Taqwa of Imam Ahmad Rida Qadiri AlaHadrat Imam Ahmad Rida’s entire life was adorned with meticulous following of the Shari’ah and Sunnah of the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam and his taqwa had reached an elevated level. I shall present some incidents from his life that show that he not only had taqwa but had also attained the rank of wara’a . In accordance to the verse, No men can be its guardians except the pious, he was a perfect muttaqi and a gnostic 1. The last Ramadan in his life was in 1339 AH. The weather in Bareilly was very hot and he was weak and ill, as these were his final years. The Shari’ah exempts an old man [Al-Shaykh al-Fanī: an old man who cannot fast now, and cannot hope to expiate in the future either] from fasting and expiate by charity instead and for the ailing, they are allowed to expiate when they are healthy again . Despite these dispensations, AlaHadrat’s taqwa demanded otherwise. This was not his fatwa but his taqwa. He said: The hot weather in Bareilly will not allow me to fast but the weather in mountainous regions is cooler. Nainital is not far from here and I can fast in the mountains of Bhowali [83 miles north of Bareilly]. And I am able to go there; hence, it is obligatory for me to do so. He spent the whole of Ramadan there and fasted the whole of Ramadan. 2. He passed away on the 25th Safar 1340 AH. He was ill for months and in the last months, he could not even walk. The Shari’ah permits that in such conditions, one can pray at home but AlaHadrat would pray in the congregation. Four men would carry him on a chair to the masjid and he continued to participate thus as long as he was physically able to do so. 3. I have narrated the following incident in the marginalia of Jumal al-Nur from my teacher, Hafiz-e-Millat Shah Abd al-Aziz Muradabadi. At one time, there was no one to take him to the masjid and it was time for the congregation. He was disturbed by this and eventually, he came to the masjid, staggering and dragging himself and offered his prayer in the congregation. In our times, in spite of good health, strength and the means, people carelessly miss the congregation; this incident should serve as an eye opener to such people. 4. AlaHadrat was away from home and staying in one of his lands. He would periodically suffer from severe bouts of tormina [Acute, colicky pains; gripes]. One day he was all alone by himself; and describes that incident himself thus: The pain started during the time of Dhuhr. I performed the ablution howsoever I could and then stood up for prayer but was unable to do so. I supplicated to Allah and sought help from the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam. Allah surely hears the call of the distraught. I intended to pray the sunnah and the pain disappeared. As soon as I concluded the prayer with the salam , the pain came back and when I made intention for the fard, it went away again. When I concluded the prayer with the salam, it came back again. I prayed the sunnahs after fard and the pain stopped, and came back yet again after the salam. I now expected the pain to stay until Asr. Just as I feared, I lay on the bed tossing and turning but the pain remained. It can both be said that the pain was relieved during the prayers or that he was so attentive towards Allah and absorbed in worship that he would not feel it. Regardless, it is proof of AlaHadrat’s divine acceptance and his gnosis. Imam Abu Hanifa Alaihir raHmah would spend his whole day in academic pursuits and systemising and organising fiqh; he would still perform supererogatory worship at night and resting for some part in the night. He was once going somewhere when there was someone pointing towards him saying: “This person worships all through the night.” Thereon, he began worshipping all through the night.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 11:05:56 +0000
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