Ibn Abi al-Dunya preserves a report about Habib al-Ajami, may Allah have mercy on him, and an incapacitated man who had dependents and was brought to him on a litter or carrying frame. Those present asked Habib to pray that Allah restore the man. The report says Habib placed a mushaf around his neck and continued supplicating for him. The man was then restored, stood up, lifted the litter onto his own shoulder and returned to his family. Later classical works also preserved the same basic event.
Ibn Abi al-Dunya preserves a report about Habib al-Ajami, may Allah have mercy on him, and a man who had become so incapacitated that he was brought to Habib on a litter or carrying frame. The report also notes that the man had dependents, giving the scene an immediate human weight: his condition affected not only him but also a household that relied upon him.
Those present asked Habib al-Ajami to pray to Allah for the man to be restored. The source does not preserve a set formula for the prayer, so the story does not need one added to it. What it does preserve is Habib’s response to the request: he took the matter seriously and began to supplicate for the man.
The report says that Habib placed a mushaf around his neck and continued making supplication. The scene is simple and concentrated. There is no lengthy speech, no elaborate ritual description and no attempt to explain the man’s condition in medical terms. The focus remains on prayer and on what the report says happened afterward.
According to the account, the man was restored and stood up. The story then gives a particularly vivid sign of the change in his condition: the same litter or carrying frame on which he had been brought was no longer needed to carry him. He lifted it onto his own shoulder and carried it himself.
The man then returned to his family. That closing action gives the report its strongest narrative image. A person who had arrived unable to come on his own feet leaves standing and carrying the very object that had previously been used to transport him. The source does not extend the episode beyond this return home.
Al-Lalaka'i later included the same basic account among the reports connected with Habib al-Ajami, and Ibn Asakir also preserved it through Ibn Abi al-Dunya. This public retelling therefore keeps to the straightforward early story: an incapacitated man is brought to Habib, prayer is requested, Habib continues supplicating, and the man rises, carries his litter and goes back to his family.
Those present asked Habib al-Ajami to pray to Allah for the man to be restored. The source does not preserve a set formula for the prayer, so the story does not need one added to it. What it does preserve is Habib’s response to the request: he took the matter seriously and began to supplicate for the man.
The report says that Habib placed a mushaf around his neck and continued making supplication. The scene is simple and concentrated. There is no lengthy speech, no elaborate ritual description and no attempt to explain the man’s condition in medical terms. The focus remains on prayer and on what the report says happened afterward.
According to the account, the man was restored and stood up. The story then gives a particularly vivid sign of the change in his condition: the same litter or carrying frame on which he had been brought was no longer needed to carry him. He lifted it onto his own shoulder and carried it himself.
The man then returned to his family. That closing action gives the report its strongest narrative image. A person who had arrived unable to come on his own feet leaves standing and carrying the very object that had previously been used to transport him. The source does not extend the episode beyond this return home.
Al-Lalaka'i later included the same basic account among the reports connected with Habib al-Ajami, and Ibn Asakir also preserved it through Ibn Abi al-Dunya. This public retelling therefore keeps to the straightforward early story: an incapacitated man is brought to Habib, prayer is requested, Habib continues supplicating, and the man rises, carries his litter and goes back to his family.
Conclusion
The report remembers Habib al-Ajami, may Allah have mercy on him, praying for an incapacitated man who then stood up, carried his own litter on his shoulder and returned to his family.
Sources
Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Mujabu al-Da'wa, report 97
Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Mujabu al-Da'wa, report 97
Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Mujabu al-Da'wa, report 97
Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Mujabu al-Da'wa, report 97
Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Mujabu al-Da'wa, report 97
al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-Kamal, Habib al-Ajami entry: Abu Abd Allah al-Shahham listed among his transmitters
al-Lalaka'i, Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna, report 195
Ibn Asakir, Tarikh Dimashq, Habib al-Ajami entry; reproduces Ibn Abi al-Dunya report
Ibn Bashkuwal, al-Mustaghithin bi-Allah, passage quoting Ibn Abi al-Dunya
CAND-0173 Task 1 evidence synthesis