Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Muhammad’s (PBUH) Last Message 177
of God, of angels, and of men, (and) of all. Of him shall be mercy of God be upon you all!”
According to Ibn Sa’d, the oration of the Holy Prophet contained also the following two statements: ”O people! Hear and obey even if a Negro with mutilated nose is appointed your commander, this so long as he applies among you the prescriptions of God.” ”Your slaves, your slaves! Feed them as you eat. Dress them as you put on. If they commit a fault that you don’t want to pardon, then sell these slaves of God, but do not torture them.” SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ADDRESS
Of the points touched in the historic address, quoted above two have been misunderstood by pseudo scholars and some orientalists. Muhammad Hamidullah, a well-krawn Islamic scholar tries to explain them in his own peculiar way. He writes:
”Islam wants to place its Law on a moral basis, with collaboration and mutual help. After fourteen hundred years of the promulgation of this interdiction of interest, modern science (of economics) has understood that interest is at the root of all financial ills, and upsets the economic equilibrium of the society: some get too rich, others too poor, so muc i so that even communism admits that.” The Westtrn countries too have come to recognise that banks can pipy a successful role when they act as partners both for loss and gain and lend money interest-free. ”That is what the Umzr (Rad.A) did by lending money to traders also, as he .ent it to private individuals for non-productive needs.” Another writer, Naeem Siddiqui, has thus commented on the significance of the Hajjatul Wada Address of the Apostle of God.
”Whatever the Holy Prophet said in these international edicts, human think ng cannot improve on it and no social system has in practi j been able to create such a system as indicated therein. Wherever and whenever Islamic movement commences and the system of truth is established it must be founded on these very firm ideologies and concepts. The Address is the basic Islamic proclamation to which humanity may be called and any plan of life built

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Political and Cultural Histmory of Islam

without regard for these words, of truth and reality will be un-Islamic and no true Muslinm will be satisfied and happy over it This is the last message^ of our beloved Apostle and it is we who have been addressed, its nature is that of the last Will of the holy Prophet and its appeal must stir our hearts. To recapitulate, by the time, tVme Apostle of Allah deciued to proceed to Makkah for Hajj and commanded the Muslims to join him for the purpose, he and the Faith he pr-eached has reached the heigh of success in gaining due strength and popularity. The internal enemy had since surrendered to Isla_m and order within the once anarchic Arabian community had been estabhshed on good foundations. Necessarily, the Apostle= wanted to come into contact with the Peninsular converts because cmost of them had not seen him He felt that he needed to re-enlighten them on the fundamentals of his teachings. The Hajj, which was to be his first and the last Islamic Haii provided him the chance to speaik personally to the cream of Arabian Muslims. He also regarded * essential to leave his final word or testament to the future worldB of Islam so that it could invite the rest of humanity to what he hadi. taught. The Holy Prophet, on him be peace, had begun receiving s ignals to the effect that he was not to continue on earth. Ultimately, when he saw the multitudes m his followers, his spiritual joy was inmmense. They represented all the parts and corners of Arabia. The time was opportune when he would make a brief and brilliant and a lasti ng statement on Islamic way of life.
Praising the Lord of the Universe with Whom Power and Guidance lay, the Apostle asked the devotees to fear God. He declared the inviolability of a Muslim’s life property and honour. Every one who had received a depo .sit was asked to return his trust. The charging of interest on leans or capitals was condemned and he rejected his uncle, Abbas’s claims to any interest. Moreover, no function connected with the £a’bah was to be recognised except its custodianship and serving water to pilgrims and devotees. By . upholding qisas (retaliation or retribution) in the case of intentional murder, the Holy Prophet wanted fto emphasis the value of human life and the supremacy of the Rul-* of Law. Today, we seen how
Muhammad’s (PB UH) Last Message ] 75
human beings are being killed by mundane politico-nationalist systems in their own interests. Passengers travelling by civil, aviation planes are massacred oy the violent nationalist defence forces and terrorists for no reason whatsoever. Fourteen hundred years ago the Prophet of Mercy, on him i*e peace, fixed a hundred camels for semiintentional murder of a man or woman. That shouid reveal the esteem in which a huLian being is held by Islam.’
The Apostle of Allah termed intercalation as an excess in disbelief. The way the Arabs of the Days of Ignorance counted the number of months in their own interest was questioned. The Quran al first and the Holy Prophet at Arafat removed the confusion by reiterating that the number of months in a year was twelve as fixed by the Creator. He also confirmed the sanctity of four months including the month of Rajab of the Islamic (Lunar) Calendar.
In social relationships the Holy Prophet pf Justice and Reality laid emphasis on the rights of women or wives and their obligations towards their men or husband”. They were to be regarded as trusts from God and not maltreated unnecessarily or .dealt with illegally. Likewise, Muslims were forbidden to misajjpropriats c thers assets or take away their property without permission or agreement. He also forbade making a will in the case of a heir and giving away more than one-third to people other than true heirs. Again, one who traced his parentage to man other than the actual parent was to earn the maldication of God and his creatures. The Apostle, on him be peace, knew the human frailties and, therefore, to save the believers from falling into disbelief, he stressed adherence to the Quran and the Prophetic practice. In the same strain, he proclaimu! the equality of mankind, Arab and non-Arab, on the ground that their Lord is One, and that they descended from Adam and that piety alone was the criterion to determine a person’s place in the scheme of God. The Apostle also commanded that the slaves be treated justly and with Duality especially in food and dress and that they should not be chastised. He enjoined Muslims to obey even a Negro if he were
Iqbal, The Mission of Islam, P. 35.

180 Political and Cultural History of Islam

appointed as their commander provided that he applied the laws
prescribed by God.4
From the above analysis of the Holy Prophet’s Address, it should not be difficult to conclude that it touched the chords of realism, justice and equity and that it could offer enough guidance for an ideal human life. In view of the merits of the Apostolic Khutbah on the occasion of the Hajjatul Wada, Ameer Ali observes after quoting the essential parts of the historic speech:
”This Sermon on the Mount, less poetically beautiful, certainly less mystical, than the other, appeals by its practically, and strong common sense to higher minds, and is also adapted to the capacity and demands of inferior natures which require positive and comprehensible directions for moral guidance.
Never before had a spectacle been witnessed in the annals of the world, nor had humanity heard such moving words, advocating respect for the humans. The words of the Holy Prophet, were steeped in sincerity and delivered with strong emotion and melodious voice. This address forms the constitution of individual and collective morality and contains the solution of important problems and elucidation of realities of life. It can rightly be called the best charter of Human Rights.5
Finally, after examining and evaluating the components of the Prophetic message delivered at Arafat, a Muslim of common understanding may question whether we, who are tending to be rebellious can at all be admitted to the portals of Islam, for do we not ignore all these teachings, one after the other, in order that we advance our personal temporal aims and interests?
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4 Muhammad Iqbal, P. 36.
5 Muhammad Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood, The First and the Last (PBUH) Islamabad.

1995, P. 150.