The Last Sermon Of Muhammad
INTRODUCTION
The last sermon of Muhammad is a matter of frequent concern and expression by Muslims. It advocates ethnic equality, and also makes the theological point about Muhammad being the final prophet. However, it must be asked how historical it is. We face the same problem with it as we do with the hadith and Sira literature – their late dates. Utilizing the procedure of Redaction Criticism, we must ask whether aspects of the Farewell Sermon are actually taken from other traditions. Further, we may ask whether the sermon was invented to bestow dignity on a prophet about whom other traditions presented him as experiencing an agonizing death. Notably, he calmly suggests that he might not be living anymore – in effect, predicting his death.
The Claim
Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon (www.islamreligion.com, 2013) states the following:
Prophet Muhammad undertook his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H. His farewell pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the most significant historical events in the minds of Muslims, for it was the first and last pilgrimage made by Prophet Muhammad, as well as being the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj. Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon was delivered during the Hajj of the year 632 C.E., the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar year, at Arafat, the most blessed day of the year. There were countless Muslims present with the Prophet during his last pilgrimage when he delivered his last Sermon.
No evidence is presented for these claims in this document. In recent years, much has been made of two statements suggesting gender and ethnic equality. The first states: “O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.” The second states: “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; white has no superiority over black, nor does a black have any superiority over white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.” Another sentence, which has often been used as ammunition against the Ahmadiyya and Bahais, is this: “O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.”
Sources
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2159 Book 7, Hadith 2159:
Sulaiman bin ‘Amr bin Al-Ahwas narrated from his father who said:
“During the Farewell Pilgrimage, I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) saying: ‘Which day is this?’ They said: ‘The day of Al-Hajj Al-Akbar. ‘He said: ‘Indeed your blood, your wealth, your honour is sacred to each other, just as this day of yours is sacred in this city of yours. Indeed, no one commits a crime except against himself. Indeed none commits a crime for which his son is accountable, nor does a child commit a crime for which his father is held accountable. Indeed Ash-Shaitan has lost hope of ever being worshipped in this city of yours, but he will have compliance in what deeds of yours you consider insignificant, which he will be content with.”’
Grade
Hasan (Darussalam)
Reference
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2159
In-book reference
Book 33, Hadith 2
English translation
Vol. 4,
Book 7, Hadith 2159
Sunan al-Tirmidhi Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 1163
Sulaiman bin Amr bin Al-Ahwas said:
“My father narrated to me that he witnessed the farewell Hajj with the Messenger of Allah. So he thanked and praised Allah and he reminded and gave admonition. He mentioned a story in his narration and he (the Prophet) said: “And indeed I order you to be good to the women, for they are but captives with you over whom you have no power than that, except if they come with manifest Fahishah (evil behavior). If they do that, then abandon their beds and beat them with a beating that is not harmful. And if they obey you then you have no cause against them. Indeed you have rights over your women, and your women have rights over you. As for your rights over your women, then they must not allow anyone whom you dislike to treat on your bedding (furniture), nor to admit anyone in your home that you dislike. And their rights over you are that you treat them well in clothing them and feeding them.”
Grade
Sahih (Darussalam)
Reference
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1163
In-book reference
Book 12, Hadith 18
English translation
Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 1163
Sunan an-Nasa’i 4131 Book 37, Hadith 166
It was narrated from Jarir that
During the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah [SAW] asked the people to be quiet and listen, and said: “Do not revert to disbelievers after I am gone, striking the necks of one another (killing one another).”
Grade
Sahih (Darussalam)
Reference
Sunan an-Nasa’i 4131
In-book reference
Book 37, Hadith 166
English translation
Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 4136
Sahih Muslim Book 15, Hadith 159
Ja’far b Muhammad reported on the authority of his father:
We went to Jabir b. Abdullah and he began inquiring about the people (who had gone to see him) till it was my turn. I said: I am Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. Husain. He placed his hand upon my head and opened my upper button and then the lower one and then placed his palm on my chest (in order to bless me), and I was, during those days, a young boy, and he said: You are welcome, my nephew. Ask whatever you want to ask. And I asked him but as he was blind (he could not respond to me immediately), and the time for prayer came. He stood up covering himself in his mantle. And whenever he placed its ends upon his shoulders they slipped down on account of being short (in size). Another mantle was, however, lying on the clothes rack near by. And he led us in the prayer. I said to him: Tell me about the Hajj of Allah’s Messenger (May peace be upon him). And he pointed with his hand nine, and then stated: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stayed in (Medina) for nine years but did not perform Hajj, then he made a public announcement in the tenth year to the effect that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was about to perform the Hajj. A large number of persons came to Medina and all of them were anxious to follow the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and do according to his doing. We set out with him till we reached Dhu’l-Hulaifa. Asma’ daughter of Umais gave birth to Muhammad b. Abu Bakr. She sent message to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) asking him: What should 1 do? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Take a bath, bandage your private parts and put on Ihram. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) then prayed in the mosque and then mounted al-Qaswa (his she-camel) and it stood erect with him on its back at al-Baida’. And I saw as far as I could see in front of me but riders and pedestrians, and also on my right and on my left and behind me like this. And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was prominent among us and the (revelation) of the Holy Qur’an was descending upon him. And it is he who knows (its true) significance. And whatever he did, we also did that. He pronounced the Oneness of Allah (saying):” Labbaik,O Allah, Labbaik, Labbaik. Thou hast no partner, praise and grace is Thine and the Sovereignty too; Thou hast no partner.” And the people also pronounced this Talbiya which they pronounce (today). The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) did not reject anything out of it. But the Messenger of Allah (May peace. be upon him) adhered to his own Talbiya. Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) said: We did not have any other intention but that of Hajj only, being unaware of the Umra (at that season), but when we came with him to the House, he touched the pillar and (made seven circuits) running three of them and walking four. And then going to the Station of Ibrahim, he recited:” And adopt the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.” And this Station was between him and the House. My father said (and I do not know whether he had made a mention of it but that was from Allah’s Apostle [May peace be upon him] that he recited in two rak’ahs: “say: He is Allah One,” and say: “Say: O unbelievers.” He then returned to the pillar (Hajar Aswad) and kissed it. He then went out of the gate to al-Safa’ and as he reached near it he recited: “l-Safa’ and al-Marwa are among the signs appointed by Allah,” (adding: ) I begin with what Allah (has commanded me) to begin. He first mounted al-Safa’ till he saw the House, and facing Qibla he declared the Oneness of Allah and glorified Him, and said: “There is no god but Allah, One, there is no partner with Him. His is the Sovereignty. to Him praise is due. and He is Powerful over everything. There is no god but Allah alone, Who fulfilled His promise, helped His servant and routed the confederates alone.” He then made supplication in the course of that saying such words three times. He then descended and walked towards al-Marwa, and when his feet came down in the bottom of the valley, he ran, and when he began to ascend he walked till he reached al-Marwa. There he did as he had done at al-Safa’. And when it was his last running at al-Marwa he said: If I had known beforehand what I have come to know afterwards, I would not have brought sacrificial animals and would have performed an ‘Umra. So, he who among you has not the sacrificial animals with him should put off Ihram and treat it as an Umra. Suraqa b. Malik b. Ju’sham got up and said: Messenger of Allah, does it apply to the present year, or does it apply forever? Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) intertwined the fingers (of one hand) into another and said twice: The ‘Umra has become incorporated in the Hajj (adding):” No, but for ever and ever.” ‘All came from the Yemen with the sacrificial animals for the Prophet (May peace be upon him) and found Fatimah (Allah be pleased with her) to be one among those who had put off Ihram and had put on dyed clothes and had applied antimony. He (Hadrat’Ali) showed disapproval to it, whereupon she said: My father has commanded me to do this. He (the narrator) said that ‘Ali used to say in Iraq: I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) showing annoyance at Fatimah for what she had done, and asked the (verdict) of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) regarding what she had narrated from him, and told him that I was angry with her, whereupon he said: She has told the truth, she has told the truth. (The Prophet then asked ‘Ali): What did you say when you undertook to go for Hajj? I (‘Ali) said: 0 Allah, I am putting on Ihram for the same purpose as Thy Messenger has put it on. He said: I have with me sacrificial animals, so do not put off the Ihram. He (Jabir) said: The total number of those sacrificial animals brought by ‘Ali from the Yemen and of those brought by the Apostle (ﷺ) was one hundred. Then all the people except the Apostle (ﷺ) and those who had with them sacrificial animals, put off Ihram, and got their hair clipped; when it was the day of Tarwiya (8th of Dhu’l-Hijja) they went to Mina and put on the Ihram for Hajj and the Messenger of Ailah (ﷺ) rode and led the noon, afternoon, sunset ‘Isha’ and dawn prayers. He then waited a little till the sun rose, and commanded that a tent of hair should be pitched at Namira. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then set out and the Quraish did not doubt that he would halt at al-Mash’ar al-Haram (the sacred site) as the Quraish used to do in the pre-Islamic period. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), however, passed on till he came to ‘Arafa and he found that the tent had been pitched for him at Namira. There he got down till the sun had passed the meridian; he commanded that al-Qaswa should be brought and saddled for him. 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. O Allah, be witness,” saying it thrice. (Bilal then) pronounced Adhan and later on Iqama and he (the Holy Prophet) led the noon prayer. He (Bilal) then uttered Iqama and he (the Holy Prophet) led the afternoon prayer and he observed no other prayer in between the two. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then mounted his camel and came to the place of stay, making his she-camel al-Qaswa, turn towards the side where there we are rocks, having the path taken by those who went on foot in front of him, and faced the Qibla. He kept standing there till the sun set, and the yellow light had somewhat gone, and the disc of the sun had disappeared. He made Usama sit behind him, and he pulled the nosestring of Qaswa so forcefully that its head touched the saddle (in order to keep her under perfect control), and he pointed out to the people with his right hand to be moderate (in speed), and whenever he happened to pass over an elevated tract of sand, he slightly loosened it (the nose-string of his camel) till she climbed up and this is how he reached al-Muzdalifa. There he led the evening and ‘Isha prayers with one Adhan and two Iqamas and did not glorify (Allah) in between them (i. e. he did not observe supererogatory rak’ahs between Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then lay down till dawn and offered the dawn prayer with an Adhan and Iqama when the morning light was clear. He again mounted al-Qaswa, and when he came to al-Mash’ar al-Haram, he faced towards Qibla, supplicated Him, Glorified Him, and pronounced His Uniqueness (La ilaha illa Allah) and Oneness, and kept standing till the daylight was very clear. He then went quickly before the sun rose, and seated behind him was al-Fadl b. ‘Abbas and he was a man having beautiful hair and fair complexion and handsome face. As the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) was moving on, there was also going a group of women (side by side with them). Al-Fadl began to look at them. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) placed his hand on the face of Fadl who then turned his face to the other side, and began to see, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned his hand to the other side and placed it on the face of al-Fadl. He again turned his face to the other side till he came to the bottom of Muhassir. 1680 He urged her (al-Qaswa) a little, and, following the middle road, which comes out at the greatest jamra, he came to the jamra which is near the tree. At this be threw seven small pebbles, saying Allah-o-Akbar while throwing every one of them in a manner in which the small pebbles are thrown (with the help of fingers) and this he did in the bottom of the valley. He then went to the place of sacrifice, and sacrificed sixty-three (camels) with his own hand. Then he gave the remaining number to ‘All who sacrificed them, and he shared him in his sacrifice. He then commanded that a piece of flesh from each animal sacrificed should be put in a pot, and when it was cooked, both of them (the Prophet and Hadrat ‘All) took some meat out of it and drank its soup. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) again rode and came to the House, and offered the Zuhr prayer at Mecca. He came to the tribe of Abd al-Muttalib, who were supplying water at Zamzam, and said: Draw water. O Bani ‘Abd al-Muttalib; were it not that people would usurp this right of supplying water from you, I would have drawn it along with you. So they handed him a basket and he drank from it.
Reference
Sahih Muslim 1218 a
In-book reference
Book 15, Hadith 159
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 7, Hadith 2803
(deprecated numbering scheme)
Sunan ibn Majah Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1851
It was narrated that:
Sulaiman bin Amr bin Ahwas said: “My father told me that he was present at the Farewell Pilgrimage with the Messenger of Allah. He praised and glorified Allah, and reminded and exhorted (the people). Then he said: ‘I enjoin good treatment of women, for they are prisoners with you, and you have no right to treat them otherwise, unless they commit clear indecency. If they do that, then forsake them in their beds and hit them, but without causing injury or leaving a mark. If they obey you, then do not seek means of annoyance against them. You have rights over your women and your women have rights over you. Your rights over your women are that they are not to allow anyone whom you dislike to tread on your bedding (furniture), nor allow anyone whom you dislike to enter your houses. And their right over you are that you should treat them kindly with regard to their clothing and food.’
Grade
Sahih (Darussalam)
English reference
Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1851
Arabic reference
Book 9, Hadith 1924
Sunan ibn Majah Vol. 4 Book 25, Hadith 3055
It was narrated from Sulaiman bin ‘Amr bin Ahwas that his father said:
“I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say, during the Farewell Pilgrimage: ‘O people! Which day is the most sacred?’ three times. They said: ‘The day of the greatest Hajj.’ He said: ‘Your blood and your wealth and your honor are sacred to one another, as sacred as this day of yours, in this land of yours. No sinner commits a sin but it is against himself. No father is to be punished for the sins of his child, and no child is to be punished for the sins of his father. Satan has despaired of ever being worshipping in this land of yours, but he will be obeyed in some matters which you regard as insignificant, and he will be content with that. All the blood feuds of the Ignorance days are abolished, and the first of them that I abolish is the blood feud of Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib, who was nursed among Banu Laith and killed by Hudhail. All the usuries of the Ignorance days are abolished, but you will have your capital. Do not wrong others and you will not be wronged. O my nation, have I conveyed (the message)?’ (He asked this) three times. They said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘O Allah, bear witness!’ three times.”
Grade
Hasan (Darussalam)
English reference
Vol. 4, Book 25, Hadith 3055
Arabic reference
Book 25, Hadith 3171
Significantly, there is no explicit reference in Bukhari – the most prominent hadith collection. The nearest are the following:
Narrated Abu Bakra:
The Prophet (ﷺ) delivered to us a sermon on the Day of Nahr. He said, “Do you know what is the day today?” We said, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He remained silent till we thought that he might give that day another name. He said, “Isn’t it the Day of Nahr?” We said, “It is.” He further asked, “Which month is this?” We said, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He remained silent till we thought that he might give it another name. He then said, “Isn’t it the month of Dhul-Hijja?” We replied: “Yes! It is.” He further asked, “What town is this?” We replied, “Allah and His Apostle know it better.” He remained silent till we thought that he might give it another name. He then said, “Isn’t it the forbidden (Sacred) town (of Mecca)?” We said, “Yes. It is.” He said, “No doubt, your blood and your properties are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours, till the day you meet your Lord. No doubt! Haven’t I conveyed Allah’s message to you? They said, “Yes.” He said, “O Allah! Be witness. So it is incumbent upon those who are present to convey it (this information) to those who are absent because the informed one might comprehend it (what I have said) better than the present audience, who will convey it to him. Beware! Do not renegade (as) disbelievers after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another.”
Reference
Sahih al-Bukhari 1741
In-book reference
Book 25, Hadith 219
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 26, Hadith 797
Narrated `Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakra’s father:
Once the Prophet (ﷺ) was riding his camel and a man was holding its rein. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, “What is the day today?” We kept quiet, thinking that he might give that day another name. He said, “Isn’t it the day of Nahr (slaughtering of the animals of sacrifice)” We replied, “Yes.” He further asked, “Which month is this?” We again kept quiet, thinking that he might give it another name. Then he said, “Isn’t it the month of Dhul-Hijja?” We replied, “Yes.” He said, “Verily! Your blood, property and honor are sacred to one another (i.e. Muslims) like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours and in this city of yours. It is incumbent upon those who are present to inform those who are absent because those who are absent might comprehend (what I have said) better than the present audience.”
Reference
Sahih al-Bukhari 67
In-book reference
Book 3, Hadith 9
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 67
The scattered nature of the references suggest that what is now considered as the Farewell Sermon is actually a redaction of different traditions. We should also note that Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon (www.islamreligion.com) presents a very sanitized version of Muhammad actually said about women. The Hadith corpus actually suggests that the rights of husbands include sexual gratification and the right to perpetrate corporal punishment to wives. Mohammad Omar Farooq, “The Farewell Sermon of Prophet Muhammad: An Analytical Review”, Islam and Civilisational Renewal, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2018, pp. 326-327, comments:
Gender issues are generally thought to feature prominently in the Farewell Sermon. However, only three hadith collections (Sahih Muslim, Sunan Ibn Majah and Jami al-Tirmidhi) deal with it specifically. The longest coverage of gender issues occurs in Sunan Ibn Majah. Moreover, only Ibn Majah specifically mentions the reciprocity of rights between men and women. The other four are silent regarding this gender-related theme. Also, only Sahih Muslim and Sunan Ibn Majah mention the permissibility of chastising women (without being harsh or injurious). The others do not mention this aspect. This part of the message is consistent with the orthodox, literal and non-contextual understanding of Qur’anic verse 4:34.
In the Hadith, there is no reference to ethnic/racial equality. Farooq comments:
Quite remarkably, this repudiation is not included in any of the Sihah Sittah. It is mentioned only in Musnad Ahmad. Also, a report circulated in some contemporary writings that the sermon included a statement that there was no superiority of one gender over another. However, that seems to be a clear misattribution, as no early source mentions this.
The Sira of Ibn Ishaq/Ibn Hisham states (A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1955, 1967, 1998, pp. 651-652):
O men, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you in this place again after this year. Your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, as this day and this month are holy. You will surely meet your Lord and He will ask you of your works. I have told you. He who has a pledge let him return it to him who entrusted him with it; all usury is abolished, but you have your capital. Wrong not and you shall not be wronged. God has decreed that there is to be no usury and the usury of ‘Abbas b. ‘Abdu’l-Mu!!alib is abolished, all of it. All blood shed in the pagan period is to be left unavenged. The first claim on blood I abolish is that of b. Rabi’a b. al-Harith b. ‘Abdu’l-Mugalib (who was fostered among the B. Layth and whom Hudhayl killed). It is the first blood shed in the pagan period which I deal with. Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in your land, but if he can be obeyed in anything short of worship he will be pleased in matters you may be disposed to think of little account, so beware of him in your religion. “Postponement of a sacred month is only an excess of disbelief whereby those who disbelieve are misled; they allow it one year and forbid it another year that they may make up the number of the months which God has hallowed, so that they permit what God has forbidden, and forbid what God has allowed.’“ Time has completed its cycle and is as it was on the day that God created the heavens and the earth. The number of months with God is twelve; four of them are sacred, three consecutive and the Rajab of Mudar which is between Jumada and Sha’ban.
You have rights over your wives and they have rights over you. You have the right that they should not defile your bed and that they should not behave with open unseemliness. If they do, God allows you to put them in separate rooms and to beat them but not with severity. If they refrain from these things they have the right to their food and clothing with kindness. Lay injunctions on women kindly, for they are prisoners with you having no control of their persons. You have taken them only as a trust from God, and you have the enjoyment of their persons by the words of God, so understand (To and listen to) my words, O men, for I have told you. I have left with you something which if you will hold fast to it you will never fall into error-a plain indication, the book of God and the practice of His prophet, so give good heed to what I say.
Know that every Muslim is a Muslim’s brother, and that the Muslims are brethren. It is only lawful to take from a brother what he gives you willingly, so wrong not yourselves. O God, have I not told you? I was told that the men said ‘O God, yes,’ and the apostle said ‘O God, bear witness.’
Yahya b. ‘Abbad b. ‘Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father told me that the man who used to act as crier for the apostle when he was on ‘Arafa was Rabi’a b. Umayya b. Khalaf. The apostle said to him, ‘Say: O men, the apostle of God says, Do you know what month this is?’ and they would say the holy month. Then he said, ‘Say to them: God has hallowed your blood and your property until you meet your Lord like the sanctity of this month. Do you know what country this is?’ And they said ‘The holy land’ and he said the same as before. Do you know what day this is? and they said the day of the great hajj, and he said the same again.
Again, note that Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon (www.islamreligion.com) presents a very sanitized version of Muhammad actually said about women. The Sira again suggests that the rights of husbands include sexual gratification and the right to perpetrate corporal punishment to wives. In the Sira, there is no reference to ethnic/racial equality.
The next source is the Tarikh of Al-Tabari (Ismail K. Poonawala, trans., The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’1-mulnk) VOLUME IX: The Last Years of the Prophet, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 112-114):
Ibn Ḥumayd — Salamah — Ibn Isḥāq — ’Abdallāh b. Abī Najīḥ: Then the Messenger of God proceeded to perform his pilgrimage, showing the people its rites and teaching them its customs. Then he addressed them in a speech and elucidated [certain things]. After he had praised and glorified God, he said, “O people, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year. O people, your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, just as this day and this month of yours are sacred. Surely you will meet your Lord and He will question you about your deeds. I have [already] made this known. Let he who has a pledge return it to the one who entrusted him with it; all usury is abolished, but your capital belongs to you. Wrong not and you shall not be wronged. God has decreed that there will be no usury, and the usury of ‘Abbās b. ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib is abolished, all of it. All blood shed in the pre-Islamic days is to be left unavenged. The first such claim I revoke is that of Ibn Rabī’ah b. al-Ḥārith b. ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib, who was nursed among the Banū Layth and was slain by the Banū Hudhayl. His is the first blood shed in the pre-Islamic days with which I shall set an example. O people, indeed Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. He will be pleased, however, if he is obeyed in a thing other than that, in matters you minimize. So beware of him in your religion, O people, intercalating a month is an increase in unbelief whereby the unbelievers go astray; one year they make it profane, and hallow it another, [in order] to agree with the number that God has hallowed, and so profane what God has hallowed, and hallow what God has made profane. Time has completed its cycle [and is] as it was on the day that God created the heavens and the earth. The number of the months with God is twelve: [they were] in the Book of God on the day He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred, the three consecutive [months] and the Rajab [which is called the month of] Muḍar, which is between Jumādā [II] and Sha’bān.” “Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency (fāḥishah). If they do, then God permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with custom (bi’l-ma’rūf). Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals (‘awan) with you and do not possess anything for themselves. You have taken them only as a trust from God, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of God, so understand and listen to my words, O people. I have conveyed the Message, and have left you with something which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray: that is, the Book of God and the sunnah of His Prophet. Listen to my words, O people, for I have conveyed the Message and understand [it]. Know for certain that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, and that all Muslims are brethren. It is not lawful for a person [to take] from his brother except that which he has given him willingly, so do not wrong yourselves. O God, have I not conveyed the message?” It was reported [to me] that the people said, “O God, yes,” and the Messenger of God said, “O God, bear witness.”
Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Muhammad b. Islaaq-Yahya b. ‘Abbad b. ‘Abdallah b. al-Zubayr-his father ‘Abbad: The man who used to repeat the Messenger of God’s words loudly to the people when he was on ‘Arafah was Rabi’ah b. Umayyah b. Khalaf. The Messenger of God would say to him. “Say: O people, the Messenger of God says, do you know what month this is?” and they would say, “The sacred month.” Then he would say, “Say to them: God has made your blood and your property sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, like the sanctity of this month of yours.” Then he said [to him], “Say: the Messenger of God says, O people, do you know what land this is?” Rabi ‘ah would call out loudly and they would say, “The Holy Land.” He would say, “Say: God has hallowed your blood and your property until you meet your Lord like the sanctity of this land of yours.” Then he said, “Say: O people, do you know what day this is?” Rabi’ah repeated [this] to them and they said, “The day of the Greater Pilgrimage.” He said, “Say: God has made your blood and your property sacrosanct until you meet your Lord like the sanctity of this day of yours.”
Again, note that Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon (www.islamreligion.com) presents a very sanitized version of Muhammad actually said about women. Tabari again suggests that the rights of husbands include sexual gratification and the right to perpetrate corporal punishment to wives. In Tabari, there is no reference to ethnic/racial equality. Tabari’s account seems largely based on the Sira. Farooq mentions the work Kitab al-Bayan wa al-Tabiyin by al-Jahiz al-Basri (d.869). The relevant point is translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Adab of Islam, http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/adab_of_islam.htm)
The “Farewell Sermon” of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) at hajj: All praise is Allah’s. We praise Him, seek His help, ask His forgiveness, and we repent unto Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our selves and our bad actions. Whomever Allah guides none can lead astray, and whomever He leads astray has no one to guide him. I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, without any partner, and I testify that Muhammad is his slave and messenger. I enjoin you, O servants of Allah, to be godfearing towards Allah, I urge you to obey Him, and I begin with that which is best.
To commence: O people, hear me well: I explain to you. For I do not know; I may well not meet you again in this place where I now stand, after this year of mine.
O people: your lives and your property, until the very day you meet your Lord, are as inviolable to each other as the inviolability of this day you are now in, and the month you are now in. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness. So let whoever has been given something for safekeeping give it back to him who gave him it.
Truly, the usury of the Era of Ignorance has been laid aside forever, and the first usury I begin with is that which is due to my father’s brother ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. And truly the blood-vengeance of the Era of Ignorance has been laid aside forever, and the first blood-vengeance we shall start with is that which is due for the blood of [my kinsman] ‘Amir ibn Rabi‘a ibn Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. Truly, the hereditary distinctions that were pretensions to respect in the Era of Ignorance have been laid aside forever, except for the custodianship of the Kaaba [by Bani ‘Abd al-Dar] and the giving of drink to pilgrims [by al-‘Abbas].
A deliberate murder is subject to retaliation in kind. An accidental death from a deliberate injury means a death resulting from [something not usually used or intended as a deadly weapon such as] a stick or a rock, for which the indemnity is one hundred camels: whoever asks for more is a person of the Era of Ignorance.
O people: the Devil has despaired of ever being worshipped in this land of yours, though he is content to be obeyed in other works of yours, that you deem to be of little importance.
O people: postponing the inviolability of a sacred month [claiming to postpone the prohibition of killing in it to a subsequent month, so as to continue warring despite the sacred month’s having arrived] is a surfeit of unbelief, by which those who disbelieve are led astray, making it lawful one year and unlawful in another, in order to match the number [of months] Allah has made inviolable. Time has verily come full turn, to how it was the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. Four months there are which are inviolable, three in a row and forth by itself: Dhul Qa‘da, Dhul Hijja, and Muharram; and Rajab, which lies between Jumada and Sha‘ban. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness.
O people: verily you owe your women their rights, and they owe you yours. They may not lay with another men in your beds, let anyone into your houses you do not want without your permission, or commit indecency. If they do, Allah has given you leave to debar them, send them from your beds, or [finally] strike them in a way that does no harm. But if they desist, and obey you, then you must provide for them and clothe them fittingly. The women who live with you are like captives, unable to manage for themselves: you took them as a trust from Allah, and enjoyed their sex as lawful through a word [legal ruling] from Allah. So fear Allah in respect to women, and concern yourselves with their welfare. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness.
O people, believers are but brothers. No one may take his brother’s property without his full consent. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness. Never go back to being unbelievers, smiting each other’s necks, for verily, I have left among you that which if you take it, you will never stray after me: the Book of Allah. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness.
O people, your Lord is One, and your father is one: all of you are from Adam, and Adam was from the ground. The noblest of you in Allah’s sight is the most godfearing: Arab has no merit over non-Arab other than godfearingness. Have I given the message? — O Allah, be my witness. —At this, they said yes.
He said, Then let whomever is present tell whomever is absent.
O people: Allah has apportioned to every deserving heir his share of the estate, and no deserving heir may accept a special bequest, and no special bequest may exceed a third of the estate. A child’s lineage is that of the [husband who owns the] bed, and adulterers shall be stoned. Whoever claims to be the son of someone besides his father or a bondsman who claims to belong to other than his masters shall bear the curse of Allah and the angels and all men: no deflecting of it or ransom for it shall be accepted from him.
And peace be upon all of you, and the mercy of Allah.
Again, note that Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon (www.islamreligion.com) presents a very sanitized version of Muhammad actually said about women. Jahiz again suggests that the rights of husbands include sexual gratification and the right to perpetrate corporal punishment to wives. In Jahiz, there is finally a reference to ethnic/racial equality, but there is no reference to the claim “white has no superiority over black, nor does a black have any superiority over white”.
Redactional observations
Farooq comments (p. 322): “Most notably, we consider how, contrary to popular belief, the text of the sermon as we have it is a composite, not a single narrated piece.” Clearly, then, the modern presentations – and indeed, the classical ones – are redactional, rather than going back to Muhammad himself. He quotes (p. 323) Hakan Kosova (Ed.), A Tribute to the Prophet Muhammad (Somerset, NJ: Tughra Books, 2007), about the nature of the Sermon:
The Farewell Sermon is a compilation of several sermons which were delivered at different times in Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat during the Prophet’s pilgrimage in AH 10 (631). The Prophet addressed more than 100,000 believers who were observing the hajj, the major pilgrimage to the sacred precincts in Mecca…The Prophet delivered his sermon in different locations and heralds repeated his words to the great number of people who attended. This sermon was called ‘Farewell’ Sermon because in this sermon the Prophet implied that he would soon die and that he would not be able to perform the pilgrimage another time. The days-to-come bore out this predication and he was reunited with his Beloved with[in] three months of the final sermon.
This observation ties-in with what we have seen is the scattered nature of the Sermon, and its obvious debt to various traditions. Again, Farooq observes (p. 323):
Some non-Muslim scholars have been skeptical about the “textual authenticity” of the sermon. However, this skepticism is not necessarily about the content of the sermon, as this basically corresponds to the teachings of the Qur’an. Rather, doubts seem to be directed at the assumption that the sermon is one whole piece, not a composite constructed from fragments of Prophetic sayings.
The fact that the sermon merely reflects what has been stated elsewhere surely demonstrates its secondary – and thus inauthentic – character. Farooq observes (p. 25): “The longer versions of the sermon are not available in the hadith collections, but rather only in the biographies and histories, which are less reliable as sources. The versions in the hadith are much shorter and appear in scattered fragments.” The evolutionary character of the sermon is a classic sign of apocryphal character. And development. Farooq essentially demonstrates this when he shows that the major themes of the sermon are consistent with the Qur’an – or, perhaps we should say, derive from the Qur’an (pp. 325-329):
Theme #2: Transition from Jahiliyyah (the Age of Ignorance)
The reference to Jahiliyyah and the society’s coming out of it is mentioned only in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawood. The other five do not mention it. The Qur’an mentions about Jahiliyyah when inviting the people to light and illumination of Islam:
Then is it the judgement of [the time of] Jahiliyyah they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain (in faith). (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:50).
Theme #3: Freedom from bloodshed
Abolition of all prior claims to blood revenge is mentioned only in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawood. The other five do not mention it. Sanctity of human life is emphatically and universally mentioned in the Qur’an:
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. (Surah al-Maidah, 5: 32)
Theme #4: Riba (Abolition)
As part of this Farewell Sermon, the theme of riba (usually equated with interest) and its prohibition/abolition is mentioned only in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawood. The other five do not mention it. Riba is categorically prohibited in the Qur’an:
Those who consume riba cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, “Trade is [just] like riba.” But God has permitted trade and has forbidden riba. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with God. But whoever returns to [dealing in riba] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. (Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 275)…
Theme #8: Obedience/Adherence
The theme regarding the importance of obeying those in authority, even if that person be a black slave, is mentioned only in Sahih Muslim. It is not mentioned in any of the other six collections…:
O you who have believed, obey God and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if you should believe in God and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result. (Surah an-Nisa, 4: 59).
Farooq notes (p. 328) that the reference to the Qur’an and Sunnah in the sermon “are not mentioned like this in the Sihah Sittah. They are mentioned in other sources, such as the Muwatta of Imam Malik and al-Mustadrak of Hakim al-Nisharburi. Another version with two weighty things (thaqalain) is mentioned in only Sahih Muslim (as part of Sihah Sitta).”
Further, in Shia narrations, as implied (though not explicitly stated by Farooq), the two legacies are the Qur’an and Ahl al-Bayt.
Finally, in what could be characterized as Source and Redaction Criticism, Farooq (p. 330) comments: “Given that there are so many, rather long hadiths in various collections, it is puzzling as to why there is no one single complete narration of this special, historic sermon. What is available seems to be a composite that a later generation has put together from bits and pieces. Thus, whenever the sermon is shared or mentioned, it should be noted that it is actually a composite of many fragments.”
An observation by Watt (Montgomery Watt, Muhammad in Medina, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956, p. 79), points to one historical context for the emergence of the sermon:
As Muhammad returned to Medina from the ‘farewell pilgrimage’ to Mecca in March 632 (xii/10) he was seen to be in poor health, and rumours spread. False prophets appeared as leaders of revolt against the Islamic state, first al-Aswad in the Yemen and Musaylimah in the Yamamah, and then Tulayhah among the tribe of Asad. As his health continued to deteriorate (though he was still able to attend to business), disaffection grew. His death on 8 June 632 (13/iii/II) led to the outbreak of a series of rebellions in various quarters of Arabia. These are regarded as primarily religious, and are known collectively as the Riddah or ‘apostasy’.
Note the warning we saw in some traditions against becoming renegades/apostates and slaying one another. This could reflect the Riddah wars, or even the later multiple Sunni-Shia splits. Tat is, the Sermon could be a redactional invention against such divergence of opinion and civil conflict.
Dates
Sahih Bukhari (d. 870); Sahih Muslim (d. 875); Al-Tirmidhi (d. 892); An-Nasai (d. 915); Ibn Madja (d. 886).
Sira of Ibn Ishaq (d. 767)/Ibn Hisham (d. 833).
Tabari (d. 923)
Jahiz (d. 868/869).
It follows that the Hadith corpus, the Sira and Jahiz are all compiled two centuries after the event, and Tabari still further away. They are simply not reliable as historical accounts, given their late dates.
Non-Muslim contemporary accounts of Muhammad’s death
Muslim sources
Typically, Muhammad’s death is dated to 632. The Sira of Ibn Ishaq states that the invasion of Palestine was led by Usama bin Zayd, rather than Muhammad himself:
219 - THE SENDING OF USAMA B. ZAYD TO PALESTINE
‘Then the apostle returned and stopped in Medina... He ordered the people to make an expedition to Syria and put over them Usama b. Zayd b: Harith ... He ordered him to lead his cavalry into ...Palestine.’
Immediately after this, Muhammad’s fatal illness began:
242 - THE BEGINNING OF THE APOSTLE’S ILLNESS
‘... the apostle began to suffer from the illness by which God took him to what honour and compassion He intended for him shortly before the end of Safar or in the beginning of Rabiul-awwal. It began, so I have been told, when he went to Baqiul-Gharqad in the middle of the night and prayed for the dead. Then he returned to his family and in the morning his sufferings began... Then it was that the illness through which God took him began. Yaqub b. Utba from Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri from Ubaydullah b. Abdullah b. Utba b. Masud from Aisha, the prophet’s wife, said: The apostle returned from the cemetery to find me suffering from a severe headache and I was saying, ‘O my head!’ He said, ‘Nay, Aisha, O my head!’ Then he said, ‘Would it distress you if you were to die before me so that I might wrap you in your shroud and pray over you and bury you?’ ...then his pain overcame him as he was going the round of his wives, until he was overpowered in the house of Maymuna.’
The origins of this purportedly go back to when Muhammad conquered Khaybar, a supposedly Jewish stronghold in Arabia, and a Jewess gave him poisoned lamb:
177 - THE REST OF THE AFFAIR OF KHAYBAR
‘...When the apostle had rested Zaynab d. al-Harith, the wife of Sallam b. Mishkam prepared for him a roast lamb, having first inquired what joint he preferred. When she learned that it was the shoulder she put a lot of poison in it and poisoned the whole lamb. Then she brought it in and placed it before him. He took hold of the shoulder and chewed a morsel of it, but he did not swallow it... the apostle spat it out, saying, ‘This bone tells me that it is poisoned.’ Then he called for the woman and she confessed, and when he asked her what had induced her to do this she answered: ‘You know what you have done to my people. I said to myself, If he is a king I shall ease myself of him and if he is a prophet he will be informed (of what I have done).’ So the apostle let her off... Marwan b. ‘Uthman b. Abu Sa’id b. al-Mu’alla told me: The apostle had said in his illness of which he was to die when Umm Bishr d. al-Bara’ came to visit him, ‘O Umm Bishr, this is the time in which I feel a deadly pain from what I ate ... at Khaybar.’ The Muslims considered that the apostle died as a martyr in addition to the prophetic office with which God had honoured him.’
In terms of his actual death, the Sirah does not actually present a date:
243 - THE APOSTLE’S ILLNESS IN THE HOUSE OF AISHA
‘...The apostle died with the heat of noon that day... Al-Zuhri said that Anas b.Malik told him that on the Monday ... on which God took His apostle he went out to the people as they were praying the morning prayer...’
It would seem from this that Muhammad died on a Monday, subsequent to the Khaybar conquest and also the invasion of Palestine. Usually, the first raids are dated to 629, with the conquest of Palestine in 634-40. The Hadith agrees that he died on a Monday, the result of the poisoning at Khaybar:
Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Sahih Al-Bukhari 1.648
AbuBakr used to lead the people in prayer during the fatal illness of the Prophet... till it was Monday. When the people aligned (in rows) for the prayer the Prophet ...lifted the curtain of his house and started looking at us and was standing at that time... On the same day he died.”
Narrated by Aisha
Sahih Al-Bukhari 5.713A
The Prophet ... during his illness from which he died, used to say, “O Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaybar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut by that poison.”
Narrated by Umm Mubashshir
Abu Dawud 4499
Umm Mubashshir said to the Prophet ... during the sickness of which he died: What do you think about your illness, Apostle of Allah...? I do not think about the illness of my son except the poisoned sheep of which he had eaten with you at Khaybar. The Prophet ... said: ‘And I do not think about my illness except that. This is the time when it cut off my aorta.’
These texts give Muhammad the dignity of a martyr, poisoned by a Jewess, of which people the Qur’an presents as the objects of Allah’s anger (Surah Fatiha 1.7) and the most hostile to Muslims (Surah Maidah 5.82).
External Sources
The first problem is that external sources do not corroborate the Muslim sources. The second is that these sources are earlier, even contemporary and thus, historically, to be preferred. Our third problem is that unlike with the death of Jesus, Muhammad by the time of his death was an important political leader, and Palestine had been transformed into a vital part of Byzantine Empire by virtue of Christian pilgrimage to its prestigious holy sites. His death would indeed be noted.
A fourth problem is archaeological. Robert Hoyland observes that there is ‘not a single clearly Jewish inscription’ that has yet been found ‘at Mecca, Yathrib or Khaybar despite quite a number of epigraphic surveys conducted at all three sites.’ [Hoyland, Robert G., ‘The Jews of the Hijaz in the Qur’ān’, in Reynolds, Gabriel Said (Ed.), New Perspectives on the Qur’an: The Qur’an in Its Historical Context 2, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011), p. 111]. This being so, there could not have been any Jewess present in Khaybar to poison Muhammad! The Doctrina Jacobi, dated 634, by a Jew who had been forcibly baptized, indicates that Muhammad was still alive then:
When [Sergius] the candidatus was killed by the Saracens ...we Jews were overjoyed. And they were saying, “A prophet has appeared, coming with the Saracens and he is preaching the arrival of the anointed one who is to come, the Messiah.” And when I arrived in Sykamina, I visited an old man who was learned in the scriptures, and I said to him, “What can you tell me about the prophet who has appeared with the Saracens?” And he said to me, groaning loudly, “He is false, for prophets do not come with a sword and a war-chariot.”
Note the present tense in these statements – the Saracen Prophet has appeared, coming (not had come), ‘is (not ‘was’) preaching’ (not ‘preached’), ‘He is (not ‘was’) false’. This indicates that Muhammad was still alive in 634 – two years after his supposed fatal illness and death in Medina. Furthermore, far from being dead, he was present at the invasion of the Levant. The Secrets of Rabbi Simon ben Yohai, dated 635-45 also indicates that Muhammad was still alive at the time of its composition:
... Metatron, the foremost angel ... answered him and said: “Do not fear... for the Almighty only brings the kingdom of Ishmael in order to deliver you from this wicked one (Edom). He raises up over them (Ishmaelites) a prophet according to His will...”
Note again the present tense.
The Nestorian Khuzistan Chronicle (c. 660) also seems to imply that Muhammad was alive when the Arabs invaded Persia and the Levant:
Then God raised up against them the sons of Ishmael... whose leader... was Muhammad... they gained control over the entire land of the Persians... They also came to Byzantine territory, plundering and ravaging the entire region of Syria. Heraclius, the Byzantine king, sent armies against them, but the Arabs killed more than 100,000 of them.
This is not quite as clear as the other sources, but yet again, the implication is that Muhammad led the northern conquests.
The Miaphysite Chronological Charts (691-92; 10-11th century mss.) of Jacob of Edessa misdate the death of Muhammad to c. 627, but also misdate the raids into Palestine to 625-26, again indicating that Muhammad was alive during the attack on Palestine.
According to Jacob’s charts, in 620/21 “the first king of the Arabs, Muhammad, began to reign for seven years.” Seven years later, the chart records in 627/28 the beginning of Abū Bakr’s reign as the second king of the Arabs, which lasted for two years and seven months. This of course places Muhammad’s death in 627/28, four to five years before the traditional date. (Shoemaker, p. 37).
Beside the year 625/26, on the left side of the chart, Jacob records that “the Arabs began to make raids in the land of Palestine.” Even if Jacob gets the date wrong, he holds that Muhammad was still alive at the conquest of Palestine.
The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria: The Life of Patriarch Benjamin (before 717). Section written by George the Archdeacon, narrating time between Patriarch Cyril (d. 444) and reign of caliph Sulaymān (715–17). He refers to Byzantine Emperor having a dream of being defeated by a ‘circumcised nation’; thinking of Jews, he orders them all to be baptized.
And after a few days, there arose a man among the Arabs, from the southern regions, from Mecca and its vicinity, named Muhammad. And he restored the worshippers of idols to knowledge of the one God, so that they said that Muhammad is his messenger. And his nation was circumcised in the flesh, not in the law, and they prayed toward the south, orienting themselves toward a place they call the Ka‘ba. And he took possession of Damascus and Syria, and he crossed the Jordan and damned it up. And the Lord abandoned the army of the Romans before him, because of their corrupt faith and the excommunication that was brought against them and because of the Council of Chalcedon by the ancient fathers.
This passage identifies Muhammad as leading the conquest of “Damascus and Syria,” crossing over the river Jordan with his followers and into Palestine, where the Roman armies fell before him. George probably relies on earlier sources, possibly from an earlier life of Benjamin.
During the earliest years of Islamic rule in Spain, two Latin chronicles, the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle of 741 and the Hispanic Chronicle of 754, were written almost simultaneously. (Shoemaker, p. 40). They are not polemical; rather, quite positive towards the Muslims. Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah may be contemporary. Byzantine-Arab Chronicle states: ‘When a most numerous multitude of Saracens had gathered together, they invaded the provinces of Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, while one named Muhammad held the position of leadership over them…’ This indicates that Muhammad was alive at the time of the conquest. Hispanic Chronicle states:
The Saracens rebelled in 618, the seventh year of the emperor Heraclius, and appropriated for themselves Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, more through trickery than through the power of their leader Muhammad, and they devastated the neighboring provinces, proceeding not so much by means of open attacks as by secret incursions. Thus by means of cunning and fraud rather than power, they incited all of the frontier cities of the empire and finally rebelled openly, shaking the yoke from their necks. In 618, the seventh year of Heraclius, the warriors invaded the kingdom, which they forcefully appropriated with many and various consequences.
Even if the dates are questionable, the point is, Muhammad was still alive at the invasion of Palestine. There is also an alleged letter from Caliph ‘Umar II (717-20) to Byzantine Emperor Leo II (717-41) dated late eighth century where ‘Umar declares in relation to Muhammad’s commission to jihad that ‘...with him in whom we trust, and in him in whom we believe, we went off.... to fight... Persia and Byzantium.’ Once again, note the present tense, and also the explicit statement that Muhammad was alive and with the army of conquest. This being so, reports of his death in 632, before such conquests, cannot be sustained.
There are other, later sources, but we can see that the earliest sources indicate that Muhammad was alive during the conquest of Palestine, and likely died there or in the Levant, rather than in Yathrib. The earliest sources on the time and place of his death contradict later, i.e., Muslim sources. Shoemaker notes (p. 18): ‘At least eleven sources from the seventh and eighth centuries indicate in varied fashion that Muhammad was still alive at the time of the Palestinian conquest, leading his followers into the Holy Land some two to three years after he is supposed to have died in Medina according to traditional Islamic accounts.’ This is a serious contradiction, given the number of traditions, their geographic and demographic distribution, and above all, their early dates. Again, Shoemaker comments: ‘The unanimity of these sources, as well as the failure of any source to contradict this tradition prior to the emergence of the first Islamic biographies of Muhammad beginning in the mid-eighth century, speaks highly in their favor.’
These sources include the Doctrina Jacobi, dated c. 634 by a Jew forcibly converted to Christianity, and the Khuzistan Chronicle, by a Syriac Christian, dated c. 660. Muslims might suggest that these documents are confused, but they could only propose this based on an a priori commitment to their religious sources, rather than objective historical analysis, which usually favors the earliest sources for any event. Bart Ehrman [Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, (New York: Harper Collins, 2012), p. 41]: ‘Historians ...prefer to have sources that are relatively near the date of the person or event that they are describing.’
Why the Discrepancies?
Shoemaker (The Death of a Prophet, p. 258ff) suggests Yathribi parochialism and that the emerging cult of Yathrib as the ‘city of the Prophet’ tied to Abbasid denigration of the Jerusalem-centric Marwanids produced a new tradition of Muhammad’s martyrdom in Yathrib, allowing for his mosque to become an alternative center of pilgrimage and devotion rather than the Temple Mount. This may be possible, if one accepts the premise that Jerusalem under the Marwanids was meant to be the focus of pilgrimage. Of course, this would be true if the original Qiblah were elsewhere, e.g., Petra.
Furthermore, as the Arabization of the state proceeded, and the need to distinguish the Arab religion – named Islam on the Dome of the Rock by Abd al-Malik – from Jews and Christians – as well as invent a sacred history that could include Yathrib, what better way to invent a tale of a Jewess martyring the Prophet and his dying in the city from which many jihadis came? Yathrib receives only one, passing reference in the Qur’an (S. 33.13; there are possibly others, if by ‘the city’ Medina is meant); it is only in the Hadith – compiled much later – that Yathrib/Medina receives the elevation of a holy city:
Narrated by AbuShurayh
Sahih Al-Bukhari 1.104
‘…He glorified and praised Allah and then said, “Allah and not the people has made Mecca a sanctuary…”’
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Zayd
Sahih Al-Bukhari 3.339
The Prophet …said, “The Prophet Abraham made Makkah a sanctuary, and asked for Allah’s blessing in it. I made Medina a sanctuary as Abraham made Makkah a sanctuary and I asked for Allah’s blessing in its measures - the Mudd and the Sa’s Abraham did for Makkah.”
Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Sahih Al-Bukhari 3.91
The Prophet …said, “Medina is a sanctuary from that place to that….”
Narrated by AbuHurayrah
Sahih Al-Bukhari 3.93
The Prophet …said, “I have made Medina a sanctuary between its two (Harrat) mountains.”…
Shoemaker (p. 160) holds that Palestine was vital to Muhammad because he believed that the Hour of Judgment was imminent, as suggested by the Qur’an (16.79; 40.18; 53.57, etc.). Also, that it would take place in Jerusalem – a common belief among Jews and Christians at the time. In that case, we can understand why Muhammad would himself lead the assault on Palestine as a matter of urgency – he saw himself as bringing about the End. Consider also the confusion that would be caused by his death before the Hour – of which he was supposed to be the harbinger (pp. 172-173). Hence, his death was a major problem for the new faith, requiring some extensive re-working of its theology – including changing the date and possibly the place of his demise, as well as its cause.
Another possibility concerns deteriorating relations between Jews and Muslims. The earliest sources do not depict Jewish-Muslim controversy; Jews were doubtless overjoyed that persecuting Byzantines were vanquished (as the Doctrina Jacobi indicates), and probably hoped that they would be allowed to re-build their Temple. However, the Arab conquerors sequestered the Mount for themselves, and under the Marwanids, intensified their presence therein. The reason to fight the Byzantines and Persians was that they were politically empowered, but this was not true of the Jews. What better way for the Caliphate to justify hostility than to borrow from the smear against ‘Jews as Christ-killers’ to accuse them of being ‘Messenger-killers’? This could be tied to the Jewish claim to the Mount:
Narrated by Aisha Sahih Al-Bukhari 2.414
The Prophet ... in his fatal illness said, Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians because they took the graves of their Prophets as places for worship”...
His death by poisoning would also elevate Muhammad to the level of a martyr – rather like Jesus, commemorated by Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher. Beyond this, the death of Muhammad has no theological significance for Muslims – a martyr only benefits 70 relatives with special intercession. The general intercession of Muhammad is unrelated to his death:
Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Sahih Al-Bukhari 8.317B
The Prophet said, ‘For every prophet there is an invocation that surely will be responded to by Allah,’ (or said), ‘For every prophet there was an invocation with which he appealed to Allah, and his invocation was accepted (in his lifetime), but I kept my (this special) invocation to intercede for my followers on the Day of Resurrection.’
CONCLUSION
The combination of factors we have investigated here do not allow for the conclusion that the Farewell Sermon of Muhammad is historically authentic. Rather, it is apocryphal. There are different traditions in the distinct sources, and the further away from the actual time, the longer the sermon. Doubtless, the crafting and redactional of the sermon served an apologetic purpose against Jews and Christians, by giving Muhammad a dignified death. It also discouraged internal divisions among Muslims, especially civil conflict. A further problem is that the oldest – and thus most reliable – sources for the death of Muhammad are non-Muslim, and they suggest that Muhammad did not die at the time indicated by the later, Islamic sources. If that is so, we cannot be sure if the Farewell Pilgrimage was indeed the last hajj of Muhammad, or even if it occurred. If it did not, then he would not have given the Farewell Sermon. Since it is most unlikely that that it is historically authentic, the attempt to use it as evidence for the historical authenticity of Islam and Muhammad falls by default.