Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah and your prayers, our trip to Mumbai was very beneficial. Here is a short summary of the trip.
The elders and distinguished personalities we had a chance to meet were:
Hazrat Maulana Sajjad Nomani(d.b):
We had a connection with Mawlana Sajjad from before.We reached in his service on 4 March 2011. After Asr, he held a majlis, where we had the chance to sit directly in front of him and listen. He spoke about correcting our intentions and how mashayikh influence others' hearts through tasarruf/tawwajuh. Alhamdulillah the talk was very 'ilmi (of a high knowledge nature) and many of our apprehensions were cleared in the talk.
Please see more about Maulana Sajjad Nomani(d.b)
HERE.
Haji Shakil Ahmad sb(d.b) :
Haji Shakil sb is a khalifa of Mufti Hanif Jaunpuri(d.b) and a very old worker of Tabligh. He is also the son-in-law of Qari Ahmad Ali Falahi. We had a long-held desire to meet him. He holds his majlis on Sundays. On 6 March 2011 we reached his majlis at such a time that it had already began. Alhamdulillah, in easy words, he gave a very valuable talk. The topic was how the nafs attacks us and how it plots such that we may go astray (may Allah protect us). After the talk, Allah gave us a chance to eat with Haji Shakil. After that, we showed Haji Shakil our website on a laptop. He was very happy and made a lot of du'a, and promised us a chance to do his service in his next trip to Gujrat.
Please see more about him and this bayan named "Ulta plan"
HERE.
Haz.Hakim Afghani sb(d.b) :
After leaving Haji Shakeel, we started going towards Kurla (a suburb of Mumbai), where Hakim Afghani lives. Hakim Afghani is a relatively-unknown big wali of Allah and the father-in-law of Haji Shakeel. In all of our trip, this was the most valuable hour. When we entered his small room, he was performing wudu (ablution). He is quite weak now at 80 years. He is from the same village - Kheda Afghan, near Saharanpur - as was Mawlana Saeed Khan sb(r.a) (of Madinah Munawwarah). He studied in Mawlana Saeed Khan's maktab and benefited a lot from him.
In response to my questioning, he said that he had seen and remained in the company of elders such as Maulana Muhammad Ilyas sb(r.a), Maulana Abdul-Qadir Raipuri sb(r.a), Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani sb(r.a), and Maulana Shah Wasiullah sb(r.a).
He related a very interesting story: "Once Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas came in jama'ah to my village. At the time, I was a small child of five or six years. Mawlana Sa'id Khan requested Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas to perform dam on him. When Mawlana Ilyas did perform the dam, out of my childishness, I said, 'You have performed such a strong dam, what, do you want to kill me?'"
Then Hakim Afhgani gave us some more advices, especially about valuing time. When the time for Asr came, I was right next to Hakim Afghani. He gave me plenty of advice then too. When I tried to pick up his shoes before entering the masjid, he did not permit me, and said, "My shoes are normal, no one will take them. But take care of your own shoes." My friend took our shoes and put them somewhere. When we had completed our Salah, I couldn't find my shoes. I thought that perhaps my friend has taken my shoes outside. When I exited the masjid, Hakim Afghani came from behind, carrying my shoes himself. He said that he had taken the shoes and put them in a safe place where they wouldn't be taken. I felt very ashamed, so he said, "Haven't you read the story of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, that it rained once, and all the students took their books and ran under cover, while Mawlana Gangohi remained, picking up the shoes of the students.
To listen to our conversation, please click
HERE.
Dr. Abu Tamim
Allah Most High made this entire trip easy through the help of Dr. Abu Tamim. Taking time from the elders and traveling a lot was difficult, but Dr. Abu Tamim took out time from his very busy schedule in order to make accommodations for us. He served us so much that we were feeling ashamed. Dr. Abu Tamim is a young but very knowledgeable person. His household is also very religious. His 28-year old sister memorized the Qur'an in seven months. His wife is the chief of Gynecology at a very large hospital. Dr. Abu Tamim is a visiting doctor at four or five places. He just opened a big hospital specialized in diabetes, of which he is the coordinator. He is a very busy man and is specialized in diabetes and cardiology. Because of us, he delayed his entire Saturday and Sunday programs, and throughout our trip, he was with us. May Allah reward him well.
Br. Azim
Brother Azim is a friend of ours who is deeply connected to the elders. When Shaykh Hamim Ajmeri, the khalifa of Mufti Mahmud Hasan Gangohi, stops by Mumbai, he stays in Br. Azim's house. He is very young, but he is a sacrificing old worker of Tabligh. He is the one who told us about Hakim Afghani. May Allah reward him well too.
Br. Shuib Momin
In our Mumbai tour, one of our wishes was to meet Brother Shu'ayb Mu'min, but he was gone South on a business tour. When he returned back on Monday, Dr. Abu Tamim called him and informed him of our arrival. Despite having just arrived back from travel and being sick, he came to meet us at 11 PM. He is also very young, but is very into Tabligh. He is at all times in worry about Tabligh and the Ummah, and in grief over the lack of Din. During just that meeting he got us prepared to spend a year in jama'ah.
During our tour, we also took out some time to visit places of tourism and some masajid. All Praise is to Allah, this trip was beneficial, may Allah accept it.