اللہُ اَکْبَر! Picture the moment: the rain is descending; in what kind of love and fervour is the imam of his age, the true devotee of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم who is immersed in the love of Allah Almighty, performing tawaf of the holy Ka’bah? My master A’la Hazrat رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه completed seven circumambulations and returned to his place of rest.

A’la Hazrat رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was already weak and had just gained relief from his fever, but he acted upon the noble hadith by performing tawaf of the holy Ka’bah in the rain. Thereafter, the fever returned. The scholarly devotees of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم in al-Makkah al-Mukarramah were very attached to A’la Hazrat رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه and when fever befell him a second time, they were shocked. One scholarly devotee of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said in a state of sorrow, “For one da’if (weak) Hadith, you didn’t take precaution concerning your body?”

‘Hadith Da’if’ is a terminology used by the muhaddithin.  It is considered a Hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم but there is some weakness in the fulfilment of some conditions relating to the narrators that transmit it. Nonetheless, this scholar said the narration concerning the virtue of performing tawaf in the rain is weak, and you did not care about your health in order to act upon this weak narration? Listen to A’la Hazrat’s reply with the ears of your heart! He said, “The hadith is weak but,    اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه, hope is strong.”

The meaning is that a hadith being weak means that the conditions are not completely fulfilled in the narrator, but it is still a statement of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and I acted upon it. I have strong hope in the mercy of Allah Almighty that He will indeed grant me the reward of my intention.

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                 صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

The supplication to be recited on seeing a person in affliction