Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Yazid bin Babnoos, he says: I and a companion of mine both went to the service of Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her). We sought permission to be present in her service. She placed a cushion for us and drew a curtain in front of herself. My companion said: Umm al-Mu’minin! What do you say about ‘Iraak’? She asked: What do you mean by ‘Iraak’? Hearing this, I struck my companion on the shoulder, so she, that is, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), said: What is this? You have hurt your brother. Then she herself said: Do you mean by ‘Iraak’ the menstruation? Say the word that Allah has used, that is, ‘al-maheedh’. Then she said: I would be in the state of menstruation and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would embrace me and touch my head, and there would be a cloth between me and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pass by my door, he would say something beneficial. One day, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by but did not say a word. Then he passed by again, yet did not say anything. This happened two or three times. I said to the maid: Place a cushion for me near the door, and I wrapped a cloth around my head. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by me and said: Aisha! What is the matter? I said: My head hurts. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Oh, my head! And then he left. A few days passed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought, wearing a sheet. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and sent a message to the other wives that I am ill, I do not have the strength to come to each of you in turn, so all of you give me permission to stay with Aisha or Safiyyah. I had never had the opportunity to nurse a patient before. The Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) head was inclined towards my head, when suddenly his blessed head fell upon my shoulder. I thought that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to rest his head on mine. A little cool water came out from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and fell on my neck. Seeing this, my hair stood on end. I thought that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had fainted. I covered the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with a cloth. Meanwhile, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Mughira bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived. They sought permission to enter. I allowed them to enter and drew the curtain towards myself. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: How severe is the unconsciousness upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! After that, both of them got up, and when they reached near the door, Sayyiduna Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Umar! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has passed away. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are wrong; you always think of wrong things. Allah will not cause the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to pass away until He destroys the hypocrites. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came. I lifted the curtain. He looked at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and recited: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon” and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has passed away. Then he came to the blessed head of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), bent down, and kissed his blessed forehead and involuntarily exclaimed: Oh, Prophet of Allah! Then he raised his head, then bent down again and kissed the blessed forehead of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a second time and said: Oh, Messenger of Allah! Then he raised his head, and bent down a third time and kissed the blessed forehead of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Oh, Friend of Allah! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has indeed passed away. After that, he went towards the mosque, where Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was addressing the people, saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) will not pass away until Allah destroys the hypocrites. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to speak, praised Allah, and said: Allah the Exalted has said: {إِنَّکَ مَیِّتٌ وَإِنَّہُمْ مَیِّتُونَ … } … Surely you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) will die, and they too will die. Then he recited this verse: {وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِہِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَی أَعْقَابِکُمْ} … And Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels? And whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful. Also, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever used to worship Allah, let him know that Allah is Ever-Living, never dies. And whoever used to worship Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), let him know that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has passed away. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Although this verse was in the Book of Allah, I did not remember that it was in the Book of Allah. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O people! This is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who is the greatest and most honorable among all the Muslims, so pledge allegiance to him. Thus, the people pledged allegiance to him.