Prophet’s sermon on Arafah day – a reaffirmation of human rights

Today is Arafah; the most important day during the Hajj activities in Makkah. An extremely blessed and rewarding day for believers and for those who are seeking out Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. This day is the essence of hajj, when a person has the opportunity to proudly declare himself the servant of Allah and to show his gratitude.

Today pilgrims perform their hajj obligation, the fifth pillar of Islam, and they are very close to Allah, both spiritually and in their hearts.  They seek only one thing; the pleasure of Allah, reminding themselves of His majesty and greatness, while offering their gratitude.

Tomorrow is the Eid al Ad`ha, or the festival of sacrifice; the second Eid of Muslims. It is a day of accomplishment and happiness. Its significance is due to many things; a person's accomplishment of the fifth pillar of Islam, one's sacrifices as tokens of one’s dedication to God, the story of Ibrahim and Ishmael and their struggle to establish Allah’s eternal message of Tawheed and turning of one's life back to God, Allah the Most High and Almighty.

However, I would like to mention two other outstanding aspects of this blessed occasion. Firstly, it was on this day that the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, performed his only and last hajj. On this blessed day a great Qur`anic verse was revealed  announcing to the people that God’s message to humanity has been accomplished through His last message; the Qur`an. The teachings and guidance that Allah had sent to different nations and peoples, through all His prophets and Messengers, had been completed and perfected and there would be no more prophets.

The Quranic verse that declared the perfection of Allah’s Message to humanity was this one: “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”.

This is the most outstanding announcement in the history of all the prophets and their peoples. In the past, Prophets and Messengers faced rejection, as did the Prophet Mohammad and never achieved such a blessed and accomplished outcome. Most of the nations and peoples of past Prophets were destroyed when they rejected their message, indeed many prophets had no followers. Previous prophets had to build on the scriptures or legacy of those before them, but the Prophet Mohammad was honoured with the title of the Seal of the Prophethood and Allah’s message culminated with that.

So, this is the day when all Muslims should proudly relate themselves with the honour of being the followers of the Prophet Mohammad. It is a day when we all need to return to understanding and comprehending the message which Allah announced as being the completion of His favour upon us. Until and unless we go back to embracing the spirit of Quranic guidance we will not be able to understand the meaning of the accomplishments and perfection of this religion.

The second outstanding aspect of the day of Arafah is the Prophet’s sermon on the Mount of Arafah. What a glorious reminder it was for all believers of all time. This was the last reminder given and last effort made by our Prophet Mohammad to reaffirm God's message and to encourage the followers to be straightforward in their lives.

I will quote some of the points that he tried to convey to people. He said: “O people! Indeed your blood, your property and your honour is sanctified and forbidden on you until the Day you would meet your Lord, in exact the same manner as the sanctity of this day, in this sacred month and in this sacred city”

Through this statement, the Prophet proclaimed the protection of three basic but essential human rights;  life, ownership and personal honour I. e. dignity, freedom and equality.  This message should be taught vigorously and practised as a spiritual obligation. In the present worldwide climate of mass murders, plundering and the violation of the human rights of Muslims at the hands of others, calling themselves Muslims, this guidance should be the beacon that shows those who carry out such acts what they should fear from their accountability to the Most Powerful the Almighty.

Also, in the sermon, the prophet reminded people to treat women well. He said: ‘always treat women with goodness’. Domestic violence, family breakdown, dishonouring women, violating their rights is all but the result of not treating women well. The prophet also reminded us saying: “Your women have rights on you and you have rights on them. Your rights on them is to protect your honour and dignity and their rights on you is to provide for them their needs”.

The prophet said: ‘the best among you is the one who is the best to his wife and I am the best among you in my treatment to my wives’. A message for all to take on board.

The prophet also said: “O people! The believers are brothers. It is not allowed for a person to take the property of his brother but with his permission”.

The Prophet reminded us that all forms of usury or the taking of interest on financial loans is forbidden.  This issue is extremely important in the guidance and ethics of the Islamic economy. Exploitation of one man by another is forbidden in any form or manner, especially when it relates to money and when it may place a person in a perpetual cycle of human misery, and make him a slave. The dignity of a man requires a dignified system which serves both parties and benefits them both equally.

The prophet finally reminded people of one very important guidance by saying: “O people! Your Lord is one and your father (Adam) is one. You all belong to Adam and Adam was made of earth. The most honoured among you in the Sight of Allah is the one who is most fearful of Him (in his duties). No Arab has excellence on a non-Arab, neither a non-Arab has any excellence on an Arab except by the way of piety and righteousness”.

An excellent and glorious ending to the last sermon of the last Prophet who reminded people that their creator was one and their origin is to one human father and we are all equal. No one has extra privileges over anyone else except by the way of being most dutiful to the Lord.

All pilgrims should remember these messages, as hajj is ibadah and training in Islamic teaching and ethics. For all other Muslims it is an occasion to rediscover the guidance of their prophet and find the right way that brings success, dignity, accountability, honour and rights. May Allah bless us all on this most blessed and sanctified day.

Eid Mubarak to all