29 minute read
Letters Full of Blessings
Tarbiyyat
Page
Friday Sermon delivered by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh on December 1, 1989 at Fazal Mosque, London.
Give your full attention to the Waaqifeen as should be given to a special thing that is being prepared for an especially magnificent purpose:
Their parents should prepare them for Allah with a love greater than the love with which a man prepares a goat or ram that he is going to slaughter as a sacrifice to Allah. What is the jewellery for these children? It is taqwa. They are to be decorated with taqwa. Therefore, it is most important that they should be made muttaqee (righteous) from childhood. Make their environment clean and holy. Do not do anything that will make them dislike religion and become inclined to the world. Give your full attention to them as should be given to a special thing that is being prepared for an especially magnificent purpose.
Fill their hearts with taqwa in such a way that instead of playing in your hands they may begin to play directly in the hands of Allah. Just as one entrusts an object to another person, from the very beginning you can entrust them directly to Allah. But the condition is taqwa. Taqwa does not need any intermediaries or other means. Formally, they will belong to the Jama’at and Tehrik-e-Jadid but, in reality, the children whom you will put in the lap of Allah, will be taken care of by Allah. He will supervise and nurture them in the same way as He did the Promised Messiahas. Heas wrote:
کٹے ند ےرم م �سا ہی ےر� سے ابتدا راخو ر� طفل مثل م ہار یر� م دگو
From the beginning I was under your care I was nurtured in Your lap like a suckling babe.
He must have said this couplet after studying his past life in depth and detail. He must have realised that as far as he could remember, since his infancy when he was a suckling, he had the love of Allah in his heart. He had a bond with Allah. Allah always protected him and guided him at every step. The Promised Messiahas humbly submits; “O Allah I was always in Your lap.” So put these children in Allah’s Lap.
Hand over your Waaqifeen to Allah
We have enormous responsibilities and a huge workload. We are much smaller in number as compared to the nations that we have to win over to Islam. Our wisdom, our knowledge, our worldly resources are insignificant compared to the wisdom, knowledge and worldly resources of the nations, we have to win over to Allah. So, there is only one-way and that is the only one: to hand over our Waaqifeen and ourselves to Allah and start playing in His hands.
My fear is that parents may delay the training thinking that these children are very young:
…The fact is that children have to be disciplined from the childhood. It is extremely difficult to reform badly brought up children. This (childhood) is the time when these tender sprouts can be directed any way that we want them to. Attend to them now. Keep them under your control.
All over the world the administration of the Jama’at should keep watch on the life of every Waqf-enau child and keep in touch with the parents. They should know that they belong to a living Jama’at through which the Will of Allah is being carried out. This awareness is essential and it will develop if central administration of Tehrik-e-Jadid keeps an active and meaningful contact with the parents and asks them to keep them updated with the progress of the child they have entrusted to Allah. Tell them, you have a big responsibility. You have a guest of Allah in your home. Though we all belong to Allah but you have a special guest with you and you are preparing him for Allah. What are your plans? How are you training him? Tell us. Keep us informed about him, his health, his behaviour and manners. And regularly instruct them to teach him this or that particular kind of work.
Letters Full of Blessings Letters Full of Blessings
Hibbat Mirza Hibbat Mirza
From a young age we are told that we must develop and cultivate a relationship with Khalifa-e-Waqt. As children, it’s hard to understand what this means. However, it’s only as we grow older that we can truly appreciate this connection and the blessings associated with writing letters to our beloved Hazur-e-Anwaraba. This bond with Khilafat is no ordinary bond and writing a letter is a small effort on our part which allows us to share a brief glimpse of ourselves with Khalifa-e-Waqt and ask for Hazur’saba blessed prayers in all aspects of our lives. Yet, how does a letter have any effect on our lives?
We must remember that while writing a simple letter is not an obligation, it allows us to create an everlasting relationship with someone who not only is close to Allah but has been chosen by Allah the Almighty as His Successor. Thus it not only allows us to further strengthen our bond with Allah, it increases the chances of our prayers being accepted – as Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaba is close to Allah, it is natural to infer that Allah the Almighty listens and is more inclined to accept Hazur’saba prayers. Why wouldn’t we want Hazur-e-Anwar’saba prayers in our corner?
Just as we send texts and emails regularly to maintain our connections with friends and family; similarly, these letters allow us to connect with Khalifa-e-Waqt. We can share our happiness, anxieties, and grief with our spiritual father, who will always pray for our betterment and for our pain to be eased. Conversely, it allows us a small share in Hazur-e-Anwar’saba life. Be it expressing our love and gratitude for Hazur’saba prayers, sending our condolences when a family member passes or expressing our worries over an illness or injury, these letters give us the ability to show our loyalty, support, and love for Hazuraba during eventful times in Hazur’saba life.
In fact, Hazur-e-Anwaraba has expressed his pleasure at receiving our letters on several occasions, showing us that this relationship is not one way - our beloved Khalifa appreciates our sentiments and welcomes our desire to establish this bond. During a trip to Canada, Hazure-Anwaraba even said: “Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh said a great truth that the Jama’at and the Khalifa are two names of the same existence...On May 27, when I gave a sermon about Khilafat, first and foremost, I had received letters from Canada Jama’at, as well as personal letters from members of Canada Jama’at from different places. May it not be a temporary but an everlasting and eternal love and loyalty proclaimed by you! May it continue and sustain in your generations also!” (Friday Sermon delivered by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaba on 1st July 2005)
Throughout my life, I have witnessed several instances where sending a letter to Hazure-Anwaraba has resulted in problems being resolved, difficulties being removed, and Hazur’saba blessed guidance providing me a path to continue onwards, Alhamdollilah. It is because of these moments that I firmly believe that writing letters to Hazuraba regularly provides infinite blessings from Allah, that can be seen throughout one’s life. You might not always see the results instantly, but they manifest themselves when the time is right.
In the early years of my parents’ business; a pharmaceutical laboratory, times were very difficult financially. Anyone who has their own business will understand that the first 5-10 years are tough as one must create connections, network, and market regularly. During this stressful period, I was helping my father. I distinctly remember that one day, we were worried about how bills would be paid if a particular order fell through. My father wrote to Hazure-Anwaraba while I was in the other office. It couldn’t have been more then ten minutes after
he had faxed the letter that we got a call, and it was to confirm a larger order, Alhamdolilah. The relief and amazement at how quickly our prayers had been answered still follows me to this day as an example of how our letters requesting prayers are answered even before they reach our beloved Hazuraba – showing that the prayers begin as soon as we’ve written the letters.
While that is a relatively old example, I have a couple from just these past few months alone that will further illustrate the importance of this connection with Khilafat through our humble letters. Over the last year or so, I started writing two letters where I used to send one every couple of weeks. One letter is for personal matters, while the other devoted to the MTA Canada Subtitling & Translation team. In my opinion, this change in routine has not only sped up the process of those prayers being accepted by Allah but also provided a calm and contentment I didn’t notice before.
As I was completing my final year in Screenwriting, I sent letter after letter requesting prayers for my final scripts and projects alongside prayers for the Subtitling & Translation team. One of the biggest projects I had undertaken was the creation and development of ‘Minaret’ – an Ahmadiyya Muslim film festival – which would have its inaugural online screening in March 2021. I had been working on this project since my third year after an assignment intrigued my professor, leading to an independent study during my fourth and final year with another professor who was well acquainted with film festivals, developing, and programming them.
Early on, I wrote to Hazur-e-Anwaraba about my plans and the goal of the project. Minaret would introduce the Jama’at in a new manner to a wider academic and non-Muslim community. Due to the shortage of time, it was decided that screening existing documentaries from MTA International would be better than requesting submissions. I knew there would be some difficulties along the way. My professor had even prepared me for the worst, saying that if 20 people attend, that would be a great turnout as these events are difficult to build a following for. However, with each letter sent to Hazuraba an obstacle would be removed, Alhamdollilah. The documentaries requested were made available, panel members were given permission to participate, my sister’s dedicated help on social media created a small following, and my little brother had time off to help sort out the streaming side of things. The ease in which everything came together was nothing short of miraculous, and I can only attribute the success of Minaret to the prayers of Hazur-e-Anwaraba .
By the Grace of Allah, over 400 people registered and there were about 1000 views on just the first day of the event alone. None of this would have been remotely possible if it wasn’t for the blessed prayers of Hazur-e-Anwaraba. Without those prayers and the blessings of Allah they provided, I don’t believe Minaret would have had even a fraction of the success it did.
Shortly after Minaret Muslim Film Festival’s online event, I wrote to Hazuraba about the success of the screenings and how I wished to continue working on this project. I hadn’t applied to any graduate school and had thought this would be a worthy endeavour while I continued to hone my skills to become a producer/showrunner. I had also received a few emails from members of the Jama’at around the world who wanted to participate when Minaret was run next year. At this point, I didn’t even know if there would be a next year – though I sincerely hoped so, as it would further my ambition to be a resource for the coming generation of filmmakers of the Jama’at.
A few days later, during my lecture I received an email from my supervising professor. She was offering me a place in the Master’s program for Cinema & Media Studies at York University, tuition would be fully covered, I would be given the opportunity to assist in her research project: Archive/Counter-archive, and the most important part for me – I would be allowed to continue to develop Minaret as part of my studies. To say that I was stunned is putting it mildly. I was dumbfounded…it was honestly the last thing I was even expecting. Considering I hadn’t applied to any graduate programs, my highest hopes were getting an A in the course and graduating.
No sooner did my lecture end that I rushed to tell my parents. They were surprised as well. I knew I had to write to Hazur-e-Anwaraba. In the time I had between lectures, I wrote a short, detailed letter regarding the offer and my own interests of further developing Minaret. I sent the letter to my father so it could be faxed immediately.
While I waited for Hazur’saba guidance, I started to work on the application requirements, my research proposal centered around Minaret and researching film festivals; the cultural impact they have on a diversity of communities, sustaining them - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the admissions process, I couldn’t help but notice how easily everything progressed. Normally, it is difficult to get into these graduate programs, especially for late applicants.
I sent a few more letters for prayers and eagerly awaited Hazur’saba reply. My formal application had been submitted with the research proposal and I hadn’t heard back about the next steps. I was certain that whatever Hazur-e-Anwaraba wrote back, that would be the result. Whether or not I could accept the offer all depended on Hazur’saba blessed guidance.
Early in the afternoon of April 25th, I checked the status of my application online. I had fulfilled all formalities and still hadn’t heard back from the department. The status said, ‘Application under review – No decision yet’. Words that don’t exactly instill hope. Later that afternoon, my sister checked the mail. Excited, she came over to me, ‘Baji, look’s like you’ve got good news’. I was perplexed until I saw what she was holding. It was a letter from Hazur-e-Anwaraba. I was nervous opening the letter, but happy to see the beige paper and signature at the bottom. I quickly read through it. Alhamdollilah, I had been given permission to accept the offer! Out of curiosity, I went to check the status of my application again. That too had changed. It now read ‘Decision: Admitted – Accept/Decline Offer’. This further demonstrated to me that it was only due to Hazur’saba prayers and guidance that I had been given this wonderful opportunity.
These may seem like trivial examples, but I am a firm believer that it’s such occasions, when recounted, we can truly see and be humbled by the power of the prayers of Hazur-e-Anwaraba, and how our letters allow us to participate in a minute fraction of them. It is because Hazuraba prays on our behalf to Allah the Almighty that we are able to achieve anything. I don’t believe that any of what I have accomplished thus far could be possible without the prayers of Hazur-e-Anwaraba and the blessings of Allah that have stemmed from continuously writing and building that relationship with Khalifa-e-Waqt.
Often, we hear that we should write letters to Hazuraba in times of difficulty or when stressed, and while to some it may seem like a pointless exercise, I can say from experience that it has helped a great deal. Be it Minaret, our family’s business, my studies, the health and wellbeing of family members, or even prayers for MTA and our Subtitling & Translation team, there’s never been a moment where I was feeling stressed and anxious and writing to Hazur-e-Anwaraba made it worse. It’s always made the tension fade away. Perhaps, a part of it may be that writing has always been therapeutic for me, however; I believe the larger part is knowing for certain that there is that loving figure of Hazrat Ameerul Mo’mineenaba, who is praying on my behalf to Allah the Almighty.
In the end, I will share a small portion of one of my most treasured responses from Hazur-eAnwaraba. These words have further motivated me to keep giving my all no matter what trials and tribulations may come, to continue improving myself, and to serve the Jama’at to the best of my abilities, InshAllah. My wish is to not only to be worthy of this letter and more such letters from Hazur-e-Anwaraba, but to attain that nearness and love of Allah mentioned in them, InshAllah.
[ ] “May your endeavours lead you to success, peace and prosperity and may your entire being be illuminated by His divine blessings. May Allah be your Guide and Protector throughout in life embracing you with His kindness and love. Amin!”
Hazrat Chaudhry Sir Hazrat Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrullah KhanraMuhammad Zafrullah Khanra (1893-1985) (1893-1985) Personal Anecdotes Personal Anecdotes
By Ambreen Saboor
Introduction
Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan was a Pakistani politician, diplomat, and international jurist, known particularly for his representation of Pakistan at the United Nations (UN).
The son of the leading attorney of his native city, Zafrullah Khan Sahib studied at Government College in Lahore and received his LL.B. from King’s College, London University, in 1914. He practiced law in Sialkot and Lahore, became a member of the Punjab Legislative Council in 1926, and was a delegate in 1930, 1931, and 1932 to the Round Table Conferences on Indian reforms in London. In 1931-32 he was president of the All-India Muslim League (later the Muslim League), and he sat on the British viceroy’s executive council as its Muslim member from 1935 to 1941. He led the Indian delegation to the League of Nations in 1939, and from 1941 to 1947 he served as a judge of the Federal Court of India.
Prior to the partition of India in 1947, Zafrullah Khan Sahib presented the Muslim League’s view of the future boundaries of Pakistan to Sir Cyril Radcliffe, the man designated to decide the boundaries between India and Pakistan. Upon the independence of Pakistan, Zafrullah Khan became the new country’s minister of foreign affairs and served concurrently as leader of Pakistan’s delegation to the UN (1947-54). From 1954 to 1961 he served as a member of the International Court of Justice at The Hague. He again represented Pakistan at the UN in 1961-64 and served as president of the UN General Assembly in 1962-63. Returning to the International Court of Justice in 1964, he served as the court’s president from 1970 to 1973. He was knighted in 1935.1
He was a companion of the Promised Messiahas and a devout servant of Islam Ahmadiyyat; incorporating faith within his work, translating the Holy Qur’an, books of the Promised Messiahas and many others, whilst also compiling several books of his own including a biography on The Holy Prophetsaw 2 .
His life was a record glorious in every respect, his equation with God being the most envious. The success and accomplishments of Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra are remarkably endless and instead of going into depth about the extraordinary successes and life events, this article will focus on personal anecdotes and narrations of those who knew him personally, providing us with inspiration and motivation to excel in both aspects of life; deen and duniya (religion and worldly matters).
Personal Anecdotes
Professor Dr Abdus Salam Sahib (Physicist and Nobel Laureate)3
It may not be widely known, but Dr Professor Abdus Salam Sahib had met Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra on several occasions, and at a young age received invaluable advice regarding his future career. Selected extracts from this article are presented below.
Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullah Khan was one of the greatest human beings I have had the privilege and good fortune of knowing in my life.
I saw Chaudhry Sahib first in December 1933 on the occasion of the annual gathering. I was then around eight years old. I can still see him in my mind’s eye as very handsome figure with a most impressive bearing. I believe the first occasion when he knew of me was when my father wrote to him in 1940 seeking his advice about my future career. He wrote in reply that he would pray for me and he offered three pieces of advice. First, that I should look after my health; health was the basis of all achievement. Second, in respect of studies, he advised that whatever lectures in the classroom were due for tomorrow, I should prepare for them the day before. And whatever I learned today; I should revise the same day so that it became forever part of me. Third, I should broaden my mind; in particular, whenever I got the opportunity to make an educational journey — or even a journey for pleasure —I should take it, for journeying to new places was conducive to a broadening of one’s range of interests.
…I really got to know him after 1973 when he came to live at the London Mosque after his retirement from the Presidentship of the International Court of Justice. He was gracious enough to accept to come to my house at Campion Road, nearby, for Sunday breakfasts whenever I was in London. It could be breakfast only because his day, which he spent working on his translation of the Holy Book or Books of the Hadith and the like, started regularly at 9 a.m. every day including Sundays and could not be interrupted. I have earlier said that he was generous — almost to a fault — to those in need. The story may not be well known, but after retirement, he dedicated all his life’s savings to charitable purposes. A large part was spent in rebuilding the living quarters for the Imam next to the London Mosque as well as towards building the Mahmud Hall. The rest — of the order of half a million dollars — he spent in setting up a charitable Foundation, the Southfields Trust, to help the needy and for educational purposes.
One Sunday when he honoured us with coming for breakfast, my brother protested with him on his generally neglecting own personal needs. He said he had asked his yearly pension (of around $32,000 a year) to be deposited straight into the bank account of the Foundation he had created — the Southfields Trust. He did not keep any part of his pension. But he had an agreement with the Trust that it would pay him seven pounds a week for life’s
necessities and once a year the Trust would permit him an economy fare to Pakistan to attend the annual gathering. He then added, “I know, through Allah’s grace, I am a good advocate, but one judicial case I always lose. That is, whenever I plead to myself for myself.
Respected Ataul Mujeeb Rashed Sahib (Missionary In-charge, UK)5
After arriving in London as a missionary and deputy imam in September 1970, respected Ataul Mubeeb Rashed Sahib had the opportunity to meet Sir Zafrullah Khan Sahibra regularly and wrote an article presenting anecdotes of which selected ones are detailed below.
Remarkable Memory Remarkable Memory Along with his unlimited scholarly capabilities, Allah the Exalted had blessed him with a remarkable memory. I never saw him with a diary. He used to save his engagements and appointments in his mind and never had any problem with that. He knew the phone numbers of his friends and contacts by heart. During his stay in London, he used to come to my office b y a bout 1 0 o r 11 o’clock very often and asked me to dial a phone number for such and such person. As I went for the directory, he would say that he would tell me the number off-hand. That happened every time he came. To my amazement, he told me that when in Britain, the telephone numbers of British friends were highlighted in his mind and when in America, the American numbers were highlighted and the British numbers faded away. Another amazing thing of the kind was that he could tell the days of different dates of the year off-hand. We look at the calendar to plan any event, but Chaudhry Sahibra would calculate and tell the day immediately. Once I asked him the secret. He said, “When the new year starts, I download the days of a few important and fundamental dates in my mind and use that data to calculate the day on the required date.”
A Memorable Dinner A Memorable Dinner Once, an Ahmadi friend who resided in the suburbs of London, invited Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra to his place for dinner. Chaudhry Sahibra usually did not like late night dinners as it affected his routine of sleeping and getting up. However, on his sincere insistence, Chaudhry Sahibra agreed. During those days, the Jamaat was campaigning for inviting one or two tabligh contacts to such dinners to fulfil the obligation o f tabligh. Accordingly, the h ost had invited a young English friend. He was seated next to Chaudhry Sahibra and throughout that time, the two were engaged in conversation centred around Islam Ahmadiyyat. Following the dua, when it was time to go after dinner, the host requested to have a group photograph with Chaudhry Sahibra . Chaudhry Sahibra was not fond of being photographed. Whenever someone wished to have a photograph with him, he usually suggested, “You may photograph me as I am, seated or standing; I am not for formalities.” That night it was getting quite late and we had to get back to London. Therefore, he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He agreed to the photograph on the insistence of the host but was in a hurry. Everyone gathered around Chaudhry Sahibra. Everyone except an English guest was wearing a cap.
After the photograph, the young English gentleman realised that he was the only one without the cap and wanted to have another photograph taken, this time wearing a cap. Chaudhry Sahibra could not refuse out of respect for the guest. Then the search for a suitable cap started. He tried one, looked in the mirror, asked the host if it was good. You can well imagine how the time would have appeared to drag on for Chaudhry Sahibra. Finally, when the young man got his cap sorted out and was ready for the photograph, Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra advised him in one comprehensive sentence. Very affectionately he said, “Look young man! Don’t worry about your cap. It is what is under the cap that matters!” Everyone was amused by that spontaneous advice and the guest also took it well.
Regularity One salient feature of Hazrat Chaudhry Sahib’s life was the regularity of his habits. He did everything in a methodical and precise manner. His style of putting his signature was also unique; he did it slowly and nicely; observing that one could guess that his life followed the same pattern. Coming to London from Holland over the weekend, he used to give me a brief telephone call from his office in the International Court of Justice saying, “Rashed Sahib, I am about to set out, you should get going too.” Immediately, or a few minutes after the phone call, I would set out for the airport. As I reached the airport, Chaudhry Sahibra would come out of the airport with his compact brief case. Sometimes, he would be waiting for me before my arrival. His favourite route to or from the airport was via Richmond Park, a beautiful park in the natural environment not too far from the Fazl Mosque. Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra liked going through the park because of the fresh air and scene of thousands of deer and stags roaming freely in the park. “A leisurely walk to complete the journey”, he would say.
Previously Undocumented Personal Accounts
1. Respected Mateen Bhatti Sahiba (Serving as National Nasirat Secretary UK)
My memories of Sir Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan Sahibra (while I was newly married and had the opportunity to serve him in some small tasks) during the years 1979 to 1980
When I was in my teens, I read Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan Sahibs book “My Mother” and was extremely fascinated by the fact that the vast sacrifices and utter steadfastness of a mother had resulted in a son of such magnitude. Subsequently, I would write to him for prayers and he would respond at many occasions; he once replied, “I pray for you three times daily in my prayers”. How was I to know that one day I would be blessed enough to be in his presence, and even be talking to him!
During the time Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan Sahib was residing in the flat at 16 Gressenhall Road, our family had the task to offer him homemade yakhni (chicken soup) for the sake of his weakening health. At first this offer was point blank refused, but upon insistence from my father-in-law, Sheikh Mubarak Ahmad Sahib (who was then the Imam and missionary in charge UK) he kindly accepted.
I sometimes had the opportunity to bring him the yakhni, but it was always a terrifying ordeal climbing up the stairs to knock on his door. We would try to get away with it by giving this prestigious task to somebody else! This was only because of his high status and his habit of absolute punctuality. As I recall, we had to reach his door, to the minute of 12.55pm and no later! He would also say that the bowl, spoon and saucer in which the yakhni came in should be the same every time. We had been using a different spoon and bowl and consequently listened to a few stern words, which were enough to buckle our knees; we learned the hard way! This was an example of his meticulousness which was a quality of his that surely contributed to his highly successful life.
After I had my first-born son, I went upstairs to Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra to show him the baby, upon which he smiled and caressed his head softly. I requested him to pray that my son also becomes like him, but his response left me astounded! His spontaneous response was: “may Allah make him better than me!” Being young, I couldn’t have expected such an answer. It was much later when I understood his utter humility.
Of course, one would never be brazening enough to initiate the gesture to stay and chat for a while; It was Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra himself who would be kind enough to suggest for me to be seated at times. I would be fortunate to listen to some of his accounts and noticed that I had never once found him not working on his table!
Sometimes I tidied his bedroom while he’d be working. His drawers held lots of gifted pairs of socks and I could also see new suits hung on the rail. We got to know that Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra was not a man of waste and would not use new clothing unless he absolutely needed to. Excessive water usage, food and clothes are some of the things he despised going to waste. His kitchen was sparse of food and only essential items to be consumed would be available. His zero-waste attitude and immense consideration for minimal wastefulness would make him the perfect role model for today’s environmental mindset.
As he was a diabetic, he was a stickler about his diet; not taking a morsel more than needed. Once someone offered him another pakora, but he refused it by saying; “I’ve already had two and that was the maximum!” He once said that due to my well controlled diet, I no longer have diabetes. In those days it was understood that once you have diabetes it was for life, whereas now it is believed, that through diet and exercise, it can be beaten. He would oft advise those who he would come across to fervently do Zikre Ilahi (remembrance of Allah). Once, he stood up and told me that he had a regular routine of invoking blessings on the Holy Prophetsaw by reciting Durood Sharif. He told me that he would recite durood sharif at least 300 times every day and If he wasn’t busy, he was known to recite it a thousand times! He would explain, gesturing, how he would pace the room he worked in, back and forth while invoking durood.
2.Respected Fahim Bhatti Sahib (Volunteer PS Office)
I had the opportunity to spend time and get to know Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra on a very personal level. He was always very affectionate toward me and his humble, god-fearing and highly spiritual attributes have inspired me deeply.
During the years of 1978 and 1979, Chaudhry Sahib was carrying out translation work of the books of the Promised Messiahas . In the morning, he would get dressed in his suit, and work fervently throughout the day, for a minimum of 12 hours! He would read the sentences of the book he would be working on and effortlessly write the translation at the same time. He was very fluent in this work and managed to translate many books of the Promised Messiahas . I would like to narrate a “sweet” incident. Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra was in very good health generally, despite being diabetic, as he had a strict diet and would not have anything sweet. But he could not refuse a genuine Italian ice cream specifically from a shop in Clapham, not too far from Fazl Mosque. He liked this ice cream so much that he could not refuse a bowl when offered! Sometimes Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra would buy eggs, some of which would have two yolks in them. Instead of cooking the whole egg and eating it in one go he would save one yolk and have it the next day. He was very particular about not letting anything go to waste! While cleaning and sorting the living area of Hazrat Chaudhry Sahibra , I would notice that he always had some clothing, carefully and intentionally folded in a certain way, under his pillow and bedding. This was a means to iron his clothes while saving electricity! He never ironed a single piece of clothing in his
