Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen – Khalifatul Masih I – The Way of the Righteous — Page 183
Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen The Way of the Righteous 184 Despite an outstanding personality and a commanding figure, he wore simple clothes. His own personal expenses did not exceed a few rupees. He hated pomp and show. His normal attire was an open long shirt, a pyjama (trouser), a turban, often a waistcoat. Sheikh Moula Bakhsh Sialkoti specially used to bring a moccasin (open shoe) for him, and he would compress the backpart of it (to look like a slipper). He had no watch. He used an ordinary pen made out of a reed; sometimes he would also use a pen with a nib, but was not very comfortable with it. He used to sit on a plain white sheet with a small woollen piece on it near the eastern door of the northern part of the clinic; he would sometime recline on a pillow. He had a small tripod but seldom used it for writing. For his hair, he never used dye but henna (a local herbal application, which makes hair reddish). If there were no buttons on the shirt, he would not care for it. In food, he liked to soak his bread in curry. He never used a coat in summer and his hair was often visible from the turban. He always kept a long stick. In short, whether it was clothes or food, he was very frugal in both. Despite all this simplicity, he had a commanding personality. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra 's Intellectualism From early childhood, he had an intellectual inclination of mind. He was always found to be engaged in reading. At an early age when he had not even learnt to read, he had acquired a sense of appreciation for books and pictures. The attractive cover of a book would prompt him to make it part of his collection. It was at the age of sixteen that he concentrated his attention to learn the translation of the Holy Qur'an. It was in 1857 while people were merely interested in different vocations, he developed a specific taste for the Holy Qur'an. And it was this abiding interest in learning that brought him to Lahore and later took him to many parts of India. During these travels, he often had to face hardship, but his quest for knowledge was so genuine that it made him bear all these hardships. When he left for the