My Mother — Page 63
’s Residence with Me 63 why did I obey her in everything and was eager to carry out her least wish. As she expected a response, I said, ‘First, because you are , and God has enjoined obedience to you; secondly, because of your unbounded love for me; and thirdly, because I hope that when under God’s mercy you should meet Father you may tell him that I have been wholly obedient to you and you have been pleased with me. ’ She put her hand over her heart and affirmed, ‘That I certainly will. ’ In one respect alone she had always been strict and uncompro - mising, and that was her jealousy for the Faith. My father used to read the Mathnavi of Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi with an old sufi, who visited him once or twice a week. On one occasion when he called, my father was not at home, and the servant told the visitor that he had gone to Qadian. The sufi, a non-Ahmadi, was chagrined and gave vent to his annoyance in uttering something disrespectful concerning the Holy Founder of the Movement. He was overheard by who was outraged and called out to the servant, ‘Push this babbling old hypocrite out of my house, and tell him never to set foot in it in future lest worse befall him. ’ Within a few weeks of my father’s death I was elected a Member of the Punjab Legislative Council, which proved to be the opening of the way to a public career for me. Mian Sir Fazal- i-Husain was the Leader of the House. He was a Barrister-at-Law. He started his practice at Sialkot, had known my father, and had held him in high esteem. He had given me letters of introduc- tion when I came to England for my studies, and on my return had sponsored my application for enrolment as Advocate of the Chief Court. In 1919, when he was Secretary of the Law