Shafaqna English- In these essays, Dr. Ali Shariati presents Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a transformative leader whose life embodied justice, compassion, and social change, offering a fresh perspective that goes beyond conventional historical narratives.
The Prophet’s Death
More beautiful than all the periods of his life, was his death. We have been in the habit of considering death always as an uproarious affair. To borrow movie jargon, we appreciate action, battle and its clamor, scenes which have conflicts, panoramic backgrounds, hubbubs and in the words of actors, full of suspense and adventure. But we cannot feel and comprehend a peaceful death with all its tragic profundity, greatness, beauty and lesson. It is for this reason that we still are not totally aware of the dimensions of the Prophet’s death. Otherwise, for anybody who is capable of feeling and understanding such things, the death of the Prophet is a more sorrowful, tragic, profound and undoubtedly more glorious incident than the martyrdom of Hussien. The period of the Prophet’s last protracted illness lasted one year. From the time of the Hajjat al-Weda the Last Pilgrimage up to the time he could speak no more and was preparing himself for death. During this year his behavior radically changed and his speech assumed a completely different style. His relations with the Companions became calculated; and every one was treated in a particular manner, expressing a definite meaning. In his relationship with Ali, he grew more dependant upon him daily. He is obviously worried about the fate of this man and also seems to be anxious about the destiny of his own mission.
He wishes to give him support to recompense for his loneliness among the senior Companions by praising him more and giving him special treatment. He gives expression to this attitude repeatedly throughout the year.
As I have given a detailed account of the last days of the Prophet before, I shall not repeat it again here. If you are interested, I will read only the last pages concerned with the death of the Prophet. (Of course, in summary).
Man always conceals his true self throughout his life. He is always concealed from others behind the appearances that he assumes. Man always has a veil over his face. It is usually on two occasions in his life that he raises this veil from his face: inside a prison cell and on his death bed. It is on these two occasions that you find an opportunity to see the real face of every, person, especially in his death chamber!
As soon as man smells death, he becomes cordial and sincere. One reveals his real self on his death bed. The dread of death overtakes him in such a manner that he finds no time for simulation It is an event of such magnanimity that all other matters become insignificant in comparison. The soul steps out from its hiding place, where it had concealed itself all throughout life from the public view.
Dying is also an art and must be learnt and acquired like other arts. It is an extremely beautiful and profound drama, the most dramatic and spectacular scene of the human life. There are very few persons who have died beautifully. I have been searching for a long time in the annals of history for people who have died beautifully, trying to discover extremely beautiful and glorious deaths. Of course, the people who know how to die, also know how to live. For those people who know that living is not merely breathing also know that dying is not merely the suspension of breathing, but it is in itself an act, a great act just like living.
Grand deaths are not of one and the same nature. Everyone dies in the same fashion in which he lives. One of the most famous deaths was that of Vespasian, a Roman emperor. Lying in bed in the agony of death, with his officers standing nearby as soon as he realized that the hands of death had reached his throat, he jumped out of his bed and uttered: “An emperor ought to die standing,” and died in the arms of his officers. That is grand. But there are certain eyes which are able to witness the beauty and glory of such deaths, while some which cannot see beyond appearances, cannot. (The death of a general can be easily understood by a man, but). The grandeur of a battle scene, the beauty of a sword, the delicacy of a soft velvet are seen by ordinary eyes, but the grandeur of a soul, the beauty of an idea and the delicacy of a need are not perceivable to them. The death of Muhammad also belongs in the same category. It is not adorned with the lightning of the sword, with streams of blood, with the neighing of horses, with heroic war cries and it is for this very reason that near-sighted eyes remain incapable of perceiving its beauty. How can the occasion of Muhammad’s meeting with death be so simple? During (his last) this year, the signs of the end of life and the commencement of death were quite visible in the looks of the Prophet, in his speech, in his indefatigable social efforts, in his behavior and in his private life. Now the great commander of history, who has mobilized his grand army with the unceasing efforts of twenty-three years, has to assign new jobs to the future front of this army. This army is advancing to wage a war on a large scale. They are to fight everywhere, and at all times, with ignorance and the vileness of the soul, and wage war against the ‘Caesars’ and ‘Khusrows’ which rule the societies.
The wonderful prophetic mission of Muhammad has come to an end. The army is to be inspected for the last time. Whatever has been instructed during the span of twenty-three years is to be reviewed once again. A thorough and comprehensive inspection, an all embracing study of general issues, without ignoring a single detail is to be carried out, lest a single point remain untold and the things that are already mentioned remain unheeded. All these tasks are to be taken care of in advance before this (final) journey.
The eleventh year of the Hijrah has begun, and the fruitful life of Muhammad is coming to a close. The first job to do is to bid farewell to the people of Mecca, by the side of the Ka’bah.(The account of his last pilgrimage is a detailed one, which I shall omit. I shall mention here only an interesting incident that occurred there.) After the Tawaf (the ritual going around the Ka’bah),he performed two rak’ahs of prayer at the Place of Ibrahim (on the occasion of Hajat al- Weda’; the Last Pilgrimage.) Afterwards he kissed the Hajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone) for the second time, and immediately went towards Safa’ and walked briskly (sa’y) between Safa’ and Marwah. At this juncture, he made an announcement that those who had not brought sacrificial animals should perform ‘Umrah (visitation or Lesser Hajj) and take off their ihram; (the pilgrim’s dress). (This peculiar behavior is to be noticed). Many people hesitated, and expressed their unhappiness about it. The Prophet was so angered that his rage was expressed by his face. In a voice choked with anger, he ordered them to obey his command. He went to his tent in anger. Fearful and alarmed, Ayesha asked him who had made him so angry. Angrily he answered, “Why should I be not be angry when they do not obey my command?” One of his Companions came and saw the Prophet emotionally upset. He regretfully said: “O Prophet of God! May whoever has made you angry, be thrown into the fire by God.” The Prophet said: “Did you not see that I commanded the people to do something and they disobeyed me? Had I known it, I too would not have brought the offering, and would have taken off my ihram as well.”
The people came to know that the Prophet was very upset. They were ashamed of their behavior and took off their ihrams immediately. Fatimah, his daughter, and all other women who had not brought offerings did the same.
History, the slave of the aristocracy, was again in bewilderment! What is it, as to why this king, who has more than one hundred thousand servants at his command, does not punish the transgressors. (There were approximately one hundred and several thousand men with him at the time of Hajat al-Weda’.) Where is the executioner? Why does he not issue a decree for their massacre? (History is accustomed to such practices. Instead he returns to his tent in anger and dismay!)
How does this king rule? How has he conquered the country? Is it possible to rule without being in possession of a thing like fine silk and saffron-colored objects?
“It is gold that inscribes the name of a king, And the other thing is a shining pearl from Yeman. But the state is captured with two things, One is silken and the other is saffron-colored.”
One is the sword and the other is the gold coin. This king makes neither use of his sword, nor does he possess a treasure! How could he attain power?
Indeed, it is possible to do so. This uneducated fellow has come to teach people how to do it. What do the teaching institutions of Rome, Athens, Median, and those who are the products of the great Eastern and Western cultures know? They have never had any teachers other than jackals and foxes in their schools of politics.
Standing on the mount of ‘Arafat, (Jabal al-Rahmah) the Prophet appointed some persons to repeat his words (one conveys the words to the other and he in turn to another) asks Rabi’ah to say: “O, people. the Prophet of God says, do you know which month this is?” (This is the last speech.) Rabi’ah repeats these words in a loud voice. The Prophet waits (in order to see his words are accurately communicated). People consider it their duty to answer, and they say: “This is the sacred (Haram) month.” The Prophet continues: “Tell them that as long as you are in the presence of your God, God Almighty has consecrated your blood and your possessions in the same way as He has consecrated this month.” He asks Rabi’ah to say: “The Prophet of God asks you tell which month is this.” Rabi’ah repeats and the Prophet waits and listens to him. Again the Prophet asks him to say. “What day is it?” Rabi’ah repeats his question and people say: “The day of the Greater Pilgrimage.” He asks Rabi’ah to tell them: “God Almighty has consecrated your blood and your possessions as He has consecrated this day.” The Prophet continues his speech in the same fashion: “O people, listen to my words, I may never see you again here. As long as you are in the vicinity of the House of God, your blood and your possessions are consecrated by God in the manner of this day and this month. You will shortly meet your God, He will take account of your deeds. I ask you to return whatever was entrusted to your custody. All kinds of usury is futile, but your capital belongs to you. Neither oppress anyone, nor tolerate any oppression. God has forbidden usury, and all usury money due to ‘Abbas ibn’ Abd al-Muttalib is null and void (first he gives an account of his own family members then….). Every murder committed in the days of heathenism (Jahiliyyah) is not accountable and the first murder I pardon is the murder of ibn Rabi’ah ibn Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (for which I am a legitimate claimant).
Part of series: The Visage of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by Dr. Ali Shariati