The Farewell Hajj

Part oneThe road to Makkah

Since the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ had made umrah, but he had not yet performed the Hajj since the hijrah. In the tenth year he announced that he would go. The news spread through Arabia and people came in large numbers to join him. Accounts speak of tens of thousands of pilgrims, from Madinah and from the tribes along the road.

The Prophet ﷺ set out from Madinah at the end of Dhul-Qa'dah. At Dhul Hulayfah, the pilgrims' station outside Madinah, he entered the state of ihram and the pilgrims called out their response to Allah, a call that fills the valleys of Hajj to this day. Along the road, more tribes joined. They entered Makkah on the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah and went to the Kaaba. The Prophet ﷺ circled it seven times and walked between Safa and Marwah. Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), who had been in Yemen, joined them there with animals for the sacrifice.

Everything he did, he did slowly and in front of everyone, so that they could learn. He told them to take their rites from him. The rites of Hajj as Muslims perform them today come from these days.

On the eighth, the pilgrims moved to the tents at Mina. On the morning of the ninth, they went out across the open ground to Arafat, a wide plain outside Makkah with a low hill at its edge. Pilgrims from every tribe stood together there, people of Makkah and Madinah, of Yemen and the desert, many of whom had been enemies only a few years before. The Prophet ﷺ had a tent set up for him at a place called Namirah. When the sun passed its height, he rode to the valley floor on his camel and spoke to the people.

Part twoArafat

On that afternoon the Prophet ﷺ gave the sermon known as the Farewell Sermon. His voice could not reach the whole crowd, so men stood at intervals and repeated his words aloud so that those at the back could hear. He spoke of the sanctity of life, property and honour, of the rights of women, and of fairness in dealings with others. He declared old debts of interest and old blood feuds ended, beginning with those of his own family. He told them that no Arab was superior to a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab to an Arab, except in piety. He told them to hold to the Book of Allah. And he asked the people whether he had delivered the message. They answered that he had, and he raised his finger to the sky and asked Allah to bear witness. He told those present to pass his words on to those who were absent.

From the hadith

Ja'far b Muhammad reported on the authority of his father:

[…] Then he came to the bottom of the valley, and addressed the people saying: Verily your blood, your property are as sacred and inviolable as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours. Behold! Everything pertaining to the Days of Ignorance is under my feet completely abolished. Abolished are also the blood-revenges of the Days of Ignorance. The first claim of ours on blood-revenge which I abolish is that of the son of Rabi'a b. al-Harith, who was nursed among the tribe of Sa'd and killed by Hudhail. And the usury of she pre-Islamic period is abolished, and the first of our usury I abolish is that of 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, for it is all abolished. Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. I have left among you the Book of Allah, and if you hold fast to it, you would never go astray. And you would be asked about me (on the Day of Resurrection), (now tell me) what would you say? They (the audience) said: We will bear witness that you have conveyed (the message), discharged (the ministry of Prophethood) and given wise (sincere) counsel. He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) then raised his forefinger towards the sky and pointing it at the people (said):" O Allah, be witness. 0 Allah, be witness," saying it thrice. […]

During the stay at Arafat, a verse was revealed to say that the religion had been completed.

From the Quran

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ۝٣

Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; what is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars. You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions. This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me! Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger—not intending to sin—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

He stayed on the plain until the sun had set, praying and calling on Allah. It was a Friday, and he had prayed the noon and afternoon prayers together there, shortened, before standing with raised hands in supplication. Then he rode to Muzdalifah, where he prayed the evening prayers together and rested for the night. At dawn he moved on to Mina. There he threw pebbles at the pillar, as the rite requires, and sacrificed animals. By the traditional account he sacrificed sixty-three camels with his own hand, and Ali completed the sacrifice of one hundred. Then his head was shaved. He gave a second address at Mina on the day of sacrifice, repeating the central teachings. Throughout the day at Mina, people came to ask whether they had done the rites in the right order, shaving before sacrificing or throwing the pebbles after, and to each he answered that there was no harm. He told the people that he might not meet them in that place again after this year.

The Prophet ﷺ returned to Madinah, and the pilgrims scattered to their homes across Arabia. The Hajj they had performed beside him was the one he would not repeat.

Everything he did, he did slowly and in front of everyone, so that they could learn.

More on How to Muslim

• guide.howtomuslim.orgHow to perform HajjThe Hajj he taught that year, step by step.

WatchThe lecture for this chapter

Lecture Towards EternityO Messenger, Final Episode: The Prophet's Farewell (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Madinah
• Dhul Hulayfah
• Makkah
• Mina
• Arafat
• Muzdalifah

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter