Shaykh Abbas-e Qummi is the author of the indispensable book of du’as, called Mafatih-al-Jinan, (Keys to the Heavens). He was an expert in hadith, and for this reason, he is famously known asMuhaddith-e Qummi. Amongst his many other works, Manazil-e Akhira and Safinatul-Bihar are well-known.
He was a man of great piety and a sincere lover of the Prophet (SWWS) and his progeny (AS). Such was his faith and conviction, that one day, when his son was very ill, he took a glass of water, and after mixing the water with his finger, he gave it to his son to drink, saying, “Drink this my son, you will soon be better, because with this hand I have written many ahadith (traditions) of the Ahlu’l Bayt (AS).”
One of the senior scholars of Najaf once said to Shaykh Abbas-e-Qummi, “My foot is constantly hurting me – please pray for me.” The Shaykh replied, “If I say I will pray for you, it is possible that my prayer may not be answered if I have uttered something sinful in the past. However, I will pass my hand over your foot, because with this hand I have written many ahadith of the Ahlu’l Bayt (AS) and Insha’Allah Imam Sadiq (AS) will effect a cure for you.” He rubbed his hand over the scholar’s foot and the pain left him immediately.
When he began to compile the Mafatih, some scholars of Qum advised him to use his vast knowledge to write explanatory notes on some of the complicated books, like Kifayah and Makasib of Shaykh al-Ansari, instead. “Are you just sitting writing a book of du’as?” they asked. He replied, “I will continue writing the Mafatih, and I have dedicated its reward to the soul of Fatima Zahra (AS), and, with her blessings, it will become Mafatih-al-Jinan – keys to the gardens of Paradise.”
One day he was sitting contemplating in the graveyard of Wadi-as-Salaam in Najaf – where many great personalities are buried. He saw that some people had just buried a man. Suddenly, for a brief moment, the veils were lifted from before his eyes and he saw angels descending from the heavens with whips of fire with which they began to strike the dead man. He started to scream and shriek in pain, but none of the mourners heard or saw anything unusual; there was a man sitting near the grave reciting Qur’an and another was distributing dates and fruits, and another was weeping, but none saw what was happening to that man. However, the terrible sight that the Shaykh saw in those brief moments made him ill for one whole week.
Source: “Karamat wa Hikayate Ashiqane Khuda” – “Miracles and Anecdotes of the Close Servants of Allah”, pp 61-64. Translated AJ/231105