I want to quickly tell you a story, about the saddest day in human history. the saddest day in human history that led to one of if not the greatest periods of Enlightenment in human history until the day of judgment.
This day happened over a thousand years ago, our Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had been suffering an illness for quite some time, his illness was so severe that he could not even leave his home to lead Salah in his own Masjid.
So in his absence he appointed his best friend one of the earliest of Muslims, one of the best of us the first to enter Jannah after the anbiya Abu Bakr as siddiq (R.A) to lead in his place. on this particular day Abu Bakr had taken permission from the prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to visit some relatives in a suburb of Medina known as sakifa, the prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was in the house of his beloved wife Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا, if you don’t understand that this is the saddest day in human history, then do do some more digging deep inside of your heart and the love that you should have for the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ .
He was in the house of his most beloved wife Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا and he was laying his head on her lap. one of the companions the name literally just my mind one of the companions came in and he was holding a sewak in his hand, we know the prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ loved the sewak, he even said صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that if I did not think it would be a burden upon you I would have ordered you to use the sewak before every Salah, Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا knowing her husband she saw him looking at the sewak and so she asked him do you want it oh messenger of Allah and he nodded and said yes.
So she took that sewak softened it with her own saliva and then brushed his Most Blessed teeth, that brushing would become the last thing he would ever taste in this life, at that moment it was unrealized by Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا but the angel of death had presented itself to our most beloved Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ The Best of Allah’s creation the best thing that Allah has ever created was our beloved Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ The Best of his creation, the angel of death has presented himself to our prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that when the angel of death presents himself to to the anbiya he has to do two things for you and I the conversation will be one-sided, he will present himself to us and he will tell the soul to come out it will either be oh blessed Soul come out to the mercy of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ and his pleasure or khabib soul come out to the anger of Allah and his wrath.
There’s no negotiation, but with the Anbiya they have such a high status that even the angel of death has to take permission to take their soul and before he asked them to take their soul he shows them their place in Jannah, he shows them their place in paradise, and then he gives them a choice, to either go to this place and be with Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ or spend a little bit more time with your people.
So this was happening and Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا was unbeknownst she did not realize it, but she said I saw the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ began to look at the roof of my house, and he started to smile, what is he looking at he’s looking at the Pinnacle of jannah, he’s looking at the highest point of Jannah above which there is nothing except the Arsah of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ .
There is no more higher inhabitable place in Paradise other than the place of our beloved messenger صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ after his 23 years of turmoil, after his 23 years of sacrifice, after so much that he had done for this ummah, so much that he had done for mankind, he has been showing his final resting place, and the angel of death is giving him the choice, do you want to go here or do you want to stay with your people a little while longer, realize how much he loved us by the way.
He loved us so much, but for sure he loved Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ the most, she said I heard him begin to say
اللَّهُمَّ الرَّفِيقَ الأَعْلَى
اللَّهُمَّ الرَّفِيقَ الأَعْلَى
oh Allah the companion who was on the most high, oh Allah the companion who is most high, oh Allah the companion who is most high, she said at that moment I realized that the angel of death was here and he was being given the choice and he was not choosing us, he was not choosing us, then the angel of death took the Most Blessed soul that Allah has ever created and he placed it in the highest ranks of Jannah, that have ever existed.
That is the saddest moment in the history of Humanity, you must concept that, that is the saddest moment that the history of humanity will ever face was the death of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
There are many companions who realize this, when Aisha رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا spread this news, the companions had no idea what to do, one of the greatest of the companions, his name Umar ibn al-Khattab رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ a man’s man, a man who was so strong in his faith that the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that if he was on a road and Shaitan happened to be on that same road, Shaitan would divert his path in order not to confront Umar ibn al-Khattab directly the same man whom the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that there will be no Prophet after me, but if there were to be one it would be Umar ibn al-Khattab.
This Omar when he heard the news that the Prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had died, he could not accept it, he could not accept it, this is a man whom he learned to love more than his own soul that was in his body that Allah created for him, you remember the story when he told the prophet صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ oh messenger of Allah there is no one on this Earth I love more than you more than my own soul, and he said oh Omar you must love me more than you love your own soul he said then I love you more than I love my own soul.
He lost it on that day he pulled out a sword and started threatening people, this is the same Umar ibn al-Khattab رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ that less than two decades before had that exact same sword in his hand and was on his way to kill the prophet Muhammad صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and in his mission, now less than two decades later he has the same sword in his hand because he cannot bear to think to live a day on this Earth without his most beloved.
He could not wrap his mind around waking up and on a day when the prophet Muhammadصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is not on this Earth.
So he started threatening the people in Masjid nababi and said if you say that Muhammad is dead I will kill you myself, he went to be with Allah just like Musa went to be with Allah, and he will come back to us he has to come back to us, we cannot live without him, this is the greatest man to walk the