TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Ramadan of the Elders“Only the caprifigs from last time.” Ĥađrat took four five caprifigsand that was his seĥr. The whole story is mentioned in Āp Bītī. 91After the adhān of Fajr, he prayed Fajr in its earliest time. He neverdelivered any talk after Fajr in Ramadan [that began in MaulwīYūsuf ’s time]. After śalāt, he sat on his prayer rug until after sunriseand read his aurād. The helpers prayed their śalāt then rested [theywoke up at their own times]. Ĥađrat sat until after sunrise and only91 The whole story is reproduced from Āp Bītī. Ĥađrat writes,The incident I am narrating didn’t happen in my presence, but was narratedto me on many occasions by my relative who was an imam of a masjid in Dehli.It was Ĥađrat’s first years [i.e. the work of tablīgh had not yet began]. Hethought Ĥađrat is the shaikh of Dehli and must get sent a lot of good food inRamadan. He arrived in Niżām al-Dīn near ‘Aśr time. Ĥađrat’s routine after‘Aśr to Maghrib was to do dhikr loudly. At ifţār, he’d ask the helpers if anythingwas available. The helpers brought out whatever they had and that became hisifţār and dinner. Anyhow, when the time of ifţār came, and Ĥađrat asked theusual question, “Is there anything?” The helpers said, “Ĥađrat, nothing besidesthe caprifigs from yesterday.” My uncle was ecstatic. He said, “Great, excellent,bring them in.” My relative also sat and ate with Ĥađrat. My uncle ate four fivecaprifigs, drank some water, and was grateful to Allah u. He led the Maghriband then started the voluntary śalāt. He rested for a short while shortly beforethe adhān of ‘Ishā’. He then led ‘Ishā’ and then tarāwīĥ slowly and calmly. Mypoor relative kept on wondering when the food was going to come in. The studentsof Niżām al-Dīn prepared their own food but were distributed one or twochappatis per person. They would place these on their hands and eat them.My uncle was fine as usual but my relative had a difficult time passing thatnight. At seĥr, it was the same situation as in ifţār, the same routine repeatedover again: the caprifigs, the water and then expressing gratitude to Allah u.At Fajr, he asked permission to return to Dehli but my uncle laughed and didnot grant him permission. He started explaining all the errands he had to runand so on and so forth but Ĥađrat refused. The whole day, my poor relative hadspent seĥr and ifţār eating caprifigs. He often said afterwards, “Only I knowwhat I was going through at that time.” The second day after ‘Aśr, Ĥađrat, aswas his routine, was busy in loud dhikr while my relative was dreading the sightof caprifigs for ifţār again. Shortly before Maghrib, a big pot of chicken baryaniwas brought on a cart and the whole masjid was filled with its fragrance. Myuncle said in ifţār, “Come Brother Laţīf! This baryani came especially for you.He said, “I savored the taste of that baryani on the second day for ifţār and seĥrand will remember it for the rest of my life.”169