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Then he descended, and performed the noon prayer. Again he returned to the pulpit and sat on it.
He resumed his first speech about enmity and some other things.
A man then said: “You owe me three Dirhams.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “Fadl, pay
him the money.” He went on saying:
·
“I admonish you to be good to
Al-Ansar
(the Helpers). They are my family and with them
I found shelter. They have acquitted themselves credibly of the responsibility that fell upon
them and now there remains what you have to do. You should fully acknowledge and
appreciate the favour that they have shown, and should overlook their faults.”
In another version:
·
“The number of believers would increase, but the number of Helpers would decrease to
the extent that they would be among men as salt in the food. So he who from among you
occupies a position of responsibility and is powerful enough to do harm or good to the
people, he should fully acknowledge and appreciate the favour that these benefactors have
shown and overlook their faults.”
And said:
·
“Allâh, the Great, has given a slave of His the opportunity to make a choice between
whatever he desires of Allâh’s provisions in this world, and what He keeps for him in the
world, but he has opted for the latter.”
Abu Sa‘îd Al-Khudri said: “Upon hearing that, Abu Bakr cried and said: ‘We sacrifice our fathers and
mothers for your sake.’ We wondered why Abu Bakr said such a thing. People said: ‘Look at that old
man! The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) says about a slave of Allâh who was granted the
right between the best fortunes of this world and the bounty of Allâh in the Hereafter, but he says:
We sacrifice our fathers and mothers for your sake!’ It was later on that we realized what he had
aimed at. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was the slave informed to choose. We also
acknowledged that Abu Bakr was the most learned among us.”
Then the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said:
·
“The fellow I feel most secure in his company is Abu Bakr. If I were to make friendship
with any other one than Allâh, I would have Abu Bakr a bosom friend of mine. For him I feel
affection and brotherhood of Islam. No gate shall be kept open in the Mosque except that of
Abu Bakr’s.”
FOUR DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH:
On Thursday, four days before the death of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him), he said to
people — though he was suffering from a severe pain: “Come here. I will cause you to write
something so that you will never fall into error.” Upon this ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab said: “The Prophet
of Allâh (Peace be upon him) is suffering from acute pain and you have the Qur’ân with you; the
Book of Allâh is sufficient unto you.” Others however wanted the writing to be made. When
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) heard them debating over it, he ordered them to go away and
leave him alone.
THE DAY HE RECOMMENDED THREE THINGS:
1. Jews, Christians and polytheists should be expelled out of Arabia.
2. He recommended that delegations should be honoured and entertained, in a way similar to
the one he used to do.
3. As for the third — the narrator said that he had forgotten it. It could have been adherence
to the Holy Book and the
Sunnah
. It was likely to be the accomplishme nt and the
mobilization of Osamah’s army, or it could have been performance of prayers and being
attentive to slaves.
In spite of the strain of disease and suffering from pain, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to
lead all the prayers till that Thursday — four days before he died. On that day he led the sunset
prayer and recited:
·
·
“By the winds (or angels or the Messengers of Allâh) sent forth one after
another.” [77:1]
In the evening he grew so sick that he could not overcome the strain of disease or go out to enter
the Mosque. ‘Aishah said: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) a sked: “Have the people performed the
prayer?” “No. They haven’t. They are waiting for you.” “Put some water in the washing pot.” Said
he. We did what he ordered. So he washed and wanted to stand up, but he fainted. When he came
round he asked again “Have the people prayed?” Then the same sequence of events took place
again and again for the second and the third tifrom the time he washed to the time he fainted after
his attempts to stand up. Therefore he sent to Abu Bakr to lead the prayer himself. Abu Bakr then
led the prayer during those days. They were seventeen prayers in the lifetime of Muhammad(Peace
be upon him).
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