Chosen Saints of God and the Bigoted Mullas — Page 17
=. When the executioner, with a drawn sword, advanced towards. Riqaam, Abul Mohsin Al-Noori quickly stepped forward and said, "My creed believes in self-sacrifice and service to our fellow-beings. I would, therefore, request the king to command that I may be beheaded first so that my friends here may get a few more moments to live in this world. This is because I hold that a moment's life in this earth could not be replaced by a thousand years in the hereafter”. . The king was greatly impressed at this selflessness and asked the Qazi of the court to go over the case of these men again and give his personal views about them. . The Qazi after questioning them all in detail said, "Your. Majesty, if these men are condemned as atheists, I very much fear that we shall not find better believers in the Unity of Allah on the face of the earth than these venerable sages". . On hearing this view of the Qazi the King apologised to the sages profusely and sent them all back to their homes with much honour and gifts". (Tazkerat-ul-Auliya: Chapter 45). The fourth century Hijra (1) HAZRAT MANSOOR HALLAAJ (born 212 H. , died 309-martyred). We have so far recounted the noble sacrifices, the piety, the obedience to and the firm faith in Allah and the patience and perseverance manifested by some Chosen saints of God of the first three centuries of Islam which was its 'golden period'. . We have also told you how loathsome was the attitude of the bigoted Mullah towards these noble saints and devoted sages. Now we shall throw some light on the treatment meted out to the sages and saints of the later centuries and how these venerable devotees were maltreated by the so-called custodians of the Islamic Sharia and how these noble sons of Islam held high the banner of truth and the real teachings of the Quran. They suffered great trials with fortitude and perseverance so that the future generations might cultivate true love of Allah in their hearts and know the correct interpretation of the commands of God and how the. Holy Prophet translated them into practice by setting his own 17