The Amīr of Ahl al-Sunnah’s Concern for Salah
Mawlana Muhammad Asif Attari Madani
One of the more prominent qualities of the renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ is his concern for the performance of salah. In this regard, his life is full of countless accounts which leave the mind bewildered as to how much concern a person can have for the offering of salah. For example, many years ago, in Hyderabad, and some years later in Karachi, the Amīr of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ underwent surgery, and he chose such a time for surgery which would not affect the performance of any salah.
It has been his long-standing practice to take part in the processions of mawlid in various ways, but even then, he is always thinking about where he will have the opportunity to offer which salah. One year, he joined the procession in a car, and on the way home, there was a short time remaining for Asr salah, so he stopped the convoy on the way and offered salah in congregation.
When he travelled on an airplane for the first time, the time of salah entered mid-flight, and despite the ignorant and hurtful behaviour of a staff member, he was patient and only rested once he had offered salah, as per the guidelines of sharia. Regardless of the journey being undertaken, salah is always his top priority.
On one occasion, whilst overseas, when he was returning to his residence, the road was not clear on account of weather conditions. Due to medical reasons, there was no practical way of performing wudu, but his sole concern was the offering of salah. He then began to recite a litany, by the blessings which they were able to complete the journey quickly and he was able to arrive at his residence in time to offer salah.
The following accounts from Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri’s Hajj journey are also historic moments:
Once, during Hajj, his clothes became soiled with blood whilst sacrificing animals in Mina and he had become separated from the rest of his group. However, after a lot of struggle, he managed to obtain a clean ihram and only rested after offering the farḍ salah. Similarly, when a fire occurred in Mina, the people were running here and there, concerned for their lives and belongings, but he was only concerned with offering salah.
Whilst in Mina after performing Ṭawāf al-Ziyārah, when he feared that there was no one to awaken him for Fajr, despite his exhaustion, he spent the entire night awake. He is very cautious in the matter of salah, to the extent that he sets several alarms before sleeping, so that if one does not go off then at least the second one will wake him up.
After performing the Farewell Ṭawāf, the Amīr of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ, along with his fellow travellers and other pilgrims, set off for al-Madinah al-Munawwarah in a truck used to transport goats. He had already spoken to the driver beforehand with regards to stopping for Fajr salah. When the time for salah arrived, he informed the driver and had him stop the truck. They all then offered Fajr salah within its stipulated time.
Once, due to some misunderstanding, the local police in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah wished to detain him in a small room, but even at that time, he was only concerned about performing wudu and offering Fajr salah. It was the will of Allah Almighty that in a state of helplessness, he uttered the words:
یَارسولَ اللہ! کِڈا پھسائی ویو
“O Messenger of Allah, where have I become trapped!”
Hearing this, the police officer began to laugh and then let him go.
When the driver did not stop the bus for salah
In 1980, on the last night of his stay in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, the Amīr of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ set off for Jeddah aboard a bus. When they were a short distance from Jeddah, his eyes fell upon the sky, and he realised that Fajr had begun. The pain of leaving al-Madinah al-Munawwarah was present and the passion for offering the farḍ salah was also felt, so he stood and began to call out, “It is time for salah, it is time for salah!”
However, nobody responded to his calls. He went to the driver and said, “The time of Fajr has entered, stop the bus.” But the driver did not take any notice. In a state of sorrow, he returned to his seat. A short while later, he looked up at the sky again and saw that the light had spread. He then invited the bus full of pilgrims to offer salah, but nobody heeded his call. He went to the driver a second time and told him that the sun will rise soon, but he ignored him again.
It seemed like a hopeless situation, as neither was the driver willing to stop the bus nor were the passengers willing to join him in offering salah. In this state of dismay, he thought to himself, “Am I going to miss my Fajr salah whilst sitting here?” Just as he had a bottle of emergency bottle of water on his person for wudu during Hajj, he had it with him then too, but how could he perform wudu on the bus?
Nevertheless, he performed tayammum as best he could and then offered salah whilst seated; what else could be done? After a short while, they arrived in Jeddah. As soon as the bus stopped, he quickly got off, placed his luggage on the footpath, performed wudu and offered Fajr salah, making a note of the time after he had finished. In those days, there was no app or internet to check salah timings. Later on, when he checked the time of Fajr on the calendar, it became apparent that اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه, he had offered Fajr salah on time. This brought him immense happiness.
The Amīr of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ had quickly left the bus out of fear of missing Fajr salah, but after alighting, he realised that the final stop was actually some distance away and he had got off earlier, in another place. There were no mobile phones in that era but he had his friend’s number, which he used to get to his house somehow, and from there he went on to board an airplane to Karachi.
This is the grace of Allah Almighty that He grants to whomsoever He wills. May Allah Almighty also grant us this level of passion for offering salah.
اٰمِیْنْ بِجَاہِ خاتَمِ النَّبِیّٖن صلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہ ِوَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ
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