2.9.20 - Shaykh Abu Muhammad Makhlouf al-Kabaili

He lived in Cordoba and died there after first seeking the permission of the Messenger of God, the peace and blessing of God be upon him. I once took my late father to see him so that he might pray for him. He kept us at his house from the morning until after the afternoon prayer and we had a meal with him.

As soon as one entered his house one felt the power of his spiritual presence before one actually saw him. When one did see him he was wonderful to look upon. He wore coarse wool, and, apart from various litanies and invocations, he would say a thousand times a day each, Glory be to God, God is the greatest, There is no god but God, and Praise be to God, being constantly engaged in Invocation. His supplications embraced all things in heaven and earth, even the fishes of the sea. He was also much given to weeping.

Once he wanted to dig a well in his house and he was brought a foreign prisoner to help him with the operation. The Shaykh said, This man has been sent to help us, so we must pray to God that he embrace Islam. Accordingly, when night came, the Shaykh secluded himself to pray for the man. When he came the next morning to do the work he announced that he had become a Muslim. When he was questioned about it he said that the Prophet had appeared to him in his sleep and had ordered him to believe in him and he had obeyed. Then the Prophet had told him that, because of the intercession on his behalf by Abu Muhammad Makhlouf, he would accept him into Islam, or words to that effect.

One day I left the company of the Shaykh and returned to my house, the Shaykh being in good health when I left him. That same night I dreamt that I was in open country with low-lying clouds overhead. Suddenly I heard the sound of neighing horses and the thundering of their hooves and saw a company of men, both mounted and on foot, descending from the skies in such numbers that they filled the heaven. I had never seen men with such fine faces, resplendent clothing and excellent horses. Then I saw in the midst of them a tall man with a large beard and silvery hair, his hand upon his cheek. I spoke to him and asked him the meaning of it all. He told me that the men I saw were all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad. When I asked him who he was, he replied that he was Hud of the people of Ad. On my asking the purpose of their descent he told me that they had come to visit Abu Muhammad in his sickness.

As soon as I awoke, I inquired about Abu Muhammad and learned that he had fallen in that very night. He lived a few more days and then died.