Habib Nuh ibn Muhammad al-Habshy (q.s.) & the Merchant

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Once, an Arab merchant invited Habib Nuh ibn Muhammad al-Habshy (q.s.) to his home for a supplication of safety during a journey, what the Malays call “du’a selamat”.  The trader was going back to Yemen on some business. His planned to leave immediately after the du’a selamat, and would head to Keppel where a ship was awaiting.  At that time, there would only a few ships which set sail to Yemen every week. 

When Habib Nuh (q.s.) arrived, he sat on the merchant's luggage while making du’a.  Habib Nuh (q.s.) made an extremely long du’a, until even the merchant became restless; he was going to miss his ship.  Out of respect for Habib Nuh (q.s.), nobody said anything.  By the time Habib Nuh (q.s.) ended his supplication, the ship had departed.  The guests started eating, but nobody said anything or questioned Habib Nuh (q.s.). 

A week later, they heard the news that the ship on which the merchant was supposed to be in had sunk in the Indian Ocean, and everyone onboard had perished.