TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Chapter FourHe broke fast with one Madanī date, one cup of tea, andone pān 18 . After Maghrib, he recited many parts [juz’] ofQur’an in the voluntary śalāt [awwābīn]. A small gatheringwas held for devotees and close friends after the voluntaryśalāt and before ‘Ishā. After ‘Ishā and tarāwīĥ, people gatheredaround Ĥađrat and ate guava, bananas, phulkiāń (type of snack)or something of that kind. Ĥađrat ate nothing during thistime. The aforementioned was his schedule in the summeronly. In tarāwīĥ, Shaikh Muĥammad Yūsuf recited Qur’anslowly, pausing after each aya [as a result of which tarāwīĥwould become extremely long]. People sat in the gathering[after tarāwīĥ] for about an hour or an hour and a half, thenwent to rest while Shaikh began to pray his voluntary śalāt,without sleeping or resting for even a minute. He ate seĥr[pre-dawn meal] in the last few minutes and lived on this forthe remainder of the day. Fajr was prayed at the earliest time.After that, he rested a short while and awoke when the daybegan. This was the only time of day in which he slept; theremainder of his day was spent reciting the Qur’an. Whateverfree time he had was spent in reciting the Qur’an on his ownor to someone.In Ramadan of 1349/1931 in Niżām al-Dīn, Ĥađrat wroteFađā’il-e-Ramađān, which he completed on the 27th ofRamadan.Ramadan of 1363/1944Shaikh Ilyās passed away in Rajab of this year. His son, ShaikhYūsuf, took his place and was chosen the amir of tablīgh whenhe was thirty-one. Ĥađrat spent this Ramadan in Niżām al-Dīn.His routine was most likely the same as Shaikh Abū al-Ĥasan hasdescribed of his Ramadan in 1366/ July, 1947.18 A preparation of crushed betel nut, shell lime, and other mixtures[sometimes tobacco] wrapped in a betel leaf for chewing.13