TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

the ramadan of shaikh muĤ ammud zakariyyĀarguing loudly about political affairs and suddenly he would say haiń,haiń (what, what?). Then I knew that Ĥađrat wasn’t even with us-Zakariyyā]. Despite all the different things for ifţār, as mentionedabove, Ĥađrat took dates and Zamzam, a piece of fruit, drank somecoconut water, and occasionally a cup or half a cup of tea but henever stood up from the mat until it was wrapped up. Sometimes, hecracked jokes at this time or made some witty remark. Ifţār took 8 to10 minutes, and then Ĥađrat led Maghrib with short suras, followedby two long voluntary śalāt in which Ĥađrat prayed for 1/2 hour.Then, the gathering or whoever was free from their devotion cameand attended the du‘ā Ĥađrat made after the voluntary śalāt. Afterthat, if he was invited somewhere Ĥađrat went straight from themasjid to that place, otherwise he returned home.Two types of mats were laid out at the time of ifţār, one forĤađrat and those who ate chappati and the second for the guestswho ate rice. Amongst Ĥađrat’s helpers were his sons Shaikh As‘ad,Arshad and Raiĥān. All three of his sons ate rice and sat on thesecond mat. Ĥađrat occasionally said, “I have two bengalis also,put some rice for them.” There were a variety of different rice onthe mat since most attendees were Bengalis, who love rice. Parātha[chappati prepared in clarified butter-translator] is a common dishhere but [quite surprisingly] they have no idea what chappatis areor how to make them. Another necessary item besides meat was thedessert, usually something like ĥalwā or shāhī tukre [toasted breadprepared in saffron and syrup-translator], papayas, or sometimesgourd sawayiāń [vermicelli] prepared so well no one could tell itwas made from gourd. Carved nepalian red peppers were also anecessary item on the mat. Though Bengal is known for fish, Iwondered why there was no fish on the mats. Another vegetabledish like bamboo was also placed on the mat. Later we learned thatthis vegetable curry was made from the pulp of a genus of bamboofound only in Bengal.As common amongst the Arabs, it was Ĥađrat’s habit in Deobandand here that people sat in a circle around a large dish filled withcurry. A cloth full of warm chappatis was placed next to Ĥađrat,146