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THE PILGRIMAGE OF ISLAM
ENCOMPASSING THE FIVE SCHOOLS OF LAW
By:
Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
Chapter 3
The Prophet Muhammad's
Pilgrimage
The Return to Makkah
In
the eighth year after the emigration of the Muslims from Makkah to
Madinah, the Prophet returned to Makkah in triumph. The
antagonistic Makkan tribes had finally been overthrown.
The Prophet performed the ritual bath and eight
cycles of prayer, after which he rested for an hour or more. Then
he called for his she-camel, al-Qaswah and rode to the Black Stone
of the Ka‘bah. He touched the stone with his staff and uttered
Allahu akbar, which was taken up by those close to him and all
in the Sacred Mosque, until the magnification reverberated
throughout Makkah. The Prophet went around the Sacred House seven
times, and then turned toward the 360 idols which surrounded it in
a wide circle. He pointed at all of them with his staff as he rode
around the circle declaring,
Truth has come and the falsehood has vanished;
surely falsehood is ever-prone to vanish. (17:81)
As he uttered this verse, each idol fell over.
After he had made the full circuit and toppled all the idols, the
Messenger of God dismounted from his camel and prayed at the
Station of Abraham. Next he went to the well of Zamzam, where ibn
‘Abbas gave him water and the Prophet confirmed the right of the
sons of Hashim to give water to the pilgrims. He proceeded to the
Ka‘bah, where the door was opened for him. He took the key and
entered the Sacred House. When he came out he gave the key to
‘Uthman ibn Talhah, thus confirming the guardianship of the House
with the descendants of ‘Abd al-Dar.
When the Prophet went inside the Ka‘bah, he saw
upon the walls paintings of some of the prophets, as well as
angels and trees. Included among them were paintings of Jesus and
Mary. The Prophet ordered al-Fadl ibn ‘Abbas to bring water from
Zamzam and a cloth; and ordered the paintings to be washed off.
When the Prophet came out of the Ka‘bah he stood at the threshold
and said:
Praise be to God, who has fulfilled His promise
and helped his slave rout the clans; He alone.
When the sun began to sink from its zenith, the Prophet ordered
Bilal to climb to the top of the Ka‘bah and make the call to
prayer. Bilal raised the call, which agitated many of those in
Makkah who found it difficult to accept the victory of Islam.
After the afternoon prayer, the Prophet ordered all the idols to
be gathered, broken up, burned or
buried, following which he proclaimed that throughout the city all
idols within people’s houses must be destroyed.
During the Pilgrimage led by Abu Bakr the previous
year, the Prophet had ordered that no one was to circumambulate
the Ka‘bah without wearing clothes, and no idolater was allowed in
the precinct of the Ancient House (al-bayt al-‘atiq, a
reference to…..). Even those who had a covenant with the Prophet
were allowed to remain for only four more months in the Sacred
Precinct unless they submitted to Islam. The Prophet’s
Pilgrimage, in 10 AH, known as the Pilgrimage of Islam, thoroughly
eliminated all remaining pagan rituals, and the practice of the
ancient rite was restored to its original revealed form.
The Farewell Pilgrimage
In the month of Dhu ’l-Qa‘dah of the tenth year
after the emigration to Madinah, the Prophet declared his
intention to visit Makkah in order to perform the Pilgrimage
according to what had been revealed to him. He had not performed
the Greater Pilgrimage since the emigration from Makkah, although
prior to that he had performed it twice or three times. After the
emigration he performed the Lesser Pilgrimage twice, first in the
year after Hudaybiyah and then in the year Makkah was conquered,
when he returned there after the battle of Hunayn and the siege of
Ta’if.
Setting forth from Madina
The news about the journey spread throughout
Madinah and the Arabian Peninsula drawing people hurriedly to
Madinah from every city, town and oasis. Tens of thousands
gathered together and pitched their tents around the city,
awaiting the Prophet’s departure.
On the 25th day of Dhu ’l-Qa‘dah, the Prophet began
to advance toward Makkah, leading the great procession of Muslims.
Some historians have estimated that over 90,000 people joined the
Prophet in this journey, and others have estimated that their
numbers exceeded 100,000. The hearts of the Muslims were
overflowing with anticipation at this momentous event, the like of
which had never before been witnessed in the entire history of the
Arabs. From the four corners of the Arabian peninsula people had
gathered under one banner with one objective, repeating the words
which conveyed the meaning of the message to which Muhammad ibn
‘Abdullah had summoned them and had fought to establish:
At Your service, O Lord, at Your service.
There is no associate with You. To You only belong the
praise, the bounty and the sovereignty. At Your service, at
Your service. There is no associate with You; at Your
service.
Designations of the Pilgrimage
According to the historical account of Ibn Kathir,
the Prophet’s Pilgrimage in that year was referred to by three
names: the Pilgrimage of Proclamation, the Pilgrimage of Islam and
the Farewell Pilgrimage. It was called the Pilgrimage of
Proclamation because it was then that the Prophet proclaimed all
of the rules and regulations of the Pilgrimage and its
accompanying activities. He said in a speech delivered in Makkah,
Whatever I command you to do will bring you
close to God, and whatever I prohibit you is what would
distance you from God.
It is called the Pilgrimage of Islam because it was
exactly that; and it is called the Farewell Pilgrimage because it
was during its course that the Prophet bid farewell to the people,
alluding to his imminent death. ‘O people,’ he said to
them, ‘I am at the point of being called, and I must respond.’
It is also related that after his retreat during the month of
Ramadan of the same year he told Fatimah that the angel Gabriel
had recited the Qur`an to him twice, instead of once as he
customarily did: by this the Prophet had understood that his death
was approaching.
Onward to Makkah
The Prophet took all of his wives, as well as
Fatimah al-Zahra’ and her two young sons, Hasan and Husayn; each
of the women had her own camel litter. They were escorted by ‘Abd
al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf and ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan. The Prophet selected
Samak ibn Karshah al-Sa‘di, better known as Abu Dajanah al-Ansari,
to govern Madinah during his absence, and set out after praying
the noon prayer. Upon arriving at Dhu ’l-Hulayfah he prayed an
abbreviated afternoon prayer at the Mosque of al-Shajarah. After
spending the night in Dhu ’l-Hulayfah, the Prophet ordered the
people to remove all sewn garments, perform the ritual bath,
remove any underarm and pubic hair, and put on seamless clothes.
He set out, driving his sacrificial animals before him, and the
people followed, uttering the devotional call as they went. The
caravan cut across the desert toward the House of God, some riding
and some walking. The journey was difficult for those on foot,
who complained to the Prophet and sought his help. He informed
them, however, that he was unable to give them what they desired
and encouraged them to press on, sometimes at a quicker pace and
sometimes more slowly.
After the Prophet had decided to perform the
Pilgrimage he wrote to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, whom he had sent to
Yemen with a group of men, asking ‘Ali to join him in Makkah for
the Pilgrimage. ‘Ali set out from Yemen with his army, heading
for Makkah; he and his army possessed garments which were part of
the booty they had captured in the campaign of Najran. ‘Ali and
his troops joined the Prophet for the pilgrimage wearing seamless
garments.
The Prophet Enters Makkah
The Prophet reached the pass through which he
entered Makkah ten days after leaving Madinah. The Islamic
traditionists and historians relate that before he entered the
city with his large contingent he sent a herald, who proclaimed a
message to the people that whoever did not have a sacrificial
animal should remove his pilgrim’s dress after performing the
Lesser Pilgrimage, and then put it on again for the Greater
Pilgrimage before setting out for ‘Arafat. Whoever had a
sacrificial animal was ordered to continue in his pilgrim’s dress
until the Greater Pilgrimage had been completed. This verse of
the Qur`an had been revealed to him:
Accomplish the Greater and Lesser Pilgrimage
for Allah... whoever profits by combining the Lesser with the
Greater Pilgrimage should take whatever offering is easy to
obtain. (2:196)
After the revelation of the verse the Prophet
added, ‘The Greater and Lesser Pilgrimages have been introduced
until the Day of Resurrection,’ and he intertwined the fingers
of both hands. Then he said, ‘If the revelation had occurred
before, I would not have brought the sacrificial animals, but
would have assumed the pilgrim’s dress for the Lesser Pilgrimage,
then taken it off and put it on again for the Greater Pilgrimage,
for this is the best way.’
The Lesser Pilgrimage
The Prophet entered the mosque through the Door of
Peace. He stopped near the door after going in and gave praise
and thanks to God, asking for blessings upon Abraham. Then he
went to the Black Stone, drew his hand over it and kissed it.
Afterwards he went around the Ka‘bah seven times, then made two
cycles of prayer at the station of Abraham. Next he went to the
well of Zamzam and drank from it, saying, ‘O Lord, verily I ask
of You wisdom which benefits and heals and which is sufficient for
all ills.’ He recited this supplication while facing the
Ka‘bah, then went again to the Black Stone, over which he drew his
hand, and then kissed it. Then he went to the hill of Safa and
recited the following passage from the Qur`an:
Surely Safa and Marwah are among the signs
appointed by Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House
or pays a visit to it there is no blame on him if he go round
them both. (2:158)
He ascended Safa, praised and thanked God, and remained there in
prayer and supplication for as long as it would take to recite the
chapter of the Qur`an entitled ‘The Cow’. Then he descended Safa
and went to the hill of Marwah, which he ascended and where he
remained for as long as he had on Safa. Then he descended Marwah
and returned to Safa. In this way he ascended and descended each
hill seven times. Upon reaching the top of Safa he would see the
Ka‘bah and face it in remembrance of God. He said, ‘There is
no god but God, One without any associate. His is the kingdom and
His is the praise, and He is Powerful above everything. There is
no god but God; He fulfilled His promise, helped His slave and put
the enemies to flight.'
Upon ascending Marwah he did the same. The people crowded
together around him and performed this worship with him.
When the Prophet completed the Lesser Pilgrimage,
he returned to the Ka‘bah and entered with the keeper of the
keys. He took Bilal and ‘Uthman with him. In the evening he
visited ‘A’ishah and said, ‘Today I entered the House, but it
maybe that someday my people will not be able to enter it and they
will feel agitated. We were only ordered to go round it, not to
enter it.’ The Prophet refused to stay in any house in Makkah
despite the plea of Umm Hani that he stay with her. Instead he
pitched a tent and camped in al-Abtah.
The Greater Pilgrimage : the departure to ‘Arafat
Before setting out for ‘Arafat from Makkah, the
Prophet spoke to the people in the Sacred Mosque. He exhorted
them to perform the Pilgrimage, explaining some of its rules and
regulations. On the eighth day of Dhu ’l-Hijjah he gave the order
for the Pilgrimage to begin and called out, ‘At Your service, O
Lord, at Your service!’ He reached Mina in the afternoon and
remained there overnight. Early next morning he set out from Mina
to ‘Arafat, (a broad valley about thirteen miles east of Makkah on
the road to Ta’if, just outside the Sacred Precinct. It is
bounded on its northern and eastern sides by the mountains of
Ta’if. Within the valley is a small hill which is also called
‘Arafat, as well as being called the Mount of Mercy. The Prophet
took up his position on this hill after the sun began to decline
from the meridian.
Some of Quraysh refused to go past the boundary of
the Sacred Precinct to reach ‘Arafat, saying that they were the
people of the Sacred Precinct and thus would not leave it. The
rest of the people continued with the Prophet, and upon their
return from ‘Arafat were joined by the group that had held back,
who returned with them to Mina. This group hoped that the Prophet
would be influenced to stay with them but they were disappointed
as the Almighty had revealed the verse:
... So when you hasten on from ‘Arafat, then
remember Allah near the Sacred sign....(2:198)
The Prophet said that Abraham had come to ‘Arafat
and thus it was an essential part of the Pilgrimage, but that
Quraysh had forsaken this practice. The Prophet stressed the
antiquity of the Pilgrimage and the fact that it was the legacy of
Abraham. To impress upon all the tribes that blood feuds were at
an end throughout the whole community of Islam, and that each
man’s life and possessions were sacrosanct, he told Rabi‘ah ibn
Umayyah ibn Khalifah, who had a powerful voice, to proclaim to the
multitude: ‘The Messenger of God says, “Do you see what month
this is?”’ They were silent, so he answered, ‘The holy
month.’ Then he asked, ‘Do you see what land this is?’
Again they were silent and he answered, ‘The holy land.’
Then he said, ‘Do you see what day this is?’ And again it
was he who gave the answer: ‘The day of the Greater
Pilgrimage.’ Then he proclaimed according to the Prophet’s
instructions, ‘Verily, God has made inviolable for you each
other’s blood and each other’s property until you meet your Lord,
even as He has made inviolable this day of yours, this land of
yours, and this month of yours.’
When the sun began to decline from the meridian,
the Prophet went to the Mosque of ‘Arafat. He had ceased making
the devotional call or talbiyah (‘Labbayk Allahuma
labbayk…’). Here he addressed the people, told them what to
do, and prohibited what was not permissible. The noon and
afternoon prayers were performed with one call to prayer (adhan)
and two calls to establish each individual prayer (iqamah).
The Prophet declared that the entire valley of ‘Arafat was the
place to be on this day. Then he mounted his camel, al-Qaswah,
and rode to the centre of the gathered assembly of people to
deliver a public address. After praising and glorifying God he
said,
God will illuminate the face of the one who
listens to my words, contains them in his memory and preserves
them, and then conveys them to those who have not heard. The
one who conveys [these words] possesses knowledge other than
that of jurisprudence. The one who conveys [these words]
possesses knowledge for whomever he instructs.
Muzdalifah and Mina
The people remained at ‘Arafat with the Prophet
until before the sun had set, praying and making supplication to
God. Upon its setting, the Prophet mounted his camel with Usamah
behind him and rode down from his position on the Mount of Mercy,
into the valley and onward to Muzdalifah. He ordered the people
to ride more slowly than had been the custom, and called out,
‘Gently, gently! with tranquillity of the soul. Let the strong
among you care for the weak.’ They reached Muzdalifah and
joined the sunset and evening prayers. Here they collected small
pebble stones and the women were then sent ahead by night to Mina,
with instructions not to stone the pillar of ‘Aqabah before
sunrise. The Prophet prayed the dawn prayer at Muzdalifah,
mounted his camel with Fadl behind him and led the pilgrims to the
pillar of ‘Aqabah in Mina. They followed him, casting seven
stones at the pillar. After the lapidation the Prophet sacrificed
the animals he had brought and then shaved his head, while the
pilgrims gathering around him hoping to obtain a lock of his
hair. ‘All of Mina is a place of sacrifice,’ the Prophet
said, then he sacrificed his camels and ‘Ali his. The Prophet
ordered that the meat be divided among the people and that a piece
of meat be taken from each animal. The pieces from each animal
were all cooked together, and the Prophet and those with him ate
of the meat. The skins and blankets, and the ornaments that were
around the camel’s necks were given to those who cut up the meat.
After shaving off his hair, the Prophet took the
pilgrims who were with him to the Ka‘bah, where they
circumambulated the House, prayed at the station of Abraham and
drank from Zamzam. He drank from a bucket, then poured what
remained in the bucket over himself.
The Speech on the Day of Sacrifice
Most of the historians writing about the Prophet
relate that he spoke to the people on this day of sacrifice.
After he had glorified and praised God he said,
We seek refuge in God from viciousness and evil in
ourselves, and from our malicious actions. Whomever God
guides no one will force astray, and whomever He leads astray
shall have no guide. I witness that there is no god other
than God, One, with no associate, and that Muhammad is His
slave and His messenger. I enjoin you to worship God
by being fearfully aware of Him and obeying Him.
O people, listen carefully, for I do not know
whether I shall ever meet you in this place again. Certainly,
your blood and your wealth are sacrosanct until you meet your
Lord, as this day of yours in this month of yours in this
country of yours is sacrosanct.
Whoever is entrusted with something must fulfil
it for the one who entrusted it to him; blood spilled in the
Days of Ignorance is to be left unavenged. The first claim of
revenge that I cause to be abolished is that of ‘Amr ibn
Rabi‘ah ibn al-Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. It is the first
blood shed in the pagan period that I deal with. What were
considered as glorious deeds in the Days of Ignorance are
abolished, except the custodianship of the Ka‘bah and the
supplying of water to the pilgrim. Surely, the intention of
killing is only power.
O people, Satan has despaired of ever being
worshipped in this land of ours, but he is pleased when you
obey him with base and contemptible actions.
O people, to delay [the sacred months] is to
increase in disbelief. Those who disbelieve persist in it,
making [the months] permissible one year and prohibiting them
the next, so that they fabricate both what God has prohibited
and what He has allowed.
Time has completed its cycle, and is as it was
on the day God created the heavens and the earth. The number
of months with God is twelve in His Book. Of these twelve
four are sacred and three are in succession: Dhu ’l-Qa‘dah,
Dhu ’l-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab.
O people, your women have a right over you, and
you have a right over them. Your right over them is that they
do not prepare your bed for anyone other than you, and that
they do not allow anyone whom you dislike to enter your house
except with your permission and that they refrain from
immoderate, excessive or lewd behaviour. If they behave like
this, then God has given you permission to prevent them or, if
need be, confine them to their rooms, or strike them, but not
violently. If they turn away from this
behavior,
then their provisions and clothing are required of you
according to custom. You are intermediaries for women and do
not control anything over them: you take them as God’s trust.
You may regard them as lawful and find ease and comfort with
them by God’s word; so fear God concerning women, and mean
them well.
O people, believers are the brothers of each
other, so do not approach your brother’s wealth except to do
good. In this way you will not revert to disbelief after me,
striking each others necks. Surely, I leave among you
something, and if you take it you will never go astray after
me: the Book of God and my close relations, the people of my
house.
O people, your Lord is One and your father is
one. All of you are from Adam, and Adam was from dust. The
most noble among you with God are those of you who are the
most pious. No Arab has any merit over a non-Arab except by
the measure of his piety. Let those of you who are present
convey [the message] to those who are absent.
O People, verily God has given to everyone who
grants an inheritance the right to bequeath a portion of his
fortune to whom he will. No more than one third is allowed to
be bequeathed [the rest being distributed to one’s family,
according to specific rules]. The child belongs to the bed and
the adulterer must be stoned. Whoever falsely calls someone
his father or claims someone as his patron who is not so, upon
him is the curse of God, the angels and mankind altogether.
God shall not receive compensation from him.
It is reported that ‘Ali repeated the Prophet’s
speech to the crowd. After this the Prophet returned to Makka for
the circumambulation.
Three Days in Mina
Following the circumambulation, and the journeying
between Safa and Marwah, the Prophet left the Ka‘bah and returned
to Mina, where he spent the night. He remained there for three
days. Each day he stoned each of the three pillars with seven
stones, until the thirteenth of Dhu ’l-Hijjah, throwing them from
between his thumb and middle finger.
It is related that during the second day that the
Prophet spent in Mina, the chapter of the Qur`an entitled ‘The
Help’ (al-Nasr) was revealed to him:
When there comes the help of Allah and the
victory, and you see people enter the religion of Allah in
companies, then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and ask His
forgiveness; surely He is the Acceptor of repentance. (110)
By this revelation it is said that he knew this was
his last Pilgrimage, for the way of Islam had been established.
The Event at Ghadir Khumm
When the rites of the Pilgrimage were completed,
the Prophet set out for Madinah accompanied by the crowd of
pilgrims. When he arrived at a place where the routes to Madinah,
Egypt, Syria and Iraq diverge, he stopped at what has come to be
known as Ghadir Khumm. It was unsuitable for a halt because it
lacked water and pasturage, but the Prophet stopped there before
the people could disperse to their respective towns, villages and
countries. He sent out runners to call back those who had gone
ahead and to speed up those who had lagged behind. God had
revealed a verse of the Qur`an, and the Prophet wanted to make it
public:
O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to
you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not
delivered His message and Allah will [have to] protect you
from the people. (5:67)
It was an intensely hot day. The people gathered
around the Messenger, while under the shade of a few existing
trees an area was swept clean and a makeshift platform was
erected. The Prophet led the noon prayer, after which he summoned
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib to his side. They mounted the platform and the
Prophet made his historic speech. Al-Tabarani and others have
recorded the following tradition as related by Zayd ibn Arqam, and
transmitted through sources unanimously acknowledged to be
reliable. Zayd said that the Messenger of Allah delivered the
sermon at Ghadir Khumm under a cloth spread as a canopy between
two large trees, saying, ‘O my people! I am going to be
recalled shortly and I must comply. I shall be interrogated and
you also shall be interrogated. What will you say then?’ A
spokesman from the audience answered, ‘We shall bear witness
that you conveyed the message of God to us, tried your best to
guide us on the right path and always gave us good counsel. May
God bless you with a good reward.’ The Prophet proceeded,
‘Do you not bear witness that there is no god but God and that
Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, that Paradise is true, Hell
is true, death is true, resurrection is true, that the Day of
Judgement will doubtlessly come, and that God will raise the dead
from their graves?’ ‘O Yes! We bear witness to all this,’ they
replied. Then he said,
'O
God! You may also witness. My People, God is my Master and I am
the master of the faithful. I have a greater right over their
lives than they do themselves. This man ‘Ali is the master of all
those of whom I am master. O God! Love the one who loves him and
hate the one who hates him.
My
people, I will precede you, and you also shall arrive at the Pool
of Abundance, that pool wider than the distance between Basrah and
Sana‘a. There are on the pool as many goblets of silver as there
are stars in the sky. When you reach me I shall question you
about your behavior towards the two which is in God's hand, the
other end in yours. Grasp it tightly and do not go astray; do not
change or amend it. The other asset is my progeny, those who are
the people of my House. God, the Gracious and Omniscient, has
informed me that the two will not part from each other until they
reach me at the Pool [Kawthar].
Ibn Jarir, al-Hakim and al-Tirmidhi all
record the tradition in identical words. Ibn Hajar reports it in
his book, stating that the tradition is accepted as genuine by all
the Muslims. This tradition is also recorded by al-Tabarani,
Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Nasa’i and al-Dhahabi. Muslim mentions it in
abbreviated form in his Sahih. Ahmad ibn Hanbal further
relates, on the authority of Bara’ ibn Azib, that after the
declaration, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab came to ‘Ali and said,
‘Congratulations to you, Ibn Abi Talib. You have become the
master of all believing men and women.’
The Return to Madinah
Following the events at Ghadir Khumm, the Prophet
continued on to Madinah. Those who heard the message of Ghadir
Khumm, one hundred thousand or more, and had performed the
Pilgrimage with him, were charged with communicating what they had
witnessed to those who were not present. Very soon after
returning to Madinah, the Prophet succumbed to the illness which
took his physical form from the world. He had completed Allah’s
message in its meaning and form. He had lived the life of the
perfect being, in this world but not of it. Dealing with the
world with compassion and justice and accepting what Allah has
decreed for him, he lived a life of inspired responsibility and
yet free of expectation as far as the final results are
concerned. His way of life is that of the perfect Muslim.
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