The Umbrella Like Cloud

One Account, One Miracle

The umbrella-like cloud

Mawlānā Muḥammad Arshad Aslam ʿAṭṭāri Madani

Jāmiʿat al-Madīnah graduate; Islamic Research Centre wing of Madīnat al-ʿIlmiyyah, Karachi

As the evening rolled in, Suhayb rushed home, bolting into each room before marching out as quickly as he had come in.

“Suhayb!” Umm Habiba exclaimed. “Where are you rushing to? Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for Granddad,” he explained. “I have to ask him something!” As he ran to the front gate, Umm Habiba stopped him in his tracks: “Tell me what you want to ask him, maybe I can help you.”

“Granddad has told us of many miracles performed by our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. Remember the miracle of the moon being split in two?”

“Yes I do!” she beamed.

“Then he told us about-”

“The miracle,” Umm Habiba excitedly interjected, “that took place in the childhood of our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم when he would lay in his cradle and speak to the moon. Wherever he pointed his finger, the moon would move in that direction!”^[1]

“Yes, that was it!” Suhayb exclaimed.

“So tell me, what did you want to ask Granddad?” she persisted.

“I saw Madani Channel on a TV in the corner shop. A Dawat-e-Islami preacher was explaining that a cloud would shade our beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. I wanted to ask Granddad to tell us more about this.”

Umm Habiba then said, “He is definitely the person to ask.”

Khubayb said while laughing, “Granddad is on the roof!” Turning around, Suhayb and Umm Habiba found Khubayb standing on the stairs. He had just heard everything they spoke about and said, “Let’s go upstairs to ask him”.

Hearing this hustle and bustle downstairs, Granddad looked towards the stairs. When he saw all three children together, he beamed, “It looks like something important is happening!” .

Umm Habiba stepped forward. “Brother Suhayb wanted to ask if clouds followed our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and covered him in their shade?”

Granddad began to explain:

This is a great speciality of our beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. Let me first tell you of something that took place in his childhood, when he was 12 years old. His righteous parents had passed away by this point, so he was living with his uncle.

His uncle was a trader. He would travel on business trips to other places, and our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was with him on one of those trips. Usually, traders would travel in groups. My children, you will find the word qāfila in Islamic books. This means: to form a group and travel together.

So all of the traders travelled until they reached the other city. When they arrived at their destination, it was a blazing hot day as the Sun shone brightly. However, none of the Sun’s rays fell on the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

Umm Habiba asked, “When there was sunlight hitting everyone, why was none of it coming to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم?”

Granddad smiled and said:

Allah Almighty granted him this unique grace. He also wanted to show the greatness of our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم to the entire world. As per His command, a cloud was sent for the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, which acted as an umbrella and covered him in its shade. It followed him wherever he went, and did not allow sunlight to fall upon him.^[2]

The group then sat beneath a large tree. There was no space left for our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. All of a sudden, the tree leaned over and covered our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم in its shade. Some people who were originally sat underneath it then became exposed to sunlight; such was the extent to which the tree leant.^[3]

Grandad told the children:

There was a person who lived in this city who used to read the heavenly books revealed to the earlier Prophets. This person knew of the prophecy about the advent of our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and his distinguishing signs. He observed everything; the cloud and tree both offering their shade to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.^[4]

This person came to his uncle and asked, “What relation does this child bear with you?” “He is my son,” he replied. The person then said, “He cannot be your son,” as he knew the beloved Prophet’s father had passed away at this point.

Granddad then stopped to explain how a nephew is often referred to as “son” in some cultures.

His uncle then said, “This is ˹actually˺ my nephew.” Thus, the man replied, “Now you have spoken the truth.”^[5]

From witnessing these signs, the man was convinced that the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was the final Prophet of Allah whose advent had been prophesied. The person said, “I myself saw clouds and trees giving him shade. I also have seen stones and trees prostrating to him, and these things only prostrate to a Prophet.”^[6]

Hearing of these miracles, the children all exclaimed سُـبْحٰـنَ الـلّٰــه. Suhayb was ecstatic: “In truth, there is nobody like our Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.”

The azan for maghrib echoes, so the children accompanied Granddad to the masjid.