The last visit of a great believer(3)

 

(after pre-release)

 About that time.  I used to sing a lot.  Even during prayer.  One day with great love he said - son!  People perform ablution and go to the mosque to recite Darud Sharif and go out to perform dhikr.  And you go on singing and singing.  He said it so gracefully and lovingly that from then on my hatred for filmi songs was born.

 He so impressed me with regard to evil associations that I developed a permanent aversion to association with evil men.  He used to say that if you were with such and such a man and your father saw it, what would he think?  What will other people say about you?  He embedded the image of his father and Khandan's infamy in his mind in such a way that, like the fear of Allah Ta'ala, that fear is still rooted in his heart.  During our student days, he used to urge us through letters to improve our manners and insist that we keep him informed about our day and night engrossment.  He always emphasized on showing respect to the Ustads, benefiting more from them, maintaining good company and reading books on good subjects.  When he went home during holidays, he always kept an eye on us and kept us busy.

My mother was also well aware of the current situation.  However, he did not vote during the election.  He went to vote only once on Abba's insistence, but in fear he put the seal in two places and came out and said, I voted for both!

 Used to listen to Radio Pakistan's morning program of Quran recitation, tafseer and hamd-naat.  Ever since the introduction of cassettes, people used to collect cassettes and listen to Quran recitations and praises.  The 'Mushayera', especially on Naat, listened with great interest.  Among the poets, the poems of Allama Iqbal and Hafiz Jalandhari were his favourites.  Recited the Shahnama several times.  He had memorized a lot of Hamd and Munajat and Naat and poetry.  He recited these poems and hymns with great passion.  However, for the last ten years, he was busy only in dua and dhikr.  He used to recite Darood Sharif and Estegfar a lot.  He used to say that he could not sleep at night at the end.  The younger sister, who slept in her room, said that every time she opened her eyes, she would see him reciting verses from the Qur'an.  He used to take full night sleep during the day.  Of course, there was never a deep sleep.  My last meeting was on August 8th, when for some reason I had to go home with less than twenty-four hours.  During the service he choked me twice, contrary to habit, during farewell.  For a long time he rested his loving hand on my shoulder.  Then he kissed the forehead and said goodbye saying 'Fi Amanillah'.  He stared at me as long as I was within sight.  Did I know that this is my last meeting with him?  The second time Aadha met in such a way that three days before his death he wrote a letter to me with great importance.  He finished the letter after two days.  Because he could not write consistently due to breathlessness.

He handed over that letter to dear Najibur Rahman, as if he handed it over to me on the way to Lucknow.  But Taqdeer was different.  He was late in reaching Lucknow and suddenly heard the news of his mother's death.  I got that letter after his death.  Opening the letter in Lucknow, I realized clearly that it indicated his death and he realized that the lamp of his life was beginning to go out.  But it was only left to know when it would go.  The last letter in mother's blessed hand which she wrote just two days before her death reads as follows:

 Dear son!  Greetings  O piece of my liver!  I am here now, but I don't know how much longer I will live.  We are all fine at home.  You talk to your daughter every week, but I miss hearing from you.  We bought clothes and slippers with the money you sent us.  Mother's dua is that may Allah Ta'ala bless your age, health and sustenance.  amen

No one knows how long I will live.  But the body is very bad from Fajr to midnight for fifteen days.  The heart feels out of control.  Feeling very weak.  24 hours a day, night and day, this verse is always kept in the mouth, going back and forth, getting up and sitting.

 اَلَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ تَطْمَىِٕنُّ قُلُوْبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ ّؕ اَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَىِٕنُّ الْقُلُوْبُؕ۝28 عَمِلُوا الصّلِحٰتِ طُوْبٰی لَهُمْ وَ حُسْنُ مَاٰبٍ۝۝

 This is the language of my tender tongue.  What else should I write?  Your mother.'