(after publication)
The period from nineteen fifty to sixty four was a time of hardship and scarcity. Abba's salary did not come for several months. But even then he used to help the needy. If someone came at the time of eating, he would know by the look that the stranger was hungry. Then he would feed him in any way. Not only that, he would also arrange to send food to the guest's house. Such people are no longer in the world, but Allah Ta'ala has blessed them in such a way that despite their meager income, they never felt lack. There have also been cases where my mother even donated clothes to the needy that she had only used once or twice. If someone said anything about it, he would say, 'Allah Ta'ala is the Great Giver, He will give us.' He somehow sent food and relief materials to their homes.
He usually used two pairs of clothes. Whenever new clothes arrived, he used to donate old clothes. He used to set aside one tenth of the food grains first. Apart from this, he used to donate extra. When one of us was sick or on a journey, he used to give alms and pray for his health and safety. He used to recite the following verses repeatedly during timesof danger.
After his father's death, another way he chose to serve people was by reciting verses from the Quran to people who were bewitched and had accidents. People used to carry oil and water. Sometimes he also gave amulets.Allah Ta'ala has also mended many broken relationships through him. He did these also with the help of amulets. He used to think of solutions in cases of discord between husband and wife, husband's inattention to wife, non-payment of expenses etc. Many people's secret sorrows were kept in his heart. But the people in the house could not guess at all. Non-Muslim women also benefited from her dua.
My mother's third quality was her watchful eye for children. He used to provide them with good education. According to him, children's Tarbeeat begins with pure Aqeedah and Halal food. Not to say that we have been able to completely arrange our lives according to his instructions. But it is true that his loving initiation had a profound effect on our lives. Prayer and Ta'leem are two issues, due to which usually parents have to tolerate a lot, but since our environment is completely religious environment, they did not have to face any trouble about it. However, he used to attract our attention with great love and wisdom to teach character and manners. The long letter in this regard bears its reality.
At the very beginning of life he inculcated in our minds the devotion to parents in such a way that obedience to them was our constant ideal. In this regard, we used to consider the search for verses of the Quran, Hadith Sharif and the events of the elders and taking ideals from them as a way of liberation. We considered it a sin to even imagine a mole of disobedience to parents. Two or three incidents happened in which I suffered loss due to mother's disobedience.
Once I left for Lucknow despite his prohibition. That was the incident of my student days. On the way we missed two trains, my new shoes were stolen and managed to reach Lucknow after three days.
I was ten years old then. When I got my hair cut in the English style, he immediately turned me back and said - come get your hair shaved first, then you will get food.
(Concluded in next issue)