Imaam Muhammad bin Seereen (rahimahullah) was a student of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum). He was a very pious man and was a very great ‘Aalim of Deen.
Once, he was travelling with a group of people when they came to a river. As they came to the river, they decided that it was a nice place to make their camp and spend the night. However, as they were setting up their tents and getting their camp ready, some people came to them and said, “Don’t make your camp here! You should rather go further on and make your camp somewhere else! The reason why we are saying this is that all the people who stop here and camp here end up getting robbed!”
As soon as the people heard that, they packed up their tents and left, as they were all afraid of being robbed. However, Imaam Muhammad bin Seereen (rahimahullah) decided to stay where he was. He was not afraid of being robbed or harmed in any way because he was going to read some verses of the Quraan Majeed which would bring the special protection of Allah Ta‘ala.
That night, before he could fall asleep, Imaam Muhammad bin Seereen (rahimahullah) saw the robbers. They were carrying swords and were trying to come towards him so that they could rob him. However, whenever they tried to come close, something would stop them and keep them back. Imaam Muhammad (rahimahullah) knew that he was safe, so he did not worry and went to sleep.
The next morning, when he was leaving the area, he actually met one of the robbers. The robber was carrying a bow and was sitting on a horse. When the robber saw Imaam Muhammad bin Seereen (rahimahullah), he asked him, “Are you a human or are you a jinn?” Imaam Muhammad (rahimahullah) replied, “I am a normal human person.”
The robber was amazed and asked, “What is your secret? How is it that we continued trying to rob you, throughout the night, but whenever we came close to you, there was a wall made of iron that was blocking us?”
Imaam Muhammad (rahimahullah) then told him that the secret was to recite certain verses of the Quraan Majeed every night. The hadeeth explains that if a person reads these verses, then he and his family will be safe until the morning. No animals or evil people will be able to harm them.
When the robber heard this, he realized that Imaam Muhammad (rahimahullah) was a pious man and that Allah Ta‘ala had protected him. The robber felt very bad for robbing people, so he made taubah and promised Allah Ta‘ala that from now on, he would be good and would never again rob people.
(Zaylu Taarikhi Baghdaad – Ibnun Najjaar vol. 3, pg. 171)
Lessons:
1. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has taught us many different du‘aas, surahs and aayats to read for protection. Many of these surahs and aayats come together in the ‘manzil’. We must try to learn these du‘aas and the manzil and recite them every day.
2. When we read the du‘aas and verses of protection, we must have yaqeen. This means that we must know and believe in our hearts that because we are reading these du‘aas, Allah Ta‘ala will definitely help us.
3. When Allah Ta‘ala protects a person, then there is nothing for him to be afraid of. Nothing will be able to harm him.
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