Du`a that brought an angel...

AA,

I've shared this one before, but read it again so I thought I'd post it here:

There was a man in the time of the Prophet (sw) who traded between Syria and Madinah, who used to go alone on his journeys without the caravans, trusting inAllah. One time on his way back to Madina, a thief came up to him and told him to stop and the merchant said, 'take my goods, and leave me alone,' and the thief replied, 'the goods are easily taken, I want you.' The merchant said, 'wait until I make ablution and pray to my Lord,' and the thief let him. So the merchant prayed four rak'as, then raised his hands and made this du'a:

O Loving One! O Loving One! (YaWadud) O Lord of the Glorious Throne, O One from Whom all begins and to Whom all returns, O One Who does what He wishes, I ask You by the Light of Your Countenance that fills the corners of Your Throne, I
ask You by Your Power by which You command Your creation, and by Your Mercy that encompasses all things, there is no God but You! O Helper, come to my aid

...and he said this three times. When he finished making his du'a, a rider on a gray horse wearing green garments came with a lance of light, and when the thief saw the rider, he left the merchant and started towards the rider, but when he came near, the rider charged him and dealt him a blow that knocked him off his horse. Then the rider told the merchant to kill the thief, but the merchant declined, so the rider killed him instead.? The hadith goes on to say that this rider was an angel from the third heaven, whom Allah sent to aid the merchant, and that the angel told the merchant: "Know, O servant ofAllah, that Allah will relieve and help one who makes this prayer of yours in any moment of distress, calamity, or desperation." The merchant went on safely into Madina and when he arrived, told the Prophet (sw) of all that had happened, and of the prayer he had made. The Prophet (sw) replied to him, "Allah has inspired you (laqqanaka) with His most beautiful Names into which, when invoked by them, He responds, and when asked for something by them, He bestows it.

A. Narrated from Anas with the difference that (1) the traveller prayed four rak`as before his du`a and (b) without mention of the Holy Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, or the words reported from him at the end, by al-Lalika in _Karamaat al-Awliyaa (ed. Ahmad Sa`d al-Hamman. Ryadh: Dar Tayba, 1992, p. 154-155 §111) cf. Ibn Hajar, Isaba, under the name of the Companion to whom this karama happened: Abu Mu`allaq al-Ansari.


FiAmanAllah