TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Ramadan of the Eldersbefore Ẓuhr time. He pulled each note out one at a time and calledthe person [who had written it] forward, helped him with his needthen pulled out the next one. He wrote ruqya (amulets writtenwith ayas of Qura’n) for some and for those who requested for himbai‘a, he told them to wait in one corner of the masjid. Once hefinished with the notes he came to the people waiting for him andtook them in bai‘a’.After a short talk and some advice he returned to the residence.Sometimes, he fell asleep immediately after; at other times , herecited the Qur’an and responded to any remaining letters. Duringthis time, he also met with people privately. Usually by then it wastime for ‘Aśr . Ĥađrat attended to his personal needs and left for‘Aśr. After ‘Aśr, he recited one and a quarter part with Shaikh ĤāfiżMuĥammad Jalīl [teacher at ‘Dār al-‘Ulūm Deoband]. They recitedto each other quarter by quarter until one and a quarter part wascompleted. If they finished by Maghrib, Ĥađrat sat in meditationand others started their dhikr and ashgāl (meditative devotions).Ifţār consisted mostly of dates, Zamzam, pears, pineapple,bananas, guava, mangoes, Baśrī dates, coconut water, papaya, sweetand regular rice, and fried eggs. It was hard to find the commonIndian-style toasted rice and beans and other such things on the mats.I thought to myself that maybe these foods [Indian-style toasted riceand beans] are not common in these areas but later learned that theynever put it in front of Ĥadrat because they considered it menial food.Despite all this, Ĥađrat’s ifţār was simple and small. The spirit andmood of ifţār was lively and crisp. People were busy running hereand there and there was much hustle and bustle [there are two joys forthe one who fasts 81 - Zakariyyā] but Ĥađrat was in a state of absorption[istighrāq] and silent. The place of ifţār was close to the masjid. AfterĤađrat had finished reciting with Shaikh Jalīl, his absorption wassuch that he sometimes needed to be informed that the adhān hadbeen called [I saw this on many occasions in ‘Dār al-‘Ulūm Deoband.Many times, people sitting around Ĥađrat would be talking and81 Bukhārī, hal Yaqūl innī Śāim.145