From Adam to Arafah: Legacy of the last Prophet ﷺ

That man was Muhammad ibn Abdullah ﷺ, the last prophet of Islam.

It was his ﷺ last direct address to his blessed companions.

To write about this moment is to plunge into the core of human existence and shred the pretence, the pride, the power-plays, and to face the core of who we are, mere servants who forget, but are always remembered by our merciful Lord.

The descent from Adam عليه السلام to Arafah

The lineage of Prophethood is not a relay of kings but of reminders, men chosen not for their might, but for their weight of trust. The human story began not with tyranny but with temptation.

Adam (عليه السلام), our father, faltered and wept, watching his loyal servant plead Allah forgave. From this first fracture between divine instruction and human instinct, humanity emerged both flawed and favoured.

“And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat ye freely thereof… but come not near this tree lest ye become wrong-doers. Then Satan caused them to slip from it and expelled them from the state they were in” (Qur’an, 2:35-36).

Even as Adam’s (عليه السلام) feet touched the soil of earth, he wasn’t thrown out in anger but with a promise. That for every fall, there is a scope of ascension, for every sinner, there is grace as long as one intends to make amends.

Standing on the plain of reminders

It was the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, 10 AH. The Prophet ﷺ stood atop Mount Arafat, surrounded by a sea of faces, Arab and non-Arab, rich and poor, dark-skinned and fair.

He did not speak in the tone of a king addressing subjects, but like a father speaking to his children for the last time.

He began: “O People! Lend me an attentive ear, for I do not know whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again…” (Sahih Muslim).

The Prophet ﷺ had conquered Makkah, reshaped the hearts of his people, shattered 360 idols, but now he chose not to talk about war, conquest or political triumphs.

He chose to talk about equality, dignity, rights of women, economic ethics, racial harmony, and blood sanctity. These were not only the commands of the last Prophet of Islam, but the divine constitution of Islam.

The farewell address

Every word of the Khutbah sliced through time.

“Indeed, your blood, your property and your honour are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day, this month, in this city” (Sahih al-Bukhari).

In a society that had once buried daughters alive, women were now being elevated by the Messenger of God ﷺ: “O People! You have rights over your women and your women have rights over you” (Sunan Ibn Majah).

The words were not romantic pleasantries. They were revolutionary decrees that broke centuries-old traditions of misogyny. In just a few lines, the Prophet ﷺ restored balance between rights and responsibilities in marital life.

He reminded the people of racial equality, a lesson humanity has yet to grasp: “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab… except by piety and good action” (Sahih al-Bukhari).

He spoke not of tribes or flags, not of nationalities or borders, but of the one human pulse, Taqwa. He abolished every man-made pedestal and replaced it with a divine criterion. This was not merely a sermon, rather it was the ethical spine of the Ummah.

Relevance in a brutalised world

Today, the world claims to be hyperconnected yet has never been more fragmented.

Nation is pitched against nation, man is alien to man and children starve in occupied cities while billionaires race to space. In this chaos, we forget what the Prophet ﷺ reminded us about the sanctity of every soul, and its weight.

The message of Arafah rebukes racism, economic exploitation, and patriarchal abuse.

It refutes those who use religion to enslave others while wearing the robes of piety. It reminds us that the core of Islam was never rituals devoid of ethics, but ethics clothed in worship.

We are living in a world of systematic oppression, refugee crises, religious apartheid, and ecological suicide. The Prophet ﷺ foresaw this tendency of man to return to ignorance after enlightenment and hence warned.

“Beware! Do not go astray after me and start killing each other” (Sahih al-Bukhari).

Yet, we see Muslim nations at war with each other.

We see children of Abraham drawing lines of blood over lands God made for all and pull out daggers against each other. Having forgotten the last lesson, we were taught by the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

The covenant and the confirmation

After he delivered the sermon, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ turned to the sky and raised his hands and said, “O Allah, bear witness that I have conveyed the message.”

And then it came. Like a seal on the final parchment: “Today I have perfected for you your religion, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” (Qur’an, 5:3).

A verse that descended like a farewell kiss from heaven.

Umar ibn Khattab (رضي الله عنه) wept when he heard it, not out of joy, but because he knew the Prophet ﷺ’s mission was now complete.

The light that had burned bright and removed darkness was now to be passed on in a different role, as a treasured inheritance which would guide this Ummah.

The Prophetic legacy: message to the soul

The Prophet ﷺ did not leave behind palaces but unshakeable principles. His final sermon is not a relic to be recited once a year but a manifesto to be inscribed in every heart that claims faith.

It asks us to see the orphan with generous compassion. It demands from men to treat women not as subordinates but as equals in faith. It commands us to demolish the idols of arrogance, racism, materialism, and spiritual hypocrisy.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came to build a community not of race, region, but of righteousness.

A community where black and white prostrate on the same earth, shoulder to shoulder, in the same prayer.

A community where the mighty fear God and the weak are not forgotten.

The eternal immortality of his ﷺ message still cuts through centuries and shines bright as a bulwark of guidance.

The Prophet ﷺ of mercy

The Prophet ﷺ, in his final sermon, stood not just as a messenger, but as a witness. A witness over his people and over all humanity.

“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds” (Qur’an, 21:107).

Mercy not wrath, not domination, not vengeance but mercy to the poor, to the sinner, to the downtrodden, and to the oppressor when he repents.

Even now, while the world burns, that mercy remains at our discretion. However, it demands recognition, which further demands submission, not to men, not to kings, but to God alone.

When the Prophet ﷺ returned from Hajj, his health began to decline.

The Ummah did not know, but Allah did.

Within a few weeks, the world would be without him. But he left behind a legacy immortal than monuments and more powerful than the mightiest armies on earth.

He fulfilled the covenant and scattered the seeds. The soil is still here but now we need to ask ourselves, are we ready to water them when it’s required the most?