Perseverance — Page 54
54 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american Hashmatullah was busy preparing medicines traveling on the Pakistani Mail (the name of the train). When the Pakistani Mail approached the various train stations, it did not stop at all of them. We saw Ahmadis lined up at these stations because they were hoping to meet the Khal ī fah ra , but many were unable to because the train did not stop at all stations. In some stations there appeared to be several hundreds. They would simply wave and shout Allahu Akbar and Hazrat Am ī r-ul-Mo’min ī n 16 zindabad [Urdu: Long live his holiness, the Leader of the Faithful ] as the train passed by. When the train did stop, the Ahmadis would form a single line and shake the hand of the Khal ī fah ra , one by one. At some stations he would stay seated and shake hands from the window because he was suffering from gout pain. Ahmadis would present food, fruits and refreshments in abundance. This was then presented to the Private Secretary to distribute among all of the other travelers. The Ahmadi ladies at the station met with the Khal ī fah’s family and shook hands with the ladies only. As an American observing this I was overwhelmed at the intense love and devotion that these Ahmadis had towards their Khal ī fah ra. I felt as if I was in the midst of something unique and of immense historic proportion. As I observed, I thought this is the True Islam, ladies wearing pardah , men in the company of men, and ladies in 16 The title Am ī r-ul-Mo’min ī n or Leader of the Faithful was a title given to the khalīfah in the time of Hadrat ‘Umar ra ibn al-Khattāb, the Second Caliph of the Holy Prophet Muhammad saw. [Writer]