Stories of elders

Mufti Mahmud al-Hasan Gangohi, may Allah shower His mercy upon him, related:‘‘A [daily] gathering would take place in the company of Shaykh al-Hind [Mawlana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi] (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) afterFajarprayer in which tea would be served. Attendees would be involved in conversation with one another. However, ‘Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would remain seated quietly, his head bowed. He would not partake in conversation. Gradually, people would finish drinking tea and leave. Then, Shaykh al-Hind (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would enquire, ‘‘Shah sahib, do you wish to say something?’’ He would then raise his head and answer, ‘‘Yes, I have a query regarding a particular Hadith.’’ Shaykh al-Hind (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would answer his query and thereafter, the Shah (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would leave.’’Malfuzat-e-Faqih al-Ummat. 231, Vol 3 (Karachi: Dar al-Huda, September 2005 ed.) by Mufti Muhammad Faruq Mirathi.

Mawlana Shams al-Haq Afghani (may Allah shower his mercy upon him) related:Our teacher Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri would say: ‘‘Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy Lucknowi is dependable in his opinions. However, the reverence for him in my heart is due to his piety(taqwa).One of his students informed me, ‘‘I remained in Mawlana Lucknowi’s company for seven years. In all that time – despite having many opponents – I did not hear him utter a word ofghibah.’’ (Our revered teacher, [‘Allamah Anwar Shah] Kashmiri would say), ‘‘this is a quality which is rare among scholars, let alone the masses.’’(Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Ke ‘Ulum wa Ma‘arif(Karachi: Dar al-Isha‘at, June 1980 ed.) p. 43-44 by Mawlana Muhammad Iqbal Qureshi, citingSawanih Hadrat Mawlana Rasul Khan saheb, p8.)

After making mention of Hadrat [Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi]’s (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) written works, which number almost a thousand, a person asked him, ‘‘you have authored these many works; you’ve probably studied thousands of books?’’ Mawlana replied, ‘‘Yes, I have read a few books, the names of which are:*.Haji Imdad Allah (may Allah shower His mercy upon him)*.Hadrat Mawlana Ya‘qub Nanautwi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him)*.Hadrat Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him)These books have made me independent of all other books.’’(Majalis-e-Hakim al-Ummat,pp. 103-104 (Karachi: Darul Isha‘at) compiled by Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ Usmani)

Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Fadhl al-Rahman al-A'zami mentions:"We used to study Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī under Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Nuʿmānī . He never kept a book with him. We would bring one for him and indicate where the lesson was from and he would begin to explain the lesson in his informal style. I don’t know if he came prepared or not. Shaykh Manẓur Nuʿmānī and Muftī Ẓafīr al - Dīn are two of his many students. He was a skilful and experienced debater and an energetic, brave man. His expertise extended to all fields and his talents were undeniable."Further it is mentioned that once Shaykh al-Ḥadīth was reading 'Allamah Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī’s Nayl al-Farqadayn , when he came across a portion of text that he did not understand. He first approached a junior teacher and asked for an explanation, but he was unable to offer one. He then approached a more senior teacher and he too was unable to explain the text. Shaykh al-Ḥadīth then went to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Nuʿmānī who, after just a brief glance, immediately explained it in a very confident manner.( A Brief Biography of Shaykh al-Hadīth Fazlur Rahman Azmi , p. 78)

Once, the governor sent a message to Mawlānā Faḍl al-Raḥmān of Ganj Muradabad that he wanted to visit him. Someone advised him that the governor sits on a chair. Hence, the Mawlānā arranged a chair for him. When he came in, he sat on the chair. He brought along a woman as well, but there was no chair for her. However, there was an earthenware pot turned upside down and the Mawlānā requested her to sit on that if she wished. She stretched out her hand to greet the Mawlānā, but he immediately pulled his hands behind his back saying, " Al-ḥamdu lillāh , I have not yet touched a strange woman."When the governor asked him regarding his health, he replied, "In the light of the third moon, I am able to read a letter written with a very fine pen."This was when he was already over 100 years old. Subḥana'llāh ! What an excellent state of health he had at that age!(Malfūẓāt Faqīh al-Ummah . Isipingo Beach: Madrasah Ta'līm al-Dīn. 2:321.)

wahdatul wajud.