In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azimi, may Allah preserve him.
The Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) encampment at Al-Muhassab
and his Farewell Circumambulation (Tawaf al-Wada').
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) departed from Mina on the last of the Days of Tashriq,
and proceeded to Al-Muhassab, which is Al-Abtah, also known as Khayf Bani Kinanah.
The two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their Sahihs, as did Abu Dawud—and the wording is Abu Dawud's—
on the authority of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) only encamped at Al-Muhassab because it was more convenient for his departure,
and it is not a required Sunnah;
so whoever wishes may encamp there, and whoever wishes may not."
Abu Rafi', may Allah be pleased with him, was in charge of the baggage of the Prophet (peace be upon him)—
meaning, his luggage—
so he pitched a tent,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) lodged in it.
Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih
on the authority of Abu Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not command me to pitch camp at Al-Abtah when he left Mina,
but I came and pitched a tent there for him,
so he arrived and lodged there."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) remained at Al-Muhassab for the rest of that day and night,
where he prayed Dhuhr, 'Asr,
Maghrib, and 'Isha',
and then took a brief sleep there.
Imam Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, and 'Isha',
then took a brief sleep at Al-Muhassab,
then rode to the House (the Ka'bah) and circumambulated it."
Imam Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih,
as did Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and Abu Dawud,
and the wording is Ahmad's,
on the authority of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, and 'Isha' at Al-Muhassab,
then took a light slumber,
then entered Makkah and circumambulated the House."
Imam Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
on the authority of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"We departed from Mina and encamped at Al-Muhassab,
so he summoned 'Abd al-Rahman"—
meaning, the Prophet (peace be upon him) summoned 'Abd al-Rahman,
the brother of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)—
"and said: 'Take your sister out and let her assume Ihram for 'Umrah;
then, once both of you have finished your circumambulation,
I will wait for you both right here.'"
She said: "We returned in the middle of the night,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked:
'Have you finished?' I said: 'Yes.'
So he announced the departure among his Companions,
and the people set out, along with those who had circumambulated the House before the Fajr prayer,
and then he set out heading toward Madinah."
In another wording in the two Sahihs,
'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
"When we had completed the Hajj,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me
with 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them both,
to At-Tan'im,
and I performed 'Umrah.
He said: 'This is in place of your 'Umrah.'"
She said: "Those who had assumed Ihram for 'Umrah circumambulated the House and walked between As-Safa and Al-Marwah,
and then exited their Ihram,
and subsequently performed another circumambulation after returning from Mina.
As for those who combined Hajj and 'Umrah (Qiran),
they performed only one circumambulation."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) granted a concession
to menstruating women exempting them from the Farewell Circumambulation.
The two Sheikhs narrated from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"Safiyyah bint Huyayy had her menses after she had performed Tawaf al-Ifadah,
so I mentioned her menstruation to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'Is she going to hold us back?'
I said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
she had already performed Tawaf al-Ifadah and circumambulated the House,
and then experienced her menses after the Ifadah.'
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'Then let her depart.'"
Imam At-Tirmidhi said in his Jami':
"The practice according to the scholars is based on this:
if a woman performs Tawaf az-Ziyarah (Ifadah)
and then has her menses,
she may depart and owes nothing further;
and this is the view of Ath-Thawri, Ash-Shafi'i,
Ahmad, and Ishaq."
The Return of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
to Madinah
and his carrying Zamzam water with him.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) departed
from the lower part of Makkah (Kuda).
The two Sheikhs narrated in their Sahihs
on the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"When the Prophet (peace be upon him)
arrived in Makkah,
he entered from its upper part
and departed from its lower part."
Ibn Sayyid al-Nas said:
"The duration of his stay (peace and blessings be upon him)
in Makkah—
from the time he entered it until he went out to Mina,
to 'Arafah,
to Muzdalifah,
back to Mina,
to Al-Muhassab,
until he turned back to return—
was ten days."
The two Sheikhs narrated in their Sahihs
on the authority of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
returned from a military expedition, Hajj, or 'Umrah,
he would proclaim Allah's greatness thrice on every elevated piece of ground,
and then say:
'There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner;
“All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah; unto Him belongeth Sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise, and He is Able to do all things.” (64:1)
and He is over all things competent.
We are returning, repenting,
worshipping, prostrating,
and praising our Lord.
Allah fulfilled His promise,
aided His servant,
and defeated the confederates alone.'"
Imam At-Tirmidhi narrated in his Jami',
and Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak with a good (hasan) chain of transmission,
on the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her),
that she used to carry Zamzam water
and would report that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
used to carry it as well.
Dispatching the Army of Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Ubna.
Imam Al-Bukhari said in his Sahih:
"Chapter: The Prophet's (peace be upon him) dispatching of
Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both)
during his final illness in which he passed away."
Ibn Hisham said:
"It was the last expedition dispatched by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) urged
the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to mount an expedition to the Levant (Al-Sham);
that was on a Monday,
four nights remaining in Safar,
in the eleventh year of the Hijrah (11 AH).
He placed Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both) in command of this expedition,
and his age (may Allah be pleased with him)
was eighteen years.
The two Sheikhs narrated in their Sahihs
on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched an army
and appointed Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both) over them."
Ibn Ishaq said:
"Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) returned—
meaning, he returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage—
and resided in Madinah for the remainder of Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and Safar,
and conscripted the people for an expedition to the Levant,
appointing over them Usamah, the son of his freedman Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both).
He commanded him to let the cavalry tread upon
the borders of Al-Balqa' and Ad-Darum in the land of Palestine.
So the people prepared themselves,
and the earliest Emigrants (Muhajirun) all rallied under Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Some people raised concerns regarding the command of Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both)
due to his young age,
and when word of that reached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
he stood before the people to deliver a sermon, as will follow."
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"And As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the people in prayer
by explicit designation from him (peace be upon him),
which was an exemption for him from Usamah's army,
which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had prepared for the Levant to fight the Byzantines."
Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) set out with his army
and encamped at Al-Jurf,
but he did not proceed to the Levant
due to the onset of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) illness.
Ibn Ishaq said:
"While the people were in that state,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began to suffer
from the illness through which Allah took his soul,
drawing him to what He intended for him of His honor and mercy."
Imam Adh-Dhahabi said:
"Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both)
was appointed by the Prophet (peace be upon him)
over an army to raid the Levant,
and among the army were 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and the senior Companions;
yet he did not march until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away,
whereupon As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) promptly dispatched them,
and they raided Ubna in the region of Al-Balqa'."
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
Though the longings of people for one another may stretch far,
the longing for you has no bounded measure.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as morning dew rises,
and as long as lips move in enduring remembrance.