THE END AGREAT MAN
After spending the rest of the day of 'Arafah in prayer and
contemplation, the Muslims began to complete the pilgrimage by
returning to Mecca with the talbiyah prayer still on their lips. The
first night of the return journey was spent at Muzdalifah. Here they
gathered pebbles, which they carried with them the next day to Mina.
There they stood before a huge rock and stoned it in remembrance of
Abraham's meeting with the Devil in that very place. When Abraham
received the order from Allah to sacrifice his son Ishmael as a test
of his faith, the Devil had tried to convince him not to do it. He
came to Abraham at Mina, as he was on his way to carry out Allah's
command, but Abraham took some stones and hurled them at the Devil to
drive him away since the casting of stones at Mina on the Prophet's
'Farewell Pilgrimage', this has become another ritual which Muslims
perform on the annual pilgrimage to remind them that they, too, must
continue to drive the Devil away when he tries to prevent them from
being obedient to Allah.
After throwing the stones, the pilgrims sacrificed sheep and camels
and gave the meat to the poor. In this way the great faith of Abraham
was remembered, for when he had been ready to sacrifice Ishmael,
Allah
had sent a sheep in his place. The Muslims then completed the
pilgrimage by again circling the Ka'bah seven times. They then cut
their hair and nails and changed out of their white clothes to show
they had returned to their daily lives. Before returning to Medinah,
the Muslims spent three nights in the valley at Medinah where the
final preparations were made for the journey home.
As for the Prophet (pbuh), he made one final visit before leaving
Mecca. This was to the grave of his devoted wife, Khadijah, who had
been the first person to believe in Allah's Revelation through him.
The Prophet (pbuh) knew that this would be the last time he would see
the grave, or Mecca, because during the pilgrimage he had received
the
chapter of the Koran called 'Help',
form which he knew that his death was not far away.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"When Allah's help and triumph comes And thou seest, mankind entering
the religion of Allah in troops, Then hymn the praises of thy Lord,
and seek forgiveness of Him. Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy".
(Koran cx.1-3)
The Prophet's Death
One Night, shortly after his return to Medinah, the Prophet(pbuh)
woke
up at midnight and asked his servant' Abd Allah to saddle his mule.
They then left the house and went to the Baqi al-Gharqad, the burial
ground of the Muslims. There the Prophet (pbuh) stood in the front of
the graves and, as though he could see the Muslims buried in them,
spoke to them and prayed over them. Later, 'Abd Allah reported, 'The
Prophet (pbuh) told me that he was ordered to pray for the dead and
that I was to go with him.'
After the Prophet (pbuh) had prayed he turned to 'Abd Allah and said,
'I can choose between all the riches of this world, a long life and
then Paradise,
or meeting my Lord and entering Paradise now.' 'Abd Allah begged him
to choose a long, rich life, followed by Paradise, but the Prophet
(pbuh) told him that he had already chosen to meet his Lord now
rather
than remain in the world. The following morning the Prophet (pbuh)
awoke with a terrible headache, but despite this he had led the
prayers at the mosque. From what he said afterwards to the people
assembled there, they understood that his death was near. The Prophet
(pbuh) praised his best friend, Abu Bakr, who had begun to weep, and
told everyone that he knew they would all meet again at a pool in
Paradise. He added, however that although he was sure they would
always worship Allah alone, he feared that the pleasures of the world
would attract them, and they would begin to compete with one another
for material possessions, forgetting spiritual things. Soon after the
Prophet (pbuh) requested that he be moved to the room of A'isha, one
of his wives. As the days passed his fever grew worse, until one day
he was so ill that he could not even get to the mosque,
which was next to where A'isha lived. The Prophet (pbuh) told A'isha
to tell the Muslims to let Abu Bakr, her father, lead the prayer,
which made them very sad for this was the first time anyone had taken
the Prophet's place.

Later, on the 12th day of Rabi al-Awal, in the 11th year of Islam
(June 8th 632 A.D.), the Prophet (pbuh) heard the voices of the
people
in prayer. With great effort he got up and looked from his door at
all
the Muslims who were assembled in rows behind Abu bakr; he smiled
with
great satisfaction. Abu Bakr saw him and stepped back to give the
Prophet (pbuh) his place. The Muslims were happy, thinking he was
going to pray with them as before, but the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),
who looked radiantly beautiful that day signaled to them to continue
on their own. He prayed in a sitting position at the right of Abu
Bakr, after which he went back inside and lay his head on 'A'ishah's
lap. He was in such pain that his daughter Fatimah cried out in pity.
Then the Prophet (pbuh) said, 'There is no pain for your father after
this day; truly, death has appeared to me. We must all suffer it till
the Day of Judgement.' As he lay there, A'ishah remembered that he
had
once said, Allah never takes a Prophet to Himself without giving him
the choice.' Then she heard the Prophet (pbuh) speak. His last words
were, 'Nay, rather the Exalted Communion of Paradise.'
A'ishah then said to herself, 'So, by Allah, he is not choosing us!'
When the people in the mosque heard that the Prophet (pbuh) was dead,
they were filled with grief. 'Umar could not, and would not, believe
it, and exclaimed that it was not true. Abu Bakr then went out and
spoke gently to the people, saying 'All praise belongs to Allah! 0
people, whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. But for him
who
worships Allah, Allah is living and never dies.'
He then recited this verse from the Koran which had been revealed
after the battle of Uhud:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful


"Muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have
passed away before him. Will it be that, when he dies or is slain,
you
will turn back on your heels? He who turns back does no hurt to
Allah,
and Allah will reward the thankful. No soul can ever die except by
Allah's permission and at a term appointed.
Who so desires the reward of the world, We bestow on him thereof; and
whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We bestow on him
thereof We shall reward the thankful". (Koran iii.144-145)
After this the people pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, whom the
Prophet (pbuh) had chosen to lead the prayer. Abu Bakr accepted and
concluded what he had to say with these words: 'Obey me so long as I
obey Allah and His Messenger. But if I disobey Allah and His
Messenger, you owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, Allah have
mercy upon you!' The people rose and asked him; 'Where will the
Prophet (pbuh) be buried?' Abu Bakr remembered that the Prophet
(pbuh)
had said, 'No Prophet dies who is not buried on the spot where he
died.
And so the Prophet (pbuh) was buried in a grave dug in the floor of
A'ishah's room, in the house next to the mosque. The spot became
known
as the Haram al-Nabawi and Muslims from all over the world go there
to
pray and to give their blessings and greetings of peace the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). And Lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. And
Lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. (Koran lxvii. 3-4)
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