Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin - Khalifatul-Masih I — Page 35
Hadrat Maulw i Nur-ud-D i n ra — Khalifatul Masih I HEDJAZ INTERLUDE 35 Ghan i who allotted him a quarter for his residence. After a few days he offered to swear allegiance to Sh a h Sahib as his spiritual preceptor. Sh a h Sahib agreed, provided he would remain with him for a minimum period of six months. He directed him to concentrate on the verse of the Holy Quran: "We are closer to man than his jugular vein" (50:17), to which, shortly after, he added the verse: "He is with you wheresoever you may be" (57:5). As a result of such concentration he was frequently honoured with visions of the Holy Prophet sa in his dreams, and became aware of the consequences of his spiritual laxity in certain respects. He derived full benefit from his keeping company with Sh a h Sahib, who was very circumspect, a man of few words, very far sighted and of vast erudition. He gave lessons in Bukh a r i , Tirmidh i , Mathnaw i of Maul a n a Rum and Qashiriyyah. He was most courteous. On one occasion Maulaw i N u r-ud-D i n ra asked him how he appraised the four schools of Sunni Jurisprudence. His response was: "The most widely known is the school of Ab u H an i fah, the most spacious is the school of M a lik, the firmest is the school of Sh a fi‘ i and the most comprehensive is the school of Ahmad bin Hambal. " The entire Holy Quran was recited daily in his house, and some of his disciples repeated: "There is no God save Allah", nineteen thousand times a day. One of them mentioned to Sh a h Sahib: "N u r-ud-D i n is not diligent in spiritual exercises. Besides he recites the F a ti h ah in such Prayer services also in which the Imam recites it aloud. He also approves of raising of hands at certain points during the course of a Prayer service. To this Sh a h Sahib retorted: "Well, then, take a knife and cut out from Bukh a r i references to the