The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ left this world on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, 11 AH — a Monday morning, with his blessed head resting in the lap of Sayyidatuna Aisha al-Siddiqah رضي الله عنها, his hand in hers. He was sixty-three years old. He had spent twenty-three years transmitting the Quran, building a community, and transforming the world. And now he was gone — and his family, who had lived in his light for their entire lives, had to learn what existence felt like without it.
Sayyidatuna Aisha’s Witness
Sayyidatuna Aisha رضي الله عنها narrated the final moments with a precision and intimacy that no other account could match. She described how the Prophet ﷺ spent his final days asking to be nursed in her room. She described his last gesture: reaching for his miswak, using it, then returning his head to her lap. She described the moment of his passing — how the room fell silent and how Madinah was instantly different. Her narration: “He passed in my house, on my day, against my chest” is among the most moving passages in the entire Sirah. She was approximately twenty years old when he left this world — a widow at an age when most women had barely begun their lives.
For Sayyidah Fatima al-Zahra عليها السلام, the Prophet’s passing ﷺ was a loss unlike any other human experience. The companion Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه narrated: “When we returned from burying the Prophet ﷺ, Sayyidah Fatima عليها السلام came to me and said: ‘O Anas — how did you bear to throw soil over the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?'” Before he left this world, the Prophet ﷺ whispered to her that she would be the first of his family to follow him — and she smiled, because she would be with him again soon. She died approximately six months later.
Sayyiduna Ali’s Farewell Prayer
Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه prepared the Prophet’s ﷺ body for burial — an act of love and honour given only to the most trusted. The classical Sunni sources preserve a prayer he made as he lowered the Prophet ﷺ into his grave: “My father and mother be your ransom, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ. With your passing, what no other passing had ended has ended: prophethood, revelation, and heavenly news. You are unique enough that your loss is unlike any loss before you.” These are among the most moving words in the Islamic literary tradition.
The reverence of the Prophet’s family ﷺ was not weakness. It was the measure of love — and it is preserved in the Sunni sources not to embarrass or diminish them, but because it is true. And in that participation, they are honouring the family exactly as the Quran requires.
Explore this theme in depth in The Deeper Link.
How did Sayyidah Fatima react to the Prophet ﷺ leaving this world?
She was devastated. The Prophet ﷺ had whispered to her before he left this world that she would be the first of his family to follow him — and she smiled at this news, because she would be with him again soon. She died approximately six months after the Prophet ﷺ.
What prayer did Sayyiduna Ali make at the burial of the Prophet ﷺ?
Classical Sunni sources preserve his farewell prayer as he lowered the Prophet ﷺ into his grave — expressing that his passing had ended what no other passing had ended (prophethood, revelation), and that his loss was unlike any other loss in history. It is among the most moving passages in the Islamic literary tradition.
Why does Sayyidatuna Aisha’s narration of the Prophet ﷺ leaving this world matter?
Because she was the eyewitness — present in her room, with the Prophet ﷺ resting against her chest when he passed. Her narrations are among the most detailed and precise accounts of the Prophet’s final hours preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. They represent the Sunni tradition’s primary record of how the Prophet ﷺ left this world.