The Farewell Pilgrimage
Encyclopedia
This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca
Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca
The period of Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca started with the Conquest of Mecca in 630 and ended with his death in 632.-Conquest of Mecca:...

 and the Succession to Muhammad
Succession to Muhammad
The Succession to Muhammad concerns the various aspects of successorship of Muhammad after his death, comprising who might be considered as his successor to lead the Muslims, how that person should be elected, the conditions of legitimacy, and the role of successor...

.


The Farewell Pilgrimage (Arabic:
Hujjat
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

 al-wada') was the last and only Hajj pilgrimage the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 participated in, in 632 CE (10 AH
Hijri year
The Hijri year is year numbering system used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra , or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ...

).

Preparations

Muhammad told his followers that the Angel Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...

 came to him every year to recite the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 with him, but this year he came twice. Muhammad understood this to mean that his time was coming to an end, and thus told his close followers to call all people from various places to join him in his final pilgrimage to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

. This occasion marked the first time that Muslims of this number had gathered in one place in the presence of their leader. It has been reported that more than seventy thousand people followed him to Mecca and that on the fourth day of Dhu'l-Hijjah, more than one hundred thousand Muslims had entered Mecca to complete the rites of the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

.

Journey

Since Mecca had embraced Islam, and the Battle of Tabuk was ended, most of the Arabian Peninsula was under Muhammad's leadership, and there was a record high attendance to the pilgrimage.

Event

It was during this pilgrimage that Muhammad declared the validity of the Mut'ah of Hajj
Mut'ah of Hajj
"Mut'ah of Hajj" or "hajj al-tamattu" , involves relaxation of the ihram between the Umrah and Hajj, including the dress code and other prohibitions.-History:...

.

The Farewell Sermon

Muhammad led the pilgrims from Mecca through the Valley of Mina
Mina, Saudi Arabia
Mina is a location situated some 5 kilometres to the east of the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It stands on the road from Mecca's city centre to the Hill of Arafat....

 and up to the Mountain of Arafat
Mount Arafat
Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah is a granite hill east of Mecca. It is also known as the Mount of Mercy . The hill is the place Muslims believe the Islamic prophet Muhammad stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life...

 and then stopped them in the Valley of Uranah. They stood in front of him silently as he sat on his camel and delivered his Farewell Sermon.

Departure

Shi'a Muslims claim that it was after the Hajj that the events of Ghadir Khumm
Ghadir Khumm
Wadi Rabigh is a wadi situated inland of the town of Rabigh, extending along the border of the Al Madinah and Makkah provinces of Saudi Arabia....

 took place where the hadith of the two weighty things
Hadith of the two weighty things
The Hadith al-Thaqalayn refers to a saying about al-Thaqalayn, which translates to "the two weighty things." In this hadith Muhammad referred to the Qur'an and Ahl al-Bayt as the two weighty things...

 and Hadith of the pond of Khumm
Hadith of the pond of Khumm
The Hadith of the pond of Khumm refers to the saying about a historical event crucial to Islamic history. This event took place on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar at a place called Ghadir Khumm, which is located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia and was a place...

 were reported. These are a point of controversy among Sunni and Shi'a. According to the latter this is where Muhammad appointed his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib as Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

and his successor and asked the present Muslims to pledge allegiance to the future Imam.

Controversy


There is a controversy regarding when verse was revealed:
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 protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.


Some Sunni Muslims say this verse was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage, while some other Sunni and the Shi'a content it was revealed just prior to the Ghadir Khumm events.

External links

Sunni:
  • http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MH_LM/farewell_pilgrimage.htm
  • http://ccminc.faithweb.com/iqra/articles/9705farewellpilgrim.html
  • http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=439
  • http://www.masmn.org/documents/Books/Safiur_Rahman_Mubarakpuri/Raheeq_Al_Maktoom/709.htm


Shi'a:
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