Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Departure Of The Holy Prophet

After the Holy Prophet (S) had carried out his divine mission completely, he felt that he would soon join the Almighty God and depart from this world. He therefore began to convey his last mission, although he had always confirmed the content of this mission, which is to appoint the next leader of the Muslim community, on various occasions since the beginning of his promulgation for the religion of Islam.

In the tenth year after his emigration (i.e. Hegira), the Holy Prophet (S) decided to perform his final ritual Hajj pilgrimage. This pilgrimage is therefore called the Farewell Pilgrimage.

In this pilgrimage, he informed the Muslims that this would be their last meeting with him, saying, ‘In fact, I do not know whether I will be able to meet you after this year and after this meeting.’

To establish for them the best method that will guarantee their pleasure in this world and the other world, he declared,

O people! I am leaving amongst you the two weighty things: the Book of Allah and my progeny; i.e. my Household.

Upon the accomplishment of the rites of Hajj, the Holy Prophet (S) delivered a sermon in which he summed up all the affairs of Islam and appointed the next leader whom they should follow after he would pass away.

The last statement of his sermon was as follows:

After my departure, do not return to atheism and deviation by letting some of you have power over others. I am leaving amongst you that which will save you from deviation forever if you only adhere to: the Book of Allah and my progeny; my Household. Have I conveyed?

They all shouted, ‘Yes, you have.’

He (S) then said,

O Allah, be the witness. You are now responsible; so, the present must deliver this to the absent.1

The Meeting Of Ghadir Khumm

After he had accomplished the rites of the Hajj pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet (S) was on his way back to Al-Madinah when Archangel Gabriel descended to him, carrying a very important message from the All-exalted Lord, relating to the destiny of the Muslim community.

Hence, Almighty Allah ordered His Prophet (S) to settle in that place and appoint Imam Ali (‘a) as his successor and the general authority over all Muslims. The Holy Prophet (S) was not permitted to postpone that declaration even for one moment. Hence, the Almighty Allah revealed to him this holy verse:

O Messenger! Deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people. (5:67)2

It was terribly hot when the Holy Prophet (S), carrying out this mission, ordered all Muslims to gather in that place that is called Ghadir Khumm. He then led a congregational prayer. Upon accomplishment, he ordered his followers to gather the loads of their camels so as to make a pulpit-like height on which he would climb and deliver a message from the All-exalted Lord.

The Muslims, who were more than one hundred thousand persons, paid attention to what the Holy Prophet (S) would say to them.

First, he praised and thanked the Lord and then reminded the audience of the troubles he had suffered for the sake of the religion. He then referred to a number of laws, regulations, and teachings of Islam.

He then asked,

See how you will regard me on the subject of the two weighty things.

‘What are the two weighty things?’ one of them asked. Clarifying the matter, the Holy Prophet (S) answered,

The major weighty thing is the Book of Allah. One of its edges is in the hand of the Almighty and All-exalted Lord and the other edge is in your hands. So, adhere to it firmly and you will never be misled. The minor weighty thing is my progeny. Allah the All-gentle and All-aware has informed that these two should never separate from one another until they both join me on the Divine Pond.

I also besought my Lord to grant me this favor that these two should never separate from one another. So, do not precede them lest you will perish, and do not leave them behind you lest you will perish.

Immediately after that, the Holy Prophet (S) grasped the hand of his successor and the leader of the faithful believers after him, raised it so highly that the whiteness of their armpits was seen by all people, and with a high tone said,

O People, whose right is preceded to the people’s rights upon themselves?

They answered, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’

The Holy Prophet (S) then declared and repeated three times,

Verily, Allah is my master, I am the master of the believers, and I have more right over them than what they have over themselves. Now, Ali is the master of whomever has regarded me as his master.

He then added,

O Allah, (please) be the friend of whomever befriends Ali, be the enemy of whomever incurs his animosity, bear love to whomever loves Ali, harbor hatred against whomever hates Ali, give victory to whomever supports Ali, disappoint whomever disappoints Ali, and turn the truth to follow Ali wherever he turns. Behold! The present must convey this to the absent.

By the command of the Holy Prophet (S), Muslims hurried to swear allegiance to Imam Ali (‘a) and to congratulate him for this position. Among those congratulators were the wives of the Holy Prophet3 and ‘Umar ibn Al- Khattab who said his famous statement, ‘Felicitations, O son of Abu Talib! You have become the master of all believing men and women!’4

Hassan ibn Thabit, the poet of Islam, who was present there, composed some poetic verses on this occasion. He thus said after he had obtained the permission of the Holy Prophet (S),

On the day of Ghadir, their Prophet called them In Khumm; How great the Prophet’s call was! Saying, ‘Who is you master and leader?’

They answered and showed no negligence:

‘Your Lord is our Master and you are our Leader

And none of us will disobey you in this regard.’

He said: ‘Stand up, Ali, for I will appoint you The Imam and the guide after me

This is the leader of him whose master was I

Hence, be faithful and sincere followers of him.’

And then he prayed:’ O Allah! Support his supporter

And be the enemy of him who will oppose Ali.’

On that day too, this holy verse was revealed to immorTalibze this occasion and this day, which is annually celebrated as the Ghadir Feast:

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion. (5:3)5

The Endless Tragedy

When Muslims knew about the ailment of the Holy Prophet (S), they hurried to visit him. On this occasion too, he instructed them, saying,

O people! I am about to depart from this life very soon. I have already instructed you to hold fast to what will secure your felicity so that I will be excused. Verily, I am leaving amongst you the Book of Allah and my progeny; my household.

He then took the hand of Imam Ali (‘a), who was beside him, and said,

Ali is with the Quran and the Quran is with Ali. They will not separate from one another until they join me on the Pond.6

The Holy Prophet (S) discovered that some of his Companions had decided to deprive his Household of the next leadership; he therefore decided to send them all out of Al-Madinah for encountering the Romans so that the capital would be empty of such persons when he would depart life and Imam Ali (‘a) would hold the position of leadership without disputation.

The Holy Prophet (S) thus ordered the most eminent personalities of the Muhajirun and Ansar, such as Abu-Bakr, ‘Umar, Abu-’Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah, and Bashir ibn Sa’d,7 the heads of opposition of Imam Ali’s leadership, to join that expedition under the commandership of Usamah ibn Zayd, the young man.

On the twenty-ninth of Safar, the Companions put down rebellion and refused to join the expedition of Usamah. Showing the main reason for such rebellion, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab said to Usamah, ‘Will the Prophet depart life and you are my commander?’

Having been informed about this rebellion, the Holy Prophet (S), suffering harsh pains, delivered a speech in which he declared, ‘Mobilize the army of Usamah! Carry out my orders in this regard! May Allah curse whoever fails to join the army of Usamah!’

Nevertheless, none of those who had refused to join Usamah’s expedition changed his mind; rather, they insisted on staying in the capital.

Thus, the Holy Prophet (S) became certain of the actual intention of those who refused to leave Al-Madinah; they only intended to plot a conspiracy against Imam Ali (‘a) to deprive him of holding the position of the leadership. The Holy Prophet (S), in order to confirm this matter in a written form and prevent the implementation of such a conspiracy, said in the presence of the Companions,

Bring me a pen and a paper so that I will write down for you a document after which you will never go astray.

The Companions knew what the Holy Prophet (S) meant by these words; they were sure that he only wanted to confirm the leadership of Imam Ali (‘a) in a written document so that they would not be able to achieve their aims and take the leadership from the Holy Prophet’s Household. As a result, one of them; namely, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, aroused a disputation in the presence of the Holy Prophet (S) and insisted on preventing him from writing down that document. ‘Umar therefore shouted, ‘The man is hallucinating!’8

Whenever Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas mentioned this incident, he would weep heavily and say, ‘It is all because of that Thursday. What a Thursday it was! The Messenger of Allah ordered them to bring him a pen and a paper to write down a document after which they would never go astray, but they answered, ‘The Messenger of Allah is hallucinating!’’9

During the Holy Prophet’s last ailment, he was visited by his daughter Lady Fatimah Al-Zahra' (‘a) accompanied by her two sons Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. She threw herself on her father’s body and wept heavily.

The Holy Prophet (S), in these moments, prayed to Almighty Allah saying, ‘O Allah, please watch out my household!’ He then repeated three times, ‘I entrust my household with every believing man.’10

Before he departed life, the Holy Prophet (S) had ordered Imam Ali (‘a) to take much care of his two grandsons.11

In the last moments of his lifetime, the Holy Prophet (S) asked for Imam Ali (‘a) and said to him,

Put my head in your lap, for the matter of Allah has come. When my soul leaves my body, pick it up and rub it over your face. You may then turn me towards the kiblah direction and undertake the other procedures. Before all people, you may offer a prayer on my dead body. Do not leave me before you put me in my grave. Always seek the help of Allah the Almighty and All-glorified. The Imam (‘a) carried out these instructions completely.12

Then, the Holy Prophet’s soul departed his body. That day was incomparably depressing for all Muslims. However, the most depressing was Lady Fatimah Al-Zahra' (‘a). She threw herself on the sacred body and expressed her deep grief with such statements like:

Oh for my father! Oh for the Prophet of mercy! The Divine Revelation will no longer come! Gabriel will no longer visit us! O Allah, please join my soul to his soul, let me be the first to see his face, and do not deprive me of reward for my grief for him and do not deprive me of his intercession on the Resurrection Day.

Oh for my father! I announce his death to Gabriel! Oh for my father! His abode in the highest place in Paradise! Oh for my father who responded to the Lord when He called him!13

Imam Ali (‘a) took upon himself the mission of arranging for the funeral ceremonies of the body of his cousin according to his insturction. He therefore bathed ritually the Holy Prophet’s body with tearful eyes, repeating these words:

May my father and my mother shed their lives for you, O Messenger of Allah! With your death the process of Prophethood, revelation and heavenly messages has stopped, which had not stopped at the death of others (prophets). Your position with us (the members of your family) is so special that your grief has become a source of consolation (to us) as against the grief of all others; your grief is also common so that all Muslims share it equally.

If you had not ordered endurance and prevented us from bewailing, we would have produced a store of tears and even then, the pain would not have subsided, and this grief would not have ended, and they would have been too little of our grief for you. However, this (death) is a matter that cannot be reversed nor is it possible to repulse it. May my father and my mother die for you; do remember us with Allah and take care of us.14

About this issue, Imam Ali (‘a) also said,

When the Prophet (S) died, his head was on my chest, and his (last) breath blew over my palms and I passed it over my face. I performed his funeral ablution-may Allah bless him and his descendants-and the angels helped me. The house and the courtyard were full of them. One party of them was descending and the other was ascending. My ears continually caught their humming voice, as they invoked Allah’s blessing on him until we buried him in his grave.15

From behind curtains, Al-’Abbas and Usamah handed over water to Imam Ali (‘a) while he was performing the funeral ablution to the Holy Prophet’s body.16 During the funeral ablution, the Holy Prophet’s body poured out nice smell. Upon this situation, Imam Ali (‘a) said,

May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Allah’s Messenger! You give nice smell in your life and after your death.17

Upon accomplishment, Imam Ali (‘a) put the dead body in the shroud and then on the bed.

After the angels, the first to perform the funeral prayer on the sacred body of the Holy Prophet (S) was Imam Ali (‘a), who then allowed the other Muslims to perform similar prayers. The Imam (‘a) said to them,

Do not let any one of you lead a congregational prayer, because the Holy Prophet is your leader in his life and after his death.

Standing to the side of the sacred body, Imam Ali (‘a) repeated these words:

Peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be upon you, O Prophet! O Allah, we bear witness that he has conveyed to us what has been revealed to him by You, he acted sincerely towards his community, and he has striven painstakingly for Allah’s sake until Allah gave victory to His religion and accomplished His Word.

O Allah, please include us with those who follow what has been revealed to him, make us stand firm after his departure, and join us to him.

After these words, the performers of the prayer would say, ‘Amen.’

Upon the accomplishment of the prayer, Imam Ali (‘a) dug the grave, put the sacred body in it, and covered it with soil. He then stopped at the edge of the grave and said with tearful eyes,

Certainly, endurance is good except about you; fretting is bad except over you; and the affliction about you is great while every other affliction before or after it is small.18

Imam Ali (‘a) then went to the minbar (i.e. pulpit) of the Holy Prophet’s Mosque and delivered a funeral oration in praise of him.

After the departure of the Holy Prophet (S), his family members panicked very much and felt great fear from the clans of Quraysh whose chiefs had been killed by Imam Ali (‘a). They knew for sure that these clans awaited any opportunity to revenge on the Holy Prophet’s household.

The first night after the Holy Prophet’s departure was the longest night for them. Describing this night, Imam Al-Sadiq (‘a) says, ‘When the Holy Prophet (S) died, his family members spent that night with horror as if there were no sky to cover them and no land to carry them.

This is so because the Holy Prophet (S) had taken the lives of many relatives and non-relatives.’

Notes

1.Tarikh Al-Ya’qubi 2:90-1.

2.See for instance the exegesis of this holy Quranic verse in the following reference books of Tafsir: Al-Wahidi, Asbab Al-Nuzul, pp. 150; Tafsir Al-Razi 3:636; At-Tabrisi, Majma’ Al- Bayan 4:344.

3.Al-Amini, Al-Ghadir 2:34.

4.Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 4:281.

5.About the revelation of this holy Quranic verse on this day and on this occasion, refer to

the following reference books for instance: Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad 8:290; Al-Suyuti, Al-Durr Al-Manthur 2:259; At-Tabrisi, Majma’ Al-Bayan 3:246.

6.Ibn kajar, Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqah 2:361.

7.Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Kanz Al-’Ummal 5:312; Ibn Sa’d, Al-tabaqat Al-Kubra 4:46; Al-

Diyarbakri, Tarikh Al-Khamis 2:46.

8.The details of this incident can be seen in the following reference books: Sahih Al- Bukhari 4:86-7, 6:8; Ibn Al-Athir, Al-Nihayah 4:130; Ibn Abi’l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj Al- Balaghah 3:114.

9.Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 1:355.

10.Al-Buladhari, Ansab Al-Ashraf 1:133.

11.Shaykh Al-Saduq, Al-Amali, pp. 119.

12.Ibn Shahr'ashub, Manaqib Ali Abi Talib1:29. Reports confirming the fact that the Holy Prophet (S) departed life while his head was in the lap of Imam Ali (‘a) are uninterruptedly many. For instance, see Ibn Sa’d: Al-tabaqat Al-Kubra 2:51; Al-Haythami, Majma’ Al- Zawa'id 1:293; Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Kanz Al-’Ummal 4:55; Ahmad ibn Abdullah At-Tabari, Dhakha’ir Al-’Uqba fi Manaqib Dhawi’l-Qurba, pp. 94; Al-Riyad Al-Nasirah 2:219.

13.Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala' 2:88; Sunan Ibn Majah 1:511.

14.Nahj Al-Balaghah, Sermon No. 233.

15.Nahj Al-Balaghah, Sermon No. 196.

16.Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa’l-Nihayah 5:263.

17.Ibn Sa’d, Al-tabaqat Al-Kubra 2:63.

18.Nahj Al-Balaghah, Aphorism No. 302.