An Unconventional Convention

In the 23rd year after revelation first came to him, Allah’s Messenger, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, returned to the city of his birth to perform the Hajj. During the rites of the Hajj he revived the great monotheism of his father, Prophet Abraham. Having arrived at ‘Arafah, the noble Messenger ascended the Mount of Mercy and turning to the thousands of believers present, he delivered his farewell sermon. The message was both timely and timeless. It contained wisdoms for believers then and for all times in every nook and corner of the world. And to this day, it continues to ricochet, spelling out the core principles of our faith in God and His last Messenger and in all that is sacred and meaningful in our lives. It shatters our illusions and false deities and directs our faith and actions in this world to reflect ‘the better angels of our nature’ and not the instincts that divide and drag us down a bottomless pit of darkness and misery.