One of the great and pious men that have walked the surface of this earth is the person of the Imam Muhammad bn ‘Ali bn Umar bn Muhammad bn Yusuf Ad-Damadi At-Tahaami.
He was born 883 years after the Hijrah in his home village of Damad in the province of Al-Mikhlaaf As-Sulaymaani where he memorized the Quran and took Ilm from the Imams and Ulama of the Land. He then took Ilm from other Imams and Possessors of Knowledge in the surrounding areas and countries in the Arabian Peninsula of his time. One of his teachers was the Imam Ahmad bn Muhammad bn Hajar Al-Haythami rahimahullah.
He was known for his piety, generosity and brilliance. He excelled his peers among the Ulama and was foremost in teaching and guiding in the community of Damad.
In the year 973 after the Hijrah, the Province of Al-Mikhlaaf As-Sulaimaani were severely tried by Allah with famine and drought which brought immense suffering, difficulty and pain upon the people. The old wept, children suffered and the women faced extreme difficulty.
The People of Damad called upon their Ulama and they agreed, in accordance with the Sunnah, to observe the Istisqaa Prayer.
To lead them in this, to pray for them in this difficult time when all means have failed and all hopes seem to have ended and all reliance are upon Allah, the people chose the leadership of the Pious Imam Ibn Umar Ad-Damadi rahimahullah…
It is mentioned that when he led the prayers he stood before the people, praised Allah and supplicated a long supplication the beginning of which is:
إِن مسّنا الضّر, أو ضاقت بنا الحيل … فلن يخيب لنا في ربنا أمل
وإِن أناخت بنا البلوى فإِن لنا : … ربّا يحولها عنا فتنتقل
الله في كل خطب حسبنا وكفى … إليه نرفع شكوانا ونبتهل
_”When difficulties afflict us or means constrict us, never will our hopes in our Lord fail us_
_And when calamities compress us then we have a Lord that will uplift it from us that we then may prosper_
_”Allah, in every disaster suffices and is enough for us_
_To Him alone we report our complains and return_
His supplication was long and desperate. To it wept the People of Damad and the people called upon Allah is repentance and in seeking. Allah answered their prayers and it was said that they did not depart the Prayer Ground until the rain descended and was heavy.
Ibn Umar Ad-Damadi could not return home due to the heaviness of the rain but was carried by others due to his old age…
Honored Ones, thus was the life of our predecessors. They returned to Allah and prayed to him in times of difficulty, repenting and weeping, seeking forgiveness for their sins…
Baarakallahu Fikum
