Cherished Memories of Africa — Page 155
137 CHAPTER 12 Some devotees of the Gambia Alhaj Sir Farimang Singateh ‘Kings will seek blessings from thy garments’ In 1868 or 1869, long before Huzur claimed to be Imam Mahdi, there was severe opposition to the Ahl-e-Hadith in Punjab. When any mullah found out that some Ahl-e-Hadith (Wahabi as they called them) had offered prayers in that mosque, he would have the floor undone or washed. Mohammad Hussain of Batala had returned after finishing his studies under Maulvi Nazir Hussain Dehlvi a short while earlier. Most of the Muslims had very strong feelings against him. Huzur happened to be at Batala where one person persuaded Huzur to go to Maulvi Muhammad Hussain’s house for exchange of views. His father was also there. A large audience was anxious to hear the debate. Huzur sat in front of the maulvi and asked him about his point of view. The maulvi replied, ‘my viewpoint is that the Holy Quran had precedence over everything else followed by sayings of the Prophet saw and that anything that contradicted the Book of Allah and the Hadith of Messenger of Allah saw carried no weight. ’ Hearing this, Huzur said spontaneously, ‘your belief is reasonable and unobjectionable. Therefore, I see no need for a debate with you’. The crowd went wild and shouted, ‘vanquished!’