Hadith #18

IslamWiki Explanation — IslamWiki Scholarly Team

Jarir ibn 'Abdullah (ra) reports that the Prophet ﷺ asked him to silence the people during the Farewell Pilgrimage, then delivered his sermon including: 'Do not revert to disbelief after me, by striking each other's necks (i.e., fighting and killing each other).' This is a portion of the famous Farewell Sermon (Khutbat al-Wada'), which the Prophet ﷺ delivered to over 100,000 companions. Ibn Hajar and Ibn Uthaymin both explain that 'reverting to disbelief' (irtidad) here refers specifically to the sin of Muslims killing each other, which is described as kufr-like in its gravity, not necessarily apostasy. The command to 'not strike each other's necks' is a prohibition on sectarian violence, civil war, and fitna (tribulation) within the Muslim community. The Prophet ﷺ knew fitna would come and issued this warning as his final message. Ibn Allan notes that placing this hadith in the chapter on the Prophet's teaching method shows that the most important teaching is given at the most critical moment.