Page 215 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah

ADNAN OKTAR

than a hundred thousand pilgrims (hajjis) during his first and
last pilgrimage to Makkah. The fact that so many people lis-
tened to it helps to show that the ensuing hadiths, known as
mutawatir (consecutive, denoting the number of trustworthy
sources), are correct. Rationally speaking, such hadiths cannot
be incorrect. No point that our beloved Prophet (saas) made
in this sermon can be doubted. Its contents constitute a con-
cise summary of Islam, for it communicates all things that need
to be done in both worlds.
The Prophet (saas) intimated here that he would never
make another hajj, meaning that his death was imminent.
Later, when the true nature of his words was proven, this pil-
grimage became known as the Hajj al-Wada` (the Farewell
Pilgrimage) and this sermon as the Khutbat al-Wada` (the
Farewell Sermon).
However much this sermon is seen as a single sermon, it was
delivered in parts: on Mount Arafat, at Mina, a day later at Mina
on the day preceding the Eid al-Fitr, and on the first and second
days of Eid. As a result, it has been reported differently by
those who heard it. Some people or groups did not hear each
part. Thus, in order to gather the complete sermon together,
the various hadiths were gradually collected and put into the
form of a single khutbah. In Surat at-Tawba, which was revealed
to the Prophet (saas) a year before this event, it is stated:
O you who believe, the idolaters are unclean, so after
this year they should not come near the Masjid al-
Haram. If you fear impoverishment, Allah will enrich
you from His bounty, if He wills. Allah is All-Knowing,
All-Wise. (Surat at-Tawba, 28)

Since idolaters had been declared unclean and thus were

213