Summary of Shaykh Abdul Raheem’s (hafizahullah) talk in Arafaat, based on the last sermon in Hajjatul Wadaa.

After Hamdo Salat:

“This place has a history going back to Sayyiduna Adam Alayhis Salaam. He was reunited with our mother Hawwa Alayhas Salaam in this place and they both supplicated to Allah on Jabale Rahmah (mount of mercy).

They kept on weeping and repeating the words;

ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا و ان لم تغفر لنا و ترحمنا لنكونن من الخا سرين

“O our Rabb! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will definitely be from the losers”

Allah responded to their pleading, turned towards them, forgave them, and He raised Adam Alayhis Salaam’s rank higher than before. This shows the power of repentance.

May Allah give us tawfeeq to repent from all sins, pardon us and keep us steadfast. Ameen

Our beloved, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam also came here many times during his life. He came here before Nubuwwat, after Nubuwwat before migration, and after migration during Hajjatul Wadaa. (The farewell pilgrimage, over  1400 years ago).

During his farewell Hajj, he gave the famous sermon in which he emphasised on four points:

1, “People! I may not see you after this year, so give me an attentive ear! Pray your five Salah, Fast in your month (Ramadhaan), Give Zakah of your wealth wholeheartedly, and obey those with authority over you.

2, “All blood of Jaahilyah is buried under these feet of mine. The first blood I wipe out is that of the son of Rabee’ah Ibn Al Harith ibn Abdilmuttalib. He was a child fostered by Banu Sa’d, The tribe of Huzail killed him to take revenge (from Banu Hashim).”

On another occasion during this Haj, he told Jareer Radiallahu Anhu to silence the gathering, and then he said “After my death, Do not go around wearing armours, striking on the necks of one another” (I.e. Avoid civil wars)

He had also said “Verily your blood, your properties, and your honour are (sanctified and) haraam upon you, just like you regard this day of yours, this month of yours, this city of yours to be sanctified”

He had once said “A person continues to progress, in a good manner, as long as he does not shed haraam blood. When he sheds haraam blood, he is cut off”. This means the ability of doing good is taken away from him, and he keeps on murdering / sinning until he reaches Jahannam.

This is why it was Abdullah Ibn Abbas’s view that “A murderer is not forgiven.”

Allah has said in the Quran “Whoever deliberately kills a believer, then his recompense is Jahannam, remaining therein forever. Allah will be angry with him, and curse him and Allah has prepared for him a mighty torment” (4:93)

Today so much Muslim blood is shed by Muslims themselves, let alone by non Muslims. Civil wars have done so much damage to the Muslim community that it seems beyond repair. It seems like Allah’s wrath has fallen upon us.

Every innocent murder has it’s repercussions. Ibn Umar said “People of Iraq are enquiring about a person in ihram killing a fly, What kaffarah does he have to give? They don’t realise they have just killed the son of the daughter of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, (ie. Sayyiduna Hussain). Sayyiduna Musa Alayhis Salaam killed one person by mistake, but Allah said “You killed one person and we tested you in many ways”

The tests we are going through in this day and age are largely due to our own doings. Take this message from your Haj that we will never shed a single drop of blood of an innocent person.

May Allah remove His displeasure  from us, and help us to put a stop to the killings in Syria, in Palestine and everywhere around the world.

3, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam went on to say “The Riba (usury) of Jahiliyyah is abolished. You can only ask for the original amount. Do not oppress and Do not be oppressed. The first Riba I cancel is that of my uncle Abbas son of Abdul Muttalib.”

Taking interest money from people is a major sin, but so is paying interest. It is also a major sin to give interest to someone. Many people don’t realise this. They take out mortgages and loans. They buy on credit cards then keep paying interest upon interest. Why waste your hard earned money and incur sins at the same time?

It’s not Fardh to buy a house. If you don’t have money, Rent! Many people live in rented properties. In fact some people spend their whole lives in rented properties.

Some people have money but they don’t pay off their mortgages. Some people buy multiple properties on mortgages and rent them out. They are committing a major crime.

I would not even recommend Islamic mortgage. In fact I would go on to say it’s totally unIslamic. It maybe made halal but it’s not the Islamic way of borrowing and lending. This is because the concept of ‘Dhulm’ (ie. injustice) still remains. In many cases it’s worse, because it works out much more expensive than a conventional mortgage.

I say this because Islam wiped out the RIBA system, in which a few fat cats keep on sucking the blood of hard working labourers.

Islam created an environment of Muwaasaat, Hamdardi, caring, sharing, helping nature. Riba creates an environment of greed, wantonness and stinginess.

Islam said we should lend money and take back only the exact amount, or take less, or let the poor person off altogether. This islamic spirit is wiped out right from the beginning,  so how can it be called Islamic?

If someone asked why is it a major sin to pay interest?, I would say because if nobody paid interest, where would the wealthy bank owners make their money from? Since so many people are giving it, they keep on charging it and increasing it. So those who pay, are the main cause of the flourishing of  the Riba system.

Please please get rid of your interest mentality. Make an intention that we will never pay a single penny of interest. 
One hadith says: “لا اشتري شيءا وليس عندي ثمنه”

“I will not buy something if I don’t have the purchase price of it”

Make an intention that we will only purchase something if we can pay for it, otherwise we will live without it.

4, He went on to mention the rights of wives, saying “Fear Allah with regards to your women. You have taken them as a trust with which Allah has entrusted you. You have made intercourse with them lawful by the permission of Allah. It is your right upon them that they do not allow in your residence any person you dislike. But if they do so, you may reprimand them in a manner which does not leave behind any marks, it is their right upon you that you feed them and clothe them in a reasonable manner.”

Wife beating is haraam. Hitting on the face is haraam. Hitting in such a manner which makes her bleed or which leaves bruises is haraam. It was the Jaahil ignorant people who would do this and even today, in some cultures, the ignorant behave in this manner. In the African countries the Christian priests beat their wives with whips and sticks, they shave their heads off, quoting verses from the Bible.

Islam has never allowed this type of behaviour. If anything, Islam eradicated this behaviour and promoted women’s rights when Europe was still wearing nappies, when the Greeks would say that a woman is the worst creature on the face of this Earth.

Ummul Mu’mineen Aysha Radiallahu Anha reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam never raised his hand upon any of his wives. We should always keep his Sunnah ahead of our eyes.

If we ponder over these instructions, we will notice that he is putting more emphasis on Huqooqul Ibaad than on Huqooqullah.

He then said “I am leaving behind something if you hold firmly, you will never go astray. It is the book of Allah, (the Quran).

“And you will be asked regarding me (my deliverance of the message). How will you respond? They replied with one voice “We will testify that you delivered the me ssage, and that you fully delivered the Amanah, and you did your best for the Ummah”.

Upon this he, Salallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, pointed with his index finger towards the sky and lowered it towards the congregation saying “اللهم اشهد” “O Allah! Be witness” he said this thrice.

It is on this day, in Arafat and three months before his death, that Allah revealed upon him the verse which announced that the Religion has been completed:

“اليوم اكملت لكم دينكم و أتممت عليكم نعمتي و رضيت لكم الاسلام دينا”

“This day I have perfected for you  your religion, and I have completed upon you My favours, and I have chosen for you Islam as your religion”

This means that the religion which began with Adam Alayhis Salaam and went through various stages of transformations, carried on by the great Prophets like Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa Alayhimussalam, has now been completed, perfected, and finalised. There is no need for any other Deen and no need for any more transformation, addition or subtraction.

May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala keep us steadfast upon Islam. May He give us the ability to practice upon the beautiful guidance given during the final sermon of the farewell Haj. May Allah forgive us and be pleased with us all. Ameen.

– Shaykh Abdul Raheem (hafizahullah)
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