37- One day the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ was sitting on a raised place. He turned to the people with him and said, “Do you see what I see? I swear (in the name of Allah) that I see the fitna (mischief, insurrection, malice) that will take place amongst your houses and in the streets.” During the days when ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was martyred, and also in the time of Yezîd, great commotions erupted in Medina, many people were slain and blood flowed along the streets.
38- One day he foretold of an event wherein one of hiswives would revolt against the Khalîfa. When Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ’, (his beloved wife,) was amused at his words, he said, “Yâ Humeyrâ[86]Do not forget this word of mine! Mightn’ t you as well be that woman!” Then he turned to Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and said, “If you should have the authority to decide about her, behave tenderly towardsher!” It was thirty years later when Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’ made a war against Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, (who was the Khalîfa at that time,) suffered a defeat and was held captive. Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ showed her kindness and deference and sent her from Basra to Medina.
39- He said to Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ [d. 60 (680 C.E.), Damascus], “If you should dominate over my Ummatone day, reward those people who do goodness, and forgive the malefactors!” Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was the governor of Damascus for twenty years during the caliphate of ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, and later he occupied the office of caliphate for twenty years.
40- One day he said, “Mu’âwiya will never suffer a defeat.” When Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ heard about this hadîth-i-sherîf during the battle of Siffîn he said, “I would never have fought against Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ had I heard about it before.”
41- He said to Ammar bin Yâser ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, “You will be killed by rebellious people, by bâghîs.” Indeed, Ammar attained martyrdom as Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and he was fighting against Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’.
42- He said about Hasan, his daughter Fâtima’s son ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’,“This son of mine is a source of khayr (goodness). Owing to him, Allâhu ta’âlâ will make peace between two great armies of Muslims.” Years later, he was about to enter into a war against Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, when he decided to give up and renounced his right of caliphate to Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in order to prevent fitna and consequent bloodshed of Muslims.
43- Abdullah bin Zubeyr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’ saw Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ’alaihi wa sallam’ being cupped, and drank the blood coming out. When the blessed Messenger noticed this he stated, “Do you know the things that you willsuffer from people? And they will suffer much from you. The fire of Hell will not burn you.” When Abdullah bin Zubeyr declared himself the Khalîfa in Mekka years later, Abd-ul-melik bin Merwan sent a huge army under the command of Hajjâj from Damascus. Abdullah was caught and killed.
44- One day he looked at Abdullah ibni Abbâs’s mother ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and said, “You are goingto have a son. Bring him to me when he is born!”Later, when the baby was born, they brought it to him. He recited the azân and the iqâmat into its ears and put his blessed spittle into its mouth. He named it ‘Abdullah’ and gave it back to its mother. “Take the father of Khalîfas with you!” he said. When Abbâs ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ heard about it, he visited the blessed Prophet and politely asked him why he had said so. The Prophet explained, “Yes, I said so. This child is the father of Khalîfas. Among them there will be (a person named) Seffâh, (one named) Mahdî, and a person who will perform namâz with Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’.” Many Khalîfas presided over the Abbasid state. All of them descended from Abdullah bin Abbâs.
45- One day he stated, “Among my Ummat there willcome numerous people called Râfidî. They will leave the Islamic religion.”
46- He pronounced benedictions over many of his Sahâba, all his benedictions were accepted and were of benefit to the people concerned.
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ related: Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ wanted to send me as the Qâdî [Judge] to Yemen. I said, “Yâ Rasûlallah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ’alaihi wa sallam’! I do not know the job of a qâdî.” He put his blessed hand on my chest and invoked, “Yâ Rabbî! Intimate to this person’s heart whatever is right. Bless him with the quality of always telling the truth!” From then on I always sensed the right one among the complaints that came to me and my decisions were always correct.
47- The ten people whom the Messenger of Allah gratified with the good news that they would go to Paradise are called ’Ashara-i-mubashshara. Sa’d bin Ebî Waqqâs ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was one of them. In the Holy War of Uhud the blessed Messenger invoked a blessing on him, saying, “Yâ Rabbî! Make his arrows reach their targets and also accept his invocations!” From then on all the prayers Sa’d said were accepted, and every arrow he threw hit the enemy.
48- He put his blessed hands on the forehead of his paternal uncle’s son, Abdullah bin Abbâs ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ and made the following prayer: “Yâ Rabbî! Make this person aprofound scholar in the religion and an owner of hikmat! Bestow on him the knowledge of the Qur’ân al-kerim!” From then on, he was peerless in his time in all branches of knowledge, especially in tafsîr, in hadîth, and in fiqh. The Sahâba and the Tâbi’în[87] learned from him whatever they wanted to know. He made fame with nicknames such as ‘Terjumân-ul-Qur’ân’, ‘Bahr-ul-’ilm’, and ‘Raîs-ul-mufassirîn’.[88] His numerous disciples enriched the Muslim countries.
49- He pronounced the following benediction for Enes bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ’anh’, one of his servants: “Yâ Rabbî! Make his property abundant and children numerous. Makehis life long, and forgive him his sins!” As time passed, there was a gradual increase in his property. His orchards and vineyards yielded plenty of fruit every year. The number of his children reached beyond one hundred. He lived for a hundred and ten years. Towards the end of his life he supplicated, “Yâ Rabbî! Thou hast accepted three of the benedictions that Thy Beloved one pronounced over me, and Thou hast given me all these blessings. I wonder if Thou willst accept the fourth one and forgive me my sins?” A voice was heard to say, “I have accepted the fourth one as well. Keep your heart good!”
50- He invoked the following blessing on Mâlik bin Rebî’a ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’:“May you have profuse progeny!” Mâlik had eighty sons.
51- There was a widely-known poet named Nâbigha. When he recited some of his poems the blessed Messenger invoked on him the following blessing, which was widerspread among the Arabs: “May Allâhu ta’âlâ not let your teeth fall down!”Nâbigha was a hundred years old, and his white teeth still shone like beads of pearls.
52- He said the following prayer about Urwa bin Ju’d ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’: “Yâ Rabbî! Make his trade prolific!” Urwa acknowledges: “From then on, all my trade activities brought in profits. I never lost.
53- One day his daughter Fâtima ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anha’ came near him, white with hunger. He put his blessed hand on her bosom and invoked: “O my Rabb (Allah), Who satiates hungry people! Do not let Fâtima the daughter of Muhammad go hungry!” Presently Fâtima’s face became healthful and lively. She never felt hungry again till death.
54- He pronounced a benediction on Abd-ur-Rahmân bin Awf, who was one of the ’Ashara-i-mubashshara. There was such a great increase in his property that he became a subject of folk-tale.
55- He stated, “Every Prophet’s prayers are accepted. And every Prophetinvoked blessings on their ummats. And I am praying for a permission to intercede for my Ummat on the Judgement Day. Inshâ-Allah, my prayer willbe accepted. I shall intercede for all, except polytheists.”
56- He went to some villages in Mekka and did his best to persuade the villagers to become Believers. They refused. He pronounced a malediction over them so that they should suffer a catastrophe similar to the famine that had befallen the Egyptians in the time of the Prophet Yûsuf (Joseph) ‘alaihis-salâtu wassalâm’. That year famine struck the area, and the villagers ate carrion.
57- ’Utayba, a son of the Prophet’s uncle Abû Lahab, was at the same time the Prophet’s ‘alaihis-salâtu wassalâm’ son-in-law. That person not only persisted in his denial of the Messenger of Allah, but also caused bitter grief to that Sarwar (Master of Prophets, Best of Mankind) ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. He divorced his wife Ummu Ghulthum, the Prophet’s blessed daughter. He even hurled some vulgar invectives at her. Deeply grieved, the Darling of Allâhu ta’âlâ supplicated, “Yâ Rabbî! Set one of Thine canines on him!” Before long, ’Utayba and his friends set out for a trade expedition to Damascus. Enroute, they made a halt for the night. They were sound asleep, when they had a silent intruder, a lion. The fierce animal smelled all the members of the group one by one. When it came to ’Utayba, it grabbed him and tore him to pieces.
58- There was a person who always ate with his left hand. When the Prophet said to him, “Eat with your right hand,” the unfortunate man had recourse to lying and said that his right hand would not move. “May your right hand never move again,” was the Prophet’s malediction. That person was never able to move his right hand towards his mouth till his death.
59- He sent a letter to the Persian Emperor Husrav Perviz, calling him to Islam. Being an ignominious person, Husrav tore the letter to pieces and martyred the envoy who had brought him the letter. Upon hearing about this, the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ felt badly disappointed and invoked evil on the emperor, saying, “Yâ Rabbî! Tear his property to pieces, in the same as hetore my letter!” Rasûlullah was still alive when Husrav was sliced with a dagger by his own son Shîravayh. And later, during the caliphate of ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, Muslims conquered the entire Persia, so that there was neither progeny nor property left from Husrav.
60- As the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ gave advice and performed amr-i-ma’rûf and nahy-i-munker[89] in the marketplace, a villain named Hakem bin Âs, who was at the same time Merwân’s father, followed Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ from behind, closed his eyes in mockery and pulled funny faces. When the Messenger ‘alaihis-salâm’ turned back and saw him, he accursed, “May you remain as you represent yourself to be.”So the villain’s face maintained its funny pull until his death.
61- Allâhu ta’âlâ always protected His Habîb (Darling) against disasters. Abû Jahl was the most implacable enemy of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. One day, that avowed unbeliever took a big stone and raised it to hit the Prophet’s blessed head. Suddenly he saw two snakes on Rasûlullah’s shoulders, one on each shoulder. He dropped the stone and took to his heels.
62- One day the Messenger of Allah was performing (the prayer termed) namâz beside the Kâ’ba-i-muazzama, when that same villain, Abû Jahl, grabbed the opportunity and tiptoed towards the blessed Messenger with a dagger in his hand. Suddenly he stopped, agape with fright, turned back and ran away. When afterwards his friends asked him what had made him run away in such terror, he explained, “Suddenly a ditch of fire appeared between me and Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, and quite a number of people were awaiting me. If I had made one more step they would catch me and hurl me into the fire. When the Muslims heard about the event, they asked Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ what the matter had been. The blessed Messenger explained, “The angels of Allâhu ta’âlâ would catch him and tear him topieces.”
63- During the Holy War of Qatfân in the third year of the Hijrat (Hegira), the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ was lying under a tree, alone, when an unbeliever named Da’sûr, who was a wrestler at the same time, came with a sword in his hand and said, “Who will rescue you from me now?” “Allah will,” was Rasûlullah’s answer. When the blessed Messenger said so, the angel named Jebrâîl appeared in human guise and hit the unbeliever on the chest. He fell down and dropped the sword on the ground. The Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ took the sword in his hand and said, “Who will rescue you from me?” The man begged, “There is not a person better than you are to rescue me.” The blessed Prophet forgave him and let him go. The man joined the Believers and caused many other people to embrace Islam.
64- In the fourth year of the Hijrat, as Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ was talking with his Sahâba under the walls of the fortress belonging to the Jews in Benî Nadîr, a Jew intended to throw down a big mill-stone. As soon as he held out his hand to hold the stone, his both hands became crippled.
65- It was the ninth year of the Hegira, and crowds of people were coming from distant countries to embrace Islam. Two unbelievers named Âmir and Erbed mixed into the masses (with the intention to kill Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’). As Âmir feigned that he wanted to become a Muslim before Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, Erbed prowled behind the Holy Prophet. When he attempted to unsheathe his sword, his hand would not move, as if paralyzed. Âmir, just opposite him, made a sign as if to say, “Why are you dithering?” Upon this the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ stated, “Allâhu ta’âlâ has protected me from the harm of you two.” When the two villains left together, Âmir asked Erbed why he had not abided by his promise. The latter explained, “How could I have? I attempted to draw my sword a couple of times. At each attempt I saw you between us?” A few days later, on a sunny day, suddenly the sky was covered with clouds and Erbed and his camel ware stricken to death by a thunderbolt.
66- One day the Messenger ‘alaihis-salâm’ made an ablution, put on one of his mests,[90] and was about to put on the other one, when a bird came fluttering, snatched the mest and shook it in the air. A snake fell out of the mest. Then the bird left the mest on the ground and flew away. From that day on, it has been sunnat[91] to shake your shoes before putting them on.
67- The Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ had appointed special guards to protect him in Holy Wars and in deserts. When the sixty-seventh âyat-i-kerîma of Mâida Sûra was revealed, which purports, “Allah will protect thee from the harms of human beings,” he gave up the practice of having personal guards. He would walk about alone among the enemies and sleep alone without feeling any fear.
68- Enes bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ had a handkerchief with which the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ had dried his blessed face once. Enes would dry his face with that handkerchief and put it in a fire when it became dirty. The dirts would burn while the handkerchief remained unburnt and became extremely clean.
69- He drank water out of a bucket pulled up from a well and then poured the remaining water back into the well. From that time on the well always smelled of musk.
70- ’Urwa bin Firqad ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ caught the illness termed rash. The Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ took his clothes off, spat on his own blessed hands, and rubbed his body with his hands. The patient recovered. For a long time his body smelled of musk.
71- Selmân-i-Fârisî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ left Iran and set out on a journey over various countries in quest for the true religion. He joined a caravan belonging to the tribe called Benî Kelb and headed for Arabia. When they reached an area called Wâdi’-ul-qurâ enroute to Arabia, his companions committed the treason of selling him as a slave to a Jew, who in turn sold him as a slave to his Jewish relative from Medina. This event coincided with the Hegira (Hijrat), and when Selmân was in Medina he heard about Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ honouring Medina with his presence. He was very happy because he was a Nazarene scholar and had made that long trek all the way to Arabia with a view to becoming a Believer of the latest time’s Prophet, as he had been advised by a great scholar, his last spiritual guide. That great scholar had taught him Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ personality traits and had told him that the Prophet would accept presents and refuse alms, that there was a prophetic seal (a beauty-spot) between his two shoulders, and that he had many miracles. Selmân-i-Fârisî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ took some dates to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, saying that they were alms. The blessed Messenger would not eat any of them. Then he took him some twenty-five dates in a plate, and said that they were intended for a present. The Messenger of Allah ate some of them, and offered the rest to his Sahâba. So all the As-hâb-i-kirâm ate dates. A thousand stones remained from the (twenty-five) dates eaten. And Selmân saw that miracle of Rasûlullah’s, too. The following day there was a funeral, and Selmân wished to see the prophetic seal. The Messenger of Allah somehow sensed this, stripped off his shirt, and the muhr-u-nubuwwa (the prophetic seal) was seen. Selmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ became a Believer at once. An agreement was made (between Selmân and his Jewish owner) that he would be manumitted in return for three hundred date-palms and sixteen hundred dirhams of gold in a couple of years. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ heard about this. He planted two hundred and ninety-nine date-palms with his own blessed hands. The same year the palms yielded fruit. One palm, which had been planted by ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, was fruitless. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ uprooted that palm and then replanted it with his blessed hands. Dates appeared on the palm at once. Then they gave Selmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ a gold as big as an egg, which had been taken as a ghanîma in a Holy War. Selmân took it to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ and said that the gold was too small to weigh sixteen hundred dirhams. The Messenger held the gold in his blessed hands and gave it back to Selmân, telling him to take it to his owner. Half of the gold sufficed to pay his debt to his owner, and the remaining half became Selmân’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ property.
72- One day the Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm’ was performing namâz, when Satan came and attempted to distract him from namâz. He caught the devil with his blessed hands, and let him go only after the latter had promised not to attempt to spoil namâz.
73- Abdullah bin Ubayy, the chief of the hypocrites in Medina, sent for the Messenger of Allah towards his death and begged him, “Please make me a shroud from the shirt you are wearing.” It being the blessed Prophet’s habit to give whatever was asked of him, he presented his shirt to him and also (when that person died) performed (the prayer called) the janâza[92] for him. Admiring this exemplary generosity of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, one hundred other hypocrites in Medina embraced Islam altogether.
74- Among the unbelievers of Qoureish, Welîd bin Mughîra, Âs bin Wâil, Hâris bin Qays, Aswad bin Yaghûs, and Aswad bin Muttalib were ahead of others in persecuting and tormenting the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’. Jebrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ came and brought the ninety-fifth âyat of Hijr Sûra, which purported, “We shall punish those who make fun of thee...,” and pointed to Welîd’s foot, to the second one’s heel, to the third one’s nose, to the fourth one’s head, and to the fifth one’s eyes. Welîd was wounded with an arrow, which went deep into his foot. Being an extremely arrogant person, he did not stoop to pull the arrow out. So the metal part of the arrow penetrated into the tendon of the ankle and caused sciatica. Âs stepped on a sharp thorn, which entered deep into his heel and caused it to swell like a bag. Hâris’s nose bled continuously. Aswad was sitting happily under a tree, when he hit his head on the tree. And the fifth person, who was named Aswad, too, became blind. All those five people perished in the end.
75- Tufeyl, the chieftain of the tribe called Daws, had become a Believer in Mekka, before the Hegira. He asked Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ for a symptom with which to invite his tribe to belief in Islam. The blessed Messenger invoked, “Yâ Rabbî! Bestow an âyat (a sign, a symptom, an evidence) on this person.” When Tufeyl went back to his tribe, a nûr (light) shone between his eyebrows. Tufeyl invoked, “Yâ Rabbî! Remove this symptom from my face and place it somewhere else on me. Seeing it on my face, some people may suppose it is a sign of punishment inflicted on me because I have abandoned their religion.” His invocation was accepted. The halo left his face and shone like a candle-light on the tip of his whip. His tribesmen embraced Islam in the course of time.
76- There was a pretty woman among the tribe of Benî Nejjâr in Medina. She was haunted by a jinnî who had fallen in love with her. One day, after the Messenger’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ migration to Medina, the jinnî was sitting under the wall in front of the woman’s house, when the woman saw him and asked, “Why aren’t you visiting me any more?” “The Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ has forbidden fornication and other acts of harâm,” was the jinnî’s reply.
77- In the battle called Bi’r-i-Ma’ûna, the unbelievers reneged on their promise and martyred seventy of the Sahâba. Among them was Âmir bin Fuheyra ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ’anh’, one of the earliest Believers and a former slave manumitted by Abû Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. When this blessed Muslim was bayonetted to death, angels raised him up to heaven before the unbelievers’ eyes. When they reported this event to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, the blessed Messenger explained, “He was interred by the angels of Paradise, and his soul was raised up to Paradise.”
78- Hubeyb bin Adî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, one of the Sahâba, was caught by the unbelievers, who took him to Mekka and executed him there. They did not take him down from the gallows so that the other unbelievers would enjoy watching him. He remained on the gallows for forty days. Yet his body did not rot or putrify, but it continuously bled flesh blood. When the Messenger of Allah received intelligence about the event, he sent Zubeyr bin Awwâm and Mikdâd bin Aswad ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ to take the corpse back home. These heroes took the corpse down from the gallows and galloped their horses back towards Medina. They were quite near Medina when seventy horsemen from the unbelievers’ encampment caught up with them. The two Muslims put Hubeyb’s body on the ground to defend themselves. The earth split and Hubeyb disappeared into the crevice. When the unbelievers saw this miracle they turned back and galloped away.
79- Sa’d bin Mu’âdh ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ was wounded in the Holy War of Uhud and attained martyrdom before long. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ informed that seventy thousand angels attended the salât of janâza[93] performed for him. As his grave was being dug, a smell of musk suffused the entire place.
80- In the seventh year of the Hegira, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ sent letters to the Abyssinian emperor Negus, to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, to the Persian emperor Husrav, to the Byzantine governor in Egypt, Muqawqas, to the Byzantine governor in Damascus, Hâris, and to the Umman Sultan, Semâma, inviting them to Islam. The envoys carrying the letters did not know the languages of the countries they were sent to. However, the following morning they began to speak those languages.
81- Zayd bin Hârisa ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’, one of the greatest Sahâbîs, set out for a long journey. The man that he had hired to take care of his mule attempted to kill him. Zayd asked for respite so that he could perform two rak’ats of namâz. After the namâz he said, “Yâ Erham-ar-râhimîn (O, Thou, the Most Merciful of the merciful),” three times. After each time he said this invocation, a voice was heard to say, “Do not kill him.” Each time the voice was heard, the muleteer went out to see the person calling, and came back in, (for there was noone outside.) After the third attempt, a horseman rushed in with a sword in his hand and butchered the muleteer. Then he turned to Zayd and explained, “I was in the seventh sky when you began to say the invocation, ‘Yâ erham-ar-râhimîn!’ By the time you said it the second time, I had already reached the first sky. And I was with you at the third time.” So Zayd realized that the horseman was an angel.
82- A Sahabî named Sefîna, who had been manumitted by Ummu Salama ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ’, one of Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ blessed wives, would never be remiss in his service with the Messenger of Allah. In a Holy War fought against the Byzantine armies he was captivated by the enemy. Somehow he escaped and was on his way back home, when he suddenly encountered a lion. He said, “I am the servant of the Messenger of Allah,” and told the lion everything he had experienced. The lion began to walk along with him, rubbing its face and eyes on him as they walked, and keeping close to him lest the enemy should harm him. When the Muslim troops came into sight, the lion turned back and walked away.
83- Someone named Jehjâh-i-Ghaffârî rose against the Khalîfa, ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. He broke the rod which Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ used to carry in his hand, with his knee. A year later his knee caught a disease called anthrax, which caused him to die.
84- Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ left Damascus for Mekka for the purpose of hajj (pilgrimage of a Muslim). En route, he went to Medina and attempted to take Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ minbar with him to Damascus, for the purpose of benefiting from its spiritual blessings. As soon as they moved the minbar only a little, a solar eclipse took place. It was dark everywhere, so much so that the stars appeared in the sky.
85- In the Holy War of Uhud one of Abû Qatâda’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ eyes came out of its socket and fell on his cheek. They took him to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’. With his own blessed hand the Messenger put the eye