Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
The Sunnah of Having a Deep Concern for the Deeni Progress of Others
Hazrat Shah Waliyullah (rahimahullah) was a renowned Aalim and Muhaddith who hailed from Delhi. Allah Ta‘ala had accepted him and his family for the service of deen and had blessed him with sons who were also saints and illustrious Ulama of their era. Among his sons was Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir (rahimahullah).
Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir (rahimahullah) was blessed by Allah Ta‘ala to write a translation of the Qur’aan Majeed that gained great acceptance among the people of India. From all the translations of the Qur’aan Majeed, one of the special features of this translation was that it was completed in a period of forty years while in i’tikaaf in the musjid of Akbar-Aabaadi.
There are many incidents reported regarding this illustrious personality which reflect the great piety which he possessed. Below is a unique incident of this saintly personality:
On one occasion, while Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir Saheb (rahimahullah) was delivering a lecture, his gaze fell on a person in the audience whose pants was below his ankles. On noticing this, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) did not immediately correct him, as this would lead to his embarrassment.
However, at the same time, Hazrat Shah Saheb’s (rahimahullah) heart was filled with great concern for this person’s hidaayat. Hence, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) waited for the right opportunity to address the person and correct him.
After Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) completed the lecture, he approached the person, and in a loving and polite manner, said to him, “My brother! Please wait for a few moments, as I need to speak to you.”
Once the people had left the musjid, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) addressed the person, and began to explain to him, with gentleness and compassion, saying, “My beloved brother! I have a problem, that at times, due to my old age, my pants falls below my ankles without me realizing it. I am very worried about this as there are severe warnings mentioned in the Hadith for people who let their pants hang below their ankles.”
Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) then mentioned some of these Ahaadith to the person. After mentioning the Ahaadith, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) stood and said to the person, “Now please check my pants and tell me as to whether it is below my ankles or not.”
The person immediately realized that Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) did not really have this problem in his life. Rather, he had mentioned this as an excuse to bring the person’s weakness to his attention without embarrassing him. Hence, he held onto Hazrat Shah Saheb’s (rahimahullah) feet and said, “Hazrat! This problem is not in you – rather it is in me! Today, I repent from this sin before you, and insha Allah, I will never commit this sin again in my life!”
From this incident, we observe that the pious servants of Allah Ta‘ala are such that they mirror the Mubaarak Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Just as they are concerned for their own deeni progress, they are also concerned about the deeni progress of others. Hence, on seeing any person involved in sin, they are overcome by concern for the person, as this was the blessed way of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Thus, they look for ways to benefit the person and correct him, while adopting an approach of gentleness, love and compassion.
