THE HOLY PROPHET’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT ARAFAT 9th Zil-Hijja
- ALL PRAISE IS FOR ALLAH:
All praise is for Allah. We praise Him; seek His help and pardon; and we return to Him. We take refuge with Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad consequences of our actions. There is none to lead him astray whom Allah guides aright and there is none to guide him aright whom He misguides. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without any partner and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger. I admonish you O the servants of Allah to revere Allah and I urge on His obedience and open the speech with that which is good.
- MESSAGE TO YOU:
Now to proceed, O people, listen to me; I would deliver a message to you. For I do not know whether I shall ever get an opportunity to meet you after this year in this place.
- ALLAH IS ONE – UNIVERSAL HUMANISM:
O people! Verily your Lord is one and your father is one. All of you belong to Adam and Adam is (made) of earth. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for a red-coloured over a black coloured and for a black skinned over a red-skinned except in piety. Verily the noblest among you is he who is the most pious.
- RIGHT OF MAN:
O people! Verily your blood (lives), your properties and your honour are sacred and inviolable to you till you appear before your Lord, like the sacredness of this day of yours, in this city of yours. Verily, you will meet your Lord and He will ask you about your actions. Lo, have I conveyed the message? O Allah be witness.
So he who has any trust with him he should restore it to the person who deposited it with him.
- INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Be aware, no one committing a crime is responsible for it but himself. Neither son is responsible for the crime of his father nor father is responsible for the crime of his son.
- BROTHERHOOD:
Lo, O people, Listen to my words and understand them. You must know that one Muslim is the brother of another Muslim and the Muslims are one brotherhood. Nothing of his brother is lawful for a Muslim except what he himself allows. So you should not oppress yourselves. O Allah, have I conveyed the message?
- BLOOD REVENGE ABOLISHED:
Behold, everything of ignorance is put down under my two feet. The blood-revenges of the Dark Age are remitted. Verily, the first blood-revenge I cancel is the blood revenge of Ibn Rabi’ah ibn Harith who was nursed in the tribe of Sa’ad and whom the Hudhail killed.
- RIBA ABOLISHED:
The interest of the Jahiliyyah period is abolished. But you will get your capitalstock. Do not oppress and you will not be oppressed. Allah has decreed that there is no interest. The first interest which I cancel is the of ‘Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib. Verily it is cancelled entirely.
- RIGHTS OF WOMAN:
O people! do fear Allah concerning the women. You have taken them with the trust of Allah and you have made them lawful with the word of Allah.
Verily you have got certain right over your women and your women have certain right over you. Your right over them is that they should not make anybody, whom you dislike, trample down your beds, and that they should not allow anyone whom you dislike (to enter) into your houses. If they do such an action, then Allah permitted you to chastise them, keep them separate in their beds and strike them but not severly. If they refrain they must have justly their sustenance and clothing from you.
Behold, receive with kindness the recommendation given about women. For they are middle-aged women (or helpers) with you. They do not possess anything for themselves and you cannot have from them more than that. If they obey you in this way, then you should not treat them unjustly. Lo, have I convey? O Allah, be witness.
- RIGHT OF SLAVES (OR SERVANTS):
Take care of your slaves. Take care of your slaves. Feed them from what you eat and clothe them from what you wear.
If they commit any crime which you donot like to forgive, then free the slaves of Allah and do not chastise them.
- LEADERSHIP:
O People! listen and obey though a mangled Abyssinian slave becomes your Amir who executes the Book of Allah among you.
- INHERITANCE:
Of people, verily Allah appropriated to everyone his due. No will is valid for an inheritor and a will is not lawful for more than one-third (of the property). The child belongs to the (legal) bed and for the adulterer there is stoning. He who relates (his genealogy) to other than his father or claims his clientship to other than his masters, the curse of Allah, the Angels and the people – all these – be upon him. Allah will accept from him neither repentance nor righteousness.
- PILLARS OF ISLAM:
Behold! do hear me. Worship your Lord; pray your five times; Fast your month; make pilgrimage to your House (ka’aba); pay willingly the assigned Zakat of your property and obey when (and what) I command you; (then) you will enter the Heaven of your Lord.
- BEWARE OF SATAN:
O people, verily the Satan is disappointed from being ever worshipped in this land of yours. But he is satisfied to be obeyed in other than that you think very trifting of your actions. So be cautious of him in your religion.
- HOLD FAST TO AL-QURAN AND SUNNAH:
Verily, I have left behind among you that which if you catch hold of you will never be misled later on – a conspicuous thing, i.e. the Book of Allah and Sunnah of His Apostle. O people, Jibril (Gabriel) came to me, conveyed salam from my Lord and said. Verily Allah the Mighty and the Great, has forgiven the people of “Arafat” and sanctuary (to forego) their short comings.
Lo, let the present ones convey the message to the absent ones. For verily many people to whom the message is conveyed may be more mindful of it than the audience.
Umar Ibnul Khattab stood up and said: O Apostle of Allah, is it for us only? He replied: “It is for you and for those who are to come after you till the Day of Resurrection.”
“And you will be asked about me, then what would you say?” They replied: “we bear witness that you have conveyed the message, discharged (your duty) and instructed.”
Then he said raising his forefinger towards heaven and pointed pointing it out towards it.”