A devoted ḥajj pilgrim

Imam Ibn Jawzi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes:

A person once longed to perform ḥajj. For three years, he consistently made duʿā to Allah for this blessing. Yet, the desire of his heart was not fulfilled. The days of ḥajj arrived for the fourth year, and his yearning of travelling to Makkah and seeing the Kaʿbah had reached its peak. In this time, he had a dream one night, in which he beheld none other than the final Prophet of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, who said, “Travel for ḥajj this year.”

 اللہُ اَکْبَر - The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم granted him permission to perform ḥajj!

The person awoke in a state of indescribable joy. The prophetic words he had heard in his dream were echoing in his ears. He had received permission for the ḥajj he had been longing for. He suddenly realised he did not have any means to travel for this. His happiness slowly then dissolved into sorrow.  

The following night, he had another dream in which he saw the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم say, “Travel for ḥajj this year” The person could not find it within himself to express his worries to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. Even when the same dream occurred on a third night in a row, he was unable to speak of what concerned him. When a fourth night came in which he had the same dream, he humbly submitted, “O Messenger of Allah, O beloved of Allah! I do not have any travel expenses. I am worried about how I can perform ḥajj without this!”  

The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم replied, “Why would you not be able to do ḥajj? You do in fact possess provisions for this journey. Dig in this specific place of your home, and you will find a piece of armour that belonged to your grandfather.” The Prophet