TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Ramadan of the Eldershave written somewhere in Āp Bītī that when I went to Raipūr andNiżām al-Dīn both Ĥađrat Raipūrī and Shaikh Ilyās loved me eatingwith them, so I would stop eating the day before I left. I arrived afterJumu‘a, stayed for two days, prayed Fajr in its earliest time with Ĥađrat,drank tea and departed early Monday morning for Sahāranpūr. It wasdecided that I would spend half the blessed month in Sahāranpūr andhalf in Raipūr. According to this plan, I was to leave for Raipūr onthe 15th/19th of February, 1962 until I heard of Shaikh Yūsuf ’s arrivalon the 17th. Instead of leaving on the 15th, I waited for him thendeparted on the 17th/21st of February, 1962. Shaikh Yūsuf arrivedfrom Dehli on that day. I immediately sat in the car with him and weleft for Raipūr and did ifţār with Ĥađrat. Shaikh Yūsuf returned thenext day while I prayed my Eid śalāt with Ĥađrat behind Shāh Mas‘ūdand then returned to Sahāranpūr. During that time [between the 17thuntil the end of Ramadan], I had to leave for Sahāranpūr for two days.I still remember people from Bahit, Rairy [two villages] and variousother villages wearing their Eid clothes. They were walking towardsthe Eid śalāt place because śalāt in Bāgh [name of village where ShaikhZakariyyā prayed his Eid with Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qādir- translator] wasearly in the morning while Eid was prayed in the other villages at 11am. This is how I remember the colorful scenes of adults, the elderlyand children in glittery clothing, laughing, playing and talking on theirway to the Eid śalāt place on horse carriages, bull carts and horses.This Ramadan, Maulwī Fađl al-Raĥmān ibn ‘Abd al-MannānDehlawī led tarāwīĥ in the Bāgh Masjid while Maulwī ‘Abd al-Mannān led in the room next to Ĥađrat’s. I also prayed my śalātbehind him in the last days of Ramadan since I had already finishedmy own Qur’an in tarāwīĥ at home.Ĥađrat was diligent about his seclusion after Ẓuhr. None but oneor two helpers were allowed in case Ĥađrat needed something or helpgoing to the bathroom. Besides them, everyone was forbidden entry.After praying Fajr in its beginning time, Ĥađrat rested after he metwith the departees. He ate at about 10 a.m. [the physicians insistedĤađrat not fast because of his condition]. Years of sickness had wornhim out; he could not even step up on the footrest and sit on the155