This is an incredible story of the king who sent a letter to our Beloved Prophet (SAW) a thousand years before his birth seeking his intercession! The incident is narrated in ‘Al Mustazarf’, ‘Hajatullah alal Alamin’ and in ‘Tarikh ibne Asakir’ and is translated from an article by Hadrat Maulana Abunnur Muhammad Bashir.
About 2500 years ago, the king of Yemen, Tab’a Awwal Hamiri, went on a tour of his country and those surrounding it. He was a very rich king indeed. In his entourage he had 12,000 Alims, Physicians and learned men in addition to his army of 113,000 soldiers. Wherever they went, the procession of these men and soldiers, which marched with much pomp and ceremony, people gathered and lined the roadsides to watch and welcome them.
When the entourage reached the outskirts of MAKKA, no one came to see them or welcome them to the town. This came as a great surprise to the king. He asked his chief Minister, “ Wherever we’ve gone the people gathered in such droves to see and welcome us, but not here, why? What is the reason?”
The Minister replied “ your highness, there is a house in this town called BAITULLAH. The people of this town and its Khadim have great respect for it; our entourage has no comparison to it. People in large numbers from places far and near come for pilgrimage to this House. In this town no one will heed you or give you any importance. They respect the Holy House more than Kings”.
Upon hearing this the king was furious. In anger he swore and declared, “ I will raze this House to the ground and have the people of this town killed!”. No sooner had the king uttered these words that blood started pouring from his mouth, nose and eyes. The blood smelt so foul that his companions moved away from him and no one would come near him. He called upon his physicians and doctors for treatment but nobody could help or treat him. His condition worsened. He could not sleep at night and kept tossing and turning with restlessness. He wanted to get treated by means and at any cost.
Amongst his entourage was a Physician who was also a God fearing Aalim as well. He came to the king, inspected him, took his pulse and said, “ Oh king, your illness is spiritual. Medicines will not work on you. Did you intend to do something bad or evil, your highness? If you did, He will pardon you and relieve you of your misery and illness if He wishes, YOU SHOULD REPENT.”
Taking the Physicians advice, the King immediately changed his evil plan to destroy the Kaa’ba and to kill the people of Makka. No sooner had he repented the foul smelling blood stopped spurting from his eyes, mouth and nose. He became completely cured. He was very happy at his recovery. He ordered a silk covering for the Kaa’ba and a gift of seven gold sovereigns and seven pieces of silk clothing for each resident of Makka.
Having recovered, he continued his tour. The entourage next reached Yathrib (Madina Munawwara). The Aalims in this group had studied THE BOOKS that had been revealed to the Prophets who had come before them. They took the soil of Madina, smelt it and looked around at the features of this Holy Land. The signs of the place, where the last Messenger of Allah (SAW) would make his Hijra to, as indicated in these Books were all present here. These Aalims were overjoyed and made a commitment to stay put in this town. They wished to live live in Madina and stated that if they were fortunate, one day they would meet the Beloved Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala alayhi wa Sallam), but if they were not, then that the dust of the sandals of the Beloved Prophet (SAW) would land on their graves. This at least they thought, would bring them blessings and salvation.
The King, having heard Alims and counsellors, agreed to build 400 homes for them as well as a big house for the Beloved Prophet (SAW). He left instructions that when the Beloved Prophet (SAW) came to Madina, he should stay in the comfort of that house. The king then dictated a letter to his Chief Aalim and he requested him to present it to the Beloved Prophet (SAW) when he comes to Madina. He further requested that should he die before that meeting, the letter should be treasured and passed onto his children and their descendents and presented to the Beloved Prophet (SAW) whenever he came to this town. He also left enough money to provide for the needs of the 400 alms who where staying behind.
The letter was passed down from generation after generation from the Chief Aalim to his descendents. After more than a Thousand years, the number of children from the 400 Alms had greatly increased and comprised a large percentage of the inhabitants of the population of Madina.. The letter after this time came to be in the possession of Hadrat Abu AYOOB ANSARI (ra) who had given it to his Chief slave Abu Laila for safe keeping.
When the people heard that Rasulullah (SAW) was coming to Madina from Makka on his Hijra, they started making preparations for his arrival. The inhabitants decorated their houses and cleaned the streets. Each of them wanted the Beloved Prophet (SAW) to be welcomed into his house, but to overcome the problem he came up with a proposal; he would let his camel reins free and stay at the house where the camel stopped.
The camel was let loose. It went down the streets and stopped outside the house the king of Yemen had built for him. The Beloved Prophet (SAW) and the people came to this house and Abu Laila was asked to bring the letter, which he had been given for safekeeping. He appeared before the Beloved Prophet (SAW) with this letter that had been passed down from generation to generation for over a thousand years from King Tab’a Awwal Hamiri.
The Beloved Prophet (SAW) seeing the approaching servant asked him “ Are you Abu Laila?” Abu Laila was surprised, having his name mentioned by the Beloved Prophet (SAW) who had just come from Makka. But knew his name. The Beloved Prophet (SAW) said I am Muhammad, Rasulullah. “ I will have the king of Yemen’s letter that you have for me”.
The Beloved Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad (SAW) was presented the letter he read it and said, “ Congratulations to my pious servant Tab’a Awwal Hamiri”.
The letter from King Hamiri stated:
“ O Rasulullah, (SAW) I pledge my faith in you and in the Book that will be revealed to you and I follow the path of your religion. If I am fortunate enough to see you, it will be with great pleasure. However, if this is not possible, I would request you to intercede for me and not to forget me on the Day Of Judgement. I believe in your Risallah (Prophet hood). I seek your Bay’t in advance of your arrival. I swear that there is only one Allah and that Muhammad (SAW) is his true Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam.” (Mizanul Adyan)
The famous incident of the Beloved Prophet (SAW) letting loose the reins of his horse on arrival in Madina which is then stopped outside Hadrat Ayoob Ansari’s (ra) house is known to many, but the reason why it did so may not be. The incident illustrates the fact that the Beloved Prophet (SAW) had knowledge of the Ghaib and the authority to intercede for all people, even for those before his birth and Prophet hood, and also to decorate houses in celebration and Honour of the Beloved Prophet (SAW) is not Bid’a. The Congratulatory words uttered by the Beloved Prophet (SAW) would seem to have been directed to those he knew would come later, but would not believe in his intercession.
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