Question:
Extra Ordinary Happening
My friend, [private], is an architect, who won the Agha Khan Award for Islamic Architecture in the form of a Mosque in Jakarta. In 2004 he also designed a small mosque, Masjid al Haqqani in Sumedang, only 9m X 9m in size. This is a special masjid, in it is framed and hanged the beautiful name of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, written in beautiful caligraphy of gold yarn on a piece of black silk. That is a gift from Mawlana Shaykh Hisham, when I visited him in Michigan in 2004, and report my intention to build a small masjid in Sumedang, and ask for his blessing. And I have the permission to use Al Haqqani as the name of the masjid.
As far as I know, [private] has not taken ba’iat from Mawlana, but he is observing the Daily Practices and Devotions in Bahasa and also the adab. So when I asked him to design the masjid, such that the persons who perform prayer/shalat in it can connect his heart to the heart of Nabi s.a.w. which is the Kabah.
Since then [private] himself tried to connect to the heart of Nabi s.a.w., i.e. The Ka’bah. And now after 7 years, since the Month of Sawwal, he often (if not always) sees The Ka’bah on the spot where he puts his forehead during sujud on the sajadah, during regular prayer. He sees the Ka’bah on the corner of the Hajjar Aswat. Most of the time he sees the black cover of Ka’bah (Kiswah?), but sometimes he sees it in red, not black.
Just the last couple of days, he feels he performs the shalat on the sole of Nabi s.a.w. ‘s right sole, while Nabi s.a.w. is sitting in a lotus (Buddha) position! He said the foot’s size is about 3 m wide and 10 m long.
Is this has any significance?
Wa salam
wa `alaykum salam,
That is a beautiful thing you related. May Allah bless [private]. He is seeing one level of reality of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) showing his greatness, that he is no ordinary person but rather he is the greatest of all creation. Remember what Shaykh Hisham
related about the visit of Sayyidina `Ali (r) and Sayyidina `Umar (r) to Sayyidina Uwais al-Qarni and how Sayyidina `Ali (r) described what he saw of the greatness of Sayyidina Muhammad (s):
The Robe of the Prophet and Uwais al-Qarani
The Prophet (s) ordered Sayyidina `Umar and Sayyidina `Ali (r) that, as soon as he passes away, before his burial, and after the funeral prayer, his robe should be taken to Sayyidina Uwais al-Qarani (r) and given to him, because he was designated to keep it. He told them to give it as a trust to Uwais from himself, and to give even themselves, Sayyidina `Umar and Sayyidina `Ali (r), as trusts into the hands of Uwais. They were astonished: how were they, the best Companions, to give themselves to Uwais, and who was Uwais, who never came to see the Prophet (s)? Why did he never come? Because his mother had told him, “Don’t leave me alone; don’t go,” so he didn’t go.
As the Prophet (s) was passing away he was sweating profusely. If you look at anyone passing away, you will find them sweating. Much water comes out of their body. Of all people in this world, the Prophet (s) sweated most. One could easily squeeze water out of his robe at that time. It was completely soaked. Afterwards, they took his robe and went seeking Uwais, to the place the Prophet (s) had mentioned. There, they asked for Uwais al-Qarani (r) whom the Prophet (s) had named, but no one knew such a person. Sayyidina `Umar (r) was becoming angry. Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “O `Umar, wait and see. Let us check the matter more closely. What the Prophet (s) told us, must happen, and we will find Uwais, by God’s leave.”
After they asked further, they finally found Sayyidina Uwais al-Qarani (r) sitting on a rock with a stick in his hand. He was a shepherd. His mother was beside him, looking at his face. They came to him and Sayyidina `Umar asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “`Abd Allah.” Sayyidina `Umar asked, “What is your family name?” He replied, “`Abd Allah.”
“I am also `Abd Allah,” said Sayyidina `Umar (r), “But what is your real name?” “`Abd Allah is my real name,” the man replied. Then Sayyidina `Umar (r) looked at Sayyidina `Ali (r) and told him, “We didn’t find the correct person. His name is `Abd Allah?” Sayyidina `Ali (r) asked the man, “O `Abd Allah, I accept the fact that your real name is `Abd Allah. But what do your people call you?” He answered, “Uwais al-Qarani.”
Every person’s real name is `Abd Allah, servant of God. Every human being has seven names on the Preserved Tablets , in the Divine Presence, one of which is `Abd Allah. This is a favor God has granted every human, to be the servant of his or her Lord.
Sayyidina `Umar (r) was happy. At that point and before anything else was said to him, Sayyidina Uwais al-Qarani (r) said, “Give me the trust that the Prophet (s) sent me.” How did he know that the Prophet (s) was sending him his robe when he had never met him? He took the robe and put it on his head out of respect. He looked at Sayyidina `Umar (r) and said, “Do you know what is in that robe?” Sayyidina `Umar (r) answered, “You tell me.” Sayyidina Uwais al-Qarani (r) said, “It contains the secret of all human beings. And the Prophet (s) is putting that responsibility on my shoulders.”
Sayyidina `Umar (r) asked, “How is the secret of human beings in this robe?” Sayyidina Uwais (r) responded, “O `Umar, did you ever see the Prophet (s)?” He answered, “What kind of question are you asking! I was with him every day!” Sayyidina Uwais (r) said, “Describe to me his features.” Sayyidina `Umar (r) proceeded to describe the Prophet’s (s) face, the color of his eyes, and so forth. Sayyidina Uwais (r) said, “Ignorant people knew him in that way. Describe to me his spiritual appearance.” Out of respect, Sayyidina `Umar (r) kept silent.
“What about you, O `Ali?” Sayyidina Uwais (r) asked, “Did you see the Prophet (s)?” He answered, “I saw the Prophet (s) once. He called me, and told me, ‘O `Ali, look from my belly up.’ I looked, and I found that everything up to his neck was under the Throne of God, but I couldn’t see his neck. And he told me to look from the belly down, and I saw his knees were reaching to the seventh earth, but I couldn’t see his legs. Then he told me look at him all. I looked, and I saw everything disappear except the Prophet (s): he was everything.”
This means that if Sayyidina `Ali (r) could have seen where the neck of the Prophet (s) is reaching, he would have been like the Prophet (s). But no can be like him, and therefore that was his limit. He couldn’t see his legs: everything disappeared below the knees, which were already reaching to the seventh earth. No one knows what or where that “seventh earth” is, it is a secret. “He was everything” refers to what we were saying before concerning our creation by God from the three lights: the light of God, the light of the Prophet (s), and the light of Adam ¡, also implied in the verse of Qur’an mentioning God’s honoring human beings. How God honored human beings is a secret; but from that secret we can understand that God has honored us by creating us from these three lights.
——
Taher Siddiqui
