When al-Hajj Abu al-‘Alaa` al-Hindawi wanted to take the Path from Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari, he visited him and sought permission. Shaykh Salih said to him, “My son, [traversing] the Path is by permission. First permission is required.”
Hajj al-Hindawi began to think that the required permission is from the Ministry of Religious Endowments or perhaps from a senior management council. So he said to Shaykh Salih, “My master! Permission from whom?”
The Shaykh replied, “From the Prophet, ﷺ!”
He was shocked and said to himself, “How can I obtain permission from the Prophet ﷺ directly?!! So he sat down and wept heavily, before deciding to go and visit our Master Abu ‘Abd Allah, our Liege al-Husayn, and complained to him, saying,
“O our Master al-Husayn! The Shaykh says to me that permission from the Prophet ﷺ is essential to take the Path, and I am unable to go [to Madina], but I have come to you, the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the representative of your Grandfather, al-Mustafa ﷺ, in Egypt. Surely I wish to take the Pledge and the Path.”
Hajj al-Hindawi then sat down crying for a long time. Afterwards, he went directly to Shaykh Salih in the Noble Azhar. The Shaykh said to him, “My son! Come here and take the Path, the permission just came.”
Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari used to say, “I swear by Allah! If I wanted to fill al-Azhar with my disciples, I would certainly be able to do so, but I do not give the Path [to anyone] except by special permission from our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And I do not give the Path except if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says to me, “Give the Path to this son of mine.” All praise and thanks belong to Allah the Exalted for this gift and grace.”
