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Usman Harooni Did Not Burn in Fire and Fire Worshippers Converted to Islam

All historians report a wonderful miracle about Hazrat Khawaja Usman Harooni when he was no one of his tours with Khawaja Muinuddin from Harwan to Baghdad. In the town of Ray, which was a big center of fire-worshippers, they had a big fire temple wherein 20 wagonloads of firewood were consumed daily to keep the fire alive for all the 24 hours.

Hazrat Khawaja Usman stayed here under a shady tree. While he engaged himself in his evening prayers, he asked his attendant Fakhruddin to arrange for the fire and prepare some food to end the day's fast. Fakruddin went to the fire worshippers and begged for some burning coal in order to prepare his fire but they refused and said, "This is our god we cannot give any fire out of it. "The attendant returned and reported the matter to his master. Hazrat Khawaja Usman then himself went and found that an old man, whose name was Mukhtar, was sitting on a raised wooden platform with a 7 year old boy in his lap and many persons were busy in worshipping the fire around him.

Hazrat Usman questioned him, "What is the use of worshipping fire which is but an insignificant creation of the Almighty God and which can be extinguished with a little water, why didn't you worship that real and true God, the Creator of this fire and of all the universe, so that you may derive benefit and have eternal salivation. "The old man replied, "Fire in our religion is very sacred and it is the source of our salvation, we worship it so that it would not burn us on the Day-of-Reckoning."

Hazrat Usman: Very well. Since you have been worshipping it for ages now put your hand in it. If it is a source of your salvation it should not burn you.

The Old Man: But burning is the nature of the fire, who can dare to put his hand in it and yet be safe from it?

Hazrat Usman: Fire is under the command of the Almighty God, the Creator of the whole universe without His command it cannot burn even a hair.

Having said this, Hazrat Usman took the boy from the arms of the old man and reciting, "Bismillah-Ar-Rehman-ir-Rahim-Yaa Naaro kuni bar da-wassalaam-un-ala-Ibrahim" (In the name of merciful and Compassionate God, O fire be thou cool and a means of safety for Abraham) (Quran), he suddenly disappeared in the burning fire. The fire worshippers began to cry and wail. It was after some time that by the grace of God, Hazrat Usman emerged out of the fire quite unscathed with the boy in his arms, hale and hearty. The fire could do them no harm. The old priest and his companions were surprisingly too happy to see the boy safe and sound, and asked him, " what did you see in the fire? " The boy replied, "I was playing in a garden because of the blessings of this Sheikh."

All the fire-worshippers, after seeing this miracle, embraced Islam and became Hazrat Khawaja Usman's devoted disciples. Mukhtar's name was changed into Abdulla and the boy's into Ibrahim after the Islamic fashion. Hazrat Usman stayed in Ray for 2 and half years and imparted necessary Islamic teachings and lessons to the new converts. Instead of the fire temple, a magnificent mosque was built in Ray which stands even to this day.

Date Published: Sep, 30 2013