The Prophet's Last Moments

In the month of safar -the 2ed. Arabic month -in the eleventh year of Hijra, the Prophet (pbuh) -went to Uhud - the place where the Muslims fought before against Quraish and many Muslim martyrs were killed and buried there -and prayed for the martyrs there. He was seeing off all people - dead and alive - and then he left.

On the twenty ninth of Safar , the Messenger (pbuh) said to his servant that he had been ordered to repent for the people of Al-Bakki’ - a graveyard in Madina - and he asked his servant to come with him. When he arrived there he said: “Oh people of the graves, peace be upon you. Be pleased with what you are in. The turmoils came keeping in trace as the very dark nights .The last very close to the first and the last worse than the first".

He then looked at his servant and said that he was given the keys of all life treasures and eternity then the paradise, and was asked to choose between that and meeting the Almighty Allah (which means to die) then go to Paradise. Before finishing his words his servant begged him to choose eternity life; but the prophet’s only concern in his life was just to tell his Message. So he replied saying that he had chosen to meet Allah then paradise. After that he repented for the dead people in Al Bakki’.

In his way back, he felt a headache and his temperature got terribly high. When he entered his house, he found his wife complaining from a headache saying: "oh my head". But the Messenger told her that his headache was the worst. He then tried to give her a hint that if he dies, he wants her to wash him and prepare him for bury; so he said to her that she should not panic because if she dies before him he is going to wash her and prepare her to bury and lead the prayer of her death. But she did not understand what he had meant by these words. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) replied that if she is going to die, he (pbuh) will come back to her house and enjoy his days with his wives.

Aisha said that either because of her jealousy or because she wanted to release the prophet from his pain, especially because of his complaint from a terrible headache. When the prophet heard her words he laughed.

The prophet led the people in the prayers for 11 days while he was sick. His complete days of sickness were 13 or 14 days.

The Messenger (pbuh) was the perfect role model in applying the roles which he had taught his nation, especially with women. So when his sickness got worse and worse he asked his wives: "where am I tomorrow? "- That’s because he used to spend every day with one of his wives –

The main cause of his question was to know when the day of Aisha is, because he loved Aisha more than his other wives.

The prophet asked Allah for forgiveness because he couldn’t be fair in his love towards his wives. He treated them all in a fair and equal way, but in terms of love; his love to Aisha was the most.

His wives knew that he loved Aisha most, so they asked him to stay with her during his sickness. The prophet (pbuh) moved to Aisha’s house and stayed with her the last week of his life.

In his ordinary days the Prophet (pbuh) used to cure his pains with Quran (especially the last three Surahs : Al Ikhlas, Al Falaq & An Nas , called “ Al Mu’awithat”)   ,but in his last days he was so sick that he could not cure himself. So Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to read the verses she memorised from the Prophet and blow in his hand, and then stroked over his body to cure him.

On Wednesday, five days before his death, he got worse and he was so sick that he fainted. When he got up he asked to spill on him seven buckets of water so he could speak to the people outside.

even in his last moments he was interested in giving advices to his people, he could say only spill water over me but he described exactly what needs o be done in such cases, so that people can do the same as a cure from such sickness.

He said that this water should be from different wells, and to spill only seven buckets all at once.

After they had spilt water over him, he felt that he got better. So he entered the mosque to give a speech.

He said: “cursed be all those who use to make the graves of their Prophets places of worship……”

Once during the days of his illness, Abu Bakr - the closest friend of the Messenger- and Alabbas - the uncle of the Messenger -passed while a group of the Ansar -the inhabitants of Madinah who supported the Messenger- were crying. Abu Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- asked them why they were crying. They replied saying that they had missed the presence of the Messenger among them. Abu Bakr entered the Prophet’s room and told him about what he had seen.

The Messenger loved the Ansar very much because they are the people who protected him and offered their souls and money to support him. So when Abu Bakr told him, he tied his head with a piece of cloth and walked to the mosque despite his pains and gave the Muslims his last speech.

He thanked and praised Allah and told the Muslims that they have to take care of the Ansar as being the first people who believed and protected him when others let him down, he trusted them most and they had done their best for Islam). He stressed that they did what they had promised ( to protect the Messenger and defend him and his religion ), so he advised to forgive the one who commits a mistake and accept their good deeds.

While he was advising and showing them the right and wrong, he began to tell them that his death got closer by saying-that there was a slave ( he means himself) who had been given the chance by Allah to choose between eternity life or to accept Allah’s faith. But he chose Allah’s faith.

when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this sentence, he cried – knowing that the Prophet’s death will be very close- and said that they would give their souls for the sake of the Prophet.

The companions of the Messenger wandered why Abu Bakr said such words.

But after the Prophet’s death they knew that the Prophet was talking about himself and that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the wisest between them…..

The Messenger told Abu Bakr to calm down. then he told his companions, that he wishes to be with Abu Bakr forever,   and it is friendship and brotherhood in Islam which tied them till Allah gather them again in the Hereafter.