Critical Response to Section IX: The Farewell Pilgrimage (632 AD)

Title: A Prophet’s Last Journey — Or a Posthumous Myth?

I. The Central Historical Problem: Is This Event Verifiable?

The narrative of the Farewell Pilgrimage, as presented, is emotionally powerful and symbolically rich—but it suffers from a fundamental flaw: it lacks contemporary historical verification outside of Islamic tradition. There is no archaeological, epigraphic, or contemporaneous documentary evidence from 632 CE—either from within Arabia or from neighboring literate empires like the Byzantines or Persians—that records the pilgrimage, the sermon, or even the Prophet Muhammad’s death.

All extant information comes centuries later via compilations like Ibn Hishām (d. 833), al-Ṭabarī (d. 923), and Hadith collections (Sahih Muslim, Musnad Aḥmad, etc.). These works post-date the alleged events by 200–300 years, undermining any claim to eyewitness accuracy. From a historical-critical standpoint, this raises serious questions:

  • Who recorded the sermon on the Day of ʿArafah?

  • How was it preserved verbatim if Arabic writing was still developing in function and script?

  • Why is there no external corroboration of an event that allegedly gathered over 100,000 people?

In effect, the entire narrative rests upon the presumption of Islamic textual integrity and transmission accuracy, both of which are under serious scholarly scrutiny.

II. The Problem of the “Farewell Sermon”: Idealism or Retroactive Construction?

The Farewell Sermon is presented as a “universal moral charter,” affirming values like racial equality, women’s rights, and justice. Yet the language of the sermon—especially in its standardized modern form—bears striking resemblance to post-Enlightenment humanistic ideals rather than authentic 7th-century tribal Arabian norms.

Consider this:

  • “No Arab is superior to a non-Arab...”
    ➤ This phrase, though noble, clashes with both the early Arab-centric imperial project of the Umayyads and the actual ethnocentrism observable in Islamic jurisprudence (e.g., privileging Arabs in leadership and early Muslim identity).

  • “Fear Allah regarding women...”
    ➤ Though couched in benevolence, this phrase presupposes patriarchal ownership, not equality. Women are still treated as the husband’s responsibility and “possessions by covenant,” as affirmed elsewhere in Islamic texts (e.g., Qur’an 4:34 – men are “qawwāmūn” over women).

  • “I leave behind me the Qur’an and my Sunnah...”
    ➤ This line directly feeds into the post-Prophetic legalism of Sunni Islam, which elevates Hadith literature to a co-equal source with the Qur’an. But this is problematic: the Qur’an itself never commands Muslims to follow an external Sunnah corpus—especially one compiled centuries later. If anything, this saying appears retrospectively inserted to justify the authority of hadith literature.

Historically, these high ideals appear too polished, too complete, and too aligned with later Sunni orthodoxy, raising the strong possibility that the sermon was crafted, edited, or finalized decades after the Prophet’s death to establish religious authority and unity.

III. “This Day I Have Perfected Your Religion” – Qur’an 5:3 or Political Closure?

The verse cited—“This day I have perfected your religion...” (Qur’an 5:3)—is interpreted in Islamic tradition as a seal on revelation. Yet when examined within the Qur’an’s structure and the chronological ordering of verses, a number of problems arise:

  • The verse is not the final verse revealed, even by Islamic accounts. Other verses on inheritance (Qur’an 2:281), riba (Qur’an 2:275), or even the verse commanding prayer (Qur’an 2:238) are believed by some to have come later.

  • Contextually, 5:3 is about dietary laws, not final messages. It discusses forbidden meats and carcasses. The “completion” of religion here appears disjointed from the dramatic tone Islamic tradition attributes to it at ʿArafah.

This suggests that the interpretation of the verse as “completion of religion” is theologically driven, not textually justified.

IV. Was the Hajj Ritual "Standardized" or Evolving?

The claim that the Prophet “standardized” the Hajj rituals overlooks an important contradiction: the rites of Hajj in Islamic sources were fluid and contested even after Muhammad’s death.

  • The difference between Hajj al-Tamattuʿ, Hajj al-Ifrād, and Hajj al-Qirān is well-documented in Islamic legal debates.

  • Caliph ʿUmar later restricted certain practices, including multiple ʿUmrahs during Hajj and issues of mutʿah (temporary marriage), indicating that ritual uniformity had not been achieved even within one generation.

Moreover, the Qur’an itself gives almost no detail on how to perform Hajj—leaving the reliance on hadith and sīrah essential. If the Prophet did in fact “teach Hajj,” why is the Qur’an almost silent on its specifics?

This calls into question whether the Farewell Pilgrimage was a fixed historical event, or a retrospective tool to provide ritual legitimacy to a diverse and evolving practice.

V. Did Muhammad Appoint Abu Bakr?

The account of Muhammad appointing Abu Bakr to lead prayer is interpreted as a symbolic transfer of leadership. But this view is not universally accepted:

  • Shiʿi Islam categorically rejects this, asserting that ʿAlī was the rightful successor and that no clear appointment was made.

  • Even early Sunni historians record confusion and conflict after Muhammad’s death. The Saqīfah dispute shows that leadership was not predetermined but contested.

The notion that Abu Bakr’s leadership was a prophetic mandate is back-projected by later Sunnis to solidify legitimacy. If the transition were truly clear and undisputed, why did immediate chaos ensue?

VI. The Larger Problem: Idealization of the Prophet’s Death

The narrative concludes with an emotionally charged scene: the Prophet dying in the arms of his wife ʿĀ’ishah, his head resting gently on her chest, surrounded by faithful companions who carry forward his message.

This story may be meaningful to believers, but from a critical historical perspective, it bears the hallmarks of myth-making:

  • The perfect closure, symbolic succession, and moral finality serve more to construct legitimacy than record literal history.

  • Similar deathbed narratives exist in other traditions—e.g., Moses and Jesus—often used to sanctify the leader and pass authority to successors.

In essence, this account functions more as sacred memory than objective history.

❗Conclusion: Historical Epic or Devotional Edifice?

The Farewell Pilgrimage narrative is one of the most sacred accounts in Islamic tradition. But upon rigorous examination, it reveals itself not as objective history, but as a carefully curated religious ideal constructed well after the fact to:

  • Authorize the Sunni hadith-sunnah paradigm,

  • Standardize contested rituals,

  • Promote social ideals that were likely aspirational rather than enacted,

  • Legitimize the caliphate of Abu Bakr,

  • And cap the Qur’an with a divine signature of “completion.”

None of these claims are grounded in contemporaneous historical evidence. All are mediated through centuries-late tradition, memory, and doctrinal need.

From a critical standpoint, the Farewell Pilgrimage stands not as a “moral blueprint,” but as a theological blueprint for constructing the myth of prophetic finality—a necessary step in transforming an evolving sectarian movement into an enduring imperial religion.

📌 Note to Readers
This critique is based solely on logical reasoning, historical analysis, and primary-source scrutiny. If any claim here does not accurately represent Islamic tradition or its sources, please respond with specific citations from the Qur’an, authentic hadith, or early Islamic history. Open, evidence-based dialogue is welcomed.

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