TheRamadanOfShaykhAl-hadithMuhammadZakariyyaKandhelviAndOurEldersByShaykhDrMuhammadIsmailMemonMadani

Chapter Eightbegan half an hour after adhān. It was announced immediatelyafter śalāt that, “Everyone remain seated, move forward after thedu‘ā.” But still, people rushed to gather around Ĥađrat’s quartersand complete their du‘ā by his place after taśbīĥ of subĥān Allāh [33times], al-Ĥamd li Allāh [33 times], and Allāh Akbar [34 times].The Gathering after ‘AśrThen, Shaikh Mu‘īn al-Dīn read Akābir kā Sulūk au Iĥsān, Muĥabbat,Faiđ-e-Shaikh, Irshād al-Mulūk and others books of this naturein the reading session while the gathering listened quietly andattentively.The gathering after ‘Aśr was year round with Ĥađrat. The onlydifference being that people were permitted to shake hands andmake bai‘a with Ĥađrat in the gathering in other months whilethe time for bai‘a [and shaking hands] in Ramadan was after thegathering ended.Ĥađrat never cancelled the gathering after ‘Aśr. Regarding thesehe himself has written in many places:It is my routine for the past thirty years to listen to thebiographies of my elders, their sayings, or anyone of theirbooks [not academic] in the gathering after ‘Aśr. The reasonbeing that I receive an average of thirty to forty visitors [asidefrom the locals] everyday. I don’t know how to deliver talks oradvise people and there is no point wasting time talking aboutuseless things. I thought it best that they hear the beautifulsayings of our elders, those who have been blessed with strictadherence to the Sunna. Their sayings are like stringed pearlswhile their silence opens the door to spiritual progression andreading their biographies increases the īmān.Ĥađrat spoke highly of his elders but if one sat in Ĥađrat’sown gathering he would not see any difference in his gatherings.Those who sat in his gathering felt a change of heart. Whenhis Fađā’il books, which are an antidote for darkened and67