Before the Messenger of Allah died; he performed hajj and it was the first and last Hajj that he had performed in his life. As he was performing that Hajj Allah revealed to him:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Al-Ma’idah 05:03)
Upon hearing this, Abu Bakr As-Sideeq started weeping, the Messenger of Allaah asked Abu Bakr, “what makes you cry after hearing this verse?” Abu Bakr replied, “This verse tells us that your death is near”.
Then the Prophet went back home after Hajj, and 9 days before his death, Allaah had revealed:
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
“And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” (Al-Baqarah 02:281)
And that was the last verse Allah ever revealed.
A few days later he (Peace be upon Him) had a headache, and his temperature rose so high that the heat could be felt through his headband. He led the Muslims in prayer for the next eleven days though he was sick. He was sick for about two weeks.
The Prophet Muhammad wanted to visit the martyrs in Al-Baqee’ cemetery. When he arrived there he said, “Assalamu Alaykum O Martyrs of Uhud, you raced us but we shall be there soon insha’Allah, and I will be there soon insha’Allah.”
Upon leaving, his eyes began to water and he burst into tears, so his friends said, “what makes you cry O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “I miss my brothers,” they said, “Are we not your brothers O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “No, you are my friends, as for my brothers, those are the ones who shall live after I die, and believe in me without seeing me.”
Three days before his death whilst he was at his wife Maymoonah’s house his pain increased, so he said, “gather my wives.” When all the wives were gathered the Prophet asked them for permission to die in Aisha’s house, and they agreed.
He tried to get up but he couldn’t, so two of his companions, Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Al-Fadhl, carried him to Aisha’s room. Upon walking to her room, all the companions gathered and saw the Prophet sweating heavily. They exclaimed, “what’s wrong with the Messenger?! What’s wrong with the Messenger?!”
When the Messenger of Allah was sweating, Aisha said, “I have never in my life seen a man sweat like I saw the Prophet sweating.” Aisha heard him saying, “there is no God but Allah, surely death is full of agonies.”
The companions remained standing outside his room, and the noise began to rise. The Prophet asked, “did the people pray?” To which Aisha replied, “No, the people are waiting for you O Messenger of Allah.” He (Peace be Upon Him) asked then asked them to pour seven water skin pots of water so that he can go and talk to the people, they seated him upright and poured out water for him, he tried to get up, but couldn’t and passed out. Then he woke up, and the first thing he asked, “did the people pray?” Aisha again replied, “No, the people are waiting for you O Messenger of Allah.” Once again he asked them to pour seven water skin pots of water so that he can go and talk to the people. They seated him up and poured out water for him. He tried to get up, but could not and passed out. When he woke up he again asked, “Did the people pray?” Aisha replied, “No, the people are waiting for you O Messenger of Allah.” So the Prophet peace be upon him sent somebody to go tell Abu Bakr to go ahead and pray. (This incident can be found in both Bukhari and Muslim)
Then he stood to give his very last speech. The Messenger said, “O People are you worried about me?” They naturally replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He continued, “O People your meeting with me isn’t in this worldly life, you shall meet me in the hereafter; and by Allah I fear not poverty for you, but I fear that you may compete with each other in this worldly life as the people before you competed, and you get destroyed just as they got destroyed.” Then he exclaimed, “O People; preserve your prayers, preserve your prayers!” He also added, “O people fear Allah by treating your women well, be kind to the women.” Then he said, “Allâh, the Great, has given a slave of His the opportunity to make a choice between whatever he desires of Allâh’s provisions in this world, and what He keeps for him in the next life, but he has opted for the latter.” Meaning that he (peace be upon him) had chosen to return to His Lord.
Everyone remained silent, and Abu Bakr began to cry loudly, the Prophet said, “O People, not a single one of you who has helped me hasn’t received a reward from me in return, except Abu Bakr; he helped so much that I cannot afford to pay him back a reward, so I left his reward with Allah.”
He was then carried back to his room, and Fatima his beloved daughter walked in. Seeing him, she began to cry; she cried because every time she walked in the house her father, the Messenger of Allah would stand and give her a kiss between her eyes, but this time he couldn’t stand. He noticed her crying and told her, “come close to me Fatima,” he then whispered into her ear, and she cried more. He told her come closer once again, then he whispered into her ear again, this time she laughed. Later, after the Prophet’s death when Fatima was asked what he told her, she said, “The first time he whispered, he said that he is going to die that same night, and in the second whisper he told me that I would be the first one of his family members to meet him.” Meaning that she will be the next one to die from amongst his family members.
Then he asked everyone to leave, and asked Aisha to come closer. He then rested his head on Aisha’s chest, and raised his hands saying: “The most exalted Companionship on high. To Allâh we turn and to Him we turn back for help and last abode.”
And that was the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He was sixty-three years and four days old when he died on a Monday.