
Prophet (sws) and the one who had stayed in the cave with him.
The Prophet (sws) had nominated him to lead prayers during his
lifetime and to be his deputy. There was no one better than
him. He would take a pledge on his hand. ‘Umar said this and
took Abu Bakr (rta)’s hand in his, thus taking the pledge. The
Ansars did the same. Thus, Abu Bakr (rta) was selected as the
caliph of the Messenger.
After the burial of the Prophet (sws), when some people said
that the Prophet (sws) had nominated ‘Ali (rta) to be his
successor, ‘A’ishah (rta) differed. She said that in his last
moments, the Prophet’s head was in her lap. At this stage, he
had asked for water in a bowl but his body had sagged at the
same time. When could he have named ‘Ali (rta) as his
successor?
In the same manner, the question had been raised as to what
will he left behind. When it became clear that he had not left
a will, some people began to discuss the issue. ‘A’ishah (rta)
then clarified that if the Prophet (sws) had not left dinar,
dirham, goats or sheep or camels as his legacy, why should he
have made a will?
Burial
The Prophet (sws) was bathed on Wednesday and clothed in
burial sheets. The question arose whether to make his grave
within the Mosque or in Jannah al-Baqi‘. Abu Bakr (rta)
repeated the Prophet’s saying that a prophet was to be buried
at the place he had died. Therefore, Abu Talhah Zayd ibn Sahal
dug the Prophet’s grave at the place of his bed. His body was
not removed from his room so there was no need for a
collective prayer. People entered the room in groups and
offered their prayers. On the night between Wednesday and
Thursday, the Prophet (sws) was lowered into his grave by his
cousins. Thus, this shining sun of the world disappeared from
the eyes of the people of the world.
(Translated by Nikhat Sattar)
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