First Grain of Sand — Page 50
34 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND and go back to their country so that the Russians could occupy India. But God Almighty does not allow a cruel people to inherit the land. God would only want a just and fair government to rule. When I arrived at Tashkent on the third day of our journey, I felt peace and comfort for leaving behind the previous prisons where I was forced to endure hunger and so little to eat. And that reminded me of the verse of the Holy Quran in which God states to the believers: لَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ We will try you with something of fear and hunger. (Sūrah al-Baqarah, 2:156) Now arriving in Tashkent, I began to feel a sense of peace and relief within myself. This is where God Almighty showed signs that made my faith very strong. I swear by God, in Whose Hand is my life, that in Tashkent, I saw so many miracles, splendour, and manifestations of God Almighty's power that not only cemented my faith but also enormously revived my belief in the existence of God Almighty. While en route from Ashgabat to the Tashkent prison, my escorts gave me back some of my clothing items that were initially taken away at the station in Artyk. The items that were returned to me were a shirt, trousers, a scarf, a towel, and two new Bukhari style robes. The clothes I had been wearing this entire time had become very old and infested with lice with an offensive odour. I felt they gave me these fresh clothes in order to make a good impression of themselves as they transported a prisoner to a big- ger prison in another city.