Khidr and Uwais Posted by Sufi Musfaad Wali on December 19, 1999 at 11:43:44:
Once there was a dervish traveling through the desert. He
came to an
oasis after a long stretch of dry hiking and he went and sat down by
the cool
water. He pulled his hood back and wetted his face deliciously with the
crystal
water. He sat back after drinking his fill and rested in the shade of
some
palm trees. He decided to spend the night there, and he gathered up
some wood
so he could have a fire after dark. He ate from his small supply and
climbed a
palm and got some dates which he enjoyed thoroughly. He sat in the
dusk in
front of his small fire, the stars filled the heavens, like sparkling
diamond
dust, calling to him from the fathomless distance. He pondered the
Life that
he knew. He was happy, at peace. As he mused in the reflection of the
campfire, someone walked into the light by the fire and said "Peace be
unto
you, Hello Friend, may I share your fire?
The dervish happily agreed and the man sat down in the dim illumination
of the
small fire. The dervish offered the man some dates, which he accepted,
and
they sat in silence. The man introduced himself, "I am Elias." he
smiled and
his eyes twinkled green, very unusual green eyes. "And your name is?"
he
asked the dervish.
"Uwais Al-Qarni." said the dervish.
As Elias settled down by the fire in meditation, Uwais thought to
himself,
"This man is certainly very strange and mysterious. Look at his dark
green
cloak! he appears to be wearing some kind of armor or green chain mail
under
his tunic. He is some kind of warrior. I wonder why he is out here in
this
desert?
Elais spoke, "I am in this desert looking for you Uwais."
The dervish was a little surprised, "Why are you looking for me?"
"I have come to tell you that your father is dying and you must go
to him,
he is calling for you, he wants to say goodbye to you Uwais."
Uwais was shocked. He had no reason to believe this man, and yet,
no reason
not to. "How can you know this? My father is in Oman, many miles away."
"I have been sent to tell you, that is all I can say my friend.
Safe
journey, hurry home noble dervish and may Allah light your way." The
tall
green robed man reached out and offered something to the dervish. It
was a
smooth transparent green stone that shined with its own light. Uwais
accepted
it from the tall man.
Elias stood up and bowed slightly to Uwais. "That stone is for your
father, and
for you." He then turned and with one last backward glance from his
green
eyes, dissappeared into the star-ocean'd desert night.
Uwais immediately started for Oman the next morning. It was a hard
three
week journey and he finally arrived and went to his fathers house. His
father
was indeed ill and his mother and sisters were so happy to see him
after his
long absence.
"He has been calling for you Uwais." his mother said, " He will not
last much
longer, he said he was sure you were coming, that he had to held on to
see
you, He is in great pain."
Uwais went into his fathers room and sat by him as he lay in his bed.
"I Knew you'd come" his father said. "I had a visit from the Presence
Khidr and
he told me you would come, and that you knew I was sick. This was a
great
comfort to me to receive his grace and blessing like that. He said he
had seen
you. I was so overwhelmed, I had to offer to him my most precious
thing,
something with a value equal to his stature. I offered to him our
family's
most precious object. I insisted that he take the great unpolished
emerald
stone that was given to my grandmother by Muhammad the Prophet. He
accepted it
and I was so happy."
Uwais pulled out the stone. "Here is your stone father, it was given
to me
by none other than Khidr Elais himself not less than three weeks ago in
the
desert!"
The sick old man took the stone with a look of amazement in his
eyes. "This
is certainly the stone."
"He said it was for you." Said Uwais.
"No Uwais my son, it is for you. I have been saving it for your
inheritance. It is worth a fabulous sum. Always keep it, never sell
it or
give it away, unless you give it to God or a saint."
Uwais was puzzled . "One thing " he said, "you said Khidr told you he
had seen
me?"
"Yes" said his father.
"Well when was that? When was he here and when did you give him the
stone?
His father looked puzzled now too. He began to smile and said, "Why
he was
here just two days ago my son."
They both sat in silence, remembering the good times, and
marveling at
the mysteries of life. Uwais kept the stone and gave it to his son
years later.
He told his son the story of Khidr Elaias, and it has been passed down
to the
present day.
Wa Salaam Alaykum! Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakathu!
Musfaad
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