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Accordingly, the listeners were all strictly Muslim. Muhammad was addressing his own people, since no others were allowed to enter the area of the Sacred Mosque, which includes the Plain of Arafat. | Accordingly, the listeners were all strictly Muslim. Muhammad was addressing his own people, since no others were allowed to enter the area of the Sacred Mosque, which includes the Plain of Arafat. | ||
==Text of Farewell Sermon== | == Sources of the Sermon == | ||
The sermon is reported in numerous Hadith sources. Some reports mention the full sermon, while others mention fragments of it. | |||
The earliest account of the full sermon was by Ibn Ishaq (d.150 H) who reported it on the authority of Abdullah Bin Abi Nujayh (d.131) who was a prominent religious authority in Mecca.<ref>Siyar Aʕlām Al-Nubalāʾ by Al-Dhahab. Al-Risālah. Vol.6 p.125 | |||
سير أعلام النبلاء للذهبي، ط الرسالة، ج6 ص125 | |||
قَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: هُوَ مُفْتِي أَهْلِ مَكَّةَ بَعْدَ عَمْرِو بنِ دِيْنَارٍ</ref> Since that he never reported any Hadith directly from a companion of Muhammad<ref>ibid | |||
الذهبي: وَلَمْ أَجِدْ لَهُ شَيْئاً عَنْ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ</ref>, this means that the chain of narration of Ibn Ishaq’s sermon report has two missing links: The sermon witness and the one who heard the witness’s report. | |||
Ibn Ishaq’s report is found in Ibn Hisham’s (d. 213 H) biography of Muhammad<ref>سيرة ابن هشام، تحقيق السقا، ج2 ص603 | |||
Sīrat Ibn Hishām. Taḥqīq by Al-Saqqā. Vol.2 p.603</ref> which is a summary of Ibn Ishaq’s missing work. Ibn Ishaq’s report is also found in the History of Al-Tabari (d. 310 H).<ref>تاريخ الطبري، دار المعارف، ج3 ص150 | |||
Tārīkh Al-Ṭabarī. Dār Al-Maʕārif. Vol.3 p.150</ref> | |||
The second earliest mention of the full sermon after Ibn Ishaq was by Al-Waqidi (d. 207 H) who reported it with two chains of narrations: One goes back to Ibn Abbas a cousin of Muhammad, and the other goes back to a witness named Amr Bin Yathribi.<ref>مغازي الواقدي، دار الأعلمي، ج3 ص1111 | |||
Maghāzī Al-Wāqidī. Dar Al-Aʕlamī. Vol.3 p.1111</ref> | |||
Sahih Muslim reports a shorter version of the sermon in a narration where the great great grandson of Muhammad (The grandson of Hussien) meets Jabir, a companion of Muhammad who lived until the age of 94 (d.78 H). He asked Jabir to tell him about the prophet’s pilgrimage. Jabir proceeded to detail the events of the pilgrimage including the farewell sermon.<ref>صحيح مسلم تحقيق عبد الباقي، ج2 ص886 | |||
Sahih Muslim. Tahqiq by Abdul Baqi. Vol.2 p.886</ref> | |||
==Text of the Farewell Sermon as Reported by Ibn Ishaq== | |||
{{Quote|The History of al-Tabari, Volume 9 The Last Years of the Prophet (Translated by Ismail K. Poonawala), pp. 112-113|O people, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year. O people, your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, just as this day and this month of yours are sacred. Surely you will meet your Lord and He will question you about your deeds. I have [already] made this known. Let he who has a pledge return it to the one who entrusted him with it; all usury is abolished, but your capital belongs to you. Wrong not and you shall not be wronged. Allah has decreed that there will be no usury, and the usury of Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib is abolished, all of it. All blood shed in the pre-Islamic days is to be left unavenged. The first such claim I revoke is that of Ibn Rabiah b. al-Harith b. Abd al-Muttalib, who was nursed among the Banu Layth and was slain by the Banu Hudhayl. His is the first blood shed in the pre-Islamic days with which I shall set an example. O people, indeed Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. He will be pleased, however, if he is obeyed in a thing other than that, in matters you minimize. So beware of him in your religion, O people, intercalculating a month is an increase in unbelief whereby the unbelievers go astray; one year they make it profane, and hallow it another [in order] to agree with the number that Allah has hallowed, and so profane what Allah has hallowed, and hallow what Allah has made profane. Time has completed its cycle [and is] as it was on the day that Allah created the heavens and the earth. The number of the months with Allah is twelve; [they were] in the Book of Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred, the three consecutive [months] and the Rajab [which is the month of] Mudar, which is between Jumada and Sha’ban.<BR><BR>Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. '''If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them''', but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, '''for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves.''' You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people. I have conveyed the Message, and have left you with something which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray; that is, the Book of Allah and the sunnah of his Prophet. Listen to my words, O people, for I have conveyed the Message and understand [it]. Know for certain that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, and that all Muslims are brethren. It is not lawful for a person [to take] from his brother except that which he has given him willingly, so do not wrong yourselves. O Allah, have I not conveyed the message?}} | {{Quote|The History of al-Tabari, Volume 9 The Last Years of the Prophet (Translated by Ismail K. Poonawala), pp. 112-113|O people, listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year. O people, your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, just as this day and this month of yours are sacred. Surely you will meet your Lord and He will question you about your deeds. I have [already] made this known. Let he who has a pledge return it to the one who entrusted him with it; all usury is abolished, but your capital belongs to you. Wrong not and you shall not be wronged. Allah has decreed that there will be no usury, and the usury of Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib is abolished, all of it. All blood shed in the pre-Islamic days is to be left unavenged. The first such claim I revoke is that of Ibn Rabiah b. al-Harith b. Abd al-Muttalib, who was nursed among the Banu Layth and was slain by the Banu Hudhayl. His is the first blood shed in the pre-Islamic days with which I shall set an example. O people, indeed Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. He will be pleased, however, if he is obeyed in a thing other than that, in matters you minimize. So beware of him in your religion, O people, intercalculating a month is an increase in unbelief whereby the unbelievers go astray; one year they make it profane, and hallow it another [in order] to agree with the number that Allah has hallowed, and so profane what Allah has hallowed, and hallow what Allah has made profane. Time has completed its cycle [and is] as it was on the day that Allah created the heavens and the earth. The number of the months with Allah is twelve; [they were] in the Book of Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred, the three consecutive [months] and the Rajab [which is the month of] Mudar, which is between Jumada and Sha’ban.<BR><BR>Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. '''If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them''', but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, '''for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves.''' You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people. I have conveyed the Message, and have left you with something which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray; that is, the Book of Allah and the sunnah of his Prophet. Listen to my words, O people, for I have conveyed the Message and understand [it]. Know for certain that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, and that all Muslims are brethren. It is not lawful for a person [to take] from his brother except that which he has given him willingly, so do not wrong yourselves. O Allah, have I not conveyed the message?}} | ||
== Text of the Farewell Sermon as Reported in Sahih Muslim == | |||
{{Quote| Sahih Muslim. The Book of Pilgrimage - كتاب الحج . Hadith 1218 | |||
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1218a|Verily your blood, your property are as sacred and inviolable as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours. Behold! Everything pertaining to the Days of Ignorance is under my feet completely abolished. Abolished are also the blood-revenges of the Days of Ignorance. The first claim of ours on blood-revenge which I abolish is that of the son of Rabi'a b. al-Harith, who was nursed among the tribe of Sa'd and killed by Hudhail. And the usury of she pre-Islamic period is abolished, and the first of our usury I abolish is that of 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, for it is all abolished. Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. I have left among you the Book of Allah, and if you hold fast to it, you would never go astray. And you would be asked about me (on the Day of Resurrection), (now tell me) what would you say? They (the audience) said: We will bear witness that you have conveyed (the message), discharged (the ministry of Prophethood) and given wise (sincere) counsel. He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) then raised his forefinger towards the sky and pointing it at the people (said):" O Allah, be witness. 0 Allah, be witness," saying it thrice.}} | |||
== The correct translation of ʿawān == | == The correct translation of ʿawān == | ||
“Treat women well, | The sermon as reported by Ibn Ishaq and many other sources includes the following part: | ||
“Treat women well, for they are ʿawān with you”. | |||
All Hadith exegesis and classical Arabic dictionaries agree that ʿawān mentioned in this Hadith means captives or prisoners. Despite this unanimous agreement, the word is mistranslated in some English translations into one of the following: | All Hadith exegesis and classical Arabic dictionaries agree that ʿawān mentioned in this Hadith means captives or prisoners. Despite this unanimous agreement, the word is mistranslated in some English translations into one of the following: | ||