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ACADEMIC ESSAYS
Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon is a how-to in human rights, race and gender relations
And how it promotes a return to “Islamic Multiculturalism”
The worldwide surge in right-wing politics, mass internment of Uighurs in China, violence against the Rohingya, ongoing gender-based violence, workplace inequality and pay disparity: poor race relations, gender inequality and human rights abuses increasingly mar the modern world despite protection and guidelines from the UN Human rights charter, including in Muslim communities.
Yet, on the ninth day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjra in the year 632AD/10AH Prophet Mohammad had delivered similar guidelines to his followers in his Last Sermon — delivered after a lifetime spent tackling racism and slavery, female infanticide and gender inequality.
With Hajj that year coinciding with a Jum’ah (Friday) prayer and Prophet Muhammad knowing he hadn’t much longer to live, he seized this occasion to preach his Last Sermon (Khutbah Hajjat-al-Wada). As there are multiple sources versions of the sermon, what follows is likely woven together from these versions over time, broken down into its take-home messages.
The Last Sermon
“O People, listen well to my…
