The Claim of Meeting the Spirits of the Saints

Question

A certain respected spiritual guide said to his disciple: “Go and find Hazrat Khidr ﵇ and bring him.” That disciple first went to Shanti Bagh, after that to Bayt al-Maqdis, then to Madina Munawwara; there he met Hazrat Khidr ﵇. Hazrat Khidr ﵇ said: “I shall not be present at the prayer, but I shall certainly join in the du‘a; leave some space, because the holy spirit of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the spirit of the respected Bara Pir (an epithet of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Jilani) will be present.

Answer

Concerning Hazrat Khidr ﵇, the generality of the hadith scholars say that he has passed away, but the Sufis hold that he is alive; they have certain unveilings and witnessings (mukashafat and mushahadat) on the basis of which they say so. It is also possible that someone sees Hazrat Khidr ﵇ through his own unveiling (mukashafa)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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