Mother's Dua

Many centuries ago, a woman married a man named Isma‘il who, having studied under the tutelage of Imaam Maalik. He became a venerable scholar in his own right. One of the fruits of their blessed marriage was the birth of a son, whom they named Muhammad. Shortly afterwards, Isma‘il died, leaving behind a great deal of wealth for his wife and young son. The mother then took up the full responsibility of giving her son a good Islamic upbringing. She might have had ideas about her son becoming a noble scholar, but sadly, there was a barrier preventing that from happening, as the boy was blind.

The time we live in, it is perhaps not so impossible for someone who is blind to pursue a higher education. Yet in those days, in order to become a scholar one had to travel from country to country and from scholar to scholar, something that was of course difficult for a blind person. Yet the mother did not lose hope, she would sincerely and constantly invoked Allah for help. Then one night, whilst she was sleeping, she saw the Prophet Ibrahim (may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream. He said to her, "Indeed, because of your many Dua (supplications), Allah has returned your son's sight back to him."

The woman woke up with a start, went to her son and saw that the dream had come true. Allah blessed her son Muhammad ibn Isma‘il with the ability to see again, the mother set him on a course of studying and learning. Later in his life, that boy (Muhammad) grew up to compile a book that is the second most authentic book in the world (the most authentic book that is without error is the Qur'an).

The name of the book that Muhammad ibn Isma‘il compiled is known as Sahih Bukhari.