Farewell Sermon: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
[checked revision][checked revision]
No edit summary
Line 51: Line 51:


== Importance of the Sermon ==
== Importance of the Sermon ==
The Hadith corpus mentions many sermons by Muhammad but they are very short and usually each sermon includes a single main point. The farewell sermon is the only reported sermon that’s long and includes many different points making it the only one that resembles a full sermon. This sermon has its significance to Muslims since that Muhammad, in front of thousands of followers, bid farewell to his nation by saying he might not be here ever again then he died three months later. He preached important points in this farewell sermon: The sacredness of Muslims’ blood and properties, the abolishing of everything pertaining to the pre-Islamic era, how women should be treated by their husbands and finally stating that Muslims will never go astray if they hold fast to the book of Allah.
The Hadith corpus mentions many sermons by Muhammad but they are very short and usually each sermon includes a single main point. The farewell sermon is the only reported sermon that is long and includes many different points making it the only one that resembles a full sermon. This sermon is significant to Muslims since Muhammad, in front of thousands of followers, bid farewell to his nation by saying that he might not be here ever again, and he died just three months later. He preached several important lessons in this farewell sermon: The sacredness of Muslims’ blood and properties, the abolition of everything pertaining to the pre-Islamic era, how women should be treated by their husbands, and finally that Muslims will never go astray if they hold fast to the book of Allah.


What adds more significance to the sermon is the reports that the following verse was revealed on that day<ref>Tafsir of Ibn Kathir. Al-ʕilmiyyah publication. vol.3 p.22</ref>:  
What adds more significance to the sermon is the reports that the following verse was revealed on that day<ref>Tafsir of Ibn Kathir. Al-ʕilmiyyah publication. vol.3 p.22</ref>:  
Line 57: Line 57:
{{Quote| {{Quran|5|3}} |This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.}}The sermon has impacted practiced Islam in the following ways:
{{Quote| {{Quran|5|3}} |This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.}}The sermon has impacted practiced Islam in the following ways:


1-Following the footsteps of Muhammad, delivering a public sermon by an Imam became a ritual part of the Hajj. It’s called the sermon of Arafah and it’s delivered in Arafah. In modern times this sermon is delivered by a prominent Imam chosen by the Saudi government. The grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Al-Shikh used to be chosen to deliver the sermon every year for over 3 decades until 2015 when he fell ill<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20231005044425/https://sabq.org/saudia/8dwtlle5zt صحيفة سبق الألكترونية، مقالة بقلم فلاح الجوفان بعنوان: 14 في 100 عام عنقود خطباء عرفة]<nowiki><BR></nowiki>
1-Following in the footsteps of Muhammad, delivering a public sermon by an Imam became a ritual part of the Hajj. This sermon called the sermon of Arafah and it’s delivered in Arafah. In modern times this sermon is delivered by a prominent Imam chosen by the Saudi government. The grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Al-Shikh used to be chosen to deliver the sermon every year for over 3 decades until 2015 when he fell ill<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20231005044425/https://sabq.org/saudia/8dwtlle5zt صحيفة سبق الألكترونية، مقالة بقلم فلاح الجوفان بعنوان: 14 في 100 عام عنقود خطباء عرفة]<nowiki><BR></nowiki>


بعد ذلك تم تكليف الشيخ عبدالعزيز بن عبدالله آل الشيخ، حفيد أول خطيب لجامع نمرة (في الدولة السعودية الثالثة)، بالخطابة، واستمر الشيخ عبدالعزيز في الخطابة في منبر مسجد نمرة أطول فترة؛ إذ خطب منذ موسم حج عام 1402هـ حتى موسم حج عام 1436هـ.
بعد ذلك تم تكليف الشيخ عبدالعزيز بن عبدالله آل الشيخ، حفيد أول خطيب لجامع نمرة (في الدولة السعودية الثالثة)، بالخطابة، واستمر الشيخ عبدالعزيز في الخطابة في منبر مسجد نمرة أطول فترة؛ إذ خطب منذ موسم حج عام 1402هـ حتى موسم حج عام 1436هـ.
Line 75: Line 75:
<nowiki>https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1851</nowiki></ref> and Al-Tirmidhi<ref>Jami` at-Tirmidhi » Chapters on Tafsir - كتاب تفسير القرآن عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم » Hadith 3087
<nowiki>https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1851</nowiki></ref> and Al-Tirmidhi<ref>Jami` at-Tirmidhi » Chapters on Tafsir - كتاب تفسير القرآن عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم » Hadith 3087


https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3087</ref>. But it isn’t mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim’s version. The version of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī drops the women part from the sermon altogether.
https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3087</ref>. But it isn’t mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim’s version. The version of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī drops the portion about beating women from the sermon altogether.


== Authenticity of the Sermon ==
== Authenticity of the Sermon ==
Traditional Sunni Islam takes the sermon as authentic especially that large parts of it are reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim which are deemed by Sunni Muslims as the most authentic collections of Hadith.
Traditional Sunni Islam takes the sermon as authentic especially that large parts of it are reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim which are deemed by Sunni Muslims as the most authentic collections of Hadith.


Away from traditional Islamic standards for Hadith authenticity, it’s apparent that the sermon includes two fabrications:
From a critical scholarly point of view, though, the narrations have a number of issues: apparent that the sermon includes two fabrications:


1-In many versions of the sermon, including the earliest version by Ibn Isḥāq, Muhammad says “O people! listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year.” The fact that Muhammad died 3 months later turns what he said into a prophecy, which means it was a fabrication as it’s the habit of historians to deem accounts of miracles and prophecies in any tradition as ahistorical. In the sermon's versions reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, there’s no mention of this prophecy.
1-In many versions of the sermon, including the earliest version by Ibn Isḥāq, Muhammad says “O people! listen to my words. I do not know whether I shall ever meet you again in this place after this year.” The fact that Muhammad died 3 months later turns what he said into a prophecy, which means it was a fabrication as it’s the habit of historians to deem accounts of miracles and prophecies in any tradition as ahistorical. In the sermon's versions reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, there’s no mention of this prophecy.
Editors, recentchangescleanup, Reviewers
4,686

edits

Navigation menu