Shaykh Badruddin al-Hassani

Shaykh Badruddin al-Hassani:

 In one of the districts of Damascus, in the year 1850, a father was ecstatic because of the birth of his newborn son such that he did not leave a single scholar except that he took his son to him and said: “Make a supplication for my son. Perhaps an accepted supplication will favour this child and Allah will be pleased with it.”

The father said: “My friend informed me of a pious man, whose residence was in Bab Suraija. As soon as I came to know of his whereabouts, I wrapped up my son and set off on the path to find the pious man. It was very cold and the rain seemed imminent.

I knocked on the door and the man opened it for me, so we entered into the guesthouse. After we had taken some rest and the warmth returned to us, I said to him: “Ya Sayyidi! I have come to you with a desire, that you make a supplication for this son of mine", and so he supplicated.

Then he invited me to stay with him and so, I did. After falling into a deep sleep, I saw myself walking with my son until I saw a man who was covered in light from his head to the soles of his feet. In him, all qualities of praise existed and so, I knew that He was the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. So I said to Him ﷺ: "O Messenger of Allah, Supplicate for this son of mine." Then the Prophet ﷺ said to me: "This newborn is our son before he is yours!"

He ﷺ took a date and placed it in His pure mouth and then in the mouth of my son. I became alert from my dream, I awoke and saw my son moving his mouth. I opened his mouth and saw traces of the date and began crying.

Do you know who this baby boy was? He is the Muhaddith of Shaam, Shaykh Badruddin al-Hassani

Shaykh Badruddin al-Hassani

The greatest muhaddith – All the scholars and Shuyukh of Syria accepted him as  their teacher, and those living in Damascus used to attend his daily lessons. He  had a photographic memory. Knew by heart all the hadeeths of Bukhaari, Muslim,  and the remainder of the six most famous books of Hadeeth, including the  biography of all narrators of all chains of every hadeeth, their dates of birth  and decease, and their status of authenticity. Also, he used to explain the  Quran by heart from al Baydaawi’s Tafseer (explanation of the Qur’aan).

His  ijaazah was especially besought by Hadith scholars for being the closest one of  his age to the Prophet Salla’l Laahu `Alaihi Wa Sallam (counting the number of  men in the chain). Doctors and engineers who attended his classes used to say:  We exhausted our life learning our profession, and he knows it more than us. He  was also instrumental in the organization of the revolution against the French  occupation.

The Late Ascetic Shaykh Ahmad Habbal al-Rifai Alayhi Rahma from Damascus Relates:

” One year, on the second day after Eid, Shaykh Abdul Karim al-Rifai Visited Shaykh Badruddin al-Hassani and he was asked about the reason for his absence from the lesson? Shaykh ‘Abdul Karim Alayhi Rahma said that everyone was busy celebrating Eid. Shaykh Badruddin Alayhi Rahma replied and said that he has no Eid other than ‘ilm (sacred knowledge).”