THE NATURE OF BARZAKH -No:40 - The Episode of an Innocent Saiyyida [2]

The realm of barzakh will be a happy temporary stopover if we prioritize goodness
while in this world.

The world of barzakh, also known as the world of the grave, is truly a place of various trials and tests that every human being will receive. There are various tests and punishments for each of us in the world of barzakh. All good deeds will be revealed when we are in the grave, as well as all the bad deeds we do while in this world will also receive a corresponding punishment. The following story shows good deeds and doing them for the main interests and benefits that we should pursue. Many stories of doing good to fellow humans, when prioritized, also produce good rewards from Allah Rabbul Jalalluh.

Rabi bin Suleman (mercy of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said that he was going on 4 pilgrimages along with his brother and a group of pilgrims. When they reached Kufah, he went out to buy the provisions for the journey. While he was making a round of the bazaars, he saw a dead mule lying at a secluded place and a woman, clad in tatters, was chopping it up with a knife and keeping the small bits of carrion in a basket. He mistook her for an innkeeper and, thinking that she was carrying dead flesh for the purpose of cooking, he decided to keep an eye on her movements lest she should serve dead flesh to her customers. 

He pursued taking precautions so that he might not be detected by her. At last, she stopped in front of a building which had an exalted gate. She knocked at the gate, and somebody inside the house shouted Who's there. She said that it was no other than the wretched woman. When the gate was opened, there. Four girls appeared who wore misfortune on their faces. The woman entered the building and gave the basket of dead flesh to the girls. 

He peeped through a hole in the door and saw that the building was empty and desolate. The woman wept and asked the girls to cook dead flesh and thank God Almighty. She stated that God Almighty has control over His people, and it is He who dominates the hearts of people. Those girls chopped dead flesh and began to roast it. He was disgusted to see and shouted from outside that, for God’s sake, they should not eat dead flesh. The old woman asked him who he was. He replied that he was a stranger. 

She asked him what brought him there. She told him that they had fallen on evil days and had been living a miserable life for the last three years, as they had no friend or helper to look after them. She asked him why he had come there to meddle with their affairs. He informed that no religion, except a sect of Zoroastrians, permits to eating of dead flesh. She told him that they were the descendants of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The father of those girls was a very nobleman. He was desirous of marrying his daughters to men of good family, but death did not allow him time to fulfil his wishes. 

They had sold all goods and cattle that he bequeathed to them and had become destitute. They were aware of the fact that their religion did not permit them to eat dead flesh, but one could eat it in exceptional circumstances. She further said that they had been starving for the last four days. Rabi‘ (mercy of Allah be upon him) states that as soon as he came to know about their wretched condition, tears welled from his eyes and he left them with a heavy heart. He told his brother that he had changed his mind about going on a pilgrimage. 

His brother, throwing light on the virtues of pilgrimage, urged him to reconsider his decision and stated that when a pilgrim returned after performing a pilgrimage, he was purged of his previous sins. He told his brother that his advice had little effect on him. After saying that, he took his clothes, a pilgrim dress (Ihram), and provisions for his journey. He also took six hundred dirhams in cash, out of which he spent one hundred dirhams on the purchase of flour, one hundred dirhams on the purchase of clothes and concealing the remaining amount in flour, he left for the old woman’s house. 

He handed over all these things to that old woman. She thanked God and prayed that God Almighty might forgive him his previous and future sins, grant him the reward of a pilgrimage and give him an abode in paradise. She also prayed to God Almighty to reveal to him what he was to get in return. The eldest girl prayed that God Almighty might double his reward and forgive him his previous sins. The second girl prayed that God Almighty might grant him much more than he had given. The third girl prayed that God Almighty might treat him in the same way as He had treated her grandfather. The fourth girl, who was the youngest, prayed that God Almighty might confer favours upon him who had helped them and forgiven him his previous and future sins. 

Rabi‘ (mercy of Allah be upon him) states that the caravan of the pilgrims departed. He had to stay in Kufah till the return of the pilgrims. When the pilgrims returned after the pilgrimage, he thought that he should receive them and request them to pray for him, as it was just possible that the prayers of any of them might be granted. When he saw the caravan of pilgrims, he was overwhelmed with grief on account of his failure to pi! grimage, and as a result, tears began to trickle down his face. When he met the pilgrims, he prayed to God Almighty to accept their pilgrimage and give them a good reward for the expenses incurred by them. 

One of them asked what his prayer meant. He said that it was a prayer of a man who had failed to perform a pilgrimage. They were surprised to hear that and asked why he was concealing the facts that he was not present with them in the plain of ‘Arafat and at the time of flinging the pebbles at the devil and circumambulating. He thought that it was nothing but a miracle of God. Instantly, the caravan of his own city reached there. He prayed that God Almighty might reward them for their labour and might accept their pilgrimage. 

They also asked whether he was not present with them in the plain of Arafat and at the time of flinging pebbles at the devil. Why was he denying the facts? One of the pilgrims enquired of him the reason for denying the truth. Was he not present with them in Makkah or Madinah? After visiting “the sacred grave” when they were coming out of “the Gate of Gabriel” he had deposited a small bag with him due to the great rush. The words inscribed on the seat of the small bag were ‘‘One who deals with us, earns profit”. 

He took out the small bag and handed it over to him. Rabi‘ (mercy of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said that he had never seen that small bag before. After offering his prayer for the first watch of the night and telling his beads, he tried to unravel the mystery but was overtaken by sleep. He saw the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream. He sent salutations to him and raised his hands. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned his salutations and asked smilingly how many witnesses would be produced to testify that he had performed the pilgrimage. 

But he was still reluctant to believe it. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) informed that the fact was that when he had changed his mind to go on a pilgrimage and had given all his provisions for the journey to a woman, who was one of his descendants, he had prayed to God Almighty for giving him a good return. God Almighty commanded an angel to assume his appearance and to perform a pilgrimage on his behalf. The angel would continue performing pilgrimage every year on his behalf till the Day of Resurrection. As regards the worldly gain, 

God Almighty had granted him six hundred dinars in return for six hundred dirhams. He should enjoy himself. Then the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) repeated the same words ‘One who deals with us, earns profit.” Rabi‘ (mercy of Allah be upon him) states that when he got up, he opened the small bag and found that it contained six hundred dinars. 

(Rashfatul Sawt)