An overview of the sermon

The text of the Sermon can be divided into the following ten major parts:

Part 1: The opening of the sermon is dedicated to praising Allah and regarding Him pure from any resemblance with His creation. It includes great lessons on the Unity of the Essence of Allah. In addition, it contains important information concerning His names, attributes, and actions.

Part 2: This part of the speech informs the listeners of the reasons behind delivering this sermon. It includes the revelations that came down to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) just before the event, and the divine order concerning what he must convey to the people. It also explains the reason that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has delayed the speech until he reached that place.

Part 3: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) officially declares Allah’s decree regarding the appointment of Imam Ali (PBUH) and the pure Imams after him. He then enumerates some of the virtues of Imam Ali (PBUH), his rights, and the duties of people regarding him.

Part 4: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) announces that Allah has completed His religion through the leadership of Imam Ali (PBUH) and reminds people more about his exclusive virtues.

Part 5: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) recites some verses of the Holy Quran concerning the hypocrites, and states what they intend to do after him. He advises people against violating Allah’s commands and emphasizes that what will happen after him is but a test for people, which will distinguish the believers from the disbelievers.

Part 6: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) gives a detailed description of the followers and the enemies of Ahl al-Bait (PBUH), and informs people of the final destiny of each, giving references to many verses of the Holy Quran.

Part 7: To give hope to the believers despite all the future misconduct of the enemies of Allah, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) informs people that justice and faith will finally prevail, and the righteous will inherit the earth. He (PBUH&HF) dedicates this part of his speech to describe Imam al-Mahdi (PBUH) and to confirm his advent as a promise from Allah and His decisive decree.

Part 8: Reciting some verses of the Holy Quran, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) informs people that pledging allegiance to Imam Ali (PBUH) is, in fact, identical to pledging allegiance to Allah, the mighty and the majestic.

Part 9: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) emphasizes that the divine commandments including the obligatory and prohibited actions will never change in future, and that Imam Ali (PBUH) and other Imams of his offspring are fully aware of all final commandments and their limits. They are the expounders of the religion and the divinely appointed judges for any question pertaining to religion.

Part 10: The Prophet (PBUH&HF) asks people to recite the sentences of the covenant with him. He takes their verbal oath of allegiance to Imam Ali (PBUH) and other Imams of his family. He also asks people who can reach him to confirm their oath by shaking hands with him, Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, peace be upon them.