The Farewell Hajj — Seerah Encyclopedia

Hajjat al-Wada’ — the first and only Hajj of the Prophet ﷺ, and the source of essentially all Hajj fiqh. Its Farewell Sermon (Khutbat al-Wada’) is, in effect, the constitution of the ummah.

One-line: the Prophet’s ﷺ only Hajj — “take your rites from me” — and his parting charter to mankind.

Date (Hijri / CE)

Departed Madinah 25 Dhu al-Qa’dah 10 AH, reached Makkah 4 Dhu al-Hijjah (10-day journey); the sermon at Arafah on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah 10 AH (a Friday), ~March 632 CE — months before his passing.

Background

The Prophet ﷺ had not performed Hajj in 9 AH because it was still an idolatrous pilgrimage (see Abu Bakr’s Hajj the year before, which purged it). With Arabia now purified, and the verse of Hajj (Q 3:97) revealed, he announced the pilgrimage; tens of thousands flocked to Madinah and along the road — “as far as the eye could see, nothing but people.” The traditional round number is 100,000+ (a guesstimate).

What happened

The three types of Hajj. After tawaf the Prophet ﷺ told those without sacrificial animals to exit ihram (“if I had known then what I know now, I would have done Tamattu’”), establishing Qiran, Ifrad and Tamattu’ (Aisha, Bukhari). He performed Qiran (with animals brought from Yemen by Ali); the bulk did Tamattu’. Suraqa ibn Malik asked if the ruling was for that year only — “Umrah has entered Hajj until the Day of Judgment.”
The hadith of Jabir (Jabir ibn Abdillah, Sahih Muslim) — the ~3–4-page “mother of all Hajj hadith,” narrated 70 years later to the great-great-grandson of the Prophet ﷺ (Muhammad al-Baqir); it details the tawaf, sa’y, Arafah, Muzdalifah and the stoning.
Arafah (9 Dhu al-Hijjah). The Prophet ﷺ passed the Quraysh’s elitist stop at al-Mash’ar al-Haram and camped at Namirah, then stood at Arafah from Zuhr to sunset in continuous du’a — “Hajj is Arafah.” Here Q 5:3 was revealed: “This day I have perfected for you your religion…” — later cited by a Jew to Umar as a verse worthy of an eid.
The rites — Zuhr+Asr joined at Arafah; Maghrib+Isha joined at Muzdalifah; the stoning of Jamrat al-Kubra; the sacrifice of 63 camels by his own hand (one per year of his life), the rest by Ali; Tawaf al-Ifadah; three nights at Mina.

The Farewell Sermon (given across Arafah and Mina, 9–13 Dhu al-Hijjah)

Sanctity of life, property and honour — “your blood and wealth are as sacred as this day, this month, this land.”
“All of Jahiliyyah is under my foot” — its blood-feuds and its riba abolished, beginning with his own family (the blood of Rabi’a ibn al-Harith; the riba of his uncle al-Abbas).
Rights of women — “fear Allah regarding women… you took them by Allah’s trust”; the men’s duty of maintenance; discipline only “in a manner that is not painful” — groundbreaking in that society.
Racial equality (Musnad Ahmad) — “no Arab over a non-Arab, nor white over black, except by taqwa” — revolutionary in the 7th century, from the man of the noblest lineage.
“I have left among you what will keep you from going astray: the Book of Allah.”
The recalibrated calendar (12 months, four sacred, nasi’ abolished); “let the present inform the absent”; “shaytan despairs of being worshipped in this land, but hopes to make you fight.”
Ghadir Khumm (on the return) — “whoever’s mawla I am, Ali is his mawla” and “fear Allah regarding my family”: for Sunnis an innocent defence of Ali after his men complained of him, not a designation of succession (see Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra)).

Outcome & significance

All Hajj fiqh derives from this single pilgrimage.
A premonition of death — the name “Farewell Hajj” arose in his lifetime; “I know not whether I shall meet you after this year… O Allah, bear witness.”

Lessons

Obliteration of tribalism and racism; the primacy of the Book; the rights of the weak and of women; and leading by example (abolishing his own family’s claims first).

Cross-references

The Hajj of Abu Bakr & the Verse of the Sword · The Death of the Prophet ﷺ · Jabir ibn Abdillah (ra) · Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) · al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (ra) · Muhammad ﷺ · Naskh (Abrogation)

Sources

S012 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 100. Sahih Muslim (the hadith of Jabir; the naming), Sahih Bukhari (the three types of Hajj; the sermon on the calendar), Musnad Ahmad (racial equality), Ibn Ishaq/Ibn Hisham. Q 3:97; Q 5:3; Q 2:125, 2:158.