The incident of Hadhrat Abu Qursafa

It is mentioned in Khasaais-e-Kubra on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) that one night the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) came out and said:  Call the people of the Suffah.  I called them.  A big cup was placed in which some food prepared from barley was present which was approximately 1 Mudd (app. 750 ml).  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) placed His blessed hand in it and said:  Bismillah.  We started eating.  Approximately 80 people ate to their heart’s content from it.  When we finished, the cup was as full as it was at the beginning.  However, the only slight change we could see was that the fingers of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) were somewhat visible.

 

In Khasaais-e-Kubra, there is a Hadith narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him), he says:  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) called me and said:  Go to the house and bring whatever is present in the house.  Thus, I was given an earthen vessel which had ‘Aseeda in it, which is a dish prepared from wheat, ghee and something sweet.  I brought that to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  I was ordered to call the people from the mosque.  I thought the food is only this much and the people in the mosque are many.  If I don’t call them, it will be a sin.

 

Thus I called them and all of them gathered.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) placed His fingers in the vessel and said:  Eat with the name of Allah Most High.  Thus, all of us ate and were contented.  I also ate and was satisfied.  When I picked it up, the quantity was the same as when we were asked to eat.  However, the traces of the fingers of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) could be seen.

 

In Khasaais-e-Kubra, there is a Hadith on the authority of Abu Qursafa (May Allah be well pleased with him) that in the early days of Islam, I was an orphan and was under the guardianship of my mother and maternal aunt.  I would graze a few sheep.  My maternal aunt would often tell me: O lad!  Don’t ever go to Him (i.e. the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) because He will misguide you (May Allah protect us from thinking like this).  I would go to the grazing fields, let the goats free and go and sit before the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and listen to him.  When I would return to my goats, I would find them thin with their udders dry.  My maternal aunt asked me what had happened to my goats.  I told her that I didn’t know.  The next day I did the same thing.  Then the third day, I went to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and embraced Islam.  I related to her about my maternal aunt.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  Bring your goats.  I presented them to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) placed His hands over their udders and stomachs and prayed for blessings in them.  They immediately fattened and their udders became full of milk.  When I took those goats to my maternal aunt, she said:  O boy!  This is how you should graze your goats.  When I told her all that had happened, she and my mother came to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and embraced Islam. 

 

When divine guidance helps someone, this is what happens.  Just see!  The Companion is orphaned and still a child.  How did the thought of coming to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) come to him?  The goats were their only means of sustenance.  Leaving them to come to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is indeed surprising.  This is not the age when one thinks about the hereafter.  In fact, in this age one doesn’t even think of one’s worldly benefit.

 

Thus, he did something which great philosophers couldn’t do.  This felicity is not gained by one’s abilities alone.