Perseverance — Page 58
58 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american after. After completing the ‘ Ish ā ’ prayer, nothing was mentioned about Rama da n beginning in the morning. At 11:30pm an Ahmadi awoke me and stated that Rama da n would begin and I should awake at 3am to begin the fast. I heard non-Ahmadi Muslims beating drums to wake up people for the fasts. At York House, no preparation was made for the early meals. The Ahmadis had some bread and butter, as well as eggs and tea. With this the fasting meal was had. After the ‘Asr prayer, the Hazrat announced that he would give a short dars [i. e. , lesson ] on the Holy Qur’ ā n. He would come at 7pm. The Jam ā ‘at would take their seats and anticipate his arrival because this was the first time he would come out of the home since his arrival on 6/6/1950 due to sickness. A carpet and pillow was set for him in the makeshift mosque. Hazrat came out of his house with a Holy Qur’ ā n in his hand and with a stick in the other hand, he walked very slowly. From the looks of his condition no one would have thought he would come out to deliver the dars. The Jam ā ‘at was told that they should not stand and there would be no hand shaking. It is truly a sad sight to see him in this condition, but only God knows what zeal was burning in his heart to address the Jam ā ‘at in such a painful condition. As a worried teacher, he approached the Jam ā ‘at with the Qur’ ā n and began enlightening their souls with his knowledge and presence. He began to speak with a weak voice, but God began to make it stronger. His Private Secretary wrote him a note in which he stated the time is 7:45. The Hazrat quit the dars and raised himself, and walked back to the house.