The Afghan Martyrs — Page 111
The Dark and Cramped Cell in the Jail The jail cell in Kabul in which our crusading brother Hadhrat Mulla N eymatulla Khan was confined was indeed dark and cramped. It was not really a cell but a grave and there was not a breath of fresh air or a ray of light in it. The cells in the Kabul prisons were a lot worse than cells elsewhere. The inmates were responsible for feeding themselves and those who had no relations who could procure food for them had to beg for crumbs in the streets of Kabul during the day and report to the prison to be interned for the night. The dark cells were infested with mosquitos, flies and other insects and there were no arrangements for cleaning etc and the stench and odour in them paralysed one's senses. Because of filth, insufficient food, and stinging insects prisons promoted fatal diseases and most inmates died before the end of their term of imprisonment. It was this kind of a dark cell in which Hadhrat Mulla Neymatulla was kept. Quite apart from the absence of light and other problems, he was kept in isolation and there was no one whom he could talk to. He was not allowed any exercise and was obliged to spend all his days and nights in complete silence. He remained mute but his mind and heart became eloquent and his chaste heart always remained prostrate at the Divine threshold. His mind wandered through the beloved narrow streets of Qadian, the very Qadian where he spent his early manhood. The Qadian where early in the morning, immediately after his Fajar prayers, he would regularly supplicate at the tomb of his master and guide, the Promised Messiah (PBUH). By looking at the epitaph which stood next to the Promised Messiah's tomb on which the names of Hadhrat Syed Abdul Lateef and Hadhrat Moulvi Abdur Rahman had been inscribed he would quietly supplicate. In his heart he 111