Hadrat’s obstinate antagonists conveyed false information to the rulers. The result was that they appointed officials to investigate his assets. When they eventually arrived in Gangoh and entered the khānqāh, Hadrat was busy conducting Hadīth lessons. He thus paid no attention to them. When he completed his lesson, he was asked about his source of income. He replied: “Tawakkul (trust and reliance upon Allāh I).” The official did not understand what tawakkul meant, and how he earned his livelihood. He started to enumerate all the different means of livelihood by asking Hadrat: “Do you practise agriculture? Do you have a business? Are you a landowner? Are you employed by anyone? Do you receive a salary from anyone? Do you practise any craft?” Hadrat replied in the negative to all these questions. The official eventually asked: “Where do you get your food from and what do you do [for a living]?” Hadrat replied: “I receive from the Unseen Treasures [of Allāh I] and I practise tawakkul.”
The investigator lowered his head and remained engrossed in thinking about something for a long time. Allāh Ta'ala Alone knows what he was thinking, but he eventually took out a twenty rupee note and offered it to Hadrat. When he was about to depart, Hadrat accepted the note without hesitation and said: “This is the tawakkul which is my means of livelihood and regarding which you were questioning me.”
The fear of Allāh Ta'ala which was in his heart – which is the fruit of true knowledge – was so well controlled that it was difficult for him to express and display it openly. Such fear was probably not witnessed anywhere else. However, whenever he would perform his salāh during the last part of the night and extend his hands in supplication, his condition would be like that of a slave before his king. At times he would be overcome [with emotion] and cry uncontrollably. His voice would become subdued, his tears would flow like a string of pearls, and his entire body would tremble. Sometimes he would read a verse from the Qur’ān. [He would cry so much that] his condition would cause him to stop reading. He would start reading the verse again – stop again – and when the morning arrived, he would still be reading the same verse.
Maulwī Mumtāz ‛Alī Sāhib Ambhetwī writes: “When the news of Hadrat’s demise reached us here in Baluchistān, Maulānā Abū al-Khayr Sāhib happened to be here. I received two messages asking me to go and meet him, but I did not get the opportunity. When I eventually went to meet him, I found him crying profusely. The moment he saw me, he started crying even more, until he eventually started sobbing uncontrolably. The entire assembly was affected by this and the people were on the verge of losing consciousness. Maulānā Abū al-Khāyr then said: “Aah, Maulwī Mumtāz ‛Alī! A very senior personality of India has departed. How sad, people did not value him and did not realize who he was. I heard from reliable sources that Hadrat Maulānā would cry over a single verse and pass the entire night in this way. The verse that had caused him to cry so much was:
“The day when all secrets shall be examined,
he will neither have any power, nor anyone to help him.”
(Sūrah at-Tāriq, 86: 9-10)
How can this unworthy author – who himself did not fully appreciate Imām Rabbānī’s emotional states – understand them or express them in words? In order to understand them one requires a sound emotional state. It is the domain of the heart – a heart which possesses some fear, or has trod this path and received some taste of it. No matter how openly, or with what amount of intelligence, or how eloquently a person explains the enjoyment of conjugal relations to a minor, he would never be able to understand it until he reaches the age of puberty. Thus, when the fire of love [for Allāh I] is raging in a lover’s heart, how can a person, who merely looks at its outward form and does not know the true meaning of love, understand what the lover is going through?
A poet says:
What does the eye know about love
which is concealed within the heart?
What does a free man know
about the meaning of being enslaved?
Once, Hadrat was busy reading the Qur’ān in his room after the zuhr salāh. This immature servant [Maulānā ‛Āshiq Ilāhī Sāhib here refers to himself] went silently to Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib and sat down next to him, without Hadrat learning of my arrival. After a short while, Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib left the room to do some work and I was left alone. A few minutes later, Hadrat’s tone of recitation changed, and gradually his entire body started trembling. He started crying profusely and his voice came to a halt. He tried to read further, but his emotion choked him and prevented him from producing a sound. Allāh Ta'ala is my Witness – and Allāh’s Testimony is sufficient – even a fragile, frail and weak-hearted person who is facing a ferocious, roaring lion would probably not experience the kind of fear which overpowered Hadrat. No hardened criminal standing before a powerful king could fear his outcome more [that Hadrat feared his outcome on that day].
This was the first time I ever saw Hadrat in such a condition and, to this day, I still do not know what it was that he had feared and why he had trembled. It was the same Qur’ān which every Muslim constantly reads from beginning to end. Allāh Ta'ala Alone knows the topic and subject matter which would cause such fear and trembling. Upon witnessing his changed condition, I felt disturbed and started trembling. I got up from where I was sitting. Even now, when I remember that day, I become disturbed. I experienced great anguish and thought to myself: “O Allāh! What calamity has befallen me today?” I panicked. If I were to remain seated, Hadrat might come to know of my presence – either through kashf or in some other way – and I would have been reprimanded. If I were to get up and leave, he would certainly hear my footsteps and this would be more dangerous for me. Allāh Ta'ala Alone knows what the condition of my heart was at that time. I was neither in the sky nor on earth. I remained silent and still as a statue. Instead of my terror-stricken heart benefiting from the situation, I made a sincere and beseeching du‛ā’ to Allāh Ta'ala that He would allow Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib to return.
My du‛ā’ had truly emanated from my heart and was made at a time of real trepidation because, a few moments later, Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib – who had open permission to enter and leave the room as he pleased – entered. The moment he placed his foot at the entrance of the door, Hadrat immediately suppressed his condition and sat upright. Allāh Ta'ala Alone knows why he had experienced this unique condition and how he had managed to suppress such intense emotion in the blink of an eye. I have since come to the conclusion that this is also a commendable condition which the auliyā’ of Allāh Ta'ala are able to experience by virtue of their emulation of the Sunnah. This is what turns a young person into an old man, and a strong person into a weak man. I could not understand anything else at the time, nor can I understand anything more at present.
Seeing to the needs of others, simplicity and informality were special traits of Hadrat Imām Rabbānī. It was the month of Ramadān and, coincidentally, Maulānā Habīb ar-Rahmān Sāhib Deobandī did not wake up at his usual time for sehrī. Hadrat went to his door and called out to him. The Maulwī Sāhib woke up with a fright, went outside and said: “Hadrat, why did you inconvenience yourself in coming to wake me up?” Hadrat replied: “I thought to myself that it seems as if Habīb has fallen asleep. The time of sehrī will expire soon. If I do not wake him up, he will remain hungry the entire day.”
On numerous occasions when the mu’adhdhin had fallen asleep, Hadrat would silently go to the Musjid, call out the adhān, and return to his room. He would never ask the mu’adhdhin: “Why did you remain sleeping at the time of the adhān?”
Hadrat was soft-hearted and could not bear to see anyone in pain, regardless of whether the person was one of his own, or an outsider. Whenever he heard an exclamation of pain (Aah! Oh! etc.), he would become restless. Muhammad ‛Āshiq Nūrbāf’s son was studying under Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib. He was a very slow learner. Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib had taught him a specific lesson several times, and still he did not know it. [Out of frustration] Maulwī Sāhib gave him a hiding. When his screaming reached Hadrat’s ears, Hadrat immediately got up from his bed and rushed out to rescue him. In his rush he did not see the wild-fig tree that was in the way, and struck it head-on with full force. This collision caused him severe pain for several days. He did not show his pain in the least, but advised Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib thus: “Bhāi! What is the benefit in beating children so much? If Allāh Ta'ala has made the brain to learn only a certain amount, will the child learn any more if you beat him?”
Once Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib sprained his leg. Because of the sprain, Hadrat did not permit him to go home and kept him in his room. Whenever the masseur would come to massage his leg, Hadrat would sit near him and remain seated for as long as the masseur continued applying oil to his leg. Hadrat would repeatedly inquire about his condition and, in addition to providing his food and drink, he would see to all his other needs.
Hadrat Imām Rabbānī’s sincere treatment of his close friends was unparallelled. Once, Hadrat was already on the musallā (prayer mat) and about to lead the people in the ‛asr salāh when he heard someone from the back saying: “Maulwī Sāhib has arrived, Maulwī Sāhib has arrived!” Hadrat turned around and saw Maulānā Muhammad Ya‛qūb Sāhib rahimahullāh approaching. He was the son of Hadrat’s ustād (teacher). Because he had arrived on foot, his feet were quite dusty. The moment Imām Rabbānī saw him he stepped back from the musallā and asked: “Maulwī Sāhib, do you have wudū’?” The Maulānā replied in the affirmative and stepped onto the musallā with the same simplicity. When Hadrat Imām Rabbānī’s eyes fell on his feet, he noticed that the dust reached up to his shins. Hadrat held on to the front folds of his own clothes and started to dust the dust off the Maulānā’s legs. The Maulānā was preoccupied with his own thoughts at the time and allowed Hadrat to continue dusting his feet. Hadrat Imām Rabbānī cleared all the dust. Later on, Hadrat said with much joy: “I was extremely pleased to be able to clean Maulwī Sāhib’s feet, more so because he did not go into any formalities [and refuse].”
Together with piety and caution, Hadrat possessed a high level of frankness. No matter how much authority a person wielded or whose son the person was, if he disliked any of his actions, he would voice his opinion frankly, and expressly put an end to any bond between them.
Everyone was aware of Hadrat’s special love for Nawāb Mahmūd ‛Alī Khān Sāhib Marhūm – the mayor of Chahtārī. The Nawāb Sāhib’s affinity for Hadrat was the sole reason for this bond. Once the Nawāb Sāhib came from Arabia to India in order to organize his orphaned grand-son’s municipality. As per the custom of the time, the other rulers were invited to meals and this was financed out of the municipality’s income. However, some other expenses – which the Sharī‛ah did not permit – were also paid for out of the same funds.
A few religious people, who were employed by the municipality and had contact with Imām Rabbānī, wrote to him and asked for his ruling regarding the status of their employment under such circumstances. Hadrat replied: “No one has the right to use an orphan’s wealth in an unlawful manner, nor is it permissible to aid anyone in this regard. Thus, I do not approve of the fact that you are working for such employers. Allāh Ta'ala is the Provider. If you leave your current employment, you will get a job elsewhere.” Upon receiving this instruction from Hadrat, Hājī Daust Muhammad Khān, and other senior employees, immediately handed in their resignations. By virtue of Hadrat’s karāmat and their confidence and firm faith in Hadrat, they did not remain unemployed. No sooner did they hand in their resignations than they were offered employment in another municipality.
During the course of organizing this municipality, Nawāb Sāhib Marhūm wrote to Hadrat informing him of his impending visit. Hadrat dictated a reply to his letter immediately: “What is the benefit of your visiting me when you will not be happy to meet me, nor will I be pleased to meet you? I heard that you are quite careless with the wealth of orphans. I am saddened by the fact that you will have to give an account for this in the Hereafter. As long as the orphan’s municipality is not properly organised and protected according to the Sharī‛ah, it is sufficient for you to meet me from a distance [to correspond with me in writing].”
Hadrat arrived from his house one day and entered his room [in the khānqāh]. He then asked about the identity of all those who were present in the room. When he learnt they were all his special and close associates, he seated himself and said: “You are all intelligent people. Let me tell you something.” He then explained the meaning of a Hadīth, the gist of which was this: “When Allāh Ta'ala will send all those who were destined for Hell to the Hell-fire, Janāb Rasūlullāh ﷺ will intercede. Allāh Ta'ala will issue an Order saying: ‘Very well, remove those who have īmān equal to a mustard seed.’ Rasūlullāh ﷺ will remove many inmates from Hell. Allāh Ta'ala will issue another Order: ‘Remove those who have an iota of īmān.’ Rasūlullāh ﷺ will remove many inmates from Hell. Allāh Ta'ala will issue another Order: ‘Remove those who have the slightest level of īmān.’ Rasūlullāh ﷺ will remove many inmates from Hell. Allāh Ta'ala will Order again: ‘Remove those who have any part of īmān.’ Rasūlullāh ﷺ will say: ‘O Allāh! Now there is no one left in Hell who has any īmān.’
Allāh Ta'ala will say: ‘Very well, all those who were to intercede have completed their intercession. Now, I am left.’ Allāh Ta'ala will remove three Handfuls of Hell-dwellers and send them to Paradise. We now have to ponder over those who were removed from Hell with Allāh’s Hands. Obviously, they are not kāfir, because Allāh Ta'ala already decreed for them to remain in Hell forever – and who can be more Truthful than Allāh Ta'ala in Speech? Thus, these people are certainly people with īmān. But, their īmān was so concealed that even a sharp-sighted and perceptive Prophet like Janāb Rasūlullāh ﷺ could not identify them. He also considered them to be kāfir and left them in Hell. However, the All-Knowing Allāh, Who has knowledge of the most hidden things, also removed them from Hell by virtue of their intensely concealed and hidden īmān.
Now, if even such a concealed and hidden form of īmān is in some way or the other acceptable in Allāh’s Sight and worthy of pardon and forgiveness, then brother, I do not have the courage to refer to anyone as a kāfir. Of what significance is our perception compared to the perception of Rasūlullāh ﷺ, due to which we can say that the person whom we consider to be a kāfir is most certainly a kāfir and not a believer? If we were to ponder over this Hadīth, I feel scared to even refer to a kāfir as a kāfir.”
When Imām Rabbānī completed his detailed explanation of this Hadīth and the ‛ulamā’ who were present were impressed by it, he said: “However, it is the order of the Sharī‛ah to refer to a kāfir as a kāfir. Thus, what excuse do I have? If I see the signs of kufr on a person, I will consider him to be a kāfir and refer to him as such.” Hadrat was then silent, and thereafter he delved into another subject.
The explanation of the above Hadīth does not only affirm Imām Rabbānī’s juristic acumen and his status as a mujtahid, but also displays his intelligence, his response to an intricate subject, his consideration of himself as being insignificant [known as modesty], his adherence to the Sharī‛ah together with his recognition of Allāh I, his willingness to uphold respect and carry out orders, and his special method of teaching and instructing ‛ulamā’. His heart and body seemed to be equally affected by two opposite forces, and no single condition overpowered the other. On the one hand, he had reached a level of complete humility in his heart and total submission to Allāh’s Absolute Independence [absolute humility and submission], while on the other hand, he had reached a state of perfection with regards to Sharī‛ī diplomacy as well as in fulfilling his responsibility of guiding and instructing others [he was the one whom everyone referred to].
Maulwī Amīr Shāh Khān Sāhib once related a story to Hadrat: “I was sitting next to a buzurg in Musjid-e-Harām. A young ascetic came to him and sat down. The buzurg turned to him and said: ‘Bhāi! You have a very good thing in your heart.’ The poor fellow tried to conceal what was within him, but the buzurg lifted the veil from his heart and said: ‘There is an image of a woman in your heart; her nose is like this, her eyes are like this and her hair is like this…’ In short, he provided a full description of the woman. The ascetic was quite remorseful and said: ‘You are certainly correct. I fell in love with a woman in the early stages of my youth. Because I used to think of her all the time, her image impressed itself upon my heart. Whenever I feel restless, I close my eyes and look at her. Then I experience some peace and I become restful.’”
After relating this story, Maulwī Amīr Shāh Khān Sāhib waited for Hadrat to say something, but he did not say anything. He remained silent. After the Maulwī Sāhib had raised the subject several times, Hadrat said: “Bhāi, this is not a very powerful condition because he had to close his eyes and turn his attention to his heart. I have had such a bond with my Hadrat Hājī [Imdādullāh] Sāhib rahimahullāh for many years. I would never do anything without his counsel, even though Hājī Sāhib was in Makkah. After him, I had the same relationship with Janāb Rasūlullāh ﷺ for many years.” Hadrat remained silent after saying this and did not say anything further. He remained silent with his head lowered. The meaning was obvious: He neither moved nor remained still without Allāh’s Permission.
The excellences which Allāh Ta'ala had bestowed upon Imām Rabbānī are really very intricate and difficult to understand. From amongst all his excellences, he possessed the excellence of being the embodiment of servitude and of being a believing servant – like all believers. He neither experienced restlessness, ecstasy, intoxication, bewilderment, enthusiastic love nor agitated yearning. He had a constant concern for following the Sharī‛ah of Muhammad r. He remained immersed and absorbed in this during every moment of his life, and adhered tenaciously to the blessed way of Rasūlullāh ﷺ. This caused him to love a religious, Sharī‛ah-adherent, Sunnah-loving person, and to hate an irreligious, sinful, Sunnah-opposing bid‛atī. This became his natural inherent quality. Every part of his body proclaimed:
I am an enemy of Your enemy ...
if [indeed] any enemy You have.
For Your enemy could only be
a Shaytān, a Jinn, or insane!
He constantly sought the glittering light of the day and the peaceful hours of the night, and spent them solely in the quest for the Pleasure of the Beloved. He considered the acquisition of this Pleasure to be dependent solely on emulating the ways and worship of Rasūlullāh ﷺ
Since the Greatness and Magnitude of Allāh Ta'ala was firmly embedded in every vein of his body, he was, in most cases, overcome by emotion whenever he recited the Qur’ān. Such emotion would become manifest when there was no one else present during the course of his recitation. During the latter portion of the night, when he stood before his Master in his empty room to recite the Qur’ān in nafl salāh, he would be overcome by weeping. He would pause constantly. His voice would fail him, and his crying would compel him into silence. Tears would flow from his eyes, roll down his cheeks, pass through his beard, and fall like pearls upon the musallā.
He would not suffice with the mere acquisition of manifestations and cognition which arose from his recitation of the Verses of Allāh I. Instead, a peculiar condition, corresponding with the topic of the verses, would pervade every part of his body. Whenever he read the verses of Mercy and promises of Forgiveness, hope and joy would cause him to glow. Whenever he read verses of Allāh’s Wrath and warnings of Punishment, his body would tremble and shiver. Whenever he read verses of Allāh’s Greatness and Independence, his head would lower by itself and it would seem as if he was diminishing and disappearing before Allāh’s Greatness. Whenever he read the verses of dread and terror, his hair would stand on end and it would seem as though he were falling to the ground out of fear.
This natural response which Hadrat experienced would sometimes be transferred to others and those who were following him in salāh would also experience similar conditions. Maulwī ‛Abd ar-Rahmān Sāhib Khaurjawī relates: “When I went to Gangoh during Ramadān, Hadrat used to lead us in the tarāwīh salāh. One night, he commenced the tarāwīh while I was also present in the congregation. As he was reading the Qur’ān, he reached a section where Allāh Ta'ala instils fear and dread [into one’s heart]. Less than half the congregation understood Arabic while the remainder did not know Arabic at all. Despite this, the fear which he experienced while reciting this section had an effect on the entire congregation. Some were crying, others were trembling, some became restless, while others were gasping for breath. He completed this section and continued to the following section in which Allāh’s Mercy was mentioned. The entire congregation was suddenly overcome with joy. Their previous condition [of fear] was replaced with a condition of joy within a matter of moments – to such an extent that some of them could not prevent themselves from smiling and laughing.
This world is a journey. The entire creation has boarded a ship and is traversing this journey. The travellers of the Hereafter – the Ahlullāh – show special kindness and affection towards their fellow travellers. This is, in itself, the unique merit and excellence of the Ahlullāh. Although Imām Rabbānī had detached his heart from all types of love apart from the love for Allāh I, the love which he had for Allāh’s Creation and his pious associates probably surpassed the deep love which a father has for his son.
Maulānā Muhammad Hasan Sāhib Murādābādī was in the habit of spending Ramadān in Gangoh, but he fell ill one year and could not do so. On several occasions Hadrat asked: “Why did Maulwī Muhammad Hassan not come? I wonder what is the reason?” Eventually, when a few people from Murādābād departed, he said to them: “Convey my salām to Maulwī Muhammad Hasan and tell him to inform me about himself and his associates as soon as possible because I have been thinking of him.”
On one occasion Maulwī Muhammad Yahyā Sāhib and his wife departed for Kāndhla. She was expecting at the time and approaching the time of delivery. The rough ox-wagon ride caused her to miscarry along the way.
When a khādim informed Hadrat of this, tears flowed spontaneously from his eyes and he read this couplet in a very grieved tone:
Why did we have to suffer this calamity?
O garden of love, may you be destroyed!
[It is this love which has caused me to suffer such pain].
Although khādims served and attended to Hadrat for their own spiritual benefit, he considered them to be his benefactors and always expressed his gratitude and appreciation to them. A khādim once asked him for his old clothing. He wanted it as a tabarruk (source of blessing). He said: “Bhāi! For quite some time I have not been in possession of any used clothing. By Allāh’s Blessings, people constantly give me new clothes. I wear it once, and then they take it away and give me another set. This continues most of the time. Whatever I am wearing at present was given to me by Dr. ‛Abd ar-Rahmān Sāhib.”
Nawāb Mahmūd ‛Alī Khān Sāhib had probably given a Rs 100 note to Hadrat in private. Hadrat came outside and announced: “Nawāb Sāhib has given me such and such an amount of money.” When the Nawāb Sāhib lowered his head [in embarrassment], Hadrat said: “Bhāi, if a person does good to another, must he not express it?”
The truth of the matter is that this bankrupt author [Maulānā ‛Āshiq Ilāhī is referring to himself] cannot fulfil the duty of expressing Hadrat’s academic and practical excellences. In short, if the pure ummah of Muhammad r is considered to be the sky, we would have to consider Hadrat to be its glittering star. If the pure Sharī‛ah of Muhammad r is considered to be the vast ocean, we would have to consider Hadrat to be its unique pearl. This is the essence of all his excellences, and this is the excellence which Allāh’s accepted servants consider to be the pinacle of all objectives and the fundamental quest.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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