SECTION CONCERNING THE TIME THAT THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH PASSED AWAY
There is no difference of opinion that he passed away on Monday. Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Prophet was born on Monday and he became a Prophet on Monday. He left Makkah as a migrant on Monday, he entered Madinah on Monday and he died on Monday. (Narrated by Imam Ahmad and Al-Baihaqi ).
Anas said: The last time I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was on Monday. He opened the curtains while the people were praying behind Abu Bakr, then I looked at his face and it was though it was like the page of a book. The people wanted to turn around, but he indicated to them to stay put. Then he closed the gap that was between the two curtains and passed away by the end of the day.
Abu Nu‘aim Al-Fadl Ibn Dukain said the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed away on Monday in the beginning of Rabee‘ ul-Awwal of the 11th year since his arrival in Madinah. And Ibn ‘Asakir also mentioned it.
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah passed away on Monday after 11 nights had passed from Rabee‘ ul-Awwal.
Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that when the Messenger of Allah completed the Farewell Pilgrimage he came to Madinah and stayed there for the rest of Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram and Safar. And he died on Monday after 10 nights had passed from Rabee‘ ul- Awwal.
Point of benefit: Abul Qasim As-Suhaili says in Ar-Rawd, the summary of which is that the occurrence of his death on Monday, the 12th of Rabee‘ ul-Awwal in Year 11, cannot be possible. This is because he stood on the Day of ‘Arafah in the Farewell Pilgrimage in Year 10 A. H., on Friday, which means that the start of Dhul- Hijjah was on Thursday. Therefore upon the assumption that the months are calculated completely or incomplete or some of them complete and others incomplete, it cannot be imagined that Monday was the 12th of Rabee‘ ul-Awwal.
The argument against this opinion has become well-known. A group has tried to answer it and it is not possible to answer it except in one way, and that is the difference in time zones (or moon sightings). The people of Makkah saw the crescent on Thursday and as for the people of Madinah, they didn’t see it except on Friday night.
The statement of ‘A’ishah and others supports this: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, exited five days before the end of Dhul-Qa‘adah – i.e. from Madinah – for the Farewell Pilgrimage. And upon what we mentioned that has to be on Saturday and not what Ibn Hazm claimed that he exited on Thursday because there were more than five days left without a doubt. And it is not possible that he left on Friday because Anas said: The Messenger of Allah prayed Dhuhr (4 units) and ‘Asr in Dhul-Hulaifah (2 units). So it has to be that he left on Saturday with five days left.
Thus based on this, the people of Madinah only saw the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah on Friday night. And if the first of Dhul-Hijjah according to the people of Madinah was on Friday and the months are calculated as complete months (30 days because the lunar month is either 29 or 30 days) after it, the first of Rabee‘ ul- Awwal on Thursday, which is Monday the 12th. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
It has been affirmed in the Saheehain from the Hadith of Malik from Rabee‘ah Ibn Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman from Anas Ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah was not very tall and not short. And he was not very white nor brown, and he was not curly haired nor was he straight-haired. Allah sent him at the start of 40 years (of age), then he stayed in Makkah for 10 years and in Madinah for 10 years. And Allah took his soul at the beginning of 60 years and he did not have on his head or in his beard 20 white hairs.
Anas narrated: The Prophet died when he was 63 years old, and Abu Bakr died when he was 63 years old and ‘Umar died when he was 63 years old.
Ibn ‘Abbas: The Messenger of Allah was sent when he was 40 years old. He stayed in Makkah for 13 years as commanded by Allah. Then he was ordered with migration so he migrated for 10 years and died when he was 63 years old.
The description of his ‘Ghusl’
We have already mentioned that the Companions y were engaged with the Bai‘ah of Abu Bakr for the whole of Monday and some of Tuesday. Then, when it was established, and firmly accomplished, they began thereafter to prepare washing and covering the body of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him following Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him)in everything that was problematic for them.
‘A’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, said that when they wanted to wash body of the Prophet they said: We don’t know (whether we) should strip the Messenger of Allah from his clothing as we strip our dead or wash him with his clothes on. When they differed, Allah put them to sleep to the extent that all of them had their chins on their chests. Then a voice addressed them from the direction of the house but they didn’t know who he was: “Wash the Messenger of Allah with his clothes on.” Then they stood by the Messenger of Allah and washed him with his clothes on. They poured water on his shirt and they rubbed him with the shirt without using their hands. And ‘A’ishah used to say: If I was to take my affair that I left, nobody would have washed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, except his wives.
Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab narrated that ‘Ali said: I washed the Messenger of Allah, then I went to check what was left of him but I didn’t see anything. He was clean while alive and dead.
Ibn ‘Abbas said: When the grave was dug and the people had prayed Dhuhr, Al-‘Abbas began to wash the body of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. He erected a curtain from thick Yemeni clothing in the middle of the house. Then he entered and called ‘Ali and Al-Fadhl. And if he went to pass the water to them he would call Abu Sufyan Ibn Al-Harith. Then he would bring it while the men from Bani Hashim were behind the curtain. And whoever was allowed to enter from the Ansar were the ones who asked my father, from them was: ‘Aws Ibn Khawli (May Allah be pleased with him)
The Description of His Shroud
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was placed in a veil, then it was taken from him. Al-Qasim said: Verily, the remains of that cloth are with me.
As narrated by ‘A’ishah, the Messenger of Allah was wrapped in three white Sahooli (the name of a village in Yemen) garments, without a shirt and turban.
‘A’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah was wrapped in three white Sahooli garments of cotton, without a shirt and turban. As for the cloak, it was only assumed by the people. I only bought a cloak for him to be wrapped in, however it was abandoned. ‘Abdullah Ibn Abu Bakr took it said, “I am going to take it so that I am wrapped in it.” Thereafter he said, “If Allah was pleased with it for his Prophet he would have wrapped him in it.” So he sold it and gave the proceeds to charity.
The (Funeral) Prayer
Ibn Mas‘ood said that regarding the will of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) that the men of his household should wash him, and that he said: “Wrap me in these clothes of mine, or in Yemeni, or the white of Egypt.” “When they wrapped him they put him at the edge of his grave and then left him, in order to let the angels pray on him. Thereafter, male members of his household entered and prayed on him. Then the people after them individually.” This Hadith is in its complete form and its authenticity is doubtful.
‘Ikrimah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas: When the Messenger of Allah died the men were allowed to enter, who prayed on him. Then the women were allowed to enter and prayed upon him. Thereafter the children were allowed to enter and they prayed upon him. Then the slaves were allowed to enter and prayed upon him; nobody led them in prayer on the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
This action – which is their prayer upon him individually without anybody leading them – is a matter upon which there is a consensus, with no one differing on it. The reason for this has been differed over, so if the Hadith that we mentioned from Ibn Mas‘ood is authentic, it would have been a clear text in the matter, and it would be purely (a matter of) worship for which the reason is hard to understand. It is not for anyone to say: They prayed upon him in this manner because they didn’t have an Imam, because we have already mentioned that they began to prepare him (for burial) – (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) – after the completion of the Bai‘ah of Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him)
Some of the scholars mentioned that nobody led them in the funeral prayer on the Messenger of Allah. The reason was that everyone could experience the prayer from himself upon him, and the repetition of the Muslims’ prayer on him time after time, from every individual from the groups of the Companions: their men, women, children and even the male and female slaves.
The brief outline of what As-Suhaili said was: Verily, Allah already mentioned that He and His angels send prayers upon him, and He commanded everyone from the Believers to send prayers upon him.
Therefore it was obligatory upon everyone to initiate the prayer on him by himself, and the prayer upon him after his death is from this type. He said: And also the angels are leaders for us in that. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
The followers of Ash-Shafi‘i differed over the legality of prayer on his grave for other than the Companions. So it has been said: Yes (it is permissible), because his body – (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) – is fresh in his grave, because Allah has made it impermissible for the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets As has been mentioned in the Hadith in the Sunan and others, so he is like the one who died today. And others said: He should not, because the Salaf from those after the Companions didn’t do it, and if it was permissible they would have proceeded and persevered upon it. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
The Description of His Burial, (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) Where He Was Buried
‘A’ishah narrated: “When the Messenger of Allah died they differed with regards to his burial, so Abu Bakr said: I heard from the Messenger of Allah a matter which I have not forgotten. He said: “Allah does not take a Prophet except in the place that he likes to be buried.” Bury him in the place of his bed Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab said: ‘A’ishah mentioned to her father a dream and he was from the best in interpretation. She said: “I saw three moons fall in my house.” Then he said to her: “If you have told the truth about your dream, three people from the best of the people on this Earth will be buried in your house.” When the Messenger of Allah passed away and was buried there, he said: “O ‘A’ishah, this is the best of your moons.”
In the Saheehain, she was quoted as saying: “The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, passed away in my house and between my neck and chest. And Allah mixed my saliva with his in the last hour of this world and the first hour of the Hereafter.”
In Saheeh Al-Bukhari it was narrated by ‘A’ishah: I heard the Messenger of Allah in the illness that he died from say: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” ‘A’ishah said: “If it wasn’t for that, his grave would have been prominent, except that he feared that his grave would be taken as a place of worship.”
Anas Ibn Malik narrated: “When the Messenger of Allah passed away there was a man in Madinah who would make the Lahd (niche toward the direction of the Qiblah in the grave, in which the deceased is placed on his right then bricks are placed behind him) and another would dig a Dareeh (a regular trench type grave). They said: “Let us make Istikharah (a prayer of 2 units, after which one supplicates a particular prayer seeking guidance toward the correct decision by the decree of Allah) and send for them, and the one who is slower will be left.” Then they were sent for and the one who would make the Lahd came first, so they made a Lahd for the Prophet.
Ibn ‘Abbas said: “A red velvet sheet was placed in the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab narrated: ‘Ali said: I washed the Prophet, peace be upon him, then I went to look to see what was left from the signs of the deceased and I didn’t see anything, and he was clean while living and while dead. He said: Four from amongst the people were in charge of his burial – (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) – ‘Ali, Al-‘Abbas, Al-Fadhl and Saleh, the servant of the Prophet. And a Lahd was made for the Prophet and bricks were erected on it. Al-Baihaqi mentioned from some of the scholars: That nine bricks were erected in his Lahd.
A mention of the last person who was with him (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
Bahz narrated that he witnessed the prayer on the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Companions said: How do we pray upon him? He replied: Enter one after the other. So they entered from one door, prayed on him, then left from the other door. He said: When he was placed in his Lahd, Al-Mugheerah said: Part of his feet are showing which they didn’t attend to. They said: Enter and cover them. He entered the Lahd and entered his hand and touched his feet. Then he said: Pile the soil on top of me, so they did until it reached the middle of his chin, then he left. And he would say: I am the last of you with the Messenger of Allah.
When was his Burial
‘A’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, narrated: Verily, the Messenger of Allah passed away on Monday and he was buried on the night before Wednesday. It has already been mentioned in a similar way in more than one Hadith. And this is what is known from more than one Imam from the Salaf and the Khalaf (those after the first three generations of Muslims); from them are Sulaiman Ibn Tarkhan At-Taimi, and Ja‘far Ibn Muhamad As-Sadiq, Ibn Ishaq, Moosa Ibn Uqbah and other than them.
The description of his Grave
It is known through tawatur, that he – (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was buried in ‘A’ishah’s personal house, east of his mosque in the west corner in the direction of the Qiblah from the house. Then Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was buried after him in it, then ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him).
Sufyan At-Tammar narrated that he informed him that he saw the Prophet’s grave raised. Al-Bukhari was the only one who mentioned it. Abu Dawood narrated from Al-Qasim: I entered upon ‘A’ishah, and said to her: O mother, show me the grave of the Messenger of Allah and his two Companions. She showed me the three graves not elevated or level with the ground leveled with a red coating (in that order): The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Then Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) and then ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him)
Abu Dawood was the only one who mentioned it.
Al-Hakim narrated it and Al-Baihaqi related it from Al-Qasim: Then I saw the Prophet at the forefront and Abu Bakr’s head between the shoulders of the Prophet and ‘Umar’s head near the leg of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Al-Baihaqi said: This narration proves that their graves were flat, because pebbles are only stable on a flat surface. This is strange from Al-Baihaqi,, for, verily, there is no mention in the narration of pebbles in totality, upon that assumption it is possible to be raised while pebbles were on it by using clay and similar materials.
Al-Bukahri narrated from Hisham Ibn ‘Urwah from his father, who said: When the wall collapsed upon them in the time of Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul- Malik, they began to rebuild it. Then a foot became apparent to them, so they became startled. Then they thought that it was the foot of the Prophet and none from amongst them knew what it was until ‘Urwah said to them: No, by Allah, it is not the foot of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, it is only the foot of ‘Umar.
Hisham narrated from his father, from ‘A’ishah that she made a will to ‘Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair, “do not bury me with them. Bury me with my companions in Al-Baqee‘.
He said: Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik began to build a mosque in Damascus when he came to power in the Year 86 A.H. And he wrote to his representative in Madinah, the son of his paternal uncle ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdul-Azeez to expand the mosque of Madinah, so he expanded it even from the side of the market. Then the house of the Prophet became part of it.
Hafiz Ibn ‘Asakir narrated with his chain of narrations from Zadhan Mawla Al-Furafisah and he is the one who built the Prophet’s Mosque in the days of ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdul-Azeez’s rule of Madinah. Then he mentioned from Salim Ibn ‘Abdullah similar to what Al-Bukhari mentioned, and he spoke about the description of the graves just as Abu Dawood narrated.
Mention of What Afflicted the Muslims from the Great Calamity by His Death
Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas, who said: When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, became ill the pain began to overwhelm him. Fatimah said: “Oh the pain, my father!” He replied: “There is no pain for your father after today.” When he died, she said: “O my father, he answered the call of a Lord that called him. O father, the one whose abode is the highest level in Paradise. O father, to Jibraeel we announce the death.” When he was buried, Fatimah said: “O Anas, does it please you that you throw soil on the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?” Thabit would cry if he mentioned this Hadith and it would seem that his ribs would cross one another. This is not deemed to be wailing, rather it is by the way of mentioning his true virtues and we only mentioned this because the Messenger of Allah forbade wailing.
Anas narrated: “When the Messenger of Allah arrived in Madinah, everything was lit up on the day of his arrival; when on the day he died everything was darkened on his death.” He said, “We had not removed our hands from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, (while removing the soil away from his body) before our hearts felt different.” Ubayy Ibn Ka‘b narrated: “We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and our faces were the same, but when he was taken we looked here and there.” Anas said: “Once the Messenger of Allah went to visit Umm Aiman and I went with him, andI offered him some drink there. Either he was fasting or he did not want it, so he refused to take it. Umm Aiman used to make the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laugh. After the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, asked ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: “Come with us to visit Umm Aiman”; when we reached there she started crying.
They asked her: “What makes you cry? That which is with Allah is better for the Messenger of Allah.” She said: “By Allah, I don’t cry because I didn’t know that what is with Allah is better for his Messenger; I cry because the revelation has ceased from the sky.” Thus she drove them to cry, and they began to cry. And only Imam Muslim narrated it.
Abu Moosa narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who he said: “Verily, if Allah wishes to have mercy upon a nation from His slaves He takes its Prophet before them, then He makes him a role model and a Salaf (predecessor) for it, which he will bear witness for. And if He wishes to destroy a nation He will punish it while its Prophet is alive and then cause it to perish, while he is looking at them with a sympathetic eye with its destruction when they rejected him and disobeyed his command.” Aws Ibn Aws narrated: The Messenger of Allah said: “From the best of your days is Friday, on this day Adam was created, on this day he was taken, on this day is the blowing (in the trumpet) and on this day is the collapsing (of the creation). So send abundant prayers upon me on this day, because your prayers will be conveyed to me.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, how can our prayers reach you when you have perished? (.i.e. become decomposed bones).” He replied: “Verily, Allah has made it impermissible for the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets.”
A Mention of What Has Been Narrated Regarding Condolences With Him
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated: The Messenger of Allah opened a door between him and the people or opened a curtain suddenly and the people were praying behind Abu Bakr. Then he praised Allah upon the good state he saw them in; hoping that Allah will succeed him with what he saw. Then he said, “O people; if anybody from the people or from the Believers is afflicted by a misfortune then let him remember his calamity by me (i.e. my death) instead of the calamity caused by other than me (i.e. other than my death). For none of my Ummah will be afflicted by a calamity greater than my calamity (i.e. the calamity caused by my death is a greater misfortune upon everyone due to the discontinuation of revelation and the differing and other evils).
Abu Hazim Al-Madani narrated: Verily, when Allah took the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, the Muhajiroon entered in groups praying upon him and then leaving. The Ansar also entered in the same way. Thereafter the people of Madinah entered. When the men finished, the women entered. And there were voices of despair from them, as usually occurs from them. After that there was deep silence in the house. Then suddenly a person said: Verily in Allah is comfort from every deceased, and a recompensation from every disaster, and a replacement for everything lost. And the repaid is the one who is repaid with reward, and the unfortunate is the one who is not repaid with reward.
By Ibn Katheer
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