Hair-raising incidents regarding the dreadful fate of those who reviled the Sahabah

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Hair-raising incidents regarding the dreadful fate of those who reviled the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum

 

Hafiz Diyaʼ al Din al Maqdisi rahimahu Llah mentioned the following incidents with his chain of transmission until the narrator who witnessed it, for the sake of brevity, the entire chain has been omitted and only the incident mentioned.

 

1. Man speaks after his death and cannot recite the kalimah

 

‘Abd ibn ‘Umair says:

 

There was a generous man in Kufah who used to donate kafans (burial shrouds) to those who required. A man passed away one day and he was informed, he immediately proceeded to the deceased’s house with a kafan. When he arrived, the deceased – who was covered with a sheet – suddenly began to breathe heavily and threw the sheet off his face. He began yelling: “They deceived me! They destroyed me! Jahannum! Jahannum!” We urged him to recite the kalimah but he replied: “I cannot say it” “Why can you not say it?” we asked and he replied: “Due to me reviling Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.”

 

2. Man speaks after death

 

Abu al Khasib says:

 

During the era of Ibn Hubayrah I was residing in Mada’in. I was a businessman whom Allah had blessed with a lot of wealth. Once some of my employees approached me saying that a certain person passed away somewhere in Mada’in and is need of a kafan. I proceeded to that area, where I found the body of the deceased covered with a sheet and a brick had been placed on his stomach. Sitting around him were some of his friends who spoke about his virtue and excessive ‘ibadah. I immediately began organizing everything. I sent someone to purchase the kafan, another to make arrangements for the grave to be dug, while the rest of us began heating the water to perform the ghusl. While we were engaged with this, the deceased suddenly jumped up, the brick fell off his stomach, and he began screaming and yelling: “Destruction! Jahannum!” His friends fled and I was left alone. I approached him and grabbed hold of his shoulder. I then shook him and asked: “What did you see? What is wrong with you?” He replied: “I accompanied some ‘religious people’ of Kufah who convinced me to join them in reviling Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and disassociating myself from them.” I instructed him to repent, seek forgiveness and vow never to do it again. He replied: “How will that benefit me now. I have already been taken to see my abode in Jahannum, and it was told to me that I will return to my companions and inform them of my abode, thereafter I will die again.” He had hardly completed his sentence when he fell down, dead just as before. I waited till the kafan was brought, I then took it and said: “I will not give him ghusl and kafan, and I will not perform his salat al Janazah. I was informed later that those very friends of his who held the same view as he did were the ones who bathed, shrouded and buried him.

 

Khalaf ibn Tamim who heard this incident from Abu al Khasib asked him: “Did you experience this first hand?” Abu al Khasib replied: “I have seen it with my own eyes, and have heard it with my own ears, and I am now passing it on to the people.”

 

3. Another speaks after death

 

Khalaf ibn Howshab relates:

 

A person in Mada’in passed away and after covering him with a sheet, people noticed the sheet moving. They removed it and he began speaking: “In this masjid of Mada’in are some people whose beards are dyed, they disassociate themselves from Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and they invoke curses upon them. The angels who came to take my soul were cursing these people and disassociating themselves from them.” We asked him: “Perhaps you were also involved in it?” He replied: “I seek Allah’s forgiveness! I seek Allah’s forgiveness!.” The deceased fell silent after that.

 

4. A man is transformed into a pig

 

The muʼadhin of ‘Ak relates:

 

Once I accompanied my uncle on a journey to Makran. We were joined by another person who used to revile Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. We prohibited him from doing so but he did not take heed. We eventually told him to separate from us, which he did. As we were about to depart from Makran on our return journey, we regretted and thought that perhaps we should allow him to join us just until we return to Kufah. We met his slave and told him to tell his master that he may join us on our return journey. This slave informed us that something extremely strange had happened to his master, his hands had been transformed into the hoofs of a pig. We therefore went to see him personally, to inform him that he may accompany us on our return journey. He then related the incident to us and even showed us his arms. Nonetheless, he accompanied until we reached a village wherein there were many pigs. On seeing them he yelled out, jumped up and his whole body was transformed into a pig. He joined the rest of the pigs and we could not recognize him from the others. We then returned with his belongings and his slave to Kufah.

 

5. Slaughtered in a dream on the instruction of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

 

The jurist, Ayub ibn Hassan, relates that there was a trustworthy businessman by the name of Mazdak who used to deal in teak and other quality woods, he narrated this incident:

 

I sold some wood to a man of authority in Ahwaz. When I went to collect my money, somebody mentioned Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma before him and he began reviling and swearing them. Due to his position and authority I was unable to say anything and defend Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. Instead I returned home and went to sleep with my heart filled with such grief which is known only to Allah Ta’ala. In my dream, I saw Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to whom I complained, saying: “O Rasulullah! This man reviles Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam asked: “Is it this man?” I replied: “Yes, it is this person.” Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam again asked: “Is it this man?” I again replied: “Yes, it is this person.” Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then instructed me to lay him down, which I did. He then instructed me to slaughter him but I hesitated a little. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then repeated his instruction thrice, so I stood up and passed the knife over his neck and slaughtered him. When I awoke, I thought to myself that I must go to this person and inform him of this dream. As I neared his home, I could hear crying and wailing coming from that direction. When I reached the house, I asked them why they were weeping. They informed me that last night, in the dead of the night, a hand appeared and slaughtered the man of the house. I informed them that it was I who slaughtered him in the dream on the command of Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. As I was about to leave, his young son came up to me and requested me not to mention this incident to the people.

 

This incident had become quite famous. ‘Abdullah ibn Yazid Ansari has also narrated this incident from the businessman Mazdak.

 

6. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam foretells the rude man’s death in a dream

 

Abu Muhammad al Khurasani relates:

 

One of the leaders here in Khurasan had a very pious slave who once decided to go for hajj and began making preparations for the journey. When he requested permission from his master, he flatly refused. The slave pleaded with him, saying: “I am only requesting your permission for something good.” The master replied: “Okay, I will give you permission if you guarantee me you will fulfil a special need of mine. If you cannot guarantee me that then there is no permission for you.” The slave agreed. The master then said: “I will send with you attendants, camels and provisions, but when you reach the blessed grave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam you pass on this message of mine: “O Rasulullah! My master says to you that he disassociates himself from your two companions resting beside you.” The slave accepted this condition and set of for hajj, although his heart was heavy and burdened by what his master said.

 

The slave reports:

 

Immediately upon reaching Madinah Munawwarah I proceeded to the blessed grave, where I presented my salam to Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. I however did not have the audacity to convey the message of my master. I lied down in the masjid in line with the blessed grave, where I fell asleep. In my dream I saw as if the grave had opened and Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam emerged wearing green clothes, with the fragrance of musk emanating from him. On his right was Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu and on his left was ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu, both also in green clothes. It is as if Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was saying to me: O Kays! Why did you not deliver the message? I stood up out of respect and replied: “I felt ashamed on having to pass to you the message from my master regarding your two companions lying besides you. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then addressed me: “Listen, you will return to Khurasan safe and sound, Allah willing. When you reach your master tell him that the Nabi says to you: “Indeed Allah Ta’ala and I have nothing to do with you and are disassociated from the one who disassociates himself from Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” Do you understand?” “Yes, O Rasulullah!” I replied. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then said: “Listen! He will die on the fourth day after you return. Have you understood?” “Yes” I replied. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then said: “A sort of pimple will appear on his face before he dies. Have you understood?” “Yes, O Rasulullah” I replied. I then awoke and praised Allah Ta’ala upon granting me the vision of Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, and also for me not having to pass on the message of my master.

After performing Hajj, I returned safely to Khurasan, carrying along with me some valuable gifts for my master. The first two days my master remained silent but on the third day he asked me regarding his message. I replied that it has been delivered. “What was the reply you received?” he asked me. “You do not want to know the answer” I responded. “Just tell me what answer you got” he insisted, so I narrated to him the entire incident. When I reached the part where Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Indeed Allah Ta’ala and I have nothing to do with you and are disassociated from the one who disassociates himself from Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” He began laughing and said: “We disassociate ourselves from them and they disassociate themselves from us, so we both are at ease.” In my heart I said to myself: “Soon you will see the reality, O enemy of Allah.”

The next day, which was the fourth day after returning home, a pimple appeared on his face which caused tremendous pain to him. He died and was buried before zuhr salah the same day.

 

7. Slaughtered in a dream by Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

 

Imam Abu Muhammad narrates from his father’s uncle ‘Abd al Wahab ibn ‘Ali who narrates that a person informed him of what transpired when he intended going for hajj. He says:

 

Convey my salam to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam together with the message that if it was not for those two lying beside you, I would have visited you. When I reached Madinah Munawwarah, I visited the blessed grave and passed on his message. I saw Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in a dream and he told me: “Look properly at this blade.” I looked at it and even weighed it, making a mental note of its weight. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then stood up and slaughtered the person who had sent the message. When I returned, I passed the village of that person and heard wailing and saw the people carrying weapons on them, so I enquired the reason. They informed me that last night so-and-so was slaughtered and we think that a certain tribe is responsible for it. I requested to see the body and when I entered I found that same blade besides him. I took the blade, weighed it and found it matched the weight of the one I saw and weighed in the dream. I then said to them: “This person has been killed by none other than Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” I then narrated to them what transpired.

 

Hafiz Diya’ al Din Maqdisi, the author of the original book, says: “I asked Imam Abu Muhammad where this occurred, to which he replied: “On the shores of ‘Asqalan.”

 

8. Slaughtered in a dream on the instruction of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

 

Hayyan Nahwi relates:

 

I had a friend who used to speak ill of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. I used to prohibit him but he used to get agitated and only increased his taunts in order to provoke me. When I used to see this, I used to stand and leave. One day he again spoke ill of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, so I stood up in anger, and my heart was filled with grief because I did not defend the honour of these two great personalities. I happened to fall asleep and I saw in my dream Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam coming forward with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. I complained to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam that I have a friend who speaks ill of these two and when I prevent him he speaks even more about them. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam turned to someone close to him and instructed him to go and slaughter this person, so he stood up and went. When I awoke I thought that this is merely a dream, but I will still inform him about it, perhaps he will take a lesson and stop speaking ill of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.

When I came close to his house, I could hear wailing from inside and the straw mats thrown out (as a sign of a bereaved house). When I enquired, I was informed that somebody had crept in at night and killed him.

 

9. Man attacked and killed by bees

 

Abu Hubab says:

 

We were on a naval expedition under the command of Musa ibn Ka’b. On the ship was a man of Kufah known as Abu al Hajjaj, who used to insult and revile Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, and no amount of admonishment or prohibition could deter him. Nevertheless, we stopped at an island, where we all descended and went in different directions in order to prepare for zuhr salah. Suddenly someone arrived yelling: “Help Abu al Hajjaj, the bees have attacked him.” We ran towards him but by the time we reached him he was dead. We decided to dig a grave for him but the land was too hard, so we covered him with some leaves and stones and left him there.

 

10. Man stoned to death to death in a dream on the instruction of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

 

Hafiz Diya’ al Din al Maqdisi says I heard the following incident many times from Ahmed ibn Shu’ayb ibn ‘Ali ibn Jafar Yamani, who heard this incident from a man of Khowlan, whose name was ‘Ali:

 

A group of hujjaj stopped on their way for hajj in the famous business town of Sa’dah. They were guests of a person who was inclined to the Shi’ism. When they were departing he requested them to take on his behalf a large stone and place it by the blessed grave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. They obliged and placed it in their flour bag. After travelling a while they discussed amongst themselves that there is no use in carrying this heavy stone all the way, so they dropped it somewhere along the way. After a short distance, they heard an unseen voice calling out: “Fulfil the trust! Fulfil the trust!” When they opened the flour bag they were astonished to find the exact same stone back there. On reaching Madinah Munawwarah, they placed the stone by the blessed grave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. That night one of them saw a dream in which Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma were complaining to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “Look at this wretched accursed person, how he wishes to stone us! So Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed: “Stone this wretched accursed person” We took note of the date this occurred and completed our haj and returned. When they passed this persons house, his wife emerged and asked them: “Do you not know what happened to your host?” “What happened?” we asked. “He died” she replied. “How did he die” we enquired. “A stone was thrown at him resulting in his death” she told us. We asked her to inform us of the exact night it took place and when she did, we compared it to the date we noted down when we were in Madinah Munawwarah and it turned out to be the exact same night. We then asked her to show us the stone, if she still had it with her. When we saw the stone, we realised it was the same stone he had given us to take to Madinah Munawwarah.

 

11. Imam transformed into a dog

 

Hammad ibn Qirat and Nuh ibn Yazid narrated that a pious man by the name of Safwan related the following incident to them:

 

I hired a camel and went to Syria, where I entered a certain masjid and performed salah behind the imam. After completing the salah, the imam turned to the congregation and began speaking ill of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, so I walked out of that masjid. The next year I happened to be in the same area and I entered the very same masjid but this time there was different imam. After completing the salah, he turned to the congregation and said: “May Allah shower His mercy on Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.” I was surprised and asked the person next to me: “What happened to the imam who used to curse Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma?” He asked me if I wanted to see him, to which I replied in the affirmative. So he took me to a certain house and showed me a dog tied to a pillar. He then spoke to the dog saying: “This man performed salah behind you last year when you used to revile and curse Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. The dog moved its head as if to say yes. The man then told me that Allah Ta’ala has disfigured and transformed him to what you see.

 

12. Man’s hands and feet tied up in the grave

 

Hafiz Diyaʼ al Din al Maqdisi says the famous jurist, Imam Abu ‘Abdullah, who is commonly known as Maratibi narrated to me that Yahya ibn ‘Abd al Rahman – who was the imam of Jumu’ah – related this incident from his father:

 

Two Shia individuals from Hillah, which lies between Kufah and Baghdad, were put in charge of our village, also in Iraq. They remained here for a period and then went away for a while. When they returned to our village, they had abandoned the religion of the Shia. One day I asked them the reason and one of them related the following incident:

We set out for hajj with a blind person from our hometown of Hillah, who used to complete the recitation of the entire Qur’an daily. On our return journey, he passed away and we buried him. After burying him we could not find our wooden spade, so we thought we might have left it in the grave, we thus dug up the grave again. We dug until just before the recess at the bottom but still we did not find it, so one of us decided to open and look into the recess. When he looked in, he gave a scream and fell down unconscious. After a while, when he regained consciousness, we asked him what had happened, what did he see. He said he saw the man’s feet and neck tied together to the handle of the spade. When we returned to Hillah – our hometown – we asked his family members about him. They said that he used to engage in excessive ‘ibadah and recitation of the Qur’an, but at the same time he used to revile and curse the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. The two mayors then said: “This is the reason why we have abandoned the Shia faith.”

 

13. A Qari cannot recite the kalimah at the time of death and is buried in the Jewish cemetery

 

Hafiz Diyaʼ al Din al Maqdisi narrates that he heard Sheikh Abu Bakr ibn Ahmed Tahhan relate the following incident:

 

Sheikh ‘Abdullah Bata’ihi would usually sit alone in the masjid of ‘Uqaybah (which is presently Masjid al Towbah in Damascus, Syria). He used to sometimes sit and talk with a pious man by the name of Ismail, who used to earn his living by selling earthenware which he used to load and transport on his back. Once I was seated there when the Sheikh asked Ismail to relate to him the strangest incident he ever saw. He said: “I used to go to buy earthenware from the village of ‘Amir, where there resided only one person from the Ahlus Sunnah. When I used to go there, he used to come and spend some time with me. One night we were in the masjid, when all of a sudden the door opened and a person with dishevelled hair and covered in dust entered and performed two rak’ah of salah. As he was about to leave, we grabbed him and begged him to supplicate for us. He began crying and said: “I ask protection and safety from Allah, I ask protection and safety from Allah.” When we asked what had happened, he informed us: “I am from Qarafah in Egypt. There was a well versed Qari, who even knew the various modes of recitation. I completed the Qur’an under him and then came to Lebanon for a while, after which I returned to Egypt and went to visit my teacher. His wife told me that he is quite ill and he says he wants to die as a Jew. She requested me to enter the room and instruct him to read the kalimah. When I entered he recognized me and I urged him to recite:

أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله

“I find it extremely difficult” he replied. I continued instructing him to read it, but his reply was the same. In the end, he put his hand on his neck and died without reading the kalimah. His wife then pleaded with me saying that since he is my teacher, he has a right over me. I should perform ghusl and bury him. As I was performing the ghusl, the water felt as if it was fire. When I wanted to bury him in the cemetery, the earth expelled his body. I was perplexed and went to an ‘alim who lived nearby and related the incident to him. He said me: “O son, do you want to change the decree of Allah? Rather go and bury him in the graveyard of the Jews.” When I took him to the Jewish cemetery and buried him, it was as if the earth happily ‘swallowed’ him. When I returned to his wife and asked her about him, she said: “He was indeed a man of the Qur’an but he had images of two people with him, whom he assumed were Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. At night he used to hit those pictures and say: “You two are the ones who oppressed ‘Ali and denied him his rights.”

 

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