tent built for him at Namirah. He sat inside till the sun went down. He ordered that Al-Qaswa’, his  shecamel,  should be prepared for him. They saddled it and had it ready, so he went down the valley where  a hundred thousand and twenty-four or forty-four thousand people gathered round him. There he  stood  up and delivered the following speech:
“ O people! Listen to what I say. I do not know whether I will ever meet you at this place once  again after this current year. It is unlawful for you to shed the blood of one another or take
(unlawfully) the fortunes of one another. They are as unlawful, (Haram) as shedding blood on  such a day as today and in such a month as this Haram month and in such a sanctified city as  this sacred city (i.e. Makkah and the surrounding areas).”
“Behold! all practices of paganism and ignorance are now under my feet. The blood-revenge of  the Days of Ignorance (pre-Islamic time) are remitted. The first claim on blood I abolish is that  of Ibn Rabi‘a bin Harith who was nursed in the tribe of Sa‘d and whom Hudhail killed. Usury is  forbidden, and I make a beginning by remitting the amount of interest which ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul
Muttalib has to receive. Verily, it is remitted entirely.”
“O people! Fear Allâh concerning women. Verily you have taken them on the security of Allâh and  have made their persons lawful unto you by Words of Allâh! It is incumbent upon them to honour  their conjugal rights and, not to commit acts of impropriety which, if they do, you have authority  to chastise them, yet not severely. If your wives refrain from impropriety and are faithful to you,  clothe and feed them suitably.”
“Verily, I have left amongst you the Book of Allâh and the Sunnah (Traditions) of His Messenger  which if you hold fast, you shall never go astray.”
“O people, I am not succeeded by a Prophet and you are not succeeded by any nation. So I  recommend you to worship your Lord, to pray the five prayers, to fast Ramadan and to offer the
Zakat (poor-due) of your provision willingly. I recommend you to do the pilgrimage to the Sacred
House of your Lord and to obey those who are in charge of you then you will be awarded to enter  the Paradise of your Lord.”
“And if you were asked about me, what wanted you to say?”
They replied:
“We bear witness that you have conveyed the message and discharged your ministry.”
He then raised his forefskywards and then moved it down towards people while saying:
“O Allâh, Bear witness.”
He said that phrase thrice.
The one who repeated the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him)statements loudly at ‘Arafat was Rabi‘a bin
Omaiyah bin Khalaf.
As soon as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had accomplished delivering the speech, the following
Qur’ânic verse was revealed to him:
“This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have  chosen for you Islam as your religion.” 5:3
Upon hearing this verse ‘Umar cried. “What makes you cry?” He was asked. His answer was: “Nothing  succeeds perfection but imperfection.”
Bilal called for prayer after the speech, and then made the second call. The Prophet (Peace be upon  him) performed both of the noon and the afternoon prayers separately, with no prayers in between.
He  then mounted his she-camel Al-Qaswa’, approached the location of the vigil, directed his face towards
Al-Qiblah, kept on standing till sunset when the sky yellow colour vanished a bit and the disc of the  sun  disappeared. Osamah added that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) moved onward to Muzdalifa. where  he observed the sunset and the evening prayers with one ‘First call’ and two ‘second calls’. He did not  entertain the Glory of Allâh between the two prayers. Then he lay down till it was dawn prayer time.
He  performed it with one first call and one second call at almost daybreak time. Mounting on his
Al-Qaswa’,  he moved towards Al-Mash‘ar Al-Haram. He faced Al-Qiblah and started supplicating: “Allâh is the
Greatest. There is no god but Allâh.” He remained there till it was clear morning and before the sun  rose high, he made his way to Mina. He walked a little and threaded the mid-road leading to the big
Jamrah where he stopped and pelted seven pebbles at it saying “Allâh is the Greatest” each time.
They