The Farewell Hajj
Surat at-Tawbah is a Madani surah in which Allah talks about Hajj. Hajj was the last of the five pillars of Islam that Allah made obligatory: it was only mandated in the year 9 AH, compared to fasting and zakat in 2 AH, salah being made obligatory 18 months before Hijrah, and of course the shahada, which has been a crucial part of Islam since the very beginning.
Only Muslims can enter Makkah
In the year 9 AH, Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) wanted to go to Hajj, but he felt it wasn’t appropriate for him to go while there were still many Jahiliyya rituals going on around the Ka’bah, so he sent Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the Hajj instead.
He received this part of Surat at-Tawbah while the group had gone, and he sent Ali and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them) to Makkah to spread these verses among those who had gone for the Hajj. Abu Hurayrah narrated that he and Ali went around all the locations of Hajj shouting these verses until they lost their voices, announcing the obligation from Allah.
وَأَذَ ٰنࣱ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦۤ إِلَى ٱلنَّاسِ
یَوۡمَ ٱلۡحَجِّ ٱلۡأَكۡبَرِ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَرِیۤءࣱ مِّنَ
ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِینَ وَرَسُولُهُۥۚ فَإِن تُبۡتُمۡ فَهُوَ
خَیۡرࣱ لَّكُمۡۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّیۡتُمۡ فَٱعۡلَمُوۤا۟ أَنَّكُمۡ غَیۡرُ
مُعۡجِزِی ٱللَّهِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِیمٍ
And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to mankind on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah renounces the polytheists, as does His Messenger. So if you repent, it is better for you; but if you turn away, know that you cannot thwart Allah. And give to those who have denied glad tidings of a painful punishment (9:3)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا ٱلۡمُشۡرِكُونَ نَجَسٞ
فَلَا يَقۡرَبُواْ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدَ ٱلۡحَرَامَ بَعۡدَ عَامِهِمۡ
هَٰذَاۚ وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ عَيۡلَةٗ فَسَوۡفَ
يُغۡنِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦٓ إِن شَآءَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٞ,
O believers! Indeed, the polytheists are ˹spiritually˺ impure, so they should not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year. If you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [9:28]
The message was that no disbelievers should do Hajj anymore – only Muslims could approach the Ka’bah. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) also said no one would be allowed to do Hajj naked anymore, which had been a practice during Jahiliyya.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ بَعَثَنِي أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ فِي الْحَجَّةِ الَّتِي أَمَّرَهُ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَبْلَ حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ فِي رَهْطٍ يُؤَذِّنُونَ فِي النَّاسِ يَوْمَ النَّحْرِ لاَ يَحُجُّ بَعْدَ الْعَامِ مُشْرِكٌ وَلاَ يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ عُرْيَانٌ . رواه مسلم.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent me during Hajj before the Farewell Pilgrimage for which Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had appointed him an Amir, among a group of people whom he had ordered to make announcement to the people on the Day of Nahr:” After this year no polytheist may perform the Pilgrimage and no naked person may circumambulate the House. (Muslim)
This was because a certain group of Quraysh, called Al-Hums, had given themselves a high status, and decreed that anyone outside the group was not allowed to wear their own clothes for Hajj, but had to buy special garments from the Quraysh. People who couldn’t afford these had to do Hajj naked, both men and women. This was why Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had not wanted to do Hajj at that time; he then did it the following year, 10 AH, shortly before he passed away.
The Greatest Hajj
The Prophet’s Hajj (peace be upon him) is known as al-Hajj al-akbar, the Greatest Hajj, as it was attended by all the Muslims of the time – around 120,000 people.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) performed many of the rituals on his camel, because he wanted everyone to see what he was doing and understand what the practices were. Recently they have introduced a service for people to do tawaf and sa’ee on small golf buggies, and people have been asking if this is allowed. The opinion is based on this fact of the Prophet (peace be on him) doing Hajj on his camel, and says that if there is a need, you can do tawaf and sa’ee on a wheelchair or golf buggy.
The Farewell Sermons
It was during this Hajj that Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) delivered his Farewell Sermons – which are actually four different but connected khutbahs, delivered in Makkah, Mina, ‘Arafah, and Mina again. The longest part was in Arafah, known as the Hadith Jabir as it was narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). This is a long hadith which talks about various parts of the Hajj, including the Farewell Speeches and various other commands.
One of the miracles of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was that when he delivered these khutbahs during the Hajj, all the companions who were spread out far and wide in their tents across the vastness of Arafah could hear him. There were no microphones then, and he wasn’t shouting, but Allah enabled everyone there to be able to hear him.
The Hajj is a pillar that creates unity and strength within the Ummah.
We ask Allah to enable us to be among those who follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and follow his commands, and do our best to be close to Allah.
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 17th Ramadan 2025. Transcribed by H Khan
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