By Moin Qazi* As you read these lines, 1.6 billion Muslims across the world, from Morocco to Jakarta, will be paying homage to Prophet Muhammad ahead of the Prophet’s birthday, which falls on 9-10 November 2019. This day, 1,430 years ago, Prophet Muhammad delivered the historic Last Sermon (khutabat al-wida) on the parched terrain of Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah) in the Uranah valley of Mount Arafat, 20 kilometres east of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It was precisely on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah (12th and last month of the Islamic year -6 March 632) in the tenth year of hijrah (migration from Mecca to Medina) that the Prophet addressed 1,44,000 pilgrims. The sermon, though seemingly addressed to a Muslim gathering, had a universal message. It consists of summarized exhortations based on some core teachings of the Qur’an and sunnah (Prophetic practices). It captures the ethos of Islam and provides a great lens to view the religion through. Some of his advices have become the f