In short
- Given in the valley of ʿUranah on Arafah, 10 AH
- Lives and property are sacred
- Blood feuds and usury abolished
- “Fear Allah concerning women”
- “I have left among you the Book of Allah”
The setting
It was the Prophet's ﷺ only Hajj, and he died less than three months later. After staying at Namirah until midday, he rode his camel, al-Qaswaʾ, into the valley of ʿUranah and addressed the people. His Companion Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah, who was there, described the whole Hajj in a long narration preserved in Sahih Muslim 1218. The sermon below is taken from that narration.
The sermon at Arafah
إِنَّ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ حَرَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ، كَحُرْمَةِ يَوْمِكُمْ هَذَا، فِي شَهْرِكُمْ هَذَا، فِي بَلَدِكُمْ هَذَا
“Your blood and your wealth are sacred to you, as sacred as this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.
Everything from the time of ignorance is abolished, under my feet. The blood feuds of the time of ignorance are abolished, and the first blood I abolish is our own, the blood of Ibn Rabiʿah ibn al-Harith, who was nursed among Banu Saʿd and killed by Hudhayl.
The usury of the time of ignorance is abolished, and the first usury I abolish is our own, that of al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib. It is all abolished.
Fear Allah concerning women. You have taken them on the trust of Allah, and they became lawful to you by the word of Allah. Your right over them is that they do not allow anyone you dislike into your home; if they do, you may discipline them lightly, without harm. Their right over you is that you provide for them and clothe them in a fitting way.
I have left among you that which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah.
You will be asked about me. What will you say?”
They said: “We bear witness that you have conveyed the message, fulfilled your duty and given sincere advice.” He raised his index finger to the sky and then pointed it towards the people, saying three times: “O Allah, bear witness. O Allah, bear witness.”
On the words about discipline: scholars explain from other hadiths that it means something light that leaves no mark and no hurt, and the Prophet ﷺ himself never struck a woman. The heart of the passage is a command to men to fear Allah in how they treat their wives.
What he said at Mina
The Prophet ﷺ spoke to the people several times during that Hajj. Some of the best-known lines people attribute to “the Farewell Sermon” were said at Mina, on the Day of Sacrifice or the days after it:
From his sermon at Mina on the Day of Sacrifice: “Do not go back to disbelief after me, striking each other's necks. Let those who are present convey this to those who are absent.”
From his sermon in the middle of the days of Tashriq: “O people, your Lord is one and your father is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab better than an Arab, nor a red person better than a black person, nor a black person better than a red, except by taqwa.”
Lines that are often added
Long versions of the sermon circulate online that join many narrations together, and some of the lines in them have weak chains. Two examples:
- “I leave you two things: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.” The wording in Sahih Muslim, at Arafah, is only “the Book of Allah”. The version with “and my Sunnah” is reported by Malik without a connected chain and by al-Hakim with chains that have weakness. The meaning is true, because the Qur'an itself commands us to obey the Prophet ﷺ, but it is better not to attribute this wording to the Arafah sermon.
- “Take your rites from me, for perhaps I will not perform Hajj after this one.” This is authentic, but the Prophet ﷺ said it while stoning the pillar on the Day of Sacrifice (Sahih Muslim 1297), not from the Arafah sermon.
When you share the sermon, share it from a named source. That is how the words of the Prophet ﷺ are protected.
Lessons from the sermon
- The sanctity of people. He began with life and property: the rights of others come first.
- Leadership starts with oneself. When he abolished blood feuds and usury, the first cases he named were from his own family.
- The rights of women. In the most important speech of his life, he gave space to how men must treat their wives.
- The Qur'an as the anchor. Holding to the Book of Allah is the protection from going astray.
- Equality before Allah. At Mina he made clear that race and lineage count for nothing; only taqwa counts.
- Passing it on. “Let those present convey it to those absent” is a charge on every Muslim who hears it.
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