A Zealous Companion of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) A Perfect Manifestation of the Love for the Holy Prophet

Mohammed [pbuh]:
Long ago, before the postal service and telephones had been invented a young man was shepherding some camels in the forests of Qarn. As he stood alone, Hazrat Awais (rta) received a message about the Holy Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who was, at the time, involved in the battle of Uhad. Awais (rta) learned that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had lost a tooth in this battle. As soon as he knew about the tooth, he pulled one of his own out. Thinking that he might not have pulled out the right tooth, and because he loved the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) more than he loved himself, he pulled out all of his teeth to make sure that he had lost the same tooth as the Holy Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). During his last days, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked Hazrat Umar (rta) and Hazrat Ali (rta) to take his shirt (jubba mubarak) to Awais (rtah) and ask him to pray for the forgiveness of my followers (ummah). The reason for this was to show his companions the very high status of Hazrat Awais (rtah). Hazrat Umar (rta) and Hazrat Ali (rta) asked the people if there was anyone from Qarn. One man came forward and told them how to find the place. They set out for Qarn. When they arrived, they asked the people where Awais (rta) was. The villagers answered their questions, but were very surprised to see the two prominent Companions (rta) asking for an unknown camel shepherd. When Hazrat Umar (rta) and Hazrat Ali (rta) reached the woods they saw Awais (rta) saying his prayers. As he finished his prayers, he said, "It is the first time anyone has ever seen me praying. The two men passed on to him Holy Prophet Mohammeds(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) message asking Awais (rta) to pray for the forgiveness of the followers of Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This he did. After a while he said, "Allah has forgiven and rewarded as many of Mohammeds (pbuh) followers as the hair of the sheep of the Rabia and Mazhar tribes.

They asked Awais (rta), "If you loved Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so much, why didnt you visit him more often during his life time?" He did not answer, but asked if they took part in the battle of Uhad and if so which tooth had Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lost there. Hazrat Umar (rta) was greatly impressed by this simple person and asked Awais (rta) to pray for him. Awais (rta) replied, "I pray for the forgiveness of everyone at the end of every prayer. If you keep your faith in Allah and Mohammed, His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), you will receive my prayers in your graves." The two great men went away very happy to have met a man so greatly in love with their Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the word of Allah. Many times in the company of his followers, the prophet(pbuh) stated 'I can smell the beauty of Allah (my friend) from the land of Yemen'. This statement is in direct reference to the spiritual greatness of Hazrat Awais. The prophet also said 'I feel a sweet, peaceful breeze (naseem-e-rehmat) from Yemen'. Hazrat Umar (rtah) quotes the Prophet (pbuh) as saying 'From the 'ta'ba'een' (people who have seen the Suhaaba-ikraam (rtah) (companions) of the prophet (pbuh) but not the prophet (pbuh) himself), the greatest of all men, is a man called Awais, he cares for his old and frail mother, he has signs of 'baras' on his body. Whenever you meet him, ask him to pray for forgiveness of my ummah'. Hazrat Umar (rtah) also quotes the Prophet (pbuh) as saying 'Oh! Umar. From Yemen a man will arrive whose name is Awais and he has signs of 'baras' on his body, he cares for his old and frail mother. If for anything, he takes an oath in the name of Allah, Allah will fulfill his oath. If you can ask from him prayers for your own forgiveness, then you must do so'. Ibn-e-Abbas (rtah) states that the Prophet (pbuh) said 'In my umma there will be a man who is called Awais bin Abdullah Qarni. Lo! by his prayers shall my ummah be forgiven, to the numbers equal to the hair of the sheep of the tribes of Rabia and Mazhar.' Ibn-e-Sa'ad (rtah) quotes the prophet (pbuh) as saying 'In my ummah I have a friend whose name is Awais Qarni (rtah)'. Hazrat Umar (rtah) states that the Prophet (pbuh) said 'From the 'ta'ba'een', the greatest of all men, is a man called Awais. Whoever from you has a chance to meet him should ask him to pray for their forgiveness.'

Furthermore, it has been established that our prophet told his followers (Hazrat Umar (rtah) and Hazrat Ali(rtah): 'Take my 'jubba mubarik' to Qarn and ask Awais to pray for my followers'. History also shows, that Awais(rtah) did pray for the prophets 'ummah' and he was in 'sajda' debating with Allah as to how many people should be forgiven for a very long time. Once he came out of the 'sajda' he explained to Hazrat Ummar & Hazrat Ali(rtah) that as a result of his 'sajda' Allah had agreed to forgive thousands upon thousands of the prophets followers. These examples from hadith highlight the nearness of Hazrat Awais (rtah) to the prophet Mohammed(p.b.u.h). It also shows that although there was no physical contact between the two, spiritually Hazrat Awais was closer to the prophet Mohammed(p.b.u.h) then any other being.