Life of Ahmad — Page 214
214 CHAPTER 20 VISIT TO ALIGARH In 1884 Ahmad as had intended to go round India. In 1886 he went to Hoshiarpur under Divine orders. To fulfil his old desire of travelling to other parts of India, Ahmad as went, after Bai‘at , to Aligarh accompanied by M. Abdullah Sanauri ra , M i r ‘Abb a s Ali and Sh. Ha mid Ali ra. He stayed at the house of Sayyid Tafa dd ul Husain Tahsildar. A friend of the host invited Ahmad as and his companions to a meal at his house. Food was served on small tables decorated with flowers, round which sat the guests on the carpeted floor. This was somewhat unusual, as people usually took their meals sitting on the covered floor, having the food placed in front of them on the floor and using no tables. M i r ‘Abb a s Ali, therefore, considered it an innovation against Islam. Ahmad as told him that there was nothing wrong in it, and that Islam did not inculcate such fanaticism. But M i r ‘Abb a s Ali’s conception of Islam proved so narrow that he actually went without food. The little tables were entirely obnoxious to him. It was a trifling