He would remain there until the sun had passed its zenith. Once it had passed the zenith, he would ride from Namirah to Arafah. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, “rode from Namirah until he came to the valley floor—the valley floor of Uranah—and dismounted there.” It appears to me—and Allah knows best—that he dismounted on the valley floor because valley floors are generally sandy, making them soft and easy for people to sit and pray upon.
He then delivered to the people an eloquent sermon in which he affirmed the foundational principles of Islam and many of its rulings. In that sermon, he declared that the usury of the pre-Islamic era was abolished, and that the first usury he would abolish was that of al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, because he was his uncle. This indicates that usury which remains owed by people must be waived and may not be collected, even if the contract was made before the contracting party embraced Islam. As for usury that had already been received before a person received an admonition from Allah, it belongs to him. But whatever remains owed by people cannot be truly repented from unless one abandons it and does not collect it.
Reflect on the words of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, on this momentous occasion: “The first usury I abolish is the usury of al-Abbas” (1), because he was his relative. A ruler must not favor his relatives in the judgment of Allah; rather, he begins with them before others, so that it may be known that he shows no favoritism in the religion of Allah.
Whenever Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, prohibited the people from something, he would gather his household and say to them: “I have forbidden the people such-and-such, and the people watch you as birds watch meat: if you fall into it, they will fall into it; and if you refrain, they will refrain. By Allah, if any one of you is brought before me for having fallen into something that I have forbidden the people, I shall double his punishment because of his relation to me. So let whoever wishes come forward, and whoever wishes hold back.” (2)