He emerged, his face glistening with perspiration, wrapped in a cloak that hung over his shoulders. He sat upon the pulpit and delivered a sermon in which he urged special care for the Anṣār, and, after a number of exhortations, he said: “This is the last gathering in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ will sit among you.” It was, in fact, the final sermon he ever gave before he was taken.

Another version, transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās through an unusual chain and wording, has likewise been reported. Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī said: ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdān informed us; Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd al-Ṣaffār narrated to us; Ibn Abī Qamāsh—Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā—narrated to us; Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl Abū ʿImrān al-Jabbilī narrated to us; Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā al-Qazzāz narrated to us; from al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Iyās al-Laythī; from al-Qāsim ibn Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qusayṭ; from his father; from ʿAṭāʾ; from Ibn ʿAbbās; from al-Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās, who said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to me while he was suffering a severe fever, his head tightly bandaged. He said, “Take my hand, Faḍl.” I took his hand until he sat on the pulpit. Then he said, “Call the people for me, Faḍl.” I proclaimed, “Prayer is about to begin!” When the people had gathered, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood and addressed them:

“To proceed: O people, a right that some of you hold against me is drawing near, and you will not see me standing in this place among you again. I once thought that no one could deliver this message but me while I was still with you. Now then, whoever’s back I have ever struck—here is my back; let him come and retaliate. Whoever’s wealth I have taken—here is my wealth; let him take from it. Whoever’s honour I have reviled—here is my honour; let him take his recompense. Let no one say, ‘I fear that the Messenger of Allah will harbour resentment.’ Resentment is neither my concern nor my character. The most beloved of you to me is the one who takes his right from me if he has a claim, or who forgives me, so that I may meet Allah—Mighty and Majestic—with no injustice toward anyone.”

A man rose and said, “O Messenger of Allah, you owe me three dirhams.” He replied, “I will not dispute what anyone claims, nor will I compel him to swear an oath. What do you say I owe you?” The man said, “Do you not remember that a beggar passed by and you ordered me to give him three dirhams?” He said, “Give them to him, Faḍl,” and had the man sit down.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then resumed his first address and said, “O people, whoever is holding anything misappropriated from the spoils must return it.” A man stood and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I have three dirhams that I misappropriated from the cause of Allah.” He asked, “Why did you take them?” The man replied, “I was in need of them.” He said, “Take them from him, Faḍl.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then returned to his original address and said, “O people, whoever feels something in himself, let him stand so that I may supplicate to Allah for him.” A man stood and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I am a hypocrite, a habitual liar, and I oversleep.” ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb exclaimed, “Woe to you, man! Allah has concealed you; would that you had concealed yourself!”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Leave him, O son of al-Khaṭṭāb. A public disgrace in this world is lighter than …”