The Final Years of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him)

Short Summary

In 632 CE, Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) stood before more than one hundred thousand people on the plain of Arafat and delivered the Farewell Sermon — a summary of everything Islam stands for. Within months, he was gone. He died in the arms of his wife Aisha (رضي الله عنها), leaving behind the Quran, the Sunnah, and a community that would carry his message to every corner of the earth. This is how the final chapter of his life unfolded — and why it still matters today.

Key Facts

The Farewell Pilgrimage (Hajjat al-Wada')

In the tenth year after the Hijra — 632 CE — Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) performed what would be his only and final Hajj as the Prophet. The pilgrimage itself was a living demonstration of everything Islam taught: more than one hundred thousand Muslims — rich and poor, Arab and non-Arab, men and women — gathered on the plains of Arafat as equals before ALLAH, dressed in the same white cloth, performing the same rites that Ibrahim (Abraham) (Peace Be Upon Him) had established millennia before.

This was the time foretold by ALLAH — when victory had come and people entered the religion in multitudes:

The Prophet ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) had performed this pilgrimage with full awareness that it might be his last. He rode through each sacred site, teaching at every step, as if transmitting a final comprehensive lesson to humanity.

The Farewell Sermon

On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah — the Day of Arafat — Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) delivered what has become one of the most significant speeches in human history. He addressed the crowd from his camel, his voice carrying across the plain, with Companions relaying it further to those who could not hear.

The core teachings of the Farewell Sermon:

On the sanctity of human life, wealth, and honor:

On the equality of all people:

On the rights of women:

On the trust of the Quran and Sunnah:

He asked the crowd repeatedly: "Have I conveyed the message?" Thousands answered: "Yes!" He said: "O ALLAH, be my witness."

Then he raised his index finger toward the sky and said: "O ALLAH, You are my witness."

The Completion of the Religion

Shortly after the Farewell Sermon — on the same day of Arafat, according to many narrations — ALLAH revealed one of the final verses of the Quran:

When Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) heard this verse, he wept. Someone asked why he was crying over such a joyful verse. He replied: "After completion comes only decrease." He understood that the revelation of the final religion also signaled the approaching end of the Prophet's ﷺ time on earth.

The religion of ALLAH was complete. Nothing was to be added, nothing taken away. The Quran and the Sunnah contained everything humanity needed.

His Illness and Final Days

Not long after returning to Madinah from the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) fell ill with a severe fever. Despite his weakness, he continued to lead his community — giving instructions about prayer, guidance about leadership after him, and words of care to his Companions.

ALLAH had already established, in the Quran itself, that even the final prophet would taste death:

As his illness intensified, he requested to be moved to the room of Aisha (رضي الله عنها). He spent his final days there, leaning against her, his head in her arms or on her chest.

He passed away on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, Year 11 AH, at approximately 63 years of age.

Umar's Reaction and Abu Bakr's Response

The news of the Prophet's ﷺ death struck the Muslim community like a thunderbolt. Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) — one of the most powerful and courageous of the Companions — could not accept it. He stood before the people and announced that anyone who said the Prophet ﷺ had died would have their hands cut off; that the Prophet ﷺ had only gone to his Lord as Musa (Moses) (Peace Be Upon Him) had gone away for forty nights.

Then Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) arrived. He went to the Prophet ﷺ, uncovered his face, and kissed his forehead.

Then he came out and stood before the people. With complete composure, he addressed Umar (رضي الله عنه) and then the entire community:

Then he recited:

Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: "When Abu Bakr recited this verse, it was as if my legs gave way beneath me and I could not stand. I knew then that the Messenger of ALLAH had indeed died."

Abu Bakr's (رضي الله عنه) statement — delivered at the most painful moment in Islamic history — is one of the clearest expressions of Islamic theology: the Prophet ﷺ is revered and loved, but ALLAH alone is worshipped. The death of any prophet, however beloved, does not shake the believer's relationship with ALLAH — because ALLAH never dies.

Where He Was Buried

Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) was buried in the very room where he died — the room of Aisha (رضي الله عنها) — following his own guidance that prophets should be buried where they die. That room is now enclosed within the Prophet's Mosque (Masjid al-Nabawi) in Madinah, which has been expanded over the centuries around it. His grave — alongside those of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) and Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) — remains there today, visited by millions of Muslims every year.

In his final illness, the Prophet ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) himself warned against an error that had afflicted earlier communities:

Visiting the Prophet's Mosque and offering salutations (salawat) at his grave is a recommended act. But directing worship — prayers, supplications, or acts of devotion — toward any grave is impermissible. The Prophet ﷺ made this clear with his own dying breath.

The Legacy That Reached the World

Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) died without a surviving son, without a kingdom to pass to an heir, without political succession established through blood. He left behind two things: the Quran and the Sunnah. As ALLAH had declared, his prophethood was final:

From that beginning, within a century, his message had spread from Arabia to Spain in the west and to Central Asia in the east. Today, over 1.8 billion people — from every race, language, and nation on earth — testify: "There is no god but ALLAH, and Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of ALLAH."

The Quran he delivered has not changed by a single letter since it was revealed. His Sunnah is preserved in the most rigorously verified biographical literature in pre-modern history.

Lessons for Today

1. The religion was completed — nothing needs to be added. The verse "This day I have perfected your religion" (Quran 5:3) is a boundary. Innovation in religious matters (bid'ah) is unnecessary because the religion was finished in its perfect form. The role of Muslims is to understand and implement it, not supplement it.

2. Loving the Prophet ﷺ is correct — worshipping him is not. Abu Bakr's (رضي الله عنه) statement is not a rebuke of love for the Prophet ﷺ. It is a clarification of theology. Love for Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) is an Islamic obligation; worship belongs to ALLAH alone. These are not in tension — they are two inseparable parts of the Shahada.

3. Every soul will taste death. The Prophet ﷺ was the best human being who ever lived, and he died. No human being — no matter how great, how righteous, how beloved to ALLAH — escapes death. Quran 3:144 makes this explicit. The believer's relationship with ALLAH does not depend on any human intermediary who will one day die.

4. A legacy is measured by what it produces, not what it possessed. Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) died owning almost nothing in material terms. What he left — the Quran, the Sunnah, and a community of believers — transformed human civilization. The measure of a life is not what was accumulated but what was planted.

Common Questions

Key Takeaways

• The Farewell Pilgrimage in 632 CE brought together over 100,000 Muslims for the Prophet's ﷺ final Hajj and his final comprehensive address to humanity.
• The Farewell Sermon established: the sanctity of life, property, and honor; the equality of all people regardless of race; the rights of women; and the trust of Quran and Sunnah.
• ALLAH revealed the completion of the religion (Quran 5:3) at Arafat — the religion was finished in its perfect form.
• Muhammad ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) died in the arms of Aisha (رضي الله عنها), was buried in his room in Madinah, and was succeeded by the community he had built.
• Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's (رضي الله عنه) response at the moment of his death — "whoever worships Muhammad ﷺ, know that Muhammad ﷺ has died; but whoever worships ALLAH — ALLAH is Ever-Living and never dies" — is one of the clearest statements of Islamic theology ever uttered.
• His legacy: the unchanged Quran, the preserved Sunnah, and 1.8 billion Muslims who testify to his message today.

Related Topics

• The Early Life of Muhammad ﷺ
• The Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ
• The Character of Muhammad ﷺ
• The Quran: An Introduction
• The Hadith and Sunnah
• Tawheed: The Oneness of ALLAH

References

• The Quran: Surah Al-Maidah (5:3), Surah Aal-Imran (3:144)
• Sahih Bukhari — Farewell Sermon narrations, Abu Bakr's statement, Aisha's account of the Prophet's ﷺ death
• Sahih Muslim — Farewell Sermon narrations
• Musnad Ahmad — Farewell Sermon — equality of peoples
• Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah — Final Pilgrimage and Sermon account
• Safi ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar)
• Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources