Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar preserves a detailed account linking two moments in the lives of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and Shaykh Hammad al-Dabbas, may Allah have mercy on them. The story recalls a cold-water trial in 499 AH, when Hammad pushed Abd al-Qadir into the river and Abd al-Qadir endured the ordeal without complaint. Thirty years later, during a long stay at Hammad's grave in al-Shuniziyya, Abd al-Qadir related a vision in which Hammad asked his forgiveness and requested prayer for his right hand. The account continues with the reported restoration of the hand and later confirmations in Baghdad from Yusuf al-Hamadhani and Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi.
Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar fima Yahtaju ilayhi al-Abrar preserves a detailed account concerning Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and Shaykh Hammad al-Dabbas, may Allah have mercy on them. It relates that on 27 Dhu al-Hijjah 529 AH Abd al-Qadir went with a large group to the al-Shuniziyya cemetery. He stood for a long time beside Hammad's grave until the heat became intense. When he finally turned back, those with him noticed clear joy on his face and asked why he had remained there so long.
Abd al-Qadir then recalled an incident from mid-Sha'ban 499 AH. On that Friday he was traveling with Hammad and his companions toward Jami al-Rusafa. Near the river bridge, Hammad suddenly pushed him into the bitterly cold water. Abd al-Qadir invoked Allah and immediately intended the Friday ritual bath. He was wearing a woolen robe and had scholarly fascicles tucked into his sleeve, so he kept his hands raised to protect them from the water. After climbing out, he wrung out his robe and continued behind the group despite the severe cold. Hammad then stopped his companions from troubling him further and said that the act had been a test, adding that he had found Abd al-Qadir like a mountain that did not move.
Abd al-Qadir said that during his long stay at the grave he saw Hammad in splendid dress, but Hammad's right hand was not functioning. Hammad told him that this was the hand with which he had pushed him into the river years earlier and asked to be forgiven. Abd al-Qadir forgave him at once. Hammad then asked him to pray that the hand be restored. Abd al-Qadir stood in supplication, and the account says that five thousand awliya in their graves said amen and joined their prayer to his. He continued praying until Hammad's hand was restored, after which Hammad joyfully shook hands with him using that same hand.
When news of the account spread in Baghdad, shaykhs and Sufis associated with Hammad came with many poor devotees to Abd al-Qadir's school and sought clarification. Abd al-Qadir asked them to choose two respected shaykhs through whom the matter would become clear. They selected Shaykh Yusuf al-Hamadhani and Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi.
Soon Yusuf al-Hamadhani entered barefoot and in haste. He said that Hammad had just been shown to him and had instructed him to tell those gathered that Abd al-Qadir had spoken truthfully about what he related. Before Yusuf had finished speaking, Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi arrived and gave the same confirmation. The assembled shaykhs then sought forgiveness from Allah and asked Abd al-Qadir to pardon them.
The account therefore moves from an old test in freezing water to forgiveness at Hammad's grave, prayer for the right hand, the reported restoration of that hand, and the later gathering in Baghdad. Its central scenes remain distinct but connected: Abd al-Qadir's endurance during the earlier trial, his immediate forgiveness of Hammad, the prayer at the grave, and the two confirmations that close the story.
Abd al-Qadir then recalled an incident from mid-Sha'ban 499 AH. On that Friday he was traveling with Hammad and his companions toward Jami al-Rusafa. Near the river bridge, Hammad suddenly pushed him into the bitterly cold water. Abd al-Qadir invoked Allah and immediately intended the Friday ritual bath. He was wearing a woolen robe and had scholarly fascicles tucked into his sleeve, so he kept his hands raised to protect them from the water. After climbing out, he wrung out his robe and continued behind the group despite the severe cold. Hammad then stopped his companions from troubling him further and said that the act had been a test, adding that he had found Abd al-Qadir like a mountain that did not move.
Abd al-Qadir said that during his long stay at the grave he saw Hammad in splendid dress, but Hammad's right hand was not functioning. Hammad told him that this was the hand with which he had pushed him into the river years earlier and asked to be forgiven. Abd al-Qadir forgave him at once. Hammad then asked him to pray that the hand be restored. Abd al-Qadir stood in supplication, and the account says that five thousand awliya in their graves said amen and joined their prayer to his. He continued praying until Hammad's hand was restored, after which Hammad joyfully shook hands with him using that same hand.
When news of the account spread in Baghdad, shaykhs and Sufis associated with Hammad came with many poor devotees to Abd al-Qadir's school and sought clarification. Abd al-Qadir asked them to choose two respected shaykhs through whom the matter would become clear. They selected Shaykh Yusuf al-Hamadhani and Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi.
Soon Yusuf al-Hamadhani entered barefoot and in haste. He said that Hammad had just been shown to him and had instructed him to tell those gathered that Abd al-Qadir had spoken truthfully about what he related. Before Yusuf had finished speaking, Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi arrived and gave the same confirmation. The assembled shaykhs then sought forgiveness from Allah and asked Abd al-Qadir to pardon them.
The account therefore moves from an old test in freezing water to forgiveness at Hammad's grave, prayer for the right hand, the reported restoration of that hand, and the later gathering in Baghdad. Its central scenes remain distinct but connected: Abd al-Qadir's endurance during the earlier trial, his immediate forgiveness of Hammad, the prayer at the grave, and the two confirmations that close the story.
Conclusion
The story closes with a striking sequence: the earlier cold-water trial is remembered at Hammad al-Dabbas's grave, forgiveness is granted, prayer is made for his right hand, and the account ends with its restoration and the later confirmations in Baghdad.
Sources
Bahjat al-Asrar wa Ma‘din al-Anwar, p.118, episode al-Ighatha li-Sahib al-Qabr; accessible excerpt reproduces the 27 Dhu al-Hijja 529 AH Shuniziyya visit and the 499 AH cold-water trial.
Ibn Rajab, Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila, 2/194–195: source-level warning concerning al-Shattanufi’s Bahjat al-Asrar and reliance on its reports unless known independently.
Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kamina, biography of al-Shattanufi: the book contained unusual narratives and people criticized many of its stories and isnads.
Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar fima Yahtaju ilayhi al-Abrar; account narrated by Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Baghdadi al-Sufi, known as al-Saqqa, concerning al-Shuniziyya, Hammad al-Dabbas, and the testimony of Yusuf al-Hamadhani and Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi; pagination varies by edition.