TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

prefaceAll Muslims know of the greatness of the blessed month ofRamadan. We all derive some measure of its blessings and spiritualbenefits depending on the amount of effort, worship, and level ofīmān we attain in this blessed month. But the way the friends ofAllah u [walīs] welcome and anticipate the arrival of this monthis truly beyond our understanding, to say the least.Those fortunate to spend their Ramadan with Shaikh Thānwī 4 ,Shaikh Ĥusain Aĥmad Madanī 5 , and Shaikh al-Ĥadīth Zakariyyāhave certainly tasted some portion of the sweetness of this blessedmonth.4 Maulānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānwī (1863-1943)- also known as Ĥakīm al-Umma(Reviver of the Umma). He wrote hundreds of books on Islamic jurisprudence,taśawwuf, biographies, and rhetoric. Though, he was most known for revivingtrue taśawwuf and clearing away the customs and erroneous beliefs thathad come to be associated with it. Hundreds of his talks [mawāi‘ż] and sayings[malfūżāt] are preserved in books. He had sharp wit and intellect and was quickto respond to any objection, argument or question that was put to him. He oftensaid, ‘It is only Allah u who puts it in my heart at that time.’5 Maulānā Ĥusain Aĥmad Madanī (1879-1957)- He taught for many years inthe Blessed Precinct [masjid of the Blessed Prophet s in Madina] in Medinaand became known as the ‘Shaikh of the Blessed Precinct.’ He spent much ofhis life to protecting the rights of Muslims in British India and struggled tooverthrow the British [for which he went to prison numerous times and wasimprisoned with his shaikh, Maĥmūd al-Ĥasan, in Malta for 3 years]. Despitehis busy life, he dedicated the month of Ramadan for worship only, and taughthadith books the remainder of the year in Deoband.xix