Sunday 21 June 2009

Shamâ´il al-Muhammadiyyah [Part 14] Chapter 2 - The Seal of Prophethood

7/22. Muhammad bin Bashshâr narrated to us; Bishr bin al-Waddâh informed us; Abū `Aqîl ad-Dawraqî informed us; from Abū Nadrah who said;

I asked Abū Sa`îd al-Khudrî about the seal of the Messenger of Allâh (SAW) - i.e. the Seal of Prophecy - and he replied, 'A protruding piece of flesh on his back.' [1]
8/23. Abū al-Ash`ath, Ahmad bin al-Miqdâm al-`Ijlî al-Ba·rî, narrated to us; Hammâd bin Zayd informed us; from `آsim al-Ahwal; from `Abdullâh bin Sarjis (RA) who said,
I went to the Messenger of Allâh (SAW) while he was amongst a group of his Companions and I moved behind him like this, he came to know what I wished so he lifted his upper garment from his back and I saw the seal between his shoulder blades resembling a clenched fist, surrounding which were marks looking like small moles. So I went to it to kiss it and said, 'May Allâh forgive you, Messenger of Allâh.' He replied, "And you also." The people asked, 'Did the Messenger of Allâh (SAW) seek forgiveness for you?' he replied, 'Yes and you also.' Then he recited the verse, "And seek forgiveness for your sin and for the believers, male and female." [2]

"I went to the Messenger of Allâh (SAW) while he was amongst a group of his Companions and I moved behind him like this, he came to know what I wished so he lifted his upper garment from his back and I saw the seal between his shoulder blades," (SM) `Abdullâh bin Sarjis reports that he ate bread and meat, or: tharîd, with the Messenger of Allâh (SAW). The narrator asked, 'Did the Prophet (SAW) seek forgiveness for you?' He replied, 'Yes, and for you.' Then he recited the verse, "And seek forgiveness for your sin and for the believers, male and female." Then he said, 'I moved behind him and saw the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders, near the top of his left shoulder, resembling a clenched fist, surrounding which were marks resembling moles.' "Resembling a clenched fist," (N) in features not size, "surrounding which were marks looking like small moles. So Iwent to it to kiss it and said, 'May Allâh forgive you, Messenger of Allâh,'" (Q) by way of thanking him. "He replied, 'And you also.' The people asked," (Q) i.e. the people who `Abdullâh bin Sarjis was addressing, the person who actually said these words is the sub-narrator, `آsim al-Ahwal; or the people who were asking were the Companions and the one who said the actual words was `Abdullâh, this seems to be the more obvious case. "'Did the Messenger of Allâh (SAW) seek forgiveness for you?' he replied, 'Yes and you also.' Then he recited the verse, 'And seek forgiveness for your sin and for the believers, male and female.'"