6a. From 1939 to June 1947
(First of three sections)
Publication of A Manual of Hadith, Living Thoughts
and The New World Order.
Three campaigns for Quran publication
The eight years 1939 to 1947 are the period during which Maulana
Muhammad Ali, besides other writings, made some extremely valuable
additions to Islamic literature in English by writing the books
The New World Order, A Manual of Hadith and Living
Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. He also started three very
important campaigns: Translations of the Quran, Propagation of the
Quran through missionary centres, and the proposal to establish
an Idara Talim-ul-Quran (Institute for the study and teaching
of the Quran). Through these campaigns he showed the Jama‘at
the path by following which it could succeed in attaining its real
objective. To make these campaigns successful he not only appealed
to the Jama‘at again and again for donations and raised funds
but he also went to Hyderabad Deccan twice and paid a visit to Bombay,
raising a large amount of money from non-Ahmadi Muslims as well.
He kept striving for these campaigns continuously. His zeal and
fervour for the Quran can be gauged by reading his writings and
khutbas of that period which are full of a particularly strong
passion.
During this period, due to the Second World War, direct communications
between the Anjuman and some foreign countries and missions were
interrupted but the work of the propagation of Islam continued despite
this, and as soon as the war ended new ventures were initiated.
During this period the Anjuman’s financial problems were reduced
and its budget continued to make progress as usual. Also in these
years Maulana Muhammad Ali used all possible ways to conclusively
convey the argument to the Qadian Jama‘at and its head. In
this period two more of the greatest stalwarts of this Jama‘at,
Dr. Syed Muhammad Husain Shah and Dr. Basharat Ahmad, passed away.
The details of all these events are given below.
Writings from 1939 to 1947
These eight years included six years of the Second World War. During
this period Maulana Muhammad Ali in his khutbas and writings
very often drew the attention of the Jama‘at towards the
fact that as this terrible war was the conflict between Gog and
Magog, which testified to the truth of Islam, the only solution
for these problems of the world was to be found in Islamic teachings
and therefore it was a heavy responsibility of our Jama‘at
to present Islam on an even larger scale to the Western nations.
In this connection he first wrote two pamphlets: Islam and the
Present War in both Urdu and English in 1940. Then in December
1942 a booklet Niya Nizam ‘alam was published, in which it
was argued that Islam is the only system that can establish lasting
peace and security in the world. It was absolutely essential to
present this treatise in English. When Maulana Muhammad Ali rendered
it into English he expanded it to greater detail and produced it
in the form of a new book The New World Order, which
was published in February 1944. It especially addresses the Western
nations, and offers the Islamic solution to their spiritual, economic,
social and political ailments. It consists of four chapters:
- Foundations of the New World Order
- The Economic Problem
- Home and Social Problems
- The State.
Summaries of the teachings of Islam on these subjects are given
in appendixes. This book proved so popular that in 1945 a special
plan was undertaken to publish it on a wide scale all over the world.
It was also translated into several languages of Europe and Asia.
Its first translation was in Arabic, into which Syed Tasaddaq Husain
Qadari of Baghdad had it rendered. Such was the demand for it that
all the twenty-five thousand copies of the first edition were sold
in the first month, and a second printing was needed straightaway.
This Arabic translation was widely distributed in Iraq, Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco etc. and newspapers in all these countries
wrote glowing reviews of the book, going so far as to recommend
it as a text book for the Arab youth. These reviews and opinions
of some renowned persons about this book were printed in Paigham
Sulh from time to time. Another edition has been published in
Beirut. In addition to German, Dutch, Turkish, French, Italian and
various languages of India, it was also translated into the Siamese
and Indonesian languages.
Around the time of the publication of the above book, another essential
and valuable addition to Islamic literature in English was made
when Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote the book A Manual of Hadith.
This contains about 690 selected sayings and traditions of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad on all aspects of life (out of which 523 are from
Sahih al-Bukhari), given in the original Arabic text along
with English translation and explanatory notes. There are some distinctive
features that have greatly enhanced its usefulness. One is that
at the beginning of each chapter he has quoted verses of the Holy
Quran which deal with the subject-matter in hand, enabling the reader
to realise that all the principles of Islam are set forth in the
Quran and that the Hadith is the explanation of these principles
as given by the Holy Prophet by his words and his practice. Then
after quoting the verses of the Quran, he has summarised in a note
the teachings contained in these verses and how that guidance is
further elaborated in the Hadith reports that have been compiled
in that particular chapter. There are altogether 31 chapters: for
example, Faith, Divine Revelation, Knowledge, Purification, Ablution,
Prayer, Mosque, Charity, Fasting, Pilgrimage, Jihad, Marriage, Divorce,
Trade, Agriculture, Wills and Bequests, Inheritance, Regulations
relating to Food and Drink, Dress and Adornment, and Morals and
Manners. This book was printed beautifully as well. Its first edition,
consisting of two thousand copies, was exhausted in two years. This
book too became very popular among English-reading people all over
the world. In May 1948 its Urdu translation was published under
the title of Ahadith-ul-‘Amal.
In the summer of 1945, when Maulana Muhammad Ali was in Dalhousie,
the famous publishing firm of the United Kingdom, Cassell and Company,
approached him through the Imam of the Woking Mosque to write a
book on the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad for
their series of books entitled ‘Living Thoughts’ covering in brief
the lives of famous teachers and thinkers in world history. The
Maulana started to write this book while still in Dalhousie and
sent the complete typescript to England at the beginning of 1946.
This book was printed in 1947 but due to problems in binding its
publication in Britain was delayed till March 1948. During this
period the manuscript was read in detail by the publishers and it
was liked so much that the company director Sir Newman Flower wrote
to the Imam of the Woking Mosque saying that he had read the book
from beginning to end and while he found the whole book to be excellent,
the first chapter in particular which gives the life of the Holy
Prophet in brief was “a masterly piece of work”.
In this chapter, in addition to summarising the life of the Holy
Prophet, the criticism levelled against him regarding the plurality
of his marriages and the wars fought by him is also refuted. The
rest of the book gives a summary of the teachings of the Holy Quran
on various points. Though it is brief, still it is in a sense a
comprehensive book on the life of the Holy Prophet and the teachings
of the Quran, throwing light on all aspects of human life from the
viewpoint of the Holy Quran and the practical life of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad.
In the summer of 1946 Maulana Muhammad Ali translated this book
into Urdu himself in Dalhousie, which after some delay was published
in the beginning of 1948. He named the Urdu translation not as ‘The
Living Thoughts’ (Zinda Afkar) but as ‘The Living Teaching’
(Zinda Ta‘lim). Several editions of this book under the title
Zinda Nabi Ki Zinda Ta‘lim have been published in Urdu.
When the English version of this book reached various countries,
it was translated and published in the local languages. Foreign
newspapers, especially English newspapers, wrote many glowing reviews
of this book, some of which were printed in Paigham Sulh
dated 23 March 1949.
Besides the important books mentioned above, he produced many other
writings during these eight years. In 1939 The Muslim
Prayer Book was published. In 1944 he revised his booklet Al-Muslih
al-Mau‘ud (‘The Promised Reformer’), which he had written in
1914. Now he published it again after revision and adding a new
preface because in January and February 1944 Mirza Mahmud Ahmad
had announced his claim to be the Promised Reformer on the basis
of a dream. In 1946 History of the Prophets was published,
and another short book Prayers of the Holy Quran written
during that period was published in 1948, its Urdu translation,
Ad‘iyat-ul-Quran, coming out later.
During these eight years he wrote many pamphlets, most of these
being about the Qadian Jama‘at, as will be mentioned later.
In this period Maulana Muhammad Ali conclusively established the
argument over the leader of the Qadian Jama‘at in particular.
He wrote and published the following pamphlets for distribution
in the Qadian Jama‘at in this connection:
- Ahbab Qadian say appeal (‘An appeal to Qadiani friends’).
- Maulvi Ghulam Hasan Sahib say ayk mukhlisana gazarash
(‘Sincere Request to Maulvi Ghulam Hasan’).
- Qadiani Yaum Tabligh (‘Qadiani Day of Preaching’).
- Qadiani ahbab kay leeay ayk qabal-i ghaur mawazina (‘A
comparison to ponder for Qadiani friends’).
- Khalifa Qadian ka 1914 say pehlay mazhab (‘Beliefs of
Khalifa of Qadian before 1914’).
- Qadian aur Lahore kay jalson main donon fariqon kay rahnamaon
key taqreeron key zaroorat (‘Need for the Heads of the two
parties to make speeches at both the annual gatherings at Qadian
and Lahore’).
- Ahmadiyya Jama‘at Lahore aur Qadiani Jama‘at ka ikhtilaf
(‘Difference of belief between the Lahore Ahmadiyya Jama‘at
and the Qadiani Jama‘at’).
- Mian Mahmud Ahmad Sahib ko half uthanay kay leeay muqabilay
ki da‘wat (‘Mirza Mahmud Ahmad called to compete in making
a sworn statement’).
- Mian Mahmud Ahmad Sahib ki da‘wat-i mubahila (‘The call
by Mirza Mahmud Ahmad to a Mubahila’).
- Mian Mahmud Ahmad Sahib kay naam khuli chithi (‘Open
letter to Mirza Mahmud Ahmad’).
- Hazrat Nabi Karim ka maqam (‘Status of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad’).
- Faisla ka sahih tareeq (‘Right way to make judgment’).
- Silsila Ahmadiyya kay do fareeq (‘Two Sections of the
Ahmadiyya Movement’).
Besides these, the other booklets he wrote are the following:
- Maujuda waqt main hamara faraz (‘Our duty at the present
time’), 1940.
- Takfir of Fellow Muslims (English), 1944.
- Wafat-i Masih, Nuzul-i Masih (‘The death of Jesus and
his descent’), 1947.
- Islam ki musibat-i ‘azma, iskay wujuh aur iska i‘laj
(‘The great tribulation faced by Islam, its causes and remedy’),
1947.
In 1948 the third, revised edition of the English translation of
the Holy Quran without Arabic text was published.
Founding of the Holland Mission
In the beginning of 1939 Mirza Wali Ahmad Baig went to Holland
and established a mission there. Maulana Muhammad Ali had issued
an appeal for funds to meet the expenses of the mission. Dr. Syed
Muhammad Husain Shah took it on himself to meet these expenses.
In September 1939, however, the Second World War broke out and Holland
having been occupied by the Nazis, not only was this mission closed
but Mirza Wali Ahmad Baig was interned by the Germans and remained
a prisoner of war till the end of the war. In 1948-49 there was
a move to re-open this mission, which will be covered later.
The German translation of the Holy Quran and the Berlin Mosque
The German translation of the Quran has been mentioned before.
Its printing was completed in Berlin in June 1939 and after binding
it was published in August. However, the Second World War broke
out shortly afterwards on 3rd September, and due to the bombardment
of Berlin during the war the entire stock of this translation was
destroyed except for a few copies.
Before the start of the war, Dr. Muhammad Abdullah, the missionary
in Berlin, had returned to Lahore via Copenhagen (Denmark), entrusting
the management of the Mission to the hands of the German converts.
Till the end of the war, the Anjuman was out of communication with
Berlin. First Germany occupied most of Europe but gradually she
began to be defeated. British and American air forces carried out
intense bombing of Berlin, destroying most of this city. In August
1945 the first news came through Reuters news agency that the Berlin
mosque was safe. On receiving this news Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote
the following in Paigham Sulh:
“Berlin has been destroyed. Fire from the skies rained
down upon it day and night. Thousands of tons of bombs were dropped
on it. In the end a nation bent on revenge entered it and reduced
the buildings of the city to rubble. But a correspondent of Reuter
from this ruined city informs us today that the mosque is still
standing.
A poor Jama‘at built a house of God in this city. The
Jama‘at did not do it for purposes of show and display.
… This Jama‘at donated its money towards building the House
of God and prayed humbly: ‘Our Lord, accept it from us’. …
I remember that scene when there was a handful of women present
at the annual gathering and the appeal came from our missionary
in Berlin that there were no funds left to erect the minarets.
I appealed to the small group of women and Allah opened their
hearts so much so that many thousands of Rupees were raised by
a few women of a small Jama‘at. So today I congratulate
my Jama‘at, that Allah the Most High has shown the manifest
sign that He has accepted their sacrifice … and today He has shown
the world that whatever He wishes to protect, He can keep it safe
even in the raging fire.”
(Paigham Sulh, 22 August 1945)
Death of Dr. Syed Muhammad Husain Shah
On 26 April 1939 there occurred the death of Dr. Syed Muhammad
Husain Shah. He had fallen ill a few days earlier, and on 26 April
he had a fatal stroke which he did not survive. The Doctor sahib
has been mentioned earlier from time to time. He was a member of
the original Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian, appointed by the Promised
Messiah. It was in his house at Ahmadiyya Buildings, Lahore, that
the Promised Messiah passed the last few days of his life and breathed
his last. He was not only a God-fearing and righteous Ahmadi, but
was a great philanthropist and spender in the way of Allah. With
his death a pillar of the Jama‘at was lost. Just at the time
when he suffered the stroke, Maulana Muhammad Ali while praying
in the small hours of the morning heard a voice saying again and
again: “Carry him on your shoulders towards Allah”. Maulana Muhammad
Ali’s thoughts turned to his older brother Maulana Aziz Bakhsh who
was ill at that time, but soon he received the news of the Shah
sahib’s illness. At this great loss, Maulana Muhammad Ali issued
a message to the Jama‘at in Paigham Sulh, and in his
Friday khutba while mentioning the unique personality of
the Shah sahib and the services he rendered to the religion he said
that, notwithstanding his previous financial sacrifices, the Shah
sahib had just now donated property worth 52 thousand Rupees to
the Jubilee fund and after that he agreed to give 200 Rupees per
month permanently to support the Dutch mission. Maulana Muhammad
Ali wrote:
“This high rank of excellence was in fact in fulfilment
of the trust that the Promised Messiah had reposed in the late Shah
sahib … When the Promised Messiah was informed by Allah of his own
approaching death he made an Anjuman as his successor, and while
selecting fourteen members for it he picked four from Lahore. These
four were: the late Shaikh Rahmatullah, Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, Dr.
Mirza Yaqub Baig and the Shah sahib. The excellence and sincerity
with which these four carried out the task entrusted to them by
Hazrat Mirza sahib seems to be indicated in this Divine revelation:
‘In Lahore are our virtuous members’. These four friends had such
passion to serve the Divine religion that they would travel from
Lahore to attend every meeting of the Anjuman in Qadian and were
always in the forefront in providing financial help. … I held the
position of Secretary of the Anjuman. The advice of these four revered
friends was a source of strength for me, and their sincerity made
a deep impression on me.
This was how, at the beginning of 1906, there began that friendship
between the five of us which developed to the stage that we five
became, as it were, one mind and heart. Now four of these friends,
one by one, have gone to meet their Lord, and even though I see
all round me true, sincere and faithful friends in our Jama‘at
but after the departure of these four I feel somewhat alone. But
‘Allah is my Friend in this world and the hereafter’…
These four friends have set such a unique example of faithfulness,
and of constancy and sincerity in the service of the religion,
that it has few parallels today. The Messiah sent by God identified
certain virtuous men to carry on his mission after him, and after
Maulana Nur-ud-Din these four were the most prominent in this
regard who bore the burden of work in practice. They discharged
the trust placed upon them by the Promised Messiah so faithfully
that they ever kept on making progress in the way of Allah.”
Other events of 1939
From 4 June till 1st October 1939, Maulana Muhammad Ali stayed
in Dalhousie as usual. The series of articles he used to write from
Dalhousie, in the form of letters to the members of the Jama‘at,
were that year published from August to October under the title:
‘Who are we and what are our duties’. In these articles he kept
reminding the Jama‘at of its real position and work. He stressed
that each one of us must always feel that firstly he has been prepared
for a battle, and secondly that our jihad is the jihad
with the Holy Quran as his weapon and each one of us is a soldier
in this field. You must do your worldly work but the thought must
always dominate your minds as to which means you can use to spread
the message of truth to others and what service you can render to
the Holy Quran. Among the means for doing this work stressed by
him in these letters, the first and foremost is prayer. Falling
before God to pray for the victory of the religion is a distinctive
feature of our Jama‘at. He specially stressed the importance
of the tahajjud prayer. The second means is sacrifice, which
is a constant, collective jihad through your property and
possessions.
From October till the annual gathering of December 1939 Maulana
Muhammad Ali continuously toured the outside branches of the Jama‘at,
visiting in addition to other cities Delhi and Quetta. A particular
purpose he had in view in these visits was to organise the monthly
subscriptions, so that every member should pay his dues according
to the rate fixed by the Anjuman. He kept stressing this point in
his Friday khutbas also during this entire period.
Events of 1940
After his illness in 1938 Maulana Muhammad Ali did not remain in
good health. Following the annual gathering of December 1939 he
fell ill again. During January 1940 he suffered from influenza and
was unable to lead the Friday and the Eid prayers. Throughout
February he was bed ridden. However, even during these periods of
illness he did not give up his writing work and the management of
the affairs of the Jama‘at. The increasingly hot weather
at the end of the month of May again caused him to get high temperature,
so on 2nd June he went to Dalhousie, returning to Lahore on 30 September.
During all this time, while on the one hand he wrote numerous articles
comprehensively refuting the wrong beliefs of Mirza Mahmud Ahmad,
on the other he also expressed again and again his overwhelming
zeal and fervour for the service of the Holy Quran in his khutbas
and writings. In his Friday khutba on 11 October 1940, while
dealing with the topic of the importance of making the Holy Quran
an integral part of one’s life, he pointed out the negligence shown
by the general Muslim community to the Quran, that in their religious
institutions subjects like Philosophy, Hadith and Logic are taught
but no teaching of the meanings of the Holy Quran (dars)
is given. He referred to the revolution brought about by the
Promised Messiah in this respect, that he infused love of the Holy
Quran into the hearts of his followers. Then he laid stress on the
importance of instituting teaching of the Holy Quran (dars)
in the Jama‘at as a special characteristic of the Jama‘at,
and said:
“Read the Quran by yourself and ponder and reflect over
it. Study of the Holy Quran should become an essential part of every
Ahmadi’s life. Teach your children to read the Holy Quran, along
with meaning and significance; not much at a time, but a little,
perhaps only a few verses, but make it a regular part of your life.
… I cannot say which of you God will enable to understand the Holy
Quran in such a way that he can thereby benefit the world. Develop
such an urge in your hearts which creates a link between you and
the Holy Prophet. This is his urge as portrayed in the words: ‘Maybe
you will kill yourself with grief, sorrowing after them, if they
believe not in this announcement’ [The Holy Quran, 18:6]. Whoever
will create such a zeal within himself will establish a connection
for himself with the Holy Prophet. Both a transformation will take
place within him and he will be a cause of producing a transformation
in the world. …
Allah the Most High does not let go to waste anyone’s labour
on the Holy Quran. I am an ordinary person; it is merely that
a man who had spiritual power created a zeal and passion within
my heart and as a result Allah enabled me to do some service to
the Holy Quran. When I look at myself, I think, O Allah, how could
a weak and worthless person like me do service of the Holy Quran?
Yet Allah bestowed upon me so much blessing for the sake of His
Holy Word. Today the man who would have set up his legal practice
after passing his law examinations, or who would have passed the
competitive civil service examination and at most become a judge
of the High Court, then retiring into obscurity, he has by the
grace of Allah been granted such a position of honour due to service
of the Quran that even opponents are forced to acknowledge it.
There was a time when the renowned English convert to Islam Mr.
Pickthall came here [to India]. He had been told so much against
us [Ahmadis] that he could not even bear to mention our name in
any gathering. He stayed in Hyderabad Deccan for a long time.
When he was leaving somehow he came across my book The Religion
of Islam, and before his death he wrote such a glowing review
of it which a book could hardly have ever received. He wrote:
‘Probably no man living has done longer or more valuable service
for the cause of Islamic revival than Maulana Muhammad Ali of
Lahore.’
I am not mentioning this to claim that it is my achievement or
an honour conferred upon me. This is the achievement of my
Master, and an acknowledgment of his services to Islam,
because whatever knowledge there is in the book The Religion
of Islam I acquired it from him and because of him.
I have come across a writing by an American author W. J. Milburn
who has recently written a book on religions. To gather information
about Islam he communicated with Muslim scholars from different
Islamic countries. Ultimately he wrote to me and I sent him the
English Translation of the Holy Quran, The Religion of Islam
and Islam the Religion of Humanity. In his book he has
copied almost the whole of the last-mentioned pamphlet and included
many excerpts from The Religion of Islam. Along with that
he writes:
‘Perhaps no Muslim, living or dead, has done
more than Maulana Muhammad Ali to lead people to see the good
side of Islam. With these books no student of world religions
would find any excuse for failing to learn about Islam.’
It is all due to the grace of Allah, the blessing of the Holy
Quran, and the spirit infused by the Promised Messiah and benefit
of his companionship. ‘The beauty of my companion has produced
this effect in me, otherwise I am but dust.’
When I fall before God during the nightly prayers, my supplication
to Him is that He bestow upon each and every member of our Jama‘at
love for the Holy Quran, passion for its service and propagation,
and its understanding.
These days there is much clamour about organization, it being
said that the Jama‘at should be well organised and large
as this is the way to uphold the reputation of the Movement. But
if the honour of the Jama‘at is to be maintained it would
only be through the service and the propagation of the Quran.
There is no doubt that organization is commendable but it is not
the real means of the honour of this Movement.”
To certain persons in the Jama‘at who, due to some grievance
with him personally or with the Anjuman, would become withdrawn
and uncooperative, he always emphasised that they must realise the
importance of the work of upholding the glory of the Holy Quran
and the Holy Prophet, and not forget the greatness of this work
on account of personal reasons. He says:
“If someone, seeing a fault in me, says that he does not
care about the Anjuman, why does it happen? It is when we ignore
the greatness of the magnificent work for which we have come together
and made our pledge. Such people really sacrifice the glory of Islam
and the Holy Prophet for the sake of their personal desires, because
on account of personal grievances and the most minor wishes of their
own they are prepared to cut their ties with the Jama‘at
whose only aim is to establish the glory of God and His Prophet.”
(Friday khutba, 8 March 1940)
Similarly in another khutba on 3 May 1940 he said:
“Some matters seem trivial but in fact are very serious
due to their consequences and are like a trial. The test of your
faith is when you are hurt by a brother of yours but it does not
make you lose faith in the cause. Some people claim to love God
and His religion but when they are hurt in the least by a brother
they give up service of God and the Divine religion. Their claim
to love God and His religion is worthless. Those who are offended
by me or by the Anjuman or by another prominent member of the Anjuman,
should they be saying: we care not about this work, we will not
take part in it, we will not say our prayers behind such and such
a man, we will not come to the mosque? No, instead of this, our
feelings should be as has been expressed by the Promised Messiah
in the following couplet [addressing Allah] :
Whether You forsake me in anger or show
Yourself to me as a sign of pleasure,
Whether You punish me or let me be, I can never stop clinging
to You.
Having accepted that man and having started the service of Islam
because of accepting him, then unless the passion he had within
him also rules in our hearts how can we carry on his mission successfully?
What a great contrast between this noble and virtuous zeal, on
the one hand, and on the other giving up the service of Islam
by becoming offended on petty matters? There are also cases where
a person, because of discontentment with a brother, has gone to
Qadian and taken the pledge there.”
(Paigham Sulh, 8 May 1940)
In another Friday khutba dated 5 April 1940, he pointed
out that the greatest mistake of the Qadiani Jama‘at was
to become so obsessed with forming and organizing the Jama‘at
that they neglected the propagation of Islam. He said:
“Some people tell me that this Jama‘at is small
and will not survive after me. I consider myself powerless and unworthy
of being accorded such a status, and God knows it best. The desire
repeatedly comes in my heart that people who are more worthy should
arise from the Jama‘at and bear this responsibility. Along
with that, I also firmly believe that, no matter what happens, if
there is even one person in this Jama‘at who truly loves
God and has an overpowering urge to propagate the name of God, then
this Jama‘at will remain alive.
No doubt you must expand, organise and strengthen the Jama‘at,
but for God’s sake don’t make organization an object of worship.
If instead of relying on God you place your reliance on the Jama‘at
and its strength, then you can never succeed in spreading the
name of God. Rectify the weaknesses of the Jama‘at, but
let not that task hinder the work of propagation.”
From time to time he especially used to address young people through
letters in Paigham Sulh, impressing upon them to acquire
knowledge of the Holy Quran, to do service of the Holy Quran and
to achieve closeness to God. Hence he writes in a letter from Dalhousie
dated 26 July 1940:
“Knowledge of the Quran is an inheritance from the Promised
Messiah, with which the triumph of Islam in the world is bound up.
Learn all the branches of knowledge but use them to serve the Holy
Quran. But you cannot bring them into its service unless you yourselves
understand the Quran. You cannot take the Quran to the world unless
you have the following three acquirements: firstly, learning the
Holy Quran yourself; secondly, learning other branches of knowledge
and bringing them into the service of the Quran; and thirdly, learning
other languages, and spreading the teachings of the Holy Quran in
the world by translating them into those languages. Every young
person should have these three objectives before him. … Along with
that, you must remember that this is God’s work; the strength to
do it can only be obtained by falling before God in prayer and beseeching
Him for help. So just as it is the object of your life to acquire
the knowledge of the Holy Quran for the purpose of spreading it
in the world, likewise praying to God to ask for help and for strength
to do this work should also be considered as the purpose of your
life. Allah has made the regular prayer (salat or namaz)
the means for this. … Prayer is the foundation of Islamic culture
and the Holy Prophet Muhammad has given it the prime place as the
means for training the Muslims. … Adopt the habit of prayer firmly
like a discipline. First get used to prayer as a formal regulation,
then gradually you will develop joy and interest in it which will
make it the means to gain strength from the Divine Power.”
Events of 1941
At the annual gathering in December 1940, Maulana Muhammad Ali
put forward two important proposals to the community. One was in
connection with his book The Religion of Islam, which had
fulfilled the wish of the Promised Messiah he had expressed in 1892,
at the time of making his claim, that a comprehensive book on Islam
should be written in the English language to show the beautiful
face of Islam. On this occasion Maulana Muhammad Ali proposed that
copies of this book should be presented to persons whose views are
influential in forming public opinion, such as authors. Accordingly
this proposal was acted upon in 1941. The second proposal was that,
to strengthen the foundations of the propagation of Islam in the
West, a group of people should be prepared who, on the one hand,
gain proficiency in different languages, and on the other hand study
Islamic knowledge. So in 1941, and after that as well, he kept on
stressing upon young people, from time to time, the need to learn
foreign languages. In addition, funds were raised at this annual
gathering to present the famous book Muhammad in World Scriptures
by Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi to different libraries, and also
to help the Woking Mission.
In his first Friday khutba after the annual gathering, Maulana
Muhammad Ali addressed young people as follows:
“Young people who are just at the start of their lives
ought to have a purpose before them, and it should be a grand objective.
It is in accordance with the high or low nature of the aim before
us that the good and evil powers within us develop and progress.
… The Holy Quran has pointed out that high purpose of life in the
following words: ‘And thus have We made you an exalted nation that
you may be bearer of witness to humanity’ [2:143], meaning that
just as the Holy Prophet is your guide and model, so you must also
become guides and models for the nations of the world. … This is
exactly the purpose towards which the Imam of the Age has called
us, that we become guides who show the right path. …
Secondly, not only has a grand objective been put before you
but the path towards it has been made clear to you, and moreover
some stages of the journey have already been covered. …
Thirdly, I wish to say in this connection that nothing can be
achieved unless you identify yourself with it and devote yourself
to it entirely and whole-heartedly, and have the greatest passion
for it. …
Fourthly, to achieve the goal you must work hard, so hard as
never to tire of it.
All of you are like soldiers of an army. No night passes when
I do not fall before God in prayer in the latter part of the night,
feeling in my heart that I am in the presence of God along with
my Jama‘at. At that time, during prayer, the face of each
and every member of the Jama‘at appears in my view and
I pray for all of them that Allah may increase their strength
and courage and enable them to make ever greater sacrifices for
the religion.
We are in the last stages of our lives. In future all this burden
is to fall upon you. I have reached such an age that every extra
year that is granted to me I regard as only the grace of God.
My beloved companions, Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, Dr. Syed Muhammad
Husain Shah and Dr. Mirza Yaqub Baig have gone to meet their Creator
at the ages of sixty-two or sixty-three. When in 1938 at the age
of sixty-three I fell seriously ill it seemed that my time had
come, but God in His wisdom granted me some further opportunity
to serve the religion.”
(Paigham Sulh, 27 January 1941)
After this he gave important advice to the young people. First
of all he exhorted them to study the Quran, by making it a part
of their daily routine to read it with understanding. Then he drew
their attention towards other Islamic literature and the books of
the Promised Messiah. Thirdly, he stressed the regular prayer, especially
the tahajjud prayer. He added that we need both such young
persons who earn income in the world, earning plenty of it, but
spend a part of their income in the way of God, as well as such
young ones who devote their lives to acquiring knowledge of the
Quran and spreading it. In many further Friday khutbas he
kept on urging that young persons should pick one language each
and master it so thoroughly that they can translate the Holy Quran
in it, and for this purpose study Arabic as well.
Maulana Muhammad Ali wanted to see such zeal and fervour in the
hearts of Ahmadis for the religion of Islam and the propagation
of the Quran that would wake them in the middle of the night to
get up and bow before God in prayer. This was exactly the kind of
enthusiasm ruling his own heart. During 1941 he expressed these
feelings in several Friday khutbas. He said:
“The Holy Prophet has taught by his own example of rising
at night and praying to Allah for long in solitude. … What an anxiety
there was in the heart of the Holy Prophet that kept him so restless!
Develop that same anxiety within your hearts. Rise up in the night,
shed tears before God and seek His assistance by praying from the
depth of your heart. Remember it well that ultimately the religion
of Islam will succeed. And whose greatness shall remain? The greatness
of Allah, the Quran and Muhammad the Messenger of Allah. The religion
of Islam will most surely be victorious but your hearts should overflow
with the urge and deep desire to make it happen.
Remember that no one can find enjoyment in prayer without getting
up during the night. There should be such restlessness in your
hearts that it wakes you up during the night: ‘They forsake their
beds, calling upon their Lord in fear and in hope, and spend out
of what We have given them’ [Holy Quran, 32:16]. Your warm and
soft beds should not lull you to such sleep that you cannot wake.
If at this time when the religion of Islam is crying for help,
your heart is not so moved that you are restless to get up and
cry before God, then you have achieved nothing. This is the only
way you can be victorious. … Arise and cry for God’s help to bring
about the days of the victory and success of religion soon. The
day when the condition of the Jama‘at is that it rises
at night and falls before God with the prayer: O God, You sent
this Holy Quran for the spiritual nurture of the world and its
reform, and for establishing peace; O God, this world is going
astray and moving further off from peace; O God, it was Your promise
to make the religion of Islam prevail in the world, so bring that
time and establish peace in the world through this Quran — that
is the day success will lie at our feet.”
(Friday khutba, 16 May 1941)
“You have before you the mighty aim of making Islam to
prevail in the world. Set yourselves to this work. No doubt you
are making financial sacrifices, but still one thing is required
and that is to develop the same overwhelming urge that was in the
Holy Prophet’s heart [portrayed in the words]: ‘Maybe you will kill
yourself with grief, sorrowing after them, if they believe not in
this announcement’ [The Holy Quran, 18:6]. This was the pain that
would not let him sleep. He would get up at night and fall in prostration
before God. It is such an inner state that leads to a manifestation
of the power of God, and it is for such a person that the aid and
help of Allah comes. Make your hearts the abode of such feelings.
Rise up at night and pray: O God, You Who promised Your Holy Prophet
the triumph of the religion to take place in this age, help us to
become the means of fulfilling that promise of Yours. Grant us to
witness the victory of Islam in the world so that the purpose of
the coming of the Promised Messiah, Your appointed one, is achieved.
…
As strongly as I believe that no power on earth can shake Hazrat
Mirza sahib, I also believe just as firmly that no one can destroy
this Jama‘at as long as there are people in it who shed
tears at night. … And I want to tell the doubters, whether they
are within the Jama‘at or outside it, that as long as there
is a group in this Jama‘at who cry in prayer at night,
as described in the words ‘a party of those with you’ [the Quran,
73:20], this Jama‘at will go on conquering the world with
its spiritual strength.”
(Friday khutba, 28 November 1941)
From the beginning of June 1941 till the end of September Maulana
Muhammad Ali stayed in Dalhousie as usual. During this time he went
to Srinagar in Kashmir on 9 June where the foundation stone for
the mosque of the Srinagar Jama‘at was to be laid. He stayed
there for ten or eleven days, and dealt with organising the Jama‘at
as well as delivering public lectures. During August 1941 he became
quite ill with cough and cold. Also after his return to Lahore in
September he developed a temperature and remained ill during October.
Campaign for charitable loan, December 1941
At the annual gathering in December 1941, Maulana Muhammad Ali
launched a scheme by the name of ‘charitable loan’. At that time
the Second World War had entered a very critical stage and it seemed
that it would spread to India. On one side, the enemy was at the
eastern door of India and on the other, Europe and North Africa
were under German occupation and there was a possibility that the
Germans might reach India. At that time Maulana Muhammad Ali launched
a plan for the Ahmadiyya community to make charitable donations
to pay off the Anjuman’s foreign debt which amounted to fifty-five
thousand Rupees. He appealed to everyone to donate ten days’ income
and, after estimating the income of various members, he prepared
a list of names and assigned contributions to them. He read out
the list at the annual gathering, and as he read each name people
responded by shouting labbaik (meaning, ‘here I am to do
thy bidding’). Thus in a few minutes a sum of 25 thousand Rupees
was collected from a small Jama‘at. Later on during the year,
as a result of further appeals by him, the Anjuman was relieved
of foreign debt by the annual gathering of 1942.
First trip to Hyderabad, Deccan, 1942
For propagation purposes and at the invitation of some dignitaries
of Hyderabad Deccan, Maulana Muhammad Ali left on a tour of Hyderabad
on 20 February 1942. On the way he stayed in Delhi for two days,
and departing from there on the 23rd by the Grand Trunk Express
he arrived at Hyderabad on the morning of 25 February. Maulana Abdul
Haq Vidyarthi and Syed Akhtar Husain accompanied him. The news of
his coming was already well-known in the intellectual and religious
circles of Hyderabad and had also been published in the local newspapers.
So at Sikanderabad railway station he was welcomed by Abdul Karim
Babu Khan the Ra’is (Chief) of Sikanderabad and a large crowd
of people. At Nampali railway station, where he alighted, there
was a huge crowd of Muslims of all classes and religious denominations.
He stayed at the residence of Abdul Karim Babu Khan.
His stay in Hyderabad was for seven days, till 3 March 1942. During
this period three large public meetings were addressed by him. The
first meeting was on 27 February at Sikanderabad under the chairmanship
of Nawab Mazar Yar Jang Bahadur. In this meeting the topic of Maulana
Muhammad Ali’s speech was ‘The Greatest Benefactor of the Human
Race’, in which he stressed the importance and imperative need of
spreading the message of the Holy Prophet Muhammad in the world.
In this connection he also removed some misconceptions about the
Ahmadiyya Movement and acquainted the Hyderabad public with the
work of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Jama‘at.
The second meeting was also held in Sikanderabad on 28 February
under the chairmanship of Dr. Khalifa Abdul Hakim, and the third
meeting was in Hyderabad on 2 March under the chairmanship of Nawab
Bahadur Yar Jang. In all these speeches the work of the propagation
of Islam was highlighted, the attention of the general Muslim community
was drawn towards the task of spreading the Holy Quran in the world,
and some wrong impressions about the Lahore Ahmadiya Jama‘at
were corrected.
On Friday 27 February he led the Friday prayers at the library
of the Hyderabad Jama‘at and properly organised the Jama‘at.
At that time Shaikh Muhammad Inam-ul-Haq was the missionary from
the Anjuman stationed in Hyderabad and head of the mission.
In addition to the public speeches, Maulana Muhammad Ali also delivered
many speeches at various functions. Many dignitaries of Hyderabad
and Sikanderabad invited him to dinners and on all occasions he
made speeches. Besides this, from morning to evening people came
to see him at Abdul Karim Babu Khan’s residence.
This stay in Hyderabad made a very favourable impression: not only
did the Anjuman benefit financially but the Jama‘at there
was strengthened and many dignitaries became admirers of the Anjuman.
Thereafter they kept on insisting that he come again to Hyderabad.
So in 1946 he paid another visit, which will be mentioned later.
On the evening of 3rd March he started his return journey via Bombay.
Till 6 March he stayed with Mr. Naseer Ahmad Faruqui at Thana, a
suburb of Bombay. Here too he had occasion to make speeches at various
functions and meet some prominent people of Bombay. On his return
from there, he stayed in Delhi for one day and arrived back in Lahore
on 9 March.
Visit of Mr. Usman Woo
In September 1942, Mr. Usman Woo, a prominent Chinese Muslim leader
who was touring India, came to Lahore. He was keen to meet Maulana
Muhammad Ali who at that time was in Dalhousie. As Mr. Woo did not
have much time, a telegram was sent to Maulana Muhammad Ali who
came to Lahore on 28 September and met Mr. Woo in the evening. Mr.
Woo told him that Chinese Muslims were well acquainted with the
Maulana’s name and work. He said that they knew two persons by the
name of ‘Muhammad Ali’: the Muhammad Ali of politics (that is, Maulana
Muhammad Ali Jauhar, editor Comrade) and the Muhammad
Ali of religion. He said that he considered himself most fortunate
to meet such a great author of Islam. On the morning of the 29th
Mr. Woo again came to Ahmadiyya Buildings and spoke at length with
Maulana Muhammad Ali and other prominent members of the Jama‘at.
He informed them that many of the writings of Maulana Muhammad Ali
had been translated into Chinese, mentioning in particular Introduction
to the Study of the Holy Quran, The Call of Islam,
Muhammad The Prophet and Islam the Religion of Humanity.
This literature had reached China due to the efforts of Babu Manzur
Ilahi through his work of propagation by means of postal correspondence.*
Mr. Woo also said that this was such a Jama‘at that
has no parallel in the whole world and if Maulana Muhammad Ali ever
visited China the Muslims there would treat him with the greatest
reverence.
* [It was reported some years later
that the books The Teachings of Islam, A Manual of Hadith,
The Religion of Islam, The Early Caliphate and Living
Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad had also been translated
into Chinese (Annual Report of the Anjuman, 1960–61).]
|
Passing away of Dr. Basharat Ahmad
In April 1943 Maulana Muhammad Ali and his family in particular,
and the Jama‘at in general, suffered a terrible loss when
Dr. Basharat Ahmad died on 21 April. At that time he was staying
with his younger son Mr. Naseer Ahmad Faruqui in Bombay. On 23 April
his body arrived in Lahore by train and he was buried the same day.
A few months before this, in January 1943, the Doctor sahib had
completed the third volume of his monumental book Mujaddid-i
Azam. After that he remained ill and had gone to Bombay.
Dr. Basharat Ahmad was born in October 1876 in Dharamsala. He received
his early education in Sialkot, after which he got admission in
the Medical College Lahore. In 1894 he married Halima Begum, daughter
of Babu Safdar Jang, who was a police inspector. After completing
his medical education he went to Africa for his first post, remaining
there for eighteen months. After that he was stationed in different
areas of the Punjab. He took the bai‘at in 1902 and, like
other notable Ahmadis, he became so attracted to Qadian that he
would avail every possible opportunity to visit it. In 1910 his
eldest daughter was married to Maulana Muhammad Ali so that, in
addition to other shared attributes which will be mentioned later,
a family relationship was also established between them, forging
a close connection between these two elders of the Jama‘at.
In 1931, when the Doctor sahib retired from his post in Ludhiana,
a very lucrative employment was offered to him on behalf of a state.
He wrote to Maulana Muhammad Ali, asking for his advice. In reply
the Maulana wrote back the following couplet:
“Life has been spent, there remains nothing except
a few days.
Better it is that I should spend whole nights in the remembrance
of Some One [i.e. God].”
The Doctor sahib was so moved by this poetic verse*
that he decided to settle in Lahore, and the tremendous work he
then performed in the service of the Holy Quran and the strengthening
of the Jama‘at will be remembered forever.
* [Dr. Basharat
Ahmad had this verse framed and installed it in his room. After
his death, in his memory Maulana Muhammad Ali took it and affixed
it in his own office.]
|
A glimpse of his incomparable personality and his love for the
Holy Quran can be gleaned from Maulana Muhammad Ali’s Friday khutba
and his article about the Doctor sahib’s life which were published
in Paigham Sulh upon his death. He was buried on Friday,
and in his Friday khutba on the same day Maulana Muhammad
Ali said that although he did not feel able to deliver the khutba
due to his shock and grief, he considered it important to tell the
Jama‘at the lessons we can learn from the late Doctor sahib’s
life. He said in this connection:
“Dr. Basharat Ahmad was not an ordinary person. He was
in fact a saint of Allah whose life was a model for others. … Hazrat
Mirza sahib was commissioned by God, so no one can equal his love
for the Holy Quran. After him Maulana Nur-ud-Din was the one in
whom love for the Holy Quran had reached the highest stage. And
after him the late Dr. Basharat Ahmad showed the greatest love for
the Holy Quran. By profession he was a medical practitioner in government
service, but wherever he was posted in connection with his employment
he started regular Quran teaching sessions (dars) there.
His exposition had such great power of attraction that, let alone
Ahmadis, non-Ahmadis also who once attended his dars would
come again and again. … Just now at the railway station a young
man said to me: the Doctor sahib was a lover of the Holy Quran and
we young ones were lovers of his Quran classes.
In 1936 he fell critically ill but Allah restored him to health
because He had ordained a task for him which no one else in either
of the two Jama‘ats was capable of doing. After this illness
he wrote Mujaddid-i Azam, which will make his name live
forever. Two volumes had already been printed during his life
and he had completed the manuscript of the third one. So it was
when this work was accomplished that God called him back.
His whole life was spent in performing the noblest deeds. He
served people in two ways: he treated their physical illnesses
and their spiritual ailments. … He helped orphans and the poor
and led them to better positions in life. … His offspring that
he has left behind are also very morally upright. Though by his
death we have lost a pillar of our Jama‘at, yet he has
left two strong pillars he created in the form of his two sons.”
Maulana Muhammad Ali finished his khutba with the following
words:
“Come, let us spend all our energies and strength to propagate
the religion of Allah. Very few days remain of our lives. I am two
years older than the Doctor sahib. I take everyday as a God-sent
boon. Come and devote your life to the way of God. If you revive
God’s name in the world, God will keep your names alive.”
Then Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote an article under the title Do
Guna Qabil-i Rashk Zindagi (‘A doubly enviable life’) in Paigham
Sulh dated 23 June 1943. Some excerpts from it are given below:
“It is mentioned in Hadith that there are two persons whose lives
are enviable: one on whom Allah bestows wealth and grants him the
moral strength to spend this wealth in the path of truth, and the
other on whom Allah bestows knowledge and he uses it to give judgment
and teaches it to others. How enviable is that person’s life who
is enabled to do both of these: that is, he spends wealth in the
way of God and benefits the world with his knowledge as well!
“Hazrat Dr. Basharat Ahmad was not a very wealthy person. He could
have been if he had so wished, but this selfless man never entertained
the desire to amass wealth. He was a reflection of the Holy Prophet’s
attributes of helping poor relatives and being a support for all.
Right from the beginning, a considerable number of his relatives
who, due to misfortunes of life, were unable to support themselves,
became part of his immediate family just like his own children.
… Ever since the Doctor sahib joined the Ahmadiyya Movement, he
gave the appointed proportion of his income in the way of Allah
as if it did not belong to him. He considered the regular subscription
to be a trust which he separated from his money, and he was always
in the forefront in contributing to various appeals. He placed reliance
on Allah to the utmost degree. He possessed many of the qualities
of Maulana Nur-ud-Din; in addition to love and understanding of
the Holy Quran, trust in God was one of these. When he retired he
did not wish to take a half of his pension fund as a lump sum, saying
that he did not need it. I suggested that he could use the money
to build a house in Dalhousie where he could then spend summer months
comfortably and serve the religion. He agreed to this somewhat reluctantly.
I had this residence, named ‘Parveen’, built for him myself, putting
much effort into it and supervising all the work personally. Then
for the next ten years, without a break, I heard the recital of
the remembrance of Allah from that house. … In fact it was my selfishness
because I wanted him to be near me and me to be near him ‘so that
we may glorify You much (O Allah), and much remember You’ [Holy
Quran, 20:33–34, on Moses and Aaron]. …
“He left one-third of his estate to the Anjuman. More than one-third
is not allowed by Islamic law, so whoever gives one-third actually
leaves everything in the way of Allah. … The whole of his life,
from beginning to end, shows a shining example of spending in the
way of Allah. In an age when the hell of worldly gain is calling
out for more and more people to enter into it, and the small belly
of a man, which one day will be filled with a handful of earth in
his grave, is not satisfied even by heaps upon heaps of gold and
silver, and the fire of greed for material wealth is burning the
heart and mind of every person — at such a time if there is a man
in whose heart there is not even one corner touched by love of material
things, then he is most definitely a saint. Love of mammon and love
of God cannot coexist in one heart. Until a man’s heart is cleansed
of the dirt of the love of wealth he cannot attain spiritual purity.
“When some virtue reaches the utmost height in a person, it then
radiates out from him like a beam of light, illuminating the hearts
of others. I have witnessed that the closer people were to Dr. Basharat
Ahmad the less love of worldly wealth they had. Closest to a man
are his offspring, but a person is powerless, no matter how deeply
he wishes, to create the same qualities in his progeny as are in
him. However, I have witnessed this particular virtue in all the
sons and daughters of the late Doctor sahib. He had two sons, to
both of whom God has granted positions of high worldly rank and
given them much wealth, but the passion with which they serve the
religion and the sacrifices they make in the cause of the faith
are very rarely met with in people who reach such high positions.
Material wealth has no attraction for these two. … I have also noticed
the same traits in his daughters according to their status. His
eldest daughter is my wife. I have had some very difficult times
in my life, including the long period of five and a half years when
I had no means of livelihood. But neither in that period nor afterwards,
whether in prosperity or poverty, did she make any burdensome demands
on me. In fact, during the period of prosperity, in response to
various appeals over time she donated all her jewellery, by and
by, which was never replaced.
“Another quality that the late Doctor sahib possessed, which our
Holy Prophet has declared as the second enviable one, was that Allah
bestowed upon him knowledge and understanding of His Holy Book to
the highest degree and, along with that, He enabled him to impart
this knowledge to others. And he imparted it in such a wonderful
way that he infused into those people who listened to his teaching
or read his explanations of the Quran the same love for this Holy
Book as he himself entertained. A feature I noticed in his comprehension
of the Holy Quran was that it overflowed with spirituality, which
made your heart firmly convinced of the truth of his explanation.
… His manner of expression was also highly effective, in writing
as well as speaking. His own overwhelming conviction that everything
in the Holy Quran is resplendent with truth, he filled the hearts
of others with the same faith as well. I had little opportunity
to listen to his teaching, and that only on three or four occasions
surreptitiously, because due to his generous opinion about me he
thought that whenever I was present I should teach the Holy Quran.
Those three or four occasions were during the annual gatherings.
Usually I used to leave the mosque after the fajr prayers
and then the Doctor sahib would start his teaching. However, on
those occasions I purposely remained in the last row so that he
would not be aware of my presence. The last such occasion was during
that annual gathering when on the last day he gave explanation of
the two chapters The Elephant and The Quraish combined.
It put the whole gathering in a state of ecstasy and it furthered
my own faith in the word of God so much as to make a lasting impact
on my heart. So on the same day in my concluding speech I said that
when I was listening to his explanation I was wishing that the author
of Bayan-ul-Quran should have been the Doctor sahib.
“Along with love of God and of His Holy Prophet and of His Holy
Book, the Doctor sahib also entertained another love in his heart,
and that was love for the man who had endeared the Holy Quran to
him, in other words the Imam of the Age. After his retirement, having
reached the age of sixty years, he performed that monumental task
which will not only make his name live forever but testify to the
tremendous power that love can create in one’s heart. This work
was the writing of Mujaddid-i Azam. In 1936 at the age of
sixty, at a time when he was laid low with illness, and had still
to take care of two daughters following the death of his wife, the
deep urge in his heart that he has mentioned in the Preface to Mujaddid-i
Azam moved him to undertake the writing of a magnificent, massive
book of two thousand pages for which he had to study and research
through some twenty or twenty five thousand printed pages. This
is love for the Promised Messiah. … By writing this book he has
vastly excelled and surpassed all other biographers of the Promised
Messiah. Only one man was worthy of such a task, and after his first
serious illness Allah granted him a new life as if to enable him
to write Mujaddid-i Azam. Just when the third volume was
completed, the author was recalled by Allah. …
“Love of wealth makes a person miserly while love of Allah makes
him generous and enhances his moral character. Love of Allah is
a light which bursts out from the heart and illumines the face.
When such a person meets others it seems as if his face is radiant
with light. A man’s character is also tested inside his home. The
late Doctor sahib’s children loved him as dearly as it is possible
for believers in One God to love someone while remaining within
the limit of not worshipping anyone other than God. They were convinced
of his closeness to Allah and the acceptance of his prayers by Allah.
Whenever they faced any problem they would forthwith turn to him
to pray for them. A true saint is he who is accepted as such by
his close family. Many can appear to be saints to the outside world,
but to be a saint at home is not easy. The late Doctor sahib was
a saint in the home as well as outside. … For me he was always such
a friend by merely meeting whom any sorrows I may have had were
lifted from my heart regardless of whether I mentioned my troubles
to him or not — and usually I was not in the habit of mentioning
them. But the One Who really relieves us of our troubles is Everlasting:
‘And Allah is Best and ever Abiding’ [Holy Quran, 20:73].”
|
Top