Assalaamualaikum wr wb,
I read this hadith and I just had to share it. By God, it’s so cute!
Abu Hurairah narrated from Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) that he said: “People are like mines of gold and silver; those who were excellent in Jahiliya (during the days of ignorance) are excellent in Islam, when they have an understanding, and the souls are troops collected together and those who had a mutual familiarity amongst themselves in the store of prenatal existence would have affinity amongst them (in this world also) and those who opposed one of them, would be at variance with one another.” [Sahih Muslim]
Can you believe that those that you love now are loved by you because your souls loved one another before they were placed in your bodies, and the same for those you dislike? That’s just so beautiful. That is the beauty of Islam. Everything is meant to be and for good reason too. By Allah’s Will, we pass day by day without knowing what is to come yet Allah has already planned it all out for us. For surely Allah is the best of all planners!
There is a very interesting story about Salman al-Farisi (radi Allahu anhu) narrated from al-Harith bin Umaira:
“I once went to the marketplace in the city and I met some friends with whom I chatted a little. Somewhere within the range of my view, I noticed a man wearing an old worn garment, and he was sitting in front of his house, busy wielding a red leather belt. When he perceived that I noticed him, he looked at me, nodded his head, and he made a gesture with his hand, and he shouted, ‘O servant of Allah, wait in your place for me!’ I immediately stood up and I asked my friends, ‘Who is that man?’ They replied, ‘This is Salman!’ Meanwhile, the man went inside his house, and he came out shortly after that wearing a clean white robe, and he cheerfully hastened towards me, shook hands with me, and he then said to me, ‘How are you doing?’ I was in shock, and I said to him, ‘O servant of Allah, who are you? We have never met before this day, nor do we know each other! What do you want?’ Salman replied, ‘But of course! I swear by Him Who holds the destiny of my life that as soon as I saw you, my soul recognized your soul. Are you not al-Harith bin Umaira?’ I said in amazement, expecting him to explain himself, ‘Indeed I am!’ He continued, ‘I heard God’s Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) say, ‘Souls are loyal soldiers. Among them, those who recognize the sovereignty of Allah will know one another and live in harmony; while those that negate the sovereignty of Allah, will disagree and be indifferent towards one another.’” [Hilyat-ul Awliya wa Tabaqaat al-Asfiya by Imam Abu Naim al-Asfahani]
How beautiful!
I’ve had a somewhat similar experience. When I was younger, I always wondered how the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) looked like. I’ve seen Sayyids, or descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) but I felt as if the Prophet (s.a.w.) didn’t look like them (Not trying to degrade them or anything like that!) However, once I heard about Habib Ali al-Jifri, I was curious to see how he looked. I’ve never met him, although I wish I could, so I searched him up and right away I thought this is how the Prophet (s.a.w.) looks for sure. Years later, I found out that the deceased Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani met Habib Ali al-Jifri before and said that to him that he looks like the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)! Isn’t that so weird? Shaykh Haqqani most likely has seen the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a dream or something and that’s why he said that, which means I was right about the Sayyid all those years ago. Maybe I’m a little off but I feel like it’s because I knew his soul or something and that’s why I recognized him, if that even makes sense lol. But I thought that was pretty cool.
-From Daily Hadith