TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Chapter EightOn Ĥađrat’s orders, Shaikh ‘Abd al-‘Halīm began giving thetalks from Monday the 7th of Ramadan. His mains topics weretaśawwuf, good morals, love for the shaikh, purification of theheart from evil traits, avoiding backbiting and nonsense, valuingeach and every second of this month, building good character,avoiding conversations during i‘tikāf, gaining maximum benefitfrom the company and faiđ of the shaikh, being grateful to Allahu for His great blessings and other such issues.He often narrated the incidents of our elders and shaikhs,especially of Ĥađrat Shāh Waśī Allāh and Ĥađrat Zakariyyā, anddelighted the listeners with their beautiful sayings.Nap and Żuhr ŚalātAfter the talk and a short du‘ā, those who woke early for worshiptook a short nap while others recited Qur’an, prayed voluntaryśalāt, or read tasbīĥ. After one or two hours of rest, the adhān ofẒuhr was called and people attended to their personal needs, thenstood in the rows to pray the Sunna. The congregation was half anhour after adhān.Khatm-e- Khawājagān, Du‘ā and DhikrAfter śalāt, it was announced, “Those who know the method ofthe khatm [short for khatm-e-khawājagān] please move forward,while the rest read the śalāt and salām. The khatm will be followedby dhikr. Whoever has permission from their shaikh may performthe dhikr. Everyone else please complete their individual dailydevotions.”Then the khatm-e-khawājagān begins. This is a tradition ofour elders, its benefit being the likelihood of acceptance of du‘ā.Usually, a date or tamarind seed or something similar is used forthe khatm-e-khawājagān. [The method is as follows:]• First, one recites śalāt and salām three times• Recite الحول والقوة اال بالله الملجأ والمنجأ من الله اال اليه counting each reading ona seed65