Salam from the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

Khāja Muʿīn al-Dīn explains another beautiful incident:

I once was fortunate enough to visit the Kaʿba with my shaykh. He took hold of my hand and entrusted me to Allah. Standing beneath the mīzāb (waterspout of the Kaʿba), he prayed for me in heartrending fashion. A hidden voice then said, “We have accepted Muʿīn al-Dīn.”^[1]

After a blissful experience in Makkah, my shaykh and I set out to visit the universally loved city; we departed to visit Madinah. My heart was overwhelmed as soon as I saw it. I placed the blessed soil of that sacred city upon my eyes and kissed it. I then presented myself in the court of Allah’s most beloved Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. When we stood at the gates outside his blessed grave, my shaykh told me to present my salam. With utmost concentration, love, and decorum, I gave salam to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

I then heard a reply come from within, saying, “وَعَلَیْکُمُ السلّام - O Quṭb al-Mashāʾikh!” Hearing this, my shaykh prostrated to Allah in thankfulness. He then turned to me and smiled, “Now you have attained a remarkable rank.”^[2]

سُـبْحٰـنَ الـلّٰــه Dear Islamic brothers! This is the unique rank of Khāja Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه. He spent twenty years with his shaykh, and was around 52 years old when the latter passed away. When Shaykh ʿUthmān Hārūnī was about to pass away, he granted Khāja Muʿīn al-Dīn successorship, and also gave him some special relics. He said, “These are memorabilia from our shaykhs that have reached us from the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. I now give them to you. Preserve them as we did.”