Cherished Memories of Africa — Page 274
256 Once I went on the tour of that area accompanied by a local muallim. We planned to spend the night over there. About 5. 00 pm we reached Poto near the seaside. The return of the tidal wave had started slowly but the traffic on that track had continued. My destination was about 25 kilometres from there which was about one hour’s drive. With the name of Allah, I started driving along the sea coast. There was an element of fear though, because my car was quite old and broke down frequently. With sea waves on one side and sand on the other, I drove very carefully. About 5 kilometres on the track I noticed that the car was slowing down progressively. I got really worried. It was not wise to continue further, therefore I turned the car around towards Poto and reached there driving very carefully at slow speed. Surprisingly as the car reached at a safe distance from the sea, the engine went silent. We tried our best to start the car but it would not budge. Ultimately we contacted a mechanic a distant town Louga; he came and towed our car to his garage in Louga. Then after one week’s effort the cat got going. Even today, when I think about the episode, I bow down my head with glorification of, and gratitude to, Allah. How He helped us and saved us miraculously from an apparently impossible situation! Just imagine if the car had broken down and stopped on the coast, the upsurge of the tide during the night would have engulfed it and while receding subsequently would have taken the car with it into the sea. I get amazed even today; how Allah the Almighty, with His Grace saved us from that disaster. دم ق ا ق ک ق ہلیلعذ ق