The Demised
(632 A.C / 11 A.H)
" And Muhammad is o more than an apostle; the Apostle have already passed away before him; If then he dies or is killed,will you turn back on your heels"
Quran 3:143
The Demised Of Rasulullahﷺ
In the ninth year A.H (After Hijrah), 631 RasulullahﷺA.C (After Christ), Islam had become sufficiently strong to justify the order of Rasulullahﷺ that no polytheists should be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. Till then the pilgrimage of Rasulullahﷺ himself was " Umrah that is the minor Pilgrimages, but when in the tenth year A.H (631 A.C), all of Arabia had embraced Islam, Rasulullahﷺ decided to go in person for the pilgrimage. This was a memorable day in the history of Islam, for as many as 124,000 persons from all corners of Arabia and belonging to all tribes went with him. It was the greatest success a person could achieve, for the very spot whereon he stood with the 124'000 persons from all corners of Arabia and belonging to all tribes went with him.
It was the greatest success a person could achieve, for the very spot whereon he stood with 124,000 assembled around him in suppliant devotion was the place whence he had to flee, alone by himself.
This remarkable spectacle of the ultimate triumph of Truth seemed to tell him that, his mission on earth has accomplished, and the time had come for him to depart - a feeling still further strengthened by the verse then revealed;
"Forbidden to you (for food) are dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
(Al Quran: 5:3)
This verse lays claim to the perfection of the religion of Islam, so such claim is made by any other religion or book. From the time of the revelation of this verse, Rasulullahﷺ was looking forward to meeting "his Companion on High." The last time he appeared in public he addressed his followers thus; "Muslims, if I have wronged any one of you, here I am to answer for it. If I owe aught to anyone, all I possess belongs to you. " Upon hearing this a man got up and claimed three dirhams which he had given to a poor man at the request of Rasulullahﷺ. They were immediately paid back, with the words,
"better to blush in this world than in the next."
About the end of the month of Safar, 11 A.H (632 A.C), Rasulullahﷺ fell ill, and with the consent of all his wives stayed in the house of Saiyidinah Aisyah رضي الله عنه. The mosque being next door he used to go there to lead the prayers as usual but was too weak to deliver sermons. One day when he was very ill he addressed the congregation and said that Allahﷻ had offered him the choice of life on earth and life with Him and that he had accepted the latter. Sayidina Abu Bakar As Sidique رضي الله عنه was the first to understand the meaning of these words, and tears rolled down his cheeks at the thought of separation from Rasulullahﷺ.
From that day on Rasulullahﷺ grew weaker every day, and it became impossible for him to go to the mosque. Rasulullahﷺ desired Saiyidina Abu Bakar As Siddique رضي الله عنه to lead the prayers and even when Saidatuna Aisyah رضي الله عنه made excuses on behalf of her father he still insisted and Sayidina Abu Bakar As Sidique رضي الله عنه, Rasulullahﷺ started leading the Muslims at the prayers. One day feeling a little better, he raised the curtain of his room and stood in the doorway watching the people at prayer. This was taken as a sign of recovery, and the people returned to their normal pursuits for a while; but it was not so, for in a short time there was a relapse, and he passed away from this life into the state that was proximate to Allahﷻ.
The day whereon Rasulullahﷺ breathed his last was Monday, the 12th of Rabi'u Awal, 11 A.H (632 A.C).
This soothed the Muslims and precluded all chance of schism and dissension.
