In the Eyes of the Learned

اہلِ دانش و ارباب بینش کی نظر میں

The following chapter gathers the testimonials of scholars, men of letters, and distinguished contemporaries regarding Ḥaḍrat Baḥr al-ʿUlūm Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī "Ḥasrat" (raḥimahu'llāh) — as they appeared in the eyes of those who knew him.

Ḥaḍrat Pīr Najm al-Dīn Gīlānī

(Naqīb al-Ashrāf (trustee of the noble lineages) of the shrine of Ghawth al-Aʿẓam (raḥimahu'llāh), and son of its custodian)

At one of the anniversary gatherings (sāl girah) of Ḥaḍrat, Ḥaḍrat Pīr Najm al-Dīn Gīlānī — addressing thousands of the assembled devotees — declared:

"Your existence is a blessing and mercy for the world. Your absence would be a loss for the community. In Islām you occupy a central position. You are the elder of Muslims. You are of my grandfather's lineage — and that you count my forebears among those you serve is for me a cause of felicity."

Mawlawī Naṣīr al-Dīn Hāshimī

Mawlawī Naṣīr al-Dīn Hāshimī writes as follows:

Miyā al-Dawla, the son of Shāh Maḥmūd Rābiʿ, established the first high-court assembly (majlis-e ʿadālat al-ʿāliya) as its chief judge. He was the son-in-law of Shāh Faḍl Allāh, who was a descendant of Shāh ʿAbd al-Qādir. He had previously been the nāẓim (administrator) of the provinces of Berar. The latter's son is Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī. Mawlānā was born in Hyderabad on 24 Rajab 1288 AH.

His career of service began as a teacher of Arabic, then as the head of the department of religious affairs at Jamāʿah ʿUthmāniyya, from which position of honour he rendered distinguished service. You were invited to sit on the scholarly committees (iṣlāḥī committees) of Dār al-ʿUlūm as a researcher and person of capability. He presided over the proceedings of the committee appointed by the government to reform and improve the curriculum of Shibli — a committee of which he was a specially designated member.

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)

Mawlawī Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Maẓhar, Deputy President of the Hyderabad Congress

Mawlawī Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Maẓhar Ṣāḥib, Deputy President of the Hyderabad Congress, writes:

"You were your own teacher — you learned through personal toil and dedication. You are recognised and accepted among the rational and transmitted sciences. Knowledge of every discipline is ennobled through your pursuit of it. You spent your entire life in service of learning. You are not merely a jewel of Hindustan — you are an ornament of every age and of all who follow the religion of Islām. The contemporary circle of Hyderabad's senior scholars is honoured to count you among them — and all of us continue to benefit from your presence."

(Quoted from Dār al-ʿUlūm — Silsila Maṭbūʿāt Idāra Adabiyyāt Urdu)

Dr Sayyid Muḥyī al-Dīn Qādirī Zawrī

Dr Sayyid Muḥyī al-Dīn Qādirī Zawrī writes:

"Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī is one of those great elders who are born in a country once every few centuries. He was a man of sincere piety and this world meant nothing to him; he inclined entirely towards the wealth of inner life (maʿīshat-e taṣawwuf) and the riches of gnosis (ʿirfān). He was a living exemplar of certain Sufi masters of the past — though in reality he was not merely a Sufi or man of gnosis, but a true scholar of all the religious sciences and a teacher of scholars and the learned. He took nothing from the world of name and fame, and did not accept the shows of high standing; and because of this, his creatures' needs and their afflictions were soothed through his spiritual and scholarly bounty and returned fulfilled."

"The knowledge and certainty of his learning and compositions were just commencing when he passed away — it was not yet time for them to be born. Accordingly, for my book Dāstān Adab Ḥaydarābād, in that literary era I had occasion to mention him, and when I became convinced that he was none other than ʿAbd al-Qādir himself, then in the Urdu prose of that era — the old Urdu prose of the Hyderabad tradition — I found myself immersed in the lengthy legacy of Shams al-ʿUshshāq Yūsuf-pūrī, Mullā Wajhī, and the masters of Shāh Mīrān's circle."

Once I saw that Mawlānā had shown his residence in the old locality of Kabāb Ganj area where boot-makers and cobblers were seated all about — and the poets and the great artistic masters were coming and going, offering admiration and gratitude. It was at that time that his simplicity was a sign of full maturity — but the cunning and quick-wittedness of his youth were completely absent.

Mawlānā was a teacher and did not at any time demean himself by flattering even the few pupils and those of low understanding. His life was entirely devoted to learning.

On one occasion at a gathering over several years, I happened to attend his anniversary celebration. Such was his demeanour — his gathering had dignity and grandeur. The great and noble would count it their good fortune to attend. And Mawlānā would distribute sweets from his blessed hand to the whole assembly of devotees and would present the tokens of honour — and it became an occasion of joy for his special friends and associates and devotees. He would honour his special friends and associates. Ḥaḍrat Sayyid Taqī al-Dīn (his son-in-law ) is also among those so honoured.

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)

Mawlānā Ḥasan Niẓāmī Dihlawī

Mawlānā Ḥasan Niẓāmī Dihlawī, on the occasion of his visits to Hyderabad, offered this testimony regarding Ḥaḍrat:

"O Mawlawī, O Mawlawī — these are the Mawlawīs who can melt iron!"

Qāʾid-e Millat Nawwāb Bahādur Yār Jang said in one of his addresses regarding Ḥaḍrat:

"He is the person after whom, if one were to weep — even that weeping is not enough to be born."

Mawlawī ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Awlisī, President of the All-India Muslim League

Mawlawī ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Awlisī, President of the All-India Muslim League, said:

"In my life I was a lamp lit by whom I read — but that lamp which was Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī has now gone out. But the light that illumined my heart and mind at every stage is that of Mawlānā the late — and by this reckoning, Mawlānā, despite his bodily death, remains alive through me."

Ḥaḍrat Pīr Najm al-Dīn Gīlānī — Address at the Annual Gathering

Ḥaḍrat Pīr Najm al-Dīn Gīlānī, Naqīb al-Ashrāf of the shrine of Ghawth al-Aʿẓam (raḥimahu'llāh), addressing thousands gathered at Ḥaḍrat's anniversary celebrations, declared:

"Your existence is a blessing and mercy for the world. It is a loss for the community that such anniversaries are not celebrated by hundreds of thousands. It is to Islām that you give centrality."

Mawlānā Sayyid Shāh Liyāqat Ḥusayn Qādirī, Reader in Arabic at Jamāʿah ʿUthmāniyya

Mawlānā Sayyid Shāh Liyāqat Ḥusayn Qādirī, Reader in Arabic at Jamāʿah ʿUthmāniyya, writes:

"Ḥaḍrat had acute understanding, consummate religious insight, and was a master of rational wisdom. Every word and act of his was a means of benefit — thus in his discourse one always found the shelter of the Qurʾān. His words were ever in accord with a prophetic ḥadīth or the divine wisdom that he was about to disclose."

"In his presence one found a pleasing and joyful atmosphere of serenity. His closeness was that of a mighty and God-fearing elder whose company and whose nearness was a privilege. The Prophet ﷺ was asked: 'Who are the awliyāʾ Allāh (friends of God)?' He replied: 'Those at the sight of whom God is remembered.'"

"Thousands would testify that on seeing his face, God came to mind. You were entirely God's — God was your guardian. Those who came would bear witness to seeing his face and remembering God. You were utterly God's own."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)

Ḥāfiẓ Mawlānā Ḥāmid Ṣiddīqī

Ḥāfiẓ Mawlānā Ḥāmid Ṣiddīqī writes:

"Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, leader of the age, a mujtahid (independent juridical authority) of the community, an ʿārif billāh (one who knows God), a master of spiritual states, a person who has attained istigrāq (spiritual absorption) and fanāʾ (annihilation of self in God) — Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Shāh Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī al-Qādirī (raḥimahu'llāh) — what level of walī (friend of God) is he, what station of greatness has he reached, and who can attain it? I have not even been able to find where to begin."

"In this life, though one finds many servants of God, still one does not find the marāʾ (reflective mirror) of their guidance and their firm and reliable instruction — yet the experience of finding Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā is like finding this, and even going beyond it."

He goes on:

عالم میں تم سے لاکھ سی تم مگر کہاں

In this world there are a hundred thousand like you — yet where is another you?

"In all directions there are many of the appearance of an elder, a dervish outwardly — turban-bound and cloak-wearing — yet none of them catches one's eye. By way of testimony —

ایک صورت ہے لاکھوں ہزاروں میں

One true face exists among hundreds of thousands.

"In Hindustan, a very great and illustrious scholar, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Manāẓir Aḥsan Gīlānī himself told me: 'Before our time, Hyderabad was the foremost in keeping and strengthening the Sufi bond; even in this era Mawlānā never came to Hyderabad. Moreover, this is such a town of mysteries and wonders that no one has enquired about our Ḥaḍrat, and no eye has ever seen him.'"

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir)

Shaykh al-Islām Mawlānā Sayyid Muḥammad Bādshāh Ḥusnī Qādirī, Relied-upon President of the Scholars' Assembly of the Deccan

Shaykh al-Islām Mawlānā Sayyid Muḥammad Bādshāh Ḥusnī Qādirī, President (muʿtamad) of the Scholars' Assembly (majlis ʿulamāʾ) of the Deccan, writes:

"The truth is that he is the Baḥr al-ʿUlūm (Ocean of the Sciences), the crown of scholars, a Māsūdī and Sindī in noble lineage, the honoured teacher of the revered Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Shāh Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī al-Qādirī. His existence is a manifest sign of the āyāt (signs) of God and His mercy. Regarding Ḥaḍrat, the expression of even the smallest of his attributes is a great matter. Ḥaḍrat — may God preserve him with His grace and bounty — is at every moment striving to make every person fit to receive his gifts according to their capacity.

The Qurʾān says: yanbaghi an yakūna ṣāḥib dil (one ought to be a person of heart).

"We are poor people — from approximately 1330 AH until 1381 AH, nearly fifty years we have had the honour and blessing of Ḥaḍrat's (raḥimahu'llāh) company. We are scholars of the noble era who, when they were present before Ḥaḍrat (raḥimahu'llāh), felt that this was still an uncharted stream of knowledge just being given out."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir)

Janāb Muḥammad Fārūq Ṣāḥib, Former Municipal Administrator (Nāẓim Baladiyya)

Janāb Muḥammad Fārūq Ṣāḥib, former Nāẓim Baladiyya (Municipal Administrator), writes:

"I had the fortune, before Ḥaḍrat's passing, of visiting and receiving salām three days before. Allāh be praised, I was present at the gathering and salām was also accepted. Most notable is this: that Ḥaḍrat took especial note of me with his own gaze — a glance of grace in his own particular way. The evidence of this is: I am a disciple of Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Ilyās Barnī, a student and travel-companion of Ḥaḍrat from thirty years ago, and I am still repeating some of his words.

"When we used to go to Damascus, we thought that we must certainly go to the old and great scholar Badruddīn because we had heard it said that a French scholar was seeking to meet him, setting out on a journey from two days earlier and with great urgency. Suddenly one day, ʿAllāmah Badruddīn came to meet us unexpectedly. After that I went to see Ḥaḍrat and found that ʿAllāmah Ṣiddīqī Ṣāḥib too was a close companion. Ḥaḍrat (that is, Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd al-Qādir)'s scholarly stature so impressed him that he left off from his own disciples and went out calling, declaring in Damascus that the sun of knowledge had risen in Hyderabad. I ask you to give your own counsel in the matter of your writings and compositions — otherwise God will not dispatch you to Damascus."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)

Dr Ghulām Dastgīr Rashīd, Professor at ʿUthmāniyya University

Dr Ghulām Dastgīr Rashīd, Professor at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes:

"God was a good companion of ʿUthmāniyya University, placing into the heart a longing for learning. When at times I came to the residential quarter near All Saints Church as a teacher of religious sciences in the name of Ḥaḍrat (raḥimahu'llāh)'s blessed companionship — knowledge and excellence gathering like moonlight — Ḥaḍrat had a special bond with Mawlānā Manāẓir Aḥsan Gīlānī. Moreover, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Ilyās Barnī had a special nisbat (spiritual attachment) with Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī. And Mawlānā was also of the circle of both these personages — (Mawlānā Manāẓir and Mawlānā Ilyās, both Ḥaḍrat's ) (raḥimahu'llāh). They would resort to this Baḥr al-ʿUlūm for the chance to walk at its shores — a world-gem and pearl became visible before one."

"His sense of proportion and appropriateness was entirely beautiful. Ḥaḍrat (raḥimahu'llāh) was a unique, distinguished muḥaddith (scholar of ḥadīth). Besides narrative and transmission, his book was titled Miʿyār al-Kalām — a primary standard of knowledge. Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Bārī Nadwī Ṣāḥib was among the leading group in the new philosophy of the period, a specialist professor, and translator. The consolidation (tajdīd) of taṣawwuf maslūk (the conducted path of Sufi discipline) was also attributed to him. His critical remarks were extremely precise and pointed — there are only a few among the scholars in a normal gathering. I have said once: amongst them are Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Anwar Shāh and Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī Ṣāḥib. In philosophy and the sciences, their conversation with Ḥaḍrat (raḥimahu'llāh) was particularly intimate."

"Ḥaḍrat (raḥimahu'llāh) said at some of his academic gatherings — speaking directly to us — 'I am a student of Ibn ʿArabī, Ḥaḍrat Jīlī, and Shāh Walī Allāh, whose disciple I am — especially in wisdom of Islām and the commentary and translation of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (of Ibn ʿArabī).' The translation and commentary have been completed in their entirety up to this point. In understanding and applying ʿilm rightly, his is the hallmark — for Ḥaḍrat holds taṣawwuf and sharīʿat in all their manifestations as a mercy to the community in the instruction of the Messenger ﷺ. In several matters of terminology — in ḥikmat (wisdom) and taṣawwuf, a single term carries multiple meanings and connotations — some of the elders give a lengthy explanation, and Ḥaḍrat al-ʿAllāmah al-Kabīr came to full solutions through sharḥ (exposition) and tawjīh (explanation) with several key passages. Despite the fact that different elders gave different explanations of the same subject — even so there were some very fine points of doctrine given. The enlargement of knowledge kept pace with its breadth and width of vision. Some things were said that could not be agreed — some single position in a given school and certain people who drank from it were not admitted. For the importance of the unity of the community and the preservation of communal harmony — there was always a preference given to consideration of proportionality. In this very quality, Ḥaḍrat Amīr Muʿāwiya and Ḥaḍrat Amīr Muʿāwiya's natural qualities were narrated along with a well-lit path — but in a grand manner Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) maintained the position of the caliphate of maʿrifat (gnosis), unity, and waḥdat — and of ḥaqq; these were at a high and lofty level. All the perceptive people of the community gave a sound and scholarly accounting."

"Beside the Muslims, even non-Muslim researchers would sometimes call upon him — and he was the most capable in expounding spiritual wisdom. The famous professor of linguistics, the son of Bint Kār, the senior secretary of the Governing Council , Muḥtaram Khwāja Muḥammad Aḥmad — he became acquainted, exchanged ideas with Ḥaḍrat, and kept his company. He became familiar with the reality of Ḥaḍrat's spiritual presence. There was an extraordinary letter from the Khwāja Ṣāḥib acknowledging Ḥaḍrat's spiritual reality which I also read — its final part is: the gnostic (ʿārif) who spoke with Ḥaḍrat found his proximity a very special page of truthful reality."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1383 AH)

Professor Ilyās Barnī, Former Head of the Department of Economics at ʿUthmāniyya University

Professor Ilyās Barnī, former Head of the Department of Economics at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes a detailed portrait of Ḥaḍrat:

"Reddish-brown in complexion, a clear forehead, face like the moon, beautiful eyes, bright-coloured , stout-bodied, vigorous-limbed, a soldier's bearing. In strength, good arms with long fingers. Iron grip, steel frame, bridge of nose broad , feet well-fitted to the ground as an expert in the arts of archery and riding. Bow, dagger, lance, knife, sword — master of them all. On horseback, in water, with a gun, with a bow — a skilled rider, able to swim, a fine marksman, a good drinker of water. Looking at him young and old one felt joyful — look at his health and youth. By nature he has a keen, sharp insight — see him and you will not be dulled. A heart — look, there is nothing faint about him. In every colour there is variety — every colour is strong and forceful. He leads all evils to the proper — he straightens up anyone gone crooked. He turns every wrong-doer and disbeliever into a corrected person. He is a solace."

"Ḥaḍrat has an instinctively poetic temperament. Music also of the finest gentle light plays upon his face. In Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi — four languages of poetry flow — and in every language and every colour there is such that the Arabs and the masters of Arab countries bear witness. Ḥaḍrat's Arabic speech — look at his Urdu discourse — its clarity, simplicity, and eloquence is such that the eloquence and mastery of language are ever present — it is the essence of Urdu literary quality. In speech as in writing, the Urdu tongue is a comprehensive body of beauty — one may estimate the level of refinement and elegance from it — and the freshness of style and the elegance of expression come together in it in a way that is beyond measure."

"Ḥaḍrat is not a complete memoriser of the Qurʾān — yet a very great reciter is he of the Qurʾān al-Karīm by heart in parts — and is a very accomplished reciter. He is well practised in the science of recitation and well versed in it for scholarly and practical purposes — he gives it enthusiastically to students in his sessions. Especially in the month of Ramaḍān he has a very fine command of recitation. And those who study the religious sciences — Qurʾān, ḥadīth, tafsīr (Quranic exegesis), kalām (theology), fiqh (jurisprudence) — all make use of it. And regarding Ḥaḍrat — as a scholar of the highest degree, what can one say."

(Quoted from Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, vol. 1, Ilyās Barnī)

Janāb Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣāḥib, Reader in Urdu at ʿUthmāniyya University

Janāb Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣāḥib, Reader in Urdu at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes:

"Your blessed hand's grip was that of a wrestler — from it one felt a very acute pain. And with the same hand he would pat the back as if the whole power and complete art of the hand was present. This blessed hand too was capable of curing — hundreds of thousands would assemble to touch it. He had with his hand both the capability of leadership and those hundreds of thousands would find guidance and the comfort of the wounded and the sorrowful would become a topic of discourse."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)

Professor al-Ḥāj Qādirī Kalīm Allāh Ḥusnī, Former Head of the Persian Department at ʿUthmāniyya University

Professor al-Ḥāj Qādirī Kalīm Allāh Ḥusnī, Former Head of the Persian Department at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes:

"He was in that era among quṭb al-rijāl (the pole of men), a comprehensive gathering of noble attributes and a collection of perfections altogether without equal."

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir)

Janāb Sayyid Aḥmad Ḥusayn Amjad

Janāb Sayyid Aḥmad Ḥusayn Amjad writes:

"Al-ḥamdu li'llāh! Ḥaḍrat is the healing of Islamic countries and of Hind — whose knowledge and practice can be an exemplar. Is there any poet, mystic, and man of ʿirfān whose speech any passer-by could read? In every ghazal there is a special quality and in every verse a special quality — a unique pleasure."

(Quoted from the Kulliyyāt of Ḥaḍrat)

Dr Yūsuf al-Dīn, Head of the Department of Religion and Culture at ʿUthmāniyya University

Dr Yūsuf al-Dīn, Head of the Department of Religion and Culture at ʿUthmāniyya University, delivered an address at a commemorative assembly at the University — here are some of its excerpts:

"ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣiddīqī is not merely one scholar among the scholars of Hindustan and Pakistan — he is not merely one ʿālim; rather, he is a very great poet and also a Sufi. His circle of disciples and students is very large. Among his devotees there are hundreds of thousands — among them Hindus are also present, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsīs, and Christians as well."

"In Islamic sciences he is a very accomplished Imām. He wrote about fifty small books. In tafsīr (Quranic commentary) he is a sharp writer. A German scholar wrote a review of his book — al-Dīn (The Religion) — an extraordinary work of composition in Arabic. He said in his comments: 'He has said nothing new' — yet he has given the good qualities of everything in a summary — this is a unique and precious work."

"In Islamic philosophy and taṣawwuf he is extraordinarily well-established. His works include Ḥikmat-e Islāmiyya — a small but very fine book — and the translation and commentary of Ibn ʿArabī's Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam into Urdu and beyond, whose commentary has not yet attained the standard of the present day."

"From the age of five he continuously taught at ʿUthmāniyya University for ten years. And ʿUthmāniyya University continued to advance in every way — giving delight and satisfaction — and taking an honorary pension at fifty-five years of age. He kept teaching for about ninety-three years — the teaching chain was maintained and he was a pioneering teacher. My late father was also his teacher, my late grandfather was also his teacher, and my late younger brother was also taught by him."

"A few days before his death, Mawlānā called me to mind himself. One evening, Mawlānā was in operation at the hospital. Devotees came to stop him in his devotees' way, his followers — but luckily, Yūsuf came along. It so happens that this is my shagird (student): the late Muqtaḍā Ḥusayn Ṣāḥib is my shagird-e dāmān's grandfather. And the late grandfather taught also Dādam — today I will also sit at the feet of Yūsuf on the earth — and my heart finds itself going there. I was present for his researches in the matter of ʿAbd al-Razzāq — I have said today from ʿAbd al-Razzāq to Imām al-Ṣanʿānī (126 to 211 AH) for the verification of his ḥadīth research and the book of ḥadīth, Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Razzāq — I was editing the work of ʿAbd al-Razzāq. He was the Imām of the Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, as well as the teacher of Imām Bukhārī. I am very grateful — and my devotees are also present with me. Oh English people of America, I also wrote to you. You are my devotees — for your defence I am present. Also write to me, telling me: here in America you should go to propagate Islām. When something of Islām comes to mind — note it down. Go to the high level and take records of the notes I have. In this record I am also an English person of the highest grade. Look — I will also now send records by this tape in English — you will learn as well."

"Uṭlubū al-ʿilma mina'l-mahdi ila'l-laḥd — 'Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave' — in the purpose of the Department of Religions at ʿUthmāniyya University he is not merely a person — rather very great people of gnosis (ʿirfān) he also has."

, Reader in Urdu at ʿUthmāniyya University ============================================================ -->

Dr ʿAbd al-Ḥafīẓ Qaṣīl , Reader in Urdu at ʿUthmāniyya University

Dr ʿAbd al-Ḥafīẓ Qaṣīl, Reader in Urdu at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes:

"It is easy to move mountains but very difficult to give guidance to an ignorant and crude person and entrust training to someone who has become entrenched in wrongs. When khatm-e nubuwwat (the finality of prophethood) came to pass, such tasks are then accomplished — these are works that purify souls in such a way that they make a person become an intimate of God, that the Qurʾān's imprint becomes a seal upon their heart. These are the people of awliyāʾ — it is their work. They are like the prophets of Banī Isrāʾīl (the Children of Israel) of their age. The Qurʾān's impression becomes a footprint on them. The matter of their kindness being very great is evident from their countenance — Sarkar (the revered one), Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd al-Qādir — that is how they become the heirs of the Prophets."

Dr Sayyid ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Ṣāḥib, Professor of English and Commentator on the Qurʾān at ʿUthmāniyya University

Dr Sayyid ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Ṣāḥib, Professor of English and commentator on the Qurʾān (in English) at ʿUthmāniyya University, writes:

"For more than forty years — indeed, it has been more time since my first meeting with Mawlānā (raḥimahu'llāh) — and at that time I too was a partner in his collegial work here at Jamāʿah ʿUthmāniyya as a young man. He was a companion and sharing colleague of that period's students in the religious sciences — and my assignment was to teach them. At the time of the propagating of Islam book, some of the book's points seemed to need resolving with Mawlānā — and Mawlānā's thorough and precise answers gave me great delight from the beginning."

"My father died at the end of 1925. In the last meetings Mawlānā told them that he was leaving Hyderabad for good — Mawlānā told me: 'Go, leave it behind — but remain well. I have good friendship with Mawlānā — the friendship of forty-five years from this companionship is firmly established.' My meetings with Mawlānā were only in matters of Islamic knowledge, whenever I would want to find out something from someone, or whenever by some means I would gain this knowledge from a periodical — feeling that Mawlānā for some reason has made his mind up — and Mawlānā's thorough and precise answers gave me great delight in my heart — and it occurred to me that perhaps from Ḥaḍrat you should come with a refreshed heart."

"Ah — this thought that he has left us is a great loss."

بریز، اے جرمِ خوں، چند سوزی جان من بے‌اُو

Pour out, O crime of blood — a few sparks of my soul without him.

مرا صد بار مردن بہ کہ یکدم زیستن بے‌اُو

My dying a hundred times is better than living a single moment without him.

"Yet it does not seem so to me — he is near and close. His knowledge and grace in this life have given me many occasions of great gift — and the measure of the importance of his scholarship and grace I could not estimate in anyone's presence or absence. And the happiness I received in his company — some of this joy was felt by someone with him. I have never experienced such happiness. I felt that his personality was such that it was extremely difficult — with no feelings of joy at all, it was hard and strict. Companion to new feelings, critics and investigators were unravelled by him. He would satisfy devotees with the most assured style in any matter of their own particular enquiry."

"His mind and heart were at every moment balanced in the evenness of God-given felicity (ṭabīʿat muʿtadila wa-munīra). The manifestation of these qualities in his small appearance at every moment was remarkable. And one characteristic of his — if anyone wants to know the meaning of his tafsīr — his commentary and exposition of the book Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam of Shaykh Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī, for whose translation and commentary he left to us as an individual — there are all those trustworthy statements at hand for the learners of Qurʾān to present — from him as an individual, with whatever purity of spirit he had, and for that reason the voice of his in the ears of those who pass by his grave becomes audible —

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ۝ ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً ۝ فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي ۝ وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

"O soul at rest — return to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing. Enter among My servants. And enter My garden." (Qurʾān 89:27–30, al-Fajr)

(Quoted from Māh-nāma al-Qādir, 1381 AH)