TOPPoem on Ahmed Raza
by Maulana Abdul Aleem Sidiqui
Some days before the annual Urs of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him), brother Hassim gave me a copy of the Urdu poem written by Maulana Abdul Aleem Siddiqui Qadiri (may Allah be pleased with him) in praise of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him). The starting lines read as follows:
Toomhari shan mein jo koch kahoon ousse se sewa toom ho
Qassim-e jaam irfan eh shahe Ahmed Riza toom ho
At that time, Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Khushtar Siddiqui Qadiri Razvi was in South Africa participating with all love in the Urs Shareef of Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him). He was expected on our island on 25 July and because of my little knowledge of Urdu, I had made up my mind that I would request him to throw some light on the above two-quoted lines as soon as I do get an opportunity.
I was blessed to sit in the threshold of His Eminence on Wednesday 26 July after Esha prayers. He started speaking on the celebration of the Urs Shareef held in various regions of South Africa and, without my least intervention, he cited the above two Urdu sentences from Maulana Abdul Allem Siddiqui (may Allah be pleased with him), and gave an explanation thereof:
Words cannot describe your praise, OH Ahmed Raza!
You are the distributor of the wisdom of knowledge, oh Ahmed Raza!
Problems and solution
Problems with the members of his family were assailing a friend of mine so much that he spoke to me of his inability to attend the Urs Shareef of Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) organized at the seat of the Sunni Razvi Academy on 30 July 1995. On 31 July, after Magrib prayers, the matter was reported to Hazrat Maulana Khushtar who stated:
Many a flower is born to blush unseen
Somebody said that he experiences some sort of ecstasy when he chants eulogy on the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) in private, however such is not necessarily the case when he sins in congregation. Hazrat Maulana Khushtar pointed out that ‘love’ is a gift that is normally kept underneath the sleeve. Almighty Allah, in all His bounty, usually hides the virtues of His special servants although, at times, for reasons, which are known to Himself, He sees to it that the virtues, love including, of some of His pious servants are publicized. It is worth mentioning here that the great Shaikh Sari al-Saqati (may Allah be pleased with him) has said that a mystic may appear as somebody who is hidden, who has no contact with others, and who does not reveal to anybody the inner knowledge he has acquired.
The time shall come
Years ago when His Eminence was speaking on the life, teachings and achievements of Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him), whose main objective has been to inculcate the love of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) into the hearts of believers, a question did not cease coming upon the lips of admirers: why such a 'mighty' personality as Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) is not known throughout the whole world? And, those who had but little knowledge of Urdu would often pray that 'Kanzul Iman', the Urdu version of the Holy Quran by Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him), be translated into English.
"The time shall come" would Hazrat Maulana Khushtar humbly say.
Recently, I had the good fortune of reading a great book entitled, ' A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century – Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi' by Martin Lings. While reading this book I continued asking myself why a thesis has not been presented on Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) and to a lesser degree, and may that be said with all humility, why some work has not been prepared on Hazrat Maulana Khushtar who is not only a theologian, missionary and organizer, but also a writer, poet and Mystic.
My heart leapt with joy when, from 'The Reformer of the Muslim World – Ahmed Raza Khan, by Prof. Dr Masud Ahmed, M.A., Ph.D., printed on the occasion of the 76th annual Urs Shareef of Qadiri Razvi (July 1995)’ that:
By the grace of Almighty Allah, the English translation of 'Kanzul Iman', the Urdu version of the Holy Quran by Maulana Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) as we are aware, has already been completed in June 1988 by Prof. Shah Faridul Haque. Words cannot describe the joy I felt when Hazrat Maulana Khushtar most humbly told me that a Ph.D. professor has addressed him a letter. The professor has manifested the desire to request one of his own students to carry out a research work on the life, teachings and achievements of Maulana Khushtar. May Almighty Allah help the professor realize his dream? May Almighty Allah help all those who are contributing to propagate the mission and teachings of Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) and may He shower upon them all His choicest blessings.