Have you ever thought someone was having a telepathic conversation with you? Speaking just in minds and laughing over transmitted memories? Get this. I was gifted a book by a friend overseas, who's title I haven't revealed since, and whilst I read I fell utterly in love with a character that I sensed was alive, somewhere. At times, I would read a sentence and complete the next without even reading it. I gaped for days on end at how beautifully I connected my inner most self with this poor, but spiritual soul named Shaykh Ali. In conversations, I would often quote him and when asked who he was, I fell silent. How could a figment of one's imagination be anything but?
Months later, I came upon an article about telepathy and in it, I found Shaykh Ali from the book, in the form of a person who lived in the time of Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam. His name was Uwais Al-Qarni.
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam in a hadith al Qudsi, recorded by Abu Hurayra said:
"Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, loves of His creation the God-fearing, the pure in the heart, those who are hidden, and those who are innocent, whose face is dusty, whose hair is unkempt, whose stomach is empty, and who, if he asks permission to enter to the rulers, is not granted it, and if he were to ask for a gentle lady in marriage, he would be refused, and when he leaves the world it does not miss him, and if he goes out, his going out is not noticed, and if he falls sick, he is not attended to, and if he dies, he is not accompanied to his grave."
The sahabah, in awe, inquired: "O Messenger of Allah! How can we find such a person?"
"Uwais Al-Qarni," his blessed lips replied.
Eager to know of this person, for his regard in the eyes of the most noble man of mankind was indeed high, they asked, "and who is this Uwais Al-Qarni?"
"He is dark skinned, wide shouldered, and of average height. His complexion is close to the color of earth. His beard touches his chest. His eyes are always looking downwards to the place of prostration, and his right hand is on his left hand. He weeps about himself with such a flow of tears that his lips are swollen. He wears a woolen garment and is known to the people of the heavens. If he makes a promise in the Name of Allah, he keeps it. Under his left shoulder there is a white spot. When the Day of Resurrection comes and it is announced to the slaves, “Enter the Garden,” it will be said to Uwais, ‘Stop and intercede.’ Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will then forgive them to the same number as are the people of Rabi’a and Mudhar. So, O Umar and O Ali, if you can find him, ask him to intercede for you. Then Allah will forgive you."
Night became day, and day turned to night, ten years passed, and they searched for him, without ever coming upon him. The same year, Umar bin Al-Khattab passed away, he climbed the mountain overlooking Makkah and hollered, "O people of people of Yemen! Is there anyone up there with the name of Uwais!"
An elderly man rose, and called back, "We do not know who this Uwais that you inquire about is, but my brother’s son is called Uwais. He is too unimportant to be asked about, and too poor and submissive that he should be raised up to your level. He is our camel-herder, and he has no worth amongst our people."
Umar repeated his question, to which the old man replied, confused at how such a lowly man could ever be sought out by the Ameer al Mui'mineen, "Why do you ask about him, ya Ameer al Mui'mineen, for by Allah there is not one of us who is more foolish and more needy than he."
Umar wept at his ignorance and recalled the hadith al Qudsi from his sallallahu alayhi wasallam's truthful lips, before he passed away sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
"On the Mount of ‘Arafat," the old man said dismissively.
Umar and Ali, then quickly went to Mount ‘Arafat, where they found a man praying under a tree, with camel grazing around him. "As`slamu Ạleykum," they called out.
The man hastened to finish his prayer and then responded, "Wạ'leykum As`slam."
"Who are you?" Umar and Ali asked.
"A herdsman of camels and a hired workman for a tribe," he replied matter of factly, as if the position had been chosen by none other than Allah.
Unsatisfied, they said, "we do not ask about your occupation, but what is your name?"
"Abdullah."
"Every being upon the heavens and the earth are the slaves of Allah! What is the name your mother named you?"
"What do you want from me, you two?"
"The messenger of Allah once spoke to us about a Uwais Al-Qarni, his description as far as we can see fits your characteristics. Show us if you have the white mark beneath your shoulder, if you bear it, it is certainly you whom we have been searching for!"
Uwais uncovered the woolen cloth from his shoulder, and there, in all it's glory, lay the white mark Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam described. Umar and Ali were rejoiced, and they hugged, kissed and embraced him, saying, "We declare that you are Uwais Al-Qarani! So ask for forgiveness for us and May Allah forgive you!"
His answer, may the Lord have mercy on his soul, is as blessed as he, himself. He says, "I cannot even forgive myself, nor one of Adam’s children. But there are on land and in the seas believing men and women, Muslim men and women, whose invocations to Allah are answered. Go and seek them."
Then, he continued, "O you two, you know about me and I know about my state, but who are you?"
Ali gestured to Umar, "this is Ameer al Mui'mineen, and I am Ali ibn Abu Talib."
In a matter of moments, they were acquainted and Umar bin Al Khattab in departure said, "Your place is here until I return to Madinah, and may Allah have mercy upon you. Then, I will bring you help from my provision and some of my clothes. This has been the meeting place between you and me."
To which he replied, "Ya Ameer al Mui'mineen, there will be no other meeting place, in the knowledge of Allah, between you and me, but this one. So tell me, what should I do with your provision, and what should I do with your clothes? Do you not see that I am wearing a woolen gown and a woolen wrapper, so when do you see me tearing them? Or do you see that my sandals are worn out and torn? When do you see me out wearing them? Between your hand and mine there is a higher barrier which cannot be crossed by a weighty person. So leave these things, and Allah will have mercy upon you.”
Umar, furious with himself, and guilt struck, thrust his stick into the Earth and shouted, "O would that Umar had not been born by his mother, and that she had been sterile!"
Umar and Ali then returned to Madinah and Uwais returned to his tribe with the camels he had herded. Soon thereafter, Uwais decided to leave his occupation as a herdsman and go to Kufah. When Umar heard of his plans, he offered to write a letter to Kufah's governor for him, and Uwais declined saying, "I would rather be with the people who are near to my heart."
And he was indeed, with those near to his heart, until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala decided to take him back to Himself.
Flipping pages of history in reverse, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam once said, after being asked if he had ever met this Uwais Al-Qarni he speaks so fondly about, "No, he never watched me physically, but spiritually, he met me."
Similarly, Uwais said, "I didn’t see the Prophet physically, but in every moment, of every day, I was with him during his life."
In one occasion, he sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "I feel the breath of my friend from the land of Yemen."
And I conclude to say I, too, feel the breath of my friend, Shaykh Ali, who I am yet to meet.
