The two most important sermons that the Prophet Muhammad (s) delivered to the Muslim Ummah or Islamic community are the sermons at Ghadīr and Arafa. These sermons were given at the end of his life. The sermon of Ghadīr was the last. These two sermons were significant as they dealt with the two major elements of human life, 1) human salvation and guidance (which is what Ghadīr was about) and 2) the crisis of human relationships.  

In the sermon of Arafa, the Prophet foresaw two major crises that humanity was to face until the Day of Judgment. First, it was the abuse and ill-treatment of women. He thus exhorted Muslims from mistreating women for that was a sin and a great injustice. Mistreating women of course is not just in the form of physical abuse.  

In the sermon of Ghadīr, the Prophet (s) guaranteed a line of divine leadership and guidance after his death. The sermon clearly established that guidance and authority in Islam comes from two sources, namely the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt (as). The first among the Ahl al-Bayt (as) to guide and take up the mantle of religious leadership was to be Imām Alī (as) who was to be the mawla or master of Muslims.