THE STORY OF A GRAVE DIGGER WHO BECOME A ULAMA
This story was told by a great scholar, Sheikh Hisham Al-Burhani, he is a Syrian scholar from the city of Damascus. One day there was a gravedigger in one of the famous burial complexes in Damascus.
The gravediggers at this cemetery were visited by a woman. The woman asked him to dig a grave. Shortly after digging the grave, the woman and several mourners, who were not many, came carrying the body. This body was lowered into the grave, but suddenly the gravedigger saw a garden that was so beautiful.
He also saw two angels carrying the body away from the narrow earth by using a horse. Instantly the gravedigger fainted from shock.
When he woke up he was asked what happened to him. He recounted the incident, but people thought he was imagining things too much.
After a few months, the woman came again and asked him to dig another grave. The digger dug another grave.
Then came the woman with mourners carrying the body. When the body was lowered into the grave by the digger, suddenly the same thing happened again. He saw a garden that was so beautiful and the Angel carried the body.
He fainted again. When he woke up, he chased the woman and asked several things. Who are the two corpses? What did the two of them do to get this kind of glory?
The woman replied:
"They are both my children."
The first is a person who is seeking knowledge and the second who recently died is his brother who works as a carpenter and the results are for his brother who is seeking knowledge.
"Just cash," continued Sheikh Hisyam Al-Burhani. The gravedigger went to the Jami' At-Taubah Mosque, the mosque where Sheikh Hisham and his ancestors taught.
The Jami' At-Taubah Mosque is a mosque that has quite a long history in Damascus. Historically, Izzuddin bin Abd Salam (sulthanul ulama; author of Qawaidul Ahkam) and Ibnul Jazari (scholar of qira'ah, author of An-Nasyr and Muqaddimah Jazariyah) were among the Ulama who had served as preachers at the Jami' At-Taubah Mosque.
"I want to study religion," said the gravedigger to Sheikh Hisham's grandfather. "You are almost 50. What made you want to recite the Qur'an?" said Sheikh Hisham.
The gravedigger told the story and experience when digging the graves of the two brothers.
"Okay. Take the Book of Jumiyah.
Let's recite Nahwu from the beginning," said Sheikh Hisyam's grandfather welcoming the gravedigger.
Since then the gravedigger has recited the Koran diligently until he became a great scholar of Damascus. The gravedigger's name was Sheikh Abdurrahman Al-Haffar (meaning digger).
He has descendants who are also scholars and lovers of knowledge, one of whom is Abdur Razaq Al-Haffar.
The lesson we can learn is that age is not a barrier for someone to study.
Glory of Allah will be given to anyone who seeks knowledge and those who finance people who are seeking knowledge.???
It means:
"O Allah, end our lives with Islam, end our lives with faith and end our lives with husnul khotimah.
ﺍَﻣِﻴﻦ ﻳَﺎ ﺭَﺏَّ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺎﻟَﻤِﻴْﻦ
Abuya Sayyid Muhammad Bin Alwy Al Maliki
Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Salim hafidz
Muhammad Said Ramadhan al buti.