The thing that is the most common among all the Prophets of God and His Saints is that they all know time of their passing away from this world. I have written in detail about this in my article entitled ‘The Common Characteristics of Saints’.
When this is the case with all the Saints, will not the Final Messenger of God know about it? He did know about it even a year before his demise. When he sent his Companion Muadh Ibn Jabal to Yemen as Governor, he gave him some advices and asked him to abide by them for, he said, when he returns from Yemen the next year, he will not be alive! He could have known it even before a year. And we do have many clues to this fact in his life.
Immediately I downloaded the book and read it from the first page to the last. Many wonderful and hair-rising incidents have been descried in it regarding the demise of the beloved Prophet. It was authored by one late M.S. Muhammadu Thambi. The famous author M.R.M. Abur-Rahim has given a foreword also to it.
Some of the indications from his life that Prophet Muhammad would leave this world soon:
On 11th of every Ramadan month, the Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) used recite the whole of the holy Quran (whatever parts were revealed through him up to that time that year and would ask the Prophet to repeat the same. But in the tenth year of Hijrah, he asked him to recite the whole lot revealed twice. That was a clear indication that the Prophet may not live to recite it the next year! And he went into the masjid for the usual isolation called I’tikaf, which lasted usually for ten days. But that year, he did it for twenty days! (page 20)
In his last pilgrimage known as Hajjul Wida, he told the people openly that he did not know if he would have the chance to meet them again.
In the year Hijri 11, he went to Uhud, and said some kind of a farewell prayer for the martyrs there, as if he was asking the dead and the living the permission to leave once for all.
He went to the graveyard of the martyrs of Uhud eight years after the battle and said, ‘Oh Martyrs of Islam, you will see me amongst you soon’ (MRM, page 776).
He is said to have told Umm Habiba that he will die that year (page 21).
Many a time and oft, his life history bears evidence that he has given subtle, secret as well as open clues about his passing away and bespoke to his close companions, dear and near.
On a particular night, he got up and wrapping a shawl around himself, he went to Jannatul Baqi or Baqi al Gharqad, the common graveyard of Madinah, and putting his head on the ground, prayed for the dead and the living and posterity for a long time. It is said that Aisha went behind him and witnessed the scene. It is also said that it was not Aisha but Abu Muwayhiba, his servant, or Barira, Aisha’s servant maid.
Writer Marhum Muhammad Thambi
Marhum Muhammadu Thambi
The very way in which the life of Prophet Muhammad has been recorded and written down bears clear evidence that no other human being who was born in this world and has come under the broad limelight of fame and history has been so intensely loved and observed, as is the case with Prophet Muhammad.
It is as though someone has always been with him 24 hours with a high-quality video camera on, day and night! It is as though his life has been videoed in words, by thousands of historians all over the world in many languages! Such honor and prestige has not been available to anyone else in world history and will not be available to anyone in future too.
He asked all his wives to accompany him in the Hajjul Wida. It was unusual as he used to take one of his wives along with him and that too by drawing lots. Then, why should he take all his wives to that pilgrimage?! It was also an indication to the intelligent that he will not be available bodily in the ensuing years. It was his Hajjul Wida. He asked Ali to come to Makkah from Yemen and he also did come and join him. It is said that there were about 1,24,000 Companions in that last pilgrimage.
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR US
During that Haj, he once laughed heartily, showing his molar teeth. It was the first time that his Companions saw him laugh like that because he used to mostly smile. They were taken aback. But he explained the reason thus: “God has accepted my prayer that the sins of all my followers, my Ummah, should be forgiven. After listening to that, Satan poured earth his head and ran away. I began to laugh as I saw him like that” (Thambi, 50). Is it not an important message for us?!
A HINT IN THE NUMBER
He took a hundred camels in order to be sacrificed. He did indeed slaughter 63 with his own hands and then he could not continue to do it, as his hands were paining. Then he asked Ali to do the rest of the Qurbani. (Thambi, 51). And when he passed away, his age was also 63! This could have been a very clever comparison by the author. But we cannot deny that there is a hint in that number too!
LOOK AFTER YOUR FAMILY
The Companion Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas was sick at that time. He asked the Prophet if he could donate one third of his property to charity. But the Prophet said no to him and asked him to give a little only for charity. And he further told him that our people and children should not be left to beg or expect from others. And for every mouthful that you give to your wife, many good rewards will be written on your Book of Deeds (Thambi, 61). This is an important message for all of us. I am not referring to the lessening of the amount of charity to be given but about the instruction to provide the basic necessities to our wives!
But Sa’d did not pass away. He lived healthily for many years after due to the prayer of our Prophet. And he was one of most successful Commander, after the Khalid Ibn Walid. He won over the Persians in one particular battle and 1,20,000 Persian soldiers ran away in defeat and insult. It is said that the money and booty he sent from the Persian Treasury to Madinah was worth more than 30 crore of gold (Thambi, 62)!
THE PROPHET ABOUT US
One day the Prophet told Abu Hurairah, ‘Here, I do see my brothers’.
To which Abu Hurairah asked, ‘Are we not your brothers?’
‘You are my Companions. My brothers are those who will come after me and they will believe me. And I will be waiting for them in Haud-al-Kaudar’ (the Celestial Spring).
‘How would you recognize them?’
‘The parts of their body will be shining with light, as they used to do ablution before every prayer’. (Thambi, 66).
This information is certainly meant for us. If our beloved Prophet is to identify and recognize us in the Hereafter, we must be one of those who pray daily with proper ablution.
One day the Prophet came to Masjidun Nabawi and said, ‘I see with my eyes now that the reign and authority of Muslims have spread far and wide’ (Thambi, 68).
HEADACHE AND FEVER
On the 28 or 29th of Safar, more or less two weeks before his passing away, on the day he returned from Jannatul Baqi, the Prophet had a severe headache and Aisha, his beloved wife, also had a headache on the same day. What a divine similarity! But event then they talked in a playful manner about it.
The Prophet asked Aisha, ‘Aisha, if you die now and I bury you, will you accept it?’
To which the wise mother replied, ‘If such a thing happens, you will go to one of your wives the same day and spend the night in enjoyment with her’!
The Prophet smiled in response. He was not the one who will leave his wife in the middle of the night and go and sit under a tree in order to get enlightenment. He used to visit the cave of Hira and meditate there for months, taking with him the food prepared by his most respected and beloved wife, Khadija.
The first onset of the headache was the death knell for him (Thambi, 69). The next day, fever and headache joined together. With the passage of time, the fever went on increasing and growing more intense. One could feel the heat beyond the shawl he had on. Even his turban felt hot, said the Companion Abu Saiyid Khudri. Resting his blessed hands on the Companion’s shoulder, the Prophet went to the house of his wife Maimuna, as it was her turn that day (Thambi, 73).
But he kept on asking, ‘where will I stay tomorrow?’ again and again. And the wives understood that he wants to stay in Aisha’s house and permitted him with all their hearts. With a smile in his face, he put his hands on the shoulders of Ali and Abbas and went to Aisha’s house (74). But all other wives joined him there soon.
But mother Aisha did not mention the name of Ali, because of a bitter experience she had in the past due to the comment supposed to have been told by Ali to the Prophet regarding her. Ibn Ishaq, the famous historian, says that the other man on whose shoulders the Prophet leaned was not Abbas but his son Fadl and a cloth was tied around the Prophet’s head to give him some relief from the severe headache.
The fever lasted for about ten days. And now and then, whenever he could feel some relief, the Prophet walked to the Masjid with the help of Ali or Abbas or both and led the prayer as Imam. On a Wednesday, he led the prayer of Maghrib, with some difficulties. And he recited Surah Wal Mursalat, the 50th Surah of the holy Quran. At the end of the second raka’t, he recited the 77th verse.
Coming home after the prayer, he lost consciousness again. When he came to, he asked if Isha prayer was over. Bilal came and informed the Prophet that people are waiting in the masjid for him to conduct the prayer. Immediately he asked for water to do ablution but fainted again. Thrice it happened thus (Thambi 75).
ABU BAKR TO LEAD THE PRAYERS
When he came to, he asked Abu Bakr to conduct the prayer. As Bilal understood the seriousness of the situation, he went out wailing.
On not seeing Bilal, Companion Abdullah ibn Sam’aa came to inquire the Prophet and the Prophet told him to not to expect himself but conduct the prayer with those available. But Aisha and Hafsa asked the Prophet thrice to tell them to make Umar lead the prayer, instead of Abu Bakr. Aisha thought that Abu Bakr’ voice was soft and he was prone to becoming emotional and would start crying when he recited some verses of the Quran. Slightly irritated and angered, the Prophet told them, ‘You are like the women who advised Prophet Yusuf’. The Prophet was bent on appointing Abu Bakr as Imam for the prayers, in his absence. A hint of leadership after him?
As Companion Abdullah ibn Sam’aa did not know that the Prophet has asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers, he asked Umar to lead the prayer and Umar also started the prayer with takbir, ‘Allahu Akbar’. Umar was endowed with a robust body and a stentorian voice. As the Prophet recognized Umar’s voice, he said, ‘This is not liked by God. Ask Abu Bakr to lead the prayers’. As his order reached them, Abu Bakr took the lead and performed the prayer as the Imam.
Umar was obviously upset and reprimanded Companion Abdullah ibn Sam’aa. But he regretted and said that by God he did not know what the Prophet said to Bilal. M.R.M. Abdur Rahim says that it was Bilal who asked Umar to lead the prayer.
When the Prophet was thus sick, Abu Bakr had led the prayers 17 times in toto and the Prophet had participated in three of them and prayed with much difficulty (MRM page, 786).
THE LAST SERMON
Many Companions were not in agreement with the Prophet’s appointment of Usama as the Commander in Chief to lead the army to Syria. The main reason was Usama’s young age. He was thought to be an inexperienced adolescent by many. And the Companions were also concerned about the Prophet’s health condition. Usama was indeed very young, hardly twenty years of age, says Haykal (page 492).
The Prophet asked water to be taken from seven different wells in seven water-skins and sitting in the big tub that belonged to Hafsa, asked his wives to pour down the water on him one by one. Historian Haykal says that the seven goatskins of water were taken from different wells, and not necessarily seven wells (497). He took bath thus to his heart’s content and the wives went on pouring water on him until he said, ‘Enough, enough’. Greatly refreshed, he went to the masjid ploddingly with the help of Abbas and Ali, dragging his feet along.
Abu Bakr was leading Luhar prayer at that time. As he sensed the presence of the Prophet, he tried to take a back seat but as the Prophet gestured him to continue, he did continue to lead the prayer. The Prophet stood by the side of Abu Bakr. Ibn Ishaq says that it was Abu Bakr’s left side. But biographers like Ahmad Thambi and Saifur Rahman Mubarakpuri say that it was his left side. Whichever side the Prophet took, Abu Bakr always took the Prophet’s side! The Prophet recited the takbir and Abu Bakr repeated it and continued to conduct the prayer to its finish.
Then the Prophet advised the people that they must always follow the Imam. He sat on the first step of the mimbar, a kind of podium, and addressed the people. Why fist step? It is a clear indication of his illness and weakness. It was his final address. He talked about his appointment of Zaid in the past and of Usama in the present. He said the people did not support his decision when he appointed Zaid and now, Usama. If age is the reason for not liking Usama’s appointment, what was the reason for disliking the appointment of Zaid, he asked.
The subtle implication is that though Zaid was the adopted son of the Prophet, he was a freed slave of his first wife Khadijah. The appointment of a slave or his son (Usama in this case) as Commander-in-chief is not palatable to the aristocratic Arab mind. And that’s why they were not pleased with the appointments of Zaid in the past and Usama in the present. But they could not tell it openly to the Prophet. The Prophet understood their minds. And that’s why he asked those questions. And such a reluctance to accept the Prophet’s appointment is very much against the nature of the Prophet’s message to the world: all men are equal. He asked the people to support and honor his decision of having appointed Usama as the Commander-in-chief for the army to Syria.
Then he said something very significant to them. He said, ‘Allah gave his slave the choice to remain alive in this world as long as he likes or to the choice of meeting his Great Lord. And that slave chose the latter’. It was a clear statement and also a covert announcement of his death in a few days.
After listening to it, Abu Bakr cried, as he understood its implications. And the Prophet further said, ‘If someone else can be chosen as my friend, other than God, I would choose Abu Bakr as my friend’. It was perhaps the greatest honor that a man could have. And sure, Abu Bakr did deserve it.
‘Oh Muslims, I leave two guides with you. One can speak. It is the Quran. And the other is mute. And that is death. Whenever you have difficulties, seek relief from the Quran. And whenever your hearts become hard, think of death’, he said.
‘Oh people, I have repaid all the services and supports you have given me. But I could not repay what Abu Bakr gave me. But God will repay him in the Hereafter, for me. Of all the people, Abu Bakr is nearer to Allah. And let all entrances or gates to this masjid be blocked and closed except the one which let to the quarters of Abu Bakr’, he said.
When Abbas, his uncle, asked him what is the reason for it, the Prophet replied that it was ‘not his intent to do so but it was God’s order’. Umar asked permission to make at least a whole from his house in order to see the Prophet coming to the masjid for prayer. But the Prophet expressed a ‘no’ with a nod.
‘Do not make my burial place a place of worship, as the Jews and Christians have made. If I have beaten any of you and have hurt you, you can come forward now and hurt me in return’ (Thambi, 85).
Then he turned to Umar and said, ‘Umar is with me and I am with Umar. Wherever Umar is, there will be truth’.
Some of the questions and the answers given there were astounding and overwhelming to me. Only Prophet Muhammad, who was the chief of all Saints, could speak like that. The questions were asked by Abdullah ibn Masood.
‘Oh, Prophet of God, when will your end come?’
‘Very soon’
‘Who will wash your body?’
‘A very close relative of mine’
‘With which your body should be covered?’
‘With the cloth that I will be wearing at that time. You can put a Yemeni or Egyptian shawl over it’.
‘Your funeral prayer…’ The question was not completed by Ibn Masood but he began to cry aloud. There were tears in the eyes of the Prophet also.
Then the Prophet himself continued: ‘Do not confuse yourselves very much. After washing my body as I said, place it on a pedestal and leave it there for some time and leave the place. First archangel Jibril and other angels shall perform the Final Prayer for me standing in order. And then men may come. First, my family men and then my family women and then other Companions. And do not cry loudly’.
‘Oh Prophet, who will put your holy body in the grave?’
‘My close relatives’
And then he said, ‘If I have hurt anyone, please hurt me now similarly. If I owe money to anyone, please ask and get it from me now. If I have insulted anyone, please insult me in a similar manner now’.
An ordinary good and righteous man could have told like this. But an emperor! Yes, he was an emperor. An emperor who was feared and respected by the Persian and Byzantine rulers of the day! But one man got up and said that the Prophet owed him three dinars. And the Prophet asked Fadl, son of Abbas, to repay the debt.
Then Companion Ukkaasa got up and said, ‘Once when my outer garment was loose and part of my body was visible and you patted on my shoulders. I would like to do the same to you now’.
The Prophet smiled and said, ‘Fine, but as I feel abashed to show my body before all, come to my room and take your sweet revenge’. Ukkaasa went into the Prophet’s chamber and removing the Prophet’s shawl kissed the Prophet’s Seal on his back!
‘Oh Prophet, I was longing to kiss this Prophet’s Seal of yours for long. And I lied for this purpose, forgive me’, he said.
The Prophet smiled and said, ‘Go Ukkaasa, the gates of Hell are closed for you’. (It is the same Ukkaasa who is enshrined in Parangip Pettai (Porto Novo), Tamil Nadu.
LAST DAYS
On the last Thursday the heat of the fever was at its peak. The Prophet opened his eyes and was seeking Abu Bakr. But he was not there. Then he asked Aisha to call her father and her brother. A man was sent on errand immediately.
He asked them to bring some writing material and a pen so that he may ask someone to write something which, he said, would save them from confusion. But as his condition was not good, Umar and others did not like it and prevented it. Someone became angry and said, ‘we will ask the Prophet again’. Hearing voices raise, the Prophet said, ‘If you do not like it, leave it. I am immersed in a high state from which I don’t want to be disturbed’.
If he had ordered something to be written, it would have solved the problem of who would be the next Caliph and certainly he would have given the caliphate after him to Ali — was a Shiaite contention. When the Prophet came to consciousness state again, he said three things:
Never equate anything with Allah
Follow the precepts of the Quran
Take care of foreign ambassadors, as I have done.
And he turned to Bashr Ibn Barra’s mother and told her, ‘The poison which I took along with your son, (given by a Jewess in a feast in the past) was troubling me often. Now it has reached its peak’ and then fainted again.
His family members thought that he was suffering from some lung infection or lung disease. But as the Prophet understood it rightly as the call of death, he did not take the medicine. But as he lay unconscious, the women folk poured it into his mouth. It was a combination of aloe, saffron and olive oil. When he came to, he asked the women why they did like that.
The women said that they could not bear the difficulties he was experiencing. ‘So, we did as instructed by your uncle Abbas’, they said.
‘As you did that without my permission, all of you will get that disease. So, take the medicine now, all of you, except uncle Abbas. I heard him preventing you from doing that’, he said.
So, in his presence, all the women folk did take the medicine. And Maimuna, who was fasting that day, had to break her fast because of that. Only after this incident, the Prophet was taken from the house of Maimuna to that of Aisha.
LAST CHARITY
Seven dinars remained with Aisha. On knowing that the Prophet asked her to give them away in charity immediately. According to Abu Hasan Ali Nadwi, there were five or seven or nine dinars.
Aisha said okay but forgot it as the Prophet swooned again. But as soon as he came to, the Prophet asked Aisha if the dinars have been given away. When the answer was ‘not yet’, he asked her to do it forthwith and fainted again. Then he came to and again he asked her the same question. When the answer came in the negative, he said in an annoyed and disgusted manner, ’I don’t want to meet my Master and Lord with the gold coins in my house’. Then the matter was told to Ali through whom the coins were given away in charity. According to some historians like M.R.M. Abdur Rahim, the dinars were given in charity by Aisha herself (page 790).
THE LAST LOOK AT PRAYER
On Monday morning, the Prophet saw Abu Bakr conducting Fajr prayer. And that was the last prayer he saw in his lifetime. He was not alive to see the next prayer being conducted.
FATIMA AND THE PROPHET
When the day dawned, Fatima came with her sons to see her dying father. She was visiting him every day. He asked Fatima to come near him and whispered something into her ears on hearing which she cried aloud. Ali asked her not to wail like that. But the Prophet asked Ali not to prevent her from crying for her dying father. Then he asked her to come near himself and again whispered something to her the second time. This time, on hearing it, she smiled. But she revealed the secret only some time after the Prophet’s demise. At first the Prophet told her that he would die and she cried. Then he told her that she would be the first one to join him after death on hearing which she smiled. In fact, some six months after her father’s demise, she also passed away.
Then he kissed his dear grandsons. He asked Ali to bear the expenditure for Usama’s expedition to Syria. And he told Ali that Ali would have to bear many trying experiences which Ali will face. Then he advised some of his close companions and then said, ‘Oh God, I have completed my Mission’ and closed his eyes.
When Ali gestured, the Companions went out. The Prophet opened his eyes again and advised his women. When Umm Salama asked him, ‘Why do you cry, when your past and future sins have been forgiven?’, he said, ‘I am not crying for myself. But for my people’.
We are really the most fortunate ones to have had a Prophet of God who lived and died for the society, who was always saying Ummati, Ummati, (Oh my people).
VISIT OF ANGELS
At that time, someone said, ‘Assalamu Alaikum’ from the entrance. People turned to see who he was. There was an Arab youth standing at the entrance with a pure white dress. As no one has seen him so far, Aisha was somewhat irritated and did not want to entertain a new comer and disturb the Prophet. Let no new comer be allowed inside now, she said.
The Prophet opened his eyes and said, ‘Oh he is Israil, the angel of death. He waits for none. But today, by the order of my God, he wants permission to enter my house. Pleas allow him to come near me’. Archangel Jibril also joined the angel of death, Israil, by that time.
Jibril said, ‘Oh Prophet, I will never come again into this world for any one’s death or to announce the message of God’.
The angel of death, Israil, said, ‘Oh Prophet of Allah, I have come by the order of God. Do you want to continue to live in this world, or would you like to meet your Lord? I have been ordered to ask you and act accordingly’.
‘Oh Israil, My God’s wish is my wish. Do not waste time’, said the Prophet.
And then started the death pains known as ‘saqrat’. The Prophet was lying on the lap of his dear wife Aisha. And he has been wiping his face every now and then with cold water put in some container. He was extending and folding his hands. And that was an indication of the death pain of the soul getting out of the body. Sometimes the murmur, ‘O Jibril, please come near’ was also heard.
Aisha’s brother Abdur Rahman has brought a miswak. On seeing it, the Prophet wanted to use it. As Aisha understood he wanted it, she took it from her brother and chewed it to make it soft and then gave it to the Prophet. The Prophet brushed his teeth with it and when he wanted to give it back to Aisha, it fell down from his hands.
The Prophet has always been very specific about brushing the teeth. He has once said, ‘Were it not for my fear of imposing hardship on my people, I would have made it a duty for my people to brush their teeth five times a day’. Aisha was rightly proud that before death, it was her saliva which mixed with that of the Prophet. And it is also said that the Prophet, Aisha said, passed away the same day he was brought to her house, says Ibn Kathir.
THE LAST MESSAGE
When Aisha recited the usual Qulhuwallahu, Falak and Naas surahs and blew over him, he was telling, ‘Allahumma Rafeequl A’la’ thrice. It meant: ‘Certainly Allah is the most noble, high Friend’. It also meant that he was going to join his noblest and highest Friend.
I think that it is one of the most important messages that the Prophet has left us. It is an information meant for us. And it is a proof that he has lived until his last breath, only for us. And there is a hint in it as to how we should live in this world.
We know that Allah has many attributes. He is Merciful, Wrathful, Rahman, Raheem and the like. But He is also the Best, Noblest and Highest Friend to us. But we must earn His friendship. And that must be the sole aim of our life. In other words, while we live, we must live as a Wali, Friend of God, or at least a friend of the Friends of God or Awliya. The word Wali has many meanings and one of most common of them is ‘friend’.
If we try to be a Friend of God and do things with that purpose always in mind what will happen? God will become our Friend. The noblest and the best one! “Whoever comes to me walking, I will come to him running” is a famous Hadith Qudsi. And that is the last message of the Prophet which he left for us just before he breathed his last. ‘I am going to join the noblest and the best of my Friends’.
It also written in some biographies that he said at last, ‘Ma’ar Rafeequl A’la’, ‘With the Noblest of Friends’. But they make no big difference in meaning. What if you say that God is the noblest of Friends or I am going to be with the noblest of Friends? All the same.
How to make friends with God? By becoming friends of Friends of God. Or Followers of Friends of God. To emulate them in all walks of life in pleasing God. Or at least try our hardest to emulate them.
Hazrat Mama
It does not mean that we must visit dargahs and ask the Awliya to fulfil our needs. Thousands are already doing it all the time. I am not telling that it is wrong to ask the Awliya. My Master late Hazrat Abdul Wahhab Baqawi Sahib has clearly told us one day that it is wajib to ask the Awliya.
But there is a method to do it. And that will be the proper form of ziyarat. But before he could explain to us the methodology of proper ziyarat, God took him to Himself. And I could see how other saints visited the dargahs of other greater saints. And I understood that that is how one should perform one’s ziyarat. Just as the great saint Sadaqatullah Appa or saint Gunagudi Mastan visited the dargah of Nagore Nayagam. That was the right method and proper way of doing ziyarat. Insha Allah, may Allah grant us all the blessing of such proper ziyarats.
As the Prophet was dying, Usama came into the house and kissed the forehead of his foster father. The Prophet opened his eyes and put his hand over his head and blessed him.
The Sunday before his passing away, he released 40 slaves. Historian Thanga Koya says that he released all the slaves. Perhaps all the slaves numbered only forty.
A little before noon time, the body of the Prophet became heavier and heavier and getting cooler, losing its natural heat. And it is at that moment, he raised his hands and said thrice, ‘Allahumma Rafeequl A’la’. After telling it the third time, his holy hands fell down. He was no more.
Light went out as oil was insufficient. Perhaps it was also symbolic. Aisha sent someone to get oil from the houses of some of the other wives.
After his passing away, Aisha put his head on a pillow and started wailing, beating her chest and face, along with other women, say historians Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham. But according to authentic Traditions, the Prophet has prohibited such wailing and beating. And other famous historians also have not said in line with Ibn Ishaq or Ibn Hisham. They only say that the women folk cried.
ABU BAKR SEES THE HOLY BODY
When Abu Bakr came saw the Prophet, his holy body had been enwrapped in a Yemeni cloth. ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you’, said Abu Bakr, as usual and kissing his forehead he said, ‘God has given you death. And he will not give you death again’.
It was in answer to what the highly emotional Umar has been telling about the Prophet’s death outside the house. Umar was telling the people outside the house that the Prophet has not died, but has gone to see God, just as Prophet Musa went to see. And just as Prophet Musa returned, Prophet Muhammad also would return.
What a strange situation! The same Umar who was rushing towards Arkam’s house with his sword in order to kill the Prophet was now telling that he will behead anyone with his sword who dares to say that the Prophet was dead!
When Umar became emotional every now and then, it was Abu Bakr who has shown extraordinary and astonishing control of his emotions in the most trying circumstances.
THE BLOW THAT BROUGHT UMAR BACK TO SENSES
Then Abu Bakr went out and said loudly and clearly, ‘Those who worshipped Muhammad know that Muhamad is dead and gone. Those who worshipped Allah know that Allah shall never die’. And he recited verse 144 of Surah Ala Imran:
Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful (3:144)
Only then did Umar come back to his senses. He said, ‘I could not even stand after listening to the verses. I fell down. And I understood that the Prophet has really died’.
None worshipped Prophet Muhammad. But then why did Abu Bakr say like that? It was a shock treatment. Particularly for Umar. It was as though we strike someone’s face with cold water when he or she has lost consciousness temporarily.
It also showed that Abu Bakr was ready for taking the reins of leadership in his hands. This does not mean that others like Umar, Ali or Usman did not have that capacity. They were also great leaders beyond doubt. In fact, it was in Umar’s caliphate that Islam spread its wings throughout the world. That’s a different matter. But the death of the Prophet was such a great matter which made even great men like Umar lose his control for some time. It also showed that in the most important moments, it was Abu Bakr who could lead the community with full control of his emotions.
It is said that a mule used by the Prophet also felt very bad after his demise and it went and immersed itself to death in a well out of its sorrow, says historian Hasan Qaribullah. Seems to be the swine that knew the value of pearls!
WASHING OF THE PROPHET’S HOLY BODY
Prophet Muhammad has already said that none should be allowed to see his private parts lest his eyesight will be taken away. Hence, only six people went inside the room where the holy body of the Prophet was kept and locked it from inside. They were Ali, Abbas, his sons Fadl and Khusm, Usama Ibn Zaid, and Shuqran, a freed slave.
But an Ansari, known as Aws Ibn Qawli, a man from the Khazraj tribe, tapped on the door and begged to be let inside. He had participated in Badr also. And he was also taken in. The eyes of all of them were tied with a cloth. And then the holy Prophet’s body was washed with his shroud on.
Ali embraced the Prophet’s body along with his chest and Abbas, Fadl and Khusm turned the body this way and that way while Usama and Shuqran poured water. First ordinary water was poured. Then, Aris water and then water mixed with camphor. [I do not know what is meant by Aris. I think it could be some kind of a fragrant herb]. It was Ali who massaged the body of the Prophet. But not letting his hand inside the shroud but outside it.
Then Ali said, ‘Oh you who were dearer than my parents! You have been sweet while living and even now’. Historian Ibn Ishaq says that the body of the holy Prophet did not look like the ordinary body of a dead man.
At first, it was not clear to them whether to wash his body with the shroud or without it. And they could not come to a decision regarding it. At that time, God made all of them have a nap. And they heard a voice telling them to wash the Prophet’s body along with the shroud. They opened their eyes soon after and did as they were told, says Ibn Ishaq.
Shuqran threw a cloth worn by the Prophet in the grave itself, telling, ‘None should wear the cloth which you wore’. It was Wednesday midnight when he was buried, says Ibn Hisham.
WHY ALI
Hazrat Ali was born inside the Ka’ba. When his mother Fatima, wife of Abu Talib, was circumambulating the Ka’ba, she had delivery pains. It was the holy Prophet who was with them at that time who suggested that she go inside the Ka’ba so that others may not see her in that condition. The baby was born but it did not open its eyes. The relatives thought that it was a blind child. But as soon as the Prophet arrived the baby opened its eyes and saw him! So, the holy Prophet was the first person seen by Hazrat Ali when he was born. And the Prophet said that he will bathe it himself. And he did so. At that time, he said, ‘I am washing the baby now. And this baby will wash me at last’ (Thambi, page 115)!
After washing the holy body of the Prophet, it was covered with two more cloths. Three cloths altogether. One of them is said to be a Yemenite cloth called hibara. And then after placing the body in Aisha’s house they all went out.
Just as the Prophet has said, at first the angels came and prayed for him. Men alone prayed 72 times. But none stood as Imam. Ali said, ‘You were our Imam in life, be our Imam now also’.
BURIAL ISSUES
Then the issue of where to bury the Prophet came. And that was also solved by the suggestion of the wise Abu Bakr who said that a Prophet should be buried in the same place where he lived at last. A keen observer of history can easily understand that whenever there was a serious and important problem, it was Abu Bakr who solved it.
Then the problem of how to dig the grave was raised. Whether to dig it in the Meccan manner or in the manner of the Madinites. Companions Abu Obadiah was an expert in the Meccan way of making graves and Abu Talha was an expert in the Madinite way of making graves. Both were called. It was decided that whoever arrives first, the grave should be dug in his style. It was companion Abu Talha who arrived first. It is also said that only Abu Talha came. And the grave was dug in the Madinite fashion.
At last, on Tuesday evening, at sahr (very early morning time of fasting during the month of Ramadan) time of Wednesday, Ali, Abbas, his sons Fadl and Khusm went down into the grave and placed the holy body of the Prophet and came out. The last to come out was Khusm.
It is said that Fatima took a little earth from the grave of the Prophet and smeared it on her eyes and wept, says Thanga Koya (page 485).
“The holy eyes which could not sleep on any night during its lifetime properly because of the thoughts about the Ummah, started to sleep that night in peace” says Muhammad Thambi (page 117).
Another important information has also been recorded by him which quotes the Prophet as saying, “Whoever visit my grave is like one who visits me in person alive. And I would reply to the salaams you send me” (124, 125)
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Books that were used for writing this article:
இறுதித் திருநபியின் இறுதி நாட்கள். எம்.எஸ்.முஹம்மது தம்பி, அன்சார் பப்ளிஷர்ஸ், தஞ்சாவூர். (The Last Days of the Last Holy Prophet by M. S. Muhammad Thambi in Tamil. This book was the major source for this article. May Allah bless the shrine of the late Muhammad Thambi who lived a saintly life and predicted his date of demise correctly as a Friday.
Ar-Raheeq Al Makhdum: The Sealed Nectar. Safi-ur-Rahman Al Mubarakpuri. Darussalam, Riyadh, 2002.
Life of Muhammad. K.P.Thangakoya Thangal. Kitab Bhawan, New Delhi, 2017.
The Life of Muhammad. Ibn Ishaq. OUP, Oxford, 2001.
Seeratun Nabawiyya, Ibn Hisham.
The Life of the Prophet Muhammad Vol 4. Ibn Kathir. Tr. Garnet Publishing, England, 2000.
Muhammad the Last Prophet: A Model for All Time. Sayyed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi. U.K. Islamic Academy.
Muhammad the Prophet. M.R.M. Abdur Raheem. Universal Publishers, Chennai, 2017.
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