About two months after returning from Makkah for Pilgrimage, the Prophet (PBUH) became ill but he was still able to perform his prayers in the mosque and give directives to the companions. His health was deteriorating day by day. At the last moment he asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers in the mosque, Every member of his family and every companion was worried about his health. It was on Monday, 12th Rabi'Al-Awwal, the year 11A.H., when he passed away at the age of sixty three years.
Many people did not believe that he had passed away. They thought that the Messenger of Allah would live forever. It was Abu Bakr, who had the feeling, since the Farewell Pilgrimage that the death of the Prophet (PBUH) was coming near, He convinced the congregation that the Prophet (PBUH) had actually passed away. Abu Bakr said to the congregation that if they worshipped Mu, Muhammad had died , and if they worshipped Allah (SWT), He lives forever. Then hrecited from the Qur'an:
"Muhammad (PBUH) is nought but a Messenger like the Messengers who had surely passed away before him: will you, then, if he dies or be slain, turn round on your heels?"
A Guidance to follow
Muhammad as a man had already died, but as a Prophet (PBUH) he left behind him a legacy in the form of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. He stressed the urgent need to hold firmly to these two sources during his farewell speech in the valley of Arafat. If people hold fast to them, they will never go astray.
The teachings he left for us if put into practice in their true spirit and proper way will bring a happy life in this world and besides the indubitable rewards that will be received by those who believed in them in the life after death. In this sense, Islam is a worldly religion which cares first for the worldly affairs of humanity. The Hereafter is merely a continuation of the worldly life. It is difficult to portend that man can be saved in the Hereafter without being saved in this world. The safe way is to follow the way shown to us by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). When his wife, `Aishah, was asked by a companion about the Prophet's (PBUH) daily conduct, `Aishah replied that the conduct of the Prophet (PBUH) was the Qur'an which is the guidance from Allah and Muhammad (PBUH) was given authority by Allah to interpret it. That is why his conduct was the exemplary of human conduct. Islam as brought by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is very much misunderstood, as a religion perceived to contain souls and rituals like prayers, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage. Thanks to the new developments in the world, Islam is now looked upon in a wider perspective than the narrow-minded view in the past.