On What Abraham the Close Friend Was Granted (peace be upon him)

Our shaykh, the erudite imām Abū al-Maʿālī ibn al-Zamlakānī—may Allah have mercy on him and saturate his resting place with mercy—said:

As for the fire that was extinguished for Abraham (peace be upon him), a parallel event occurred for our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: the sacred fire of Persia was snuffed out after it had burned continuously for a thousand years. Its extinction coincided with his blessed birth ﷺ, even though the distance between him and it was a journey of several months. This quenching of the Persian fire on the night of his noble birth is what he referred to, and we have already documented it—with its chains of transmission and various routes—at the very opening of the Sīrah ⦗1⦘, under the discussion of the pure and noble birth ⦗2⦘, in a manner both sufficient and convincing.

Then our shaykh said:

Moreover, some members of this ummah were thrown into fire yet, by the blessing of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, it did not harm them. Among them was Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī. He related:

While al-Aswad ibn Qays al-ʿAnsī was in Yemen, he sent for Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī and asked, “Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Yes.” He said, “Do you testify that I am the messenger of Allah?” He answered, “I do not hear.” Al-Aswad repeated the question, and Abū Muslim again said, “I do not hear.” Al-Aswad then ordered a huge fire to be kindled, and Abū Muslim was cast into it, yet it did not harm him. The people said to al-Aswad, “If you leave this man in your land he will ruin it for you.” So he ordered him to depart.

Abū Muslim set out and reached Madinah after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had passed away and Abū Bakr had become caliph. He entered the mosque and stood praying beside one of its pillars. ʿUmar saw him and asked, “Where is the man from?” He replied, “From Yemen.” ʿUmar said, “What became of the enemy of Allah who tried to burn our companion in the fire that did not harm him?” He answered, “That was ʿAbd Allah ibn Thawb ⦗3⦘.” ʿUmar said, “I adjure you by Allah, are you he?” He replied, “By Allah, yes.” ʿUmar kissed the space between his eyes, brought him forward, and seated him between himself and Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq. He then said, “Praise be to Allah who did not let me die before showing me, in the community of Muhammad ﷺ, someone to whom the same was done as was done to Abraham, the Close Friend of the All-Merciful (peace be upon him).”

This account, in the wording cited by our shaykh, was also narrated by the great ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Qāsim Ibn ʿAsākir (may Allah have mercy on him) in the biography of Abū Muslim ʿAbd Allah ibn Thawb in his History, from several chains: through ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh al-Ḥimṣī, who said: Sharḥabīl ibn Muslim al-Khawlānī told me that al-Aswad ibn Qays, known as Dhū al-Khimār al-ʿAnsī, claimed prophethood in Yemen. He sent for Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī, who was brought to him. When he arrived, al-Aswad asked, “Do you testify that I am the messenger of Allah?” He replied, “I do not hear.” “Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Yes.” Al-Aswad repeated this several times, then ordered a great fire to be stoked and had him cast into it, but it did not harm him. The people said to al-Aswad, “Expel him, otherwise those who follow you will be corrupted because of him.” He therefore ordered him to depart, and Abū Muslim travelled to Madinah; when he arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had passed away and Abū Bakr had assumed the caliphate. Abū Muslim…