Why Islam is my choice — Page 42
42 more than that of a playboy. I wasted a lot of money on all kinds of idle pursuits. My two younger brothers were also living with me by this time. I had a small office inside the store where I used to do the necessary paper work. However my management responsibilities used to keep me on the floor for most of the day. This used to be a typical day of my life. In 1940, an event happened in my life that completely turned the rest of my life around. It happened so that one day I noticed a modestly dressed man stop in front of the store on the sidewalk. He started to gaze in amazement at the products on display in the glass case. He spent a long time doing that. I did not take any particular notice but this man started coming back everyday. He would stop at the same spot and watch the products for quite a while. I felt a bit uneasy about this situation so I asked one of my attendants if he knew who the man was. To this the attendant responded in negative. The following day when the same man appeared again, I approached him and requested him to come inside the store and let me, if I could, help him. He came inside and accompanied me to my office without any hesitation. I offered him a chair to sit down and asked him as to what brought him over there. He gave me his name as Saifull ā h F ā rooq, and further told me that he was a teacher in a local school, and because of prejudice against him by a colleague, he had lost his employment. He told me that because he was an A ḥ mad ī Muslim, some people carried a grudge against him. His story was very pathetic and sad. I decided in my mind that I would help him with whatever I could. Since I had plenty of accommodation in the building, I offered Mr. Farooq to come and live in the building. At ftrst he hesitated but on further assurance by me, he agreed. The same evening, I accompanied him to his place, picked up some of his necessary items and returned to my apartment. Mr.