After continuous traveling, we reached darkness and entered the darkness.

After continuous traveling, we reached darkness and entered the darkness. We traveled in it continuously for six days. We used to differentiate day and night by a faint light, which slightly reduced the darkness of night. After continuous travel, we descended between some mountains and valleys and my father went around searching for a spring of life everywhere. He had read that the spring of Aab-e-Hayat was at that spot.

We stayed at that place for a few days and the water we had with us was depleted. We lived on the milk of she-camel. If we had not the she-camels with us we would have died of thirst. My father continuously went about here and there in search of Spring of Life and he had ordered us to keep the fire burning so that the way remains visible and he does not have difficulty in reaching us. We stayed there for five days and my father remained busy continuously searching but the spring was not found.

At last, he gave up and intended to return. Our provisions for journey were exhausted. When servants feared for their lives, they insisted my father to move out of the darkness. One day, I came out of my caravan to relieve myself and went a little far away. Incidentally, I saw a spring, which had white and sweet water. That spring was neither too small nor too big and was of medium size, which was gushing forth slowly.

I went near it and drank two or three fistfuls of water, which was very sweet and tasty and cool. I came back running to my caravan and gave the good news to servants that I had found out a spring of water. They took along water-bags and came along with me. I did not realize at that time that my father was searching for a spring. Instead I was happy that water was exhausted in our caravan and I found a spring. My father was not present at that time and had gone in search of the spring.

We searched for that spring a lot but could not find it. The servants falsified me and said, ‘You did not speak the truth.’ When we returned to our camp, we saw that my father had also returned. I narrated the entire episode to him. He said, ‘My son, I bore all these calamities for the sake of this spring only but I could not find it and you found it. Now your life would be so long that you would become wary of living.’ Eventually, we returned to our home.

My father remained alive for a few years and passed away after that. May Allah be pleased with him.