"My Father..." (2)

Another of his specialities was that he would not allow me to be taught Hadith and Fiqh by anyone other than himself and Hazrat Saharanpuri. Repeatedly he used to tell me that I am rude and if I was ill-mannered towards my Ustad, that knowledge would be lost to me. If any other subjects were lost to me, the loss would not be so grave.

While writing about Hazrat Madani I mentioned that I have never seen anyone crying aloud so much in the latter part of the night as Maulana Madani and my father. My father used to read the Quran a lot. Whenever he was free from work, he would start reciting from memory, during the latter part of the night. He used to recite loudly and with much weeping. He was also very strict that I should not have any free time or that any of my time go wasted. Through the barakat of these things, these same aspects have become standing habits of mine.

My father was also very particular about drawing up time-tables for his special students and for me. Every year, he used to tell me: "Draw up your time-table and show it to me." He also had a habit of giving money for distributing sweetmeats at the completion of every kitab and also took great care that I was not allowed to spend the money as I wished.

Because he was a very accomplished Aalim, Fiqh, Hadith and Adab (Arabic Literature) were to him such basic subjects like the Qaida Baghdadi. Up to now, this humble one has not been able to emulate him in anything.

Often he used to tell me: "There was a certain Maulana, who was an Allama like me. He had a son who was a no-good like you. When he was on his death-bed, he called his son and said: "You no-good! You have not done a thing! All my students and mureeds will come to you and ask: Sahebzada Saheb, why is this so and what is the reason for that? Then you must just say: 'The Ulama differ upon it.' If you say that, you will be saved from exposing your ignorance."

This statement of his made a great impression on me. When I started teaching Hadith in 1340, time and again I had to say those very same words: "The Imams have a difference of opinion on this. This Imam says this and that Imam says that."

I spoke about this in 'Al-Etidaal'. During the time when I was teaching Mishkat I once enumerated the number of differences of opinion concerning salaah consisting of four raka'ahs. I found more than two hundred differences of opinion. From that time onwards, I had no problem with the differences among the Ulama. It became a very easy thing for me to grasp. Therefore whenever I became aware of the differences of opinion among the Ulama, and saw people giving it a lot of importance, it caused me no distress. I always said: "Bhai, there will always be differences of opinion. Follow the view of whomsoever you find yourself having faith in his person. There is no need for debates, fights and arguments."

to be continued inshaa allah

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.