The Wrestling Hafiz

The following story clearly demonstrates the value of repentence, and that the past is, or at least should be, forgotten once one has sincerely repented to Allah (subhaanahu wata'aalaa).

I had heard that previously Hafiz Saheb had been a wrestler. He had come to my grandfather asking for a ta'weez in order to overcome a certain opponent. It is said that grandfather really liked him, asked who he was, where he came from etc. It then became known that he was a wrestler who also had memorised the Quraan. Grandfather listened to his Quranic recitation, made him repent from wrestling and accepted his bay'at. He then offered him a salary of 2 rupees per month to teach the children. He placed him in the Neelgar Masjid to teach the children of the village. After my grandfather went away, the 'nobility' of the village considered it insulting that their children should be taught by the Neelgar people. They took their children out. When grandfather returned and heard the whole story, he was very angry and he built a madressa for Hafiz Saheb opposite the Juma Masjid in an old broken down mosque. After the death of my grandfather, he also had a close relationship with my father's eldest brother.

My late uncle (Maulana Ilyas) was also a student of his. I have seen on many occasions that whenever uncle visited Kandhla he treated Hafiz Saheb with great respect, even kissing his hand.

Hafiz Saheb had read the word for word translation of the Quraan from Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Siddeq Saheb, the Khalifa of Hazrat Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. It is well known that for forty years, except for once, he never missed the salaah with the jamaat from the takbeer-oolaa [first takbeer]. He died in 1347 Hijri at the age of 90 years. The number of those that became Hafiz at hid hand were near to 400. He is buried in an orchard belonging to him on the road to Kerana.