The Prophet’s Last Sermon
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave his final sermon in 10 AH in Mecca. In that sermon he admonished his followers to respect the life and property of every Muslim as a “sacred trust.” As Muslims we are suppose to be respectful of one another no matter what our ethnicity, job, or social class. In Islam all are equal before the eyes of Allah and we must keep that in mind.
Muhammad (pbuh) also admonished his followers to hurt no one. He said, “Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.” He then reminded the faithful that God will hold them to account for their deeds on the Day of Judgment. As Muslims we are suppose to be a people of Faith who value and practice peaceful coexistence and mutural respect. We are not to hurt others but, rather, help them however we can within our means. We are not suppose to be bullies and we are not to impose our religion on others as is forbidden in the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. If we do not want others to hurt us then we must not go about hurting other. As Muslims and People of Faith we are suppose to be living examples of Faith. We are suppose to set an example for others so that others might see our example and even turn to Islam themselves. There is no better teacher than by personal example and every one of us must constantly ask ourselves what kind of example we are setting. The example of thugs and terrorists that we see so often today is not the example we should be displaying. Rather, we find the example we should be displaying in our lives in great people of Faith like Salah-al-Din. He was a man of great faith, great compassion, and great mercy. When he conquered Jerusalem he allowed the Christians and Jews inside to leave the city peacefully or remain unmolested. In contrast, when the Crusaders captured the city they slaughtered almost everyone.
Richard the Lion Heart was so impressed by Saladin that he commented on his foe numerous times praising him for his wisdom, compassion, mercy, and intelligence. Saladin was a man that was not simply esteemed and honored by his soldiers but also by his enemies. Can we say the same? Or do our enemies despise us and hate us?
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also warned in his last sermon of Satan telling Muslims to “Beware of Satan…” He warned that we are to beware of following Satan not only in big things but especially in small things. That’s all Satan needs to get a foothold with our lives. All he needs is a small opening, a small temptation, a small doubt. Once he has that he enters into our lives and begins to wreck havoc. He is our avowed enemy just as the Qur’an tells us many times. He is not our friend even though he may pretend to be our friend and his promises are false and lies. He cannot and must not be trusted because he ALWAYS leads people astray and away from God! He will lead us astray in big things and he will certainly lead us astray in small things. He does not care and nothing is to big or to small. His desire is to lead us astray any way he can and turn us against Allah and against each other. The Gospels teach that God is not the author of confusion. However, they also teach that Satan is!
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also spoke of the rights of women in his final sermon before his death. He pointed out that men have certain rights to their women BUT their women ALSO have rights over the men. He pointed out further that it is by Allah’s trust and His permission that a man takes a woman to be his wife and, thus, a man must honor and respect his wife. He admonished men to treat their women well and to be kind to them because “…they are your partners and committed helpers.” Men who do not do this are dishonorable and sinful men because they go against the teachings of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Women are NOT property to be mistreated but are to be respected! As men we are to treat them kindly and with respect and take care of their needs.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also said that “All mankind is from Adam and Eve…” We all stem from teh same original couple created by Allah out of the clay of the earth. Since that is the Truth we must conclude that all humankind are brothers and sisters and as Muslims we must treat others as such with respect, mercy, compassion, and understanding. He preached that no Arab is superior over a non-Arab and that a non-Arab is not superior over an Arab. Further, he preached that “…white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white…” Women’s rights and equality were the Prophet’s message here and would do many of us today good to consider the last sermon of the Prophet.
In his last sermon he preached that all Muslims are brothers. He said, “Learn that EVERY Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that Muslims constitute a Brotherhood.” He added that Muslims are not to do injustice to one another but to be just. Islam is suppose to be color blind and ethnic blind. It is suppose to be socio-economically blind. Muslims must consider each other as brothers in all matters and we are to act justly with compassion, love, and intelligence not foolishness.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) reminded Muslims that the day will come for every one of us when we will appear before Allah for judgment and answer for our deeds. ALL of them! He warned us, therefore, not to stray from the Path of Righteousness (rightness) after he was gone. If we considered our actions and words PRIOR to acting or speaking we might choose to say or do something else than what we want to say or do at the moment. All we need to do is consider that we will answer for every word we speak and every action we take. Are our words and actions something that we can stand before Allah and point to as good and right? Or are our actions and words something that we will be ashamed of when we stand before Him? It would do us well to consider this and not be so rash to speak or to act.
Finally, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that he was leaving behind two things, the Holy Qur’an and his own personal example (the Sunnah). Both of these contain everything we need to know and do to be good Muslims, to be righteous people. Thus, we must take the Prophet as our own ideal, pattern, and example in our own lives and emulate him so that the whole world can see just as Saladin did. Further, as the Prophet also said in his last sermon, if we follow the Qur’an and his example then “…you will never go astray.”
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) died and this was his final sermon to the Faithful, sadly. It was short but powerful and it is still powerful today. Many over the centuries have commented on it and picked it apart giving their own opinions but what really matters is what the Prophet said in this sermon HIMSELF. He told us to follow the teachings of the Qur’an and to take him as our own personal example to be emulated in our own lives. Are we doing those two things? Or have we gone astray and, in some cases, perhaps grossly awry?
His final words in this sermon were, “Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed Your Message to Your people.” And indeed Allah was his witness and the Prophet had given God’s Message to the people both in his own example and in the Holy Qur’an. Prophet Muhammad spent his life doing God’s Will living with determination, mercy, compassion, generosity, and intelligence. Are we doing the same? Are we spending our lives truly doing Allah’s Will or doing our own or some will of some radical political agenda? The Qur’an teaches clearly, “IN ALLAH, LET THE FAITHFUL PUT THEIR TRUST.” Our trust belongs in NO other! And that’s another question we must ask ourselves during self examination. Where are we putting our trust today? In whom are we putting our trust today? If it is in anyone or anything besides Allah then we are living in great error.
Salaam
Adan Kadar
Abbas Khan Books 
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