Chapter 6: The Prophet on Hajj
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ only completed Hajj once, which was attended by the Muhajirin and the Ansar and included approximately 120,000 people.
The Prophet recited the Talbiyah: Labbayka Llāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna l-ḥamda wa n-ni’mata, laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak. (Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am. You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours and all sovereignty. You have no partner.)
‘Angel Jibril came to me and instructed me to instruct my companions to raise their voices when reciting the Talbiyyah.’ (Ibn Majah)
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came to Makkah, he entered Masjid Al-Haram, he touched and kissed the black stone as an act of worship and because of his love for Allah SWT. The Prophet then walked around the Kabah, completing seven circuits where he offered supplication, praised Allah, kissed the Black Stone and cried. After completing the Tawaf, he prayed two rakats.
One of the supplications was: ‘Our Lord. Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.’
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then went to the Maqaam Ibrahim (Station of Ibrahim) where he would then pray two rakats. In these two rakats, he would recite the Surah that speaks of Allah’s oneness. In the first rakah, he recited Surah Al-Kafirun and in the second rakat, he recited Surah Al-Ikhlas.
Then, the Prophet went towards as-Safa and when he drew close to Mount Safa he recited the Ayah: ‘Verily, As-Safa and Al-Marwah are of the symbols of Allah.’ (Quran, 2:158)
He started with Mount Safa and climbed it until he could see the House. He then turned to face the Qiblah and proclaimed: ‘There is no God worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner or associate. His is the Dominion, all praise is due to Him and He is able to do all things. There is no God worthy of worship except Allah alone. He fulfilled His promise, granted victory to His slave and defeated the confederates alone.’
He then headed towards Mount Marwah at a normal pace and when he reached the bottom of the valley, he walked rapidly then when he walked uphill, he started walking at a normal pace again. When he reached Mount Marwah, he did the same as what he had done at the top of Mount Safa.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ran between the two markers of the Mountains in the same way Hajir (the Mother of Ismail AS) had to run.
The Prophet completed seven laps between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah.
On the Day of Arafah, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stood with the people and delivered a Khutbah. The Prophet spoke about the issues of Allah’s oneness and belief in Him which was the most important issue. He then spoke about human rights and equality between people, informing them that there is no superiority between an Arab over a non-Arab or for a white man over a black man, except in righteousness and piety.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated that all people were equal and he spoke about public wealth and prohibited riba. He also spoke of women’s rights and defended them.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also urged the people to follow the Book of Allah and protect people’s lives and honour. He said: ‘Your blood and your wealth are sacred to one another, as sacred as this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours. All matters of the Jahiliyyah are abolished beneath my feet. The blood feuds of the Jahiliyyah are abolished. I have left you something which if you adhere to it, you will never go astray. The Book of Allah. You will be asked about me. What will you say?’
The people in the gathering replied: We bear witness that you have conveyed (the message) and fulfilled (your duty) and shown sincerity.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gestured with his forefinger towards the sky then towards the people and said: ‘O Allah, bear witness, O Allah, bear witness’ (three times). (Ibn Majah)
‘There is no day when Allah ransoms more slaves from the Fire than the day of Arafah. He draws near, then He boasts about them before the angels and says: ‘What do these people want? Bear witness: O my angels, that I have forgiven them.’ (Muslim)
‘The best supplication of the day of Arafah and the best words that I and the prophets who came before me said is: There is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner or associate. His is the Dominion, to Him be praised and He has power over all things.’ (Tirmidhi)
‘Fasting the Day of Arafah, I hope that Allah will expiate (the sins of) the year that came before it and the year that comes after it.’ (Muslim)
For the Pilgrims, the Sunnah was not to fast on the Day of Arafah so they have the strength to do the rituals of Hajj.
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reached Mina, he began stoning the Jamarat.
It was narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Prophet used to stone the closest Jamrah with seven pebbles, saying Takbir after each throw. Then, he reached the level ground, where he stood facing the Qiblah for a long time, raising his hands and offering supplications. Then he stoned the middle Jamrah. He then moved towards the left of the level ground, where he stood for a long time facing the Qiblah, raising his hands and offering supplications. Then he stoned Jamrat al-Aqabah from the middle valley (the largest Jamrah) and did not stand near it afterwards. After doing this, the Prophet then left. (Bukhari)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then shaved his head and prayed three times for whose who shaved their heads and once for those who cut their hair in the hope that their sins would fall away with their hair.
On the Day of Sacrifice, the Prophet said: ‘The first thing with which we begin on this day of ours is the prayer, we pray, then we go back and offer the sacrifice. Whoever does that has done it in accordance with the Sunnah. And whoever had already slaughtered the animal before prayer, this is just meat that he had given to his family, and there is nothing of sacrifice in it.’ (Bukhari)
‘Indeed the greatest of days before Allah is the Day of Sacrifice and the day of settlement’ (Abi Dawud, Ahmad)
The day of settlement (yawm al-qarr) is the 11th day of Dhu’l Hijjah. This is the day that the pilgrims settle in Mina after doing tawaaf al-ifaadah and offering the sacrifice.
‘The Day of Arafah, the Day of Sacrifice and the days of At-Tashriq are our festivals (Eid), us people of Islam, they are days of eating and drinking.’ (Muslim)
‘Learn from me your rituals of Hajj, for I do not know, perhaps I will not perform Hajj again after this Hajj of mine.’ (Muslim)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sacrificed one hundred camels on the Day of Sacrifice as a ransom for his forefather Ismael and following the example of his forefather Ibrahim.
Of the one hundred camels he slaughtered 63 himself, as an indication that his lifespan would be 63 years, and Ali ibn Abi Talib sacrificed the rest of the camels.
‘May Allah curse the one who offers a sacrifice to anything other than Allah.’ (Muslim)
‘Whoever does Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter any obscene speech or do any evil deed, will go back as on the day his mother bore him.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)