And my friend Jibril will be there to help you.  I will pray for your safety.  God, the merciful, will say, ‘All those who believe in the words of My prophet Muhammad, who keep the commandments of the Holy Koran, will be saved; if My name is on their tongues, I will remove their sins.’  And I shall be in the garden to welcome you with sweet, scented drinks under green foliage.”

“And my mother?” asked sweet Fatimah anxiously.  “Where will she be?”

“Your mother Hadija,” answered the Prophet, “has gone to live in a palace, sitting on a silken sofa; on an upper balcony she sits overlooking lovely gardens.  The walls of her rooms are made of silver, inlaid with pearls.  The sand in her garden is fragrant and she has colorful flowers.”  Fatimah was thankful and praised the Lord for all this. At that moment the faithful Bilal was heard, calling all true believers to prayer.  Muhammad sent for him, and when he had come the Holy Prophet told him, “My friend, today I cannot pray, I cannot rise, nor kneel nor stand.  Ask Abu Bakr to take my place, let him lead the prayers.  My heart is full of worry and sorrow.  My body feels limp, my soul is confused, but I know that my last hour has come.”

When Bilal heard these words from the Trustworthy Friend, he burst into tears, crying aloud, “Alas!  The best of men is going from us!  If only I could die with you!  Why was I born to suffer this!  God’s messenger on earth is dying!  Misfortune has come to Medina!”  He left the room with his hands on his head, weeping as he went. He stopped in the doorway of the mosque and called out aloud, “You companions of the Prophet, he told me that he cannot come today.  Let Abu Bakr lead the prayers, he will suffice as a prayer leader.  Our trustworthy one cannot stand up, his heart is troubled by the approach of death.  His spirit has no rest because of the feeling of imminent death so that he has nowhere to take refuge.  He implores all of you, Meccans and Medinans, to follow Abu Bakr.”

When Bilal had finished speaking, Abu Bakr mounted the minbar to speak to the congregation but he could not speak a word.  He bent his head as the tears flowed down his face.  Upon seeing him overcome with grief, all the Muslims in the mosque realized the disaster that was about to happen and they all started wailing.

The Prophet called Ali and his brother Fadhili (Al-Fadl) and asked them to help him up.  With his arms around their shoulders he was able to walk to the mosque.