TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

the ramadan of shaikh muĤ ammud zakariyyĀĤađrat overexerted himself and spent so much time recitingQur’an that Shaikh Syed Aĥmad and Maulwī Zakariyyā finallybegged him,“You need to give yourself some rest.” Ĥađrat retorted,“What work is left to be taken from it that I should give it anyrest.” Once he said, “The weakness is affecting my memory andI am scared I may forget my Qur’an. This is why I put so mucheffort on the Qur’an.” Once he said, “It doesn’t matter whether mymind stays or goes but I can never let the Qur’an go.”Ĥađrat’s last Ramadan was unforgettable. His diet was one cupof tea and barely half a chappati, while he increased the time hespent reciting or listening to Qur’an. In the morning, he recitedone and a half part, and then recited continuously from Ẓuhr to‘Aśr, either from memory or from the Qur’an. After Maghrib, herecited one and a half part [to Zakariyyā] in voluntary śalāt, thenprayed ‘Ishā in the Blessed Precinct. After ‘Ishā , he went to ShaikhSyed Aĥmad’s school and listened to the Qur’an of the teacher ofQur’an, Qārī Muĥammad Taufīq, in tarāwīĥ. Qārī recited twoparts of Qur’an slowly and finished tarāwīĥ at 5 p.m., Arab time[11 p.m.]. Ĥađrat told Maulwī Zakariyyā,“Wake me at 8 p.m. [2 a.m.].” Maulwī Zakariyyā says,“I found him asleep only two times, otherwise Ĥađrat was eitherperforming ablution or was in the bathroom.”At this time, Ĥađrat listened to two parts of Qur’an. Ĥađratliked the reading of Nāfi‘, so two students recited one part eachaccording to the reading of Nafi‘.In his last Ramadan, Ĥađrat caught a fever on the 27th and feltnumbness in his body that continued until the time of death. InRamadan of 1338/ May 1920, the moon was sighted in the shipon the way to Ĥijāz. Despite vertigo and extreme fatigue, Ĥađratstood for tarāwīĥ and recited the whole Qur’an. Maulwī Zakariyyāwas with him on this journey. In the first eight rak‘as, Ĥađratrecited a half a part while Maulwī Zakariyyā three quarters inthe last twelve rak‘as. When they reached Makka on the tenth ofRamadan, Ĥađrat prayed tarāwīĥ behind a Qārī and completed his122