A strange incident

A woman whose hand was paralysed entered upon ‘Aaishah (radiyallahu ‘anha). She said, “O Mother of the Believers, I went to sleep yesterday and my hand was healthy and I woke up and it was paralysed.

‘Aaishah said, “How is that?”

She replied, “I had wealthy parents and my father used to pay zakah, host guests and give to beggars and he did not see any good except that he would do it.

As for my mother, she was stingy and did nothing good with my father’s wealth. Then my father died and my mother died only two months after him.

So I saw my father in a dream last night and he was wearing two yellow garments and in front of him was a flowing river.

I said, “Father, what is this?’

He said, “Whoever does good in this life will see it, this is what Allah has given me.”

I asked him, “What has happened to my mother?” He asked, “ Your Mother died?”

I said, “Yes”

He said, “She has been turned away from me, so look for her on your left”

So I turned to my left and I saw my mother standing naked, covering her lower half with a rag and in her hand was a piece of fat.

She was calling out, “My sadness, my thirst.’

When she became tired she would rub the fat with her hand and then lick it, while in front of her was a flowing river.

I said, ‘O mother, why are you crying out of thirst and there is a flowing river in front of you?’

She said, ‘I am not allowed to drink from it.’

I said, ‘Can I give u some of the water?’

She said, ‘I wish u would do that.’ So I filled my hand with water and let her drink and when she swallowed it I heard a voice on my right, ‘Whoever has given this woman water, may his hand be paralysed and they repeated it twice.

Then I awoke and my hand was paralysed and I am not able to do anything with it.

‘Aaishah (radiyallahu ‘anha) asked: ‘Did you recognise the rag she was wearing?’

I said, ‘Yes, O Mother of the Believers, it was exactly the same one I saw her wearing, for I had never seen my mother give anything as charity, except that one day my Father slaughtered a bull. So a beggar came to ask for some, so my mother gave him a bone that had some fat on it. And I saw one day that a beggar asked her for charity, so she gave him that exact rag.’

‘Aaishah (radiyallahu ‘anha) said, ‘Allah is the Most Great! Allah has told the truth and the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) has delivered the message.

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it”
(Surah Zilzal, verses 7-8)

After citing this incident, Hafiz Ibn Rajab Al-Hambaly (rahimahullah) references it to Kitabut Targhib wat Tarhib of Imam Abu Musa Al-Madini (rahimahullah) with a sound (hasan) chain.

(Al-Kalamu ‘alal Hadith: yatba’ul mayyita thalath; see Majmu’ Rasail Ibn Rajab, vol.2 pg.430)



Imam Abu Bakr ibn Abid Dunya (rahimahullah) has also recorded a variant of this incident with two weak chains, that support each other adequately.

(Kitabu Mujabid Da’wah, number: 71 & 72)