All of Arabia accepted the superiority of Islam. How life in this world should be conducted has been shown in a practical way in Medina. The time has come for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to end his life, and Allah Almighty has revealed several verses in the Quran regarding this. Allah Almighty says in the Quran that:
And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life]. And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied.
(Quran 93:4-5)
Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die. Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, before your Lord, will dispute.
(Quran 39:30-31)
And We did not grant to any man before you eternity [on earth]; so if you die – would they be eternal? Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.
(Quran 21:34-35)
Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.
(Quran 3:144)
Everyone upon the earth will perish, And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
(Quran 55:26-27)
Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
(Quran 5:3)
Although the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is not directly announced here, it is indicated that his mission has been completed.
In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Learn the rules of Hajj from me, for I may not be here after this.” There is another hadith in Sahih Bukhari which is narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: Once, all the women were surrounding the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), came. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked Fatimah (may Allaah be pleased with her) to sit next to him and whispered something in her ear, which made Fatimah cry. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) whispered something in the ear of Fatima (ﷺ) which made her laugh. After the death of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I asked him about this and he said that on that day the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told her that Gabriel (peace be upon him) presents the Quran to me once a year, but this year he has presented it twice, which means that my time of death is near. Hearing this, I started crying and seeing my tears, he asked again, “Fatima, do you want to be the leader of the believing women?” I started laughing.
That was the incident of the month of Safar. One night, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) woke up and told Maifa that he had been told to pray for the release of the people of the graves in Jannatul Baki. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to Jannatul Baki and prayed, then he returned and fell ill. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a high fever. He was staying only in the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) because it was not possible for him to go to the houses of his other wives, so the other wives accepted the matter.
Two days before his death, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was feeling somewhat better, so he wanted to go to the mosque. He entered the mosque carrying the two of them on his shoulders, and when he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to step aside from leading the prayer.
But the Prophet (peace be upon him) motioned to him to stay there. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) led the prayer under the leadership of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). It was Monday, the day the Prophet left us.
The death agony of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was increasing day by day. Seeing that he was repeatedly wiping his face with his hands, Fatima (may Allaah be pleased with her), said, “Seeing how much my father is suffering, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Your father will not suffer any more from today onwards.'”
At the time of his death, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was lying with his head resting on the lap of Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her). He repeatedly dipped his hands in a container of water and said that there is no god but Allah. Death is indeed very difficult. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)’s eyelids became heavy and he went to Allah.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) died, the companions were devastated. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) drew his sword and shouted, “Whoever says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is dead, his neck will be cut off.”
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came out of the house and asked Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to calm down, but he did not calm down. Then Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood on the pulpit of the mosque with his feet wide open and said, “O Muslim community, know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has died, but Allah is Ever-Living.” Then he recited this verse from the Quran:
Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.
(Quran 3:144)
Hearing these words, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sat down and calmed down. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) died, the companions were discussing whether to remove his clothes for bathing. When the people present at the place where the bath was being performed fell asleep, they all heard someone say, “Give the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a bath while he is still wearing his clothes.”
The companions then poured water over the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) while he was still clothed, rubbed his body, and then wrapped him in three pieces of cloth. The funeral prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was performed several times. There was no imam to lead the funeral prayer in the space available in the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). First the men, then the women, then the children, and finally the slaves, led the funeral prayer.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died on the 12th of Rabi’ul Awwal in the 11th year of the Hijri. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the king of all Arabia at the time of his death.
