Short answer: the last words of the Prophet ﷺ were Allahumma ar-Rafiq al-A'la, "O Allah, the highest companion", which he said looking upward as he rested against Aishah's chest. Aishah said it was the last thing he spoke, in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. His last advice to the community, repeated as he was dying, was: "The prayer, the prayer, and fear Allah regarding those in your care." He died in Madinah on a Monday in Rabi al-Awwal of 11 AH (632 CE), aged sixty-three.
His last words
اللَّهُمَّ الرَّفِيقَ الأَعْلَى
Allāhumma ar-rafīqal-aʿlā
O Allah, [I choose] the highest companion.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4463 and Sahih Muslim 2444, from Aishah
Aishah said that when he was well, he used to tell them: "No prophet dies until he is shown his place in Paradise and then given the choice." As he was dying, with his head on her thigh, he fainted, then woke, fixed his eyes on the ceiling and said these words. "Then he will not choose us," she thought. "They were the last words he spoke."
The "highest companion" are those named in the Quran:
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًۭا
Wa many-yuti'il laaha war Rasoola fa ulaaa'ika ma'al lazeena an'amal laahu 'alaihim minan nabiyyeena wassiddeeqeena washshuhadaaa'i wassaaliheen; wa hasuna ulaaa'ika rafeeqaa
"And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions."
Quran 4:69 · translation by Sahih International
Just before, she heard him say, while leaning back against her:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَارْحَمْنِي، وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالرَّفِيقِ
Allāhummaghfir lī warḥamnī wa alḥiqnī bir-rafīq
O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, and join me with the [highest] companion.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4440 and Sahih Muslim 2444, from Aishah
His last advice to the ummah
الصَّلاَةَ الصَّلاَةَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فِيمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ
Aṣ-ṣalāta aṣ-ṣalāh, ittaqullāha fīmā malakat aymānukum
The prayer, the prayer! Fear Allah regarding those whom your right hands possess.
Sunan Abu Dawud 5156, from Ali; graded sahih by al-Albani. Similar from Umm Salamah in Sunan Ibn Majah 1625
Ali called this "the last words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ", and Umm Salamah said he kept repeating it until he could hardly speak. Scholars reconcile the reports: this was his last advice to the people, and "the highest companion" was the last thing he said. "Those whom your right hands possess" meant slaves and servants, and scholars extended it to everyone in a person's care.
The signs before
- The Farewell Hajj, 10 AH. At Mina he said: "Learn your rites from me, for I do not know whether I will perform Hajj after this Hajj of mine."1 On the Day of Arafah the verse was revealed: "This day I have perfected for you your religion" (5:3).2
- Surah An-Nasr. Umar asked the senior Companions what the surah meant. Ibn Abbas, still young, said it told the Prophet ﷺ that his end was near, and Umar said: "I know nothing of it except what you have said."3
The illness begins
The final illness began late in Safar or early in Rabi al-Awwal, 11 AH, according to the historians, and lasted about two weeks; the reports differ on the exact days. It began with a severe headache. When Aishah complained of her own headache, he replied: "Rather it is I who should say, oh, my head."4
As the illness grew worse he asked his wives' permission to be nursed in Aishah's house, and they agreed. He walked there between al-Abbas and Ali, his feet dragging on the ground. He asked for seven skins of water to be poured over him to cool his fever, so that he could go out and advise the people.5
The last sermon
He sat on the minbar and said: "Allah gave a servant the choice between this world and what is with Him, and he chose what is with Allah." Abu Bakr wept, and the people wondered why. Abu Sa'id said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the one given the choice, and Abu Bakr knew it best of us." He then praised Abu Bakr's companionship and his wealth spent for Islam, and ordered every door into the masjid closed except Abu Bakr's.6
Five days before his death he said: "If I were to take a close friend from my ummah, I would take Abu Bakr." And he warned: "Those before you took the graves of their prophets and righteous people as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship. I forbid you that."7 Even in his last moments, he covered his face with a cloth and repeated this warning.8
Abu Bakr leads the prayer
When he could no longer go out, he said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." Aishah said her father was too soft-hearted, but he repeated the order,9 and Abu Bakr led the prayers from then on.
Fatimah
He called his daughter Fatimah and told her something privately, and she wept. Then he told her something else, and she laughed. After his death she explained: first he told her he would die of this illness, then that she would be the first of his family to follow him.10 She died some months later.
As the pain grew, she cried: "Oh, the distress of my father!" He said: "There will be no distress for your father after today."11
Monday morning
At Fajr on Monday, as the Muslims stood in rows behind Abu Bakr, the Prophet ﷺ lifted the curtain of Aishah's room and looked at them, and smiled. Anas said his face looked like a page of the mushaf. The people were nearly distracted from their prayer with joy, thinking he had recovered. He signalled to them to complete their prayer, let the curtain fall, and died that same day.12
Later that morning Aishah's brother Abd al-Rahman came in with a fresh siwak. Seeing him look at it, she softened it with her teeth and gave it to him, and he used it. Beside him was a bowl of water. He dipped his hands in it, wiped his face, and said:
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، إِنَّ لِلْمَوْتِ سَكَرَاتٍ
Lā ilāha illallāh, inna lil-mawti sakarāt
There is no god but Allah. Indeed, death has its agonies.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4449, from Aishah
Then he raised his hand and kept saying, "with the highest companion", until he died and his hand fell.13 He was sixty-three.14 The best-known date is 12 Rabi al-Awwal, given by Ibn Ishaq; other dates in the first half of the month are also reported.
After his death
Umar stood up and said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had not died. Abu Bakr came from his house at al-Sunh, uncovered the Prophet's ﷺ face, kissed him and said: "You were pure in life and in death." Then he went out to the people and said: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad has died. Whoever worshipped Allah, Allah is alive and does not die." He recited:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِي۟ن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَٰبِكُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًۭٔا ۗ وَسَيَجْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلشَّٰكِرِينَ
Wa maa Muhammadun illaa Rasoolun qad khalat min qablihir Rusul; afa'im maata aw qutilan qalabtum 'alaaa a'qaabikum; wa mai yanqalib 'alaa aqibihi falai yadurral laaha shai'aa; wa sayajzil laahush shaakireen
"Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful."
Quran 3:144 · translation by Sahih International
Ibn Abbas said it was as if the people had never known the verse until Abu Bakr recited it, and then everyone was reciting it.15 The Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in three white cotton cloths from Yemen, with no shirt or turban,16 and buried in Aishah's room, where his grave is now inside al-Masjid an-Nabawi.
Popular reports that are not authentic
- "Ummati, ummati" (my nation) as his last words. His love for his ummah is certain, but no sahih report gives these as his last words. The sahih reports above say "the highest companion".
- The Angel of Death asking permission at the door, in a long dialogue with Fatimah. This story is found only in weak reports.
For the whole of his life, see Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the seerah.
FAQ
What were the last words of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
"Allahumma ar-Rafiq al-A'la", "O Allah, the highest companion". Aishah said these were the last words he spoke (Bukhari 4463, Muslim 2444).
What was the Prophet's ﷺ last advice?
"The prayer, the prayer, and fear Allah regarding those whom your right hands possess" (Abu Dawud 5156, Ibn Majah 1625). He repeated it during his final illness.
When did the Prophet ﷺ die?
On a Monday in Rabi al-Awwal, 11 AH (632 CE), in Madinah. The best-known date is the 12th; other dates are reported.
How old was the Prophet ﷺ when he died?
Sixty-three (Bukhari 3536, Muslim 2349).
Where is the Prophet ﷺ buried?
In the room of Aishah, where he died. It is now inside al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Madinah.
Is the Farewell Sermon his last sermon?
No. The Farewell Sermon was at the Hajj in Dhul Hijjah, 10 AH. His last sermon was from the minbar in Madinah during his final illness, when he spoke of the servant given the choice (Bukhari 466).
Sources
- Sahih Muslim 1297, from Jabir.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 45, from Umar.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4970, from Ibn Abbas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5666, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 198 and 4442, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 466 and 3654, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri.
- Sahih Muslim 532, from Jundub.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 435 and 436, from Aishah and Ibn Abbas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 664, from Aishah; Sahih Muslim 418.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3625 and 3626 and Sahih Muslim 2450, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4462, from Anas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 680 and Sahih Muslim 419, from Anas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4449, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3536 and Sahih Muslim 2349, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1241, 1242, 3667 and 3668, from Aishah and Ibn Abbas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1387, from Aishah.
- On the date: Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, from Ibn Ishaq.
- Quran 4:69, 5:3 and 3:144, Arabic from the Uthmani text, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.