First Grain of Sand — Page 78
62 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND understanding that someone could leave behind their country, loved ones, friends, all comforts, and put themselves through so much trouble merely to spread and preach the message of their faith. That's why they suspected that I must have had some ulte- rior motive that I was pursuing under the guise of religion. In their mind, I was either a spy or, alternatively, came from a type of group whose goal is to rule the country. Due to this suspicion they had of me, they would interrogate me in different ways and had launched a deep investigation about me. Before I explain just how Abdul Qadir turned the government and authorities against me, I think it is important to first describe the interrogations they kept putting me through. Ten days after arriving at Tashkent, a soldier came to take me to my first interro- gation. They didn't handcuff their prisoners; instead, they have an armed guard on each side of the prisoner. I had a habit that whenever I had to go for interrogation, I would do wuzu [ablution for Prayer] and then do a silent prayer in which I would pray: O God! I bear a responsibility that has been entrusted to me by your appointed Khalifah for which I have been sent here. So give me the strength to give a true and correct statement, and don't let anything I say or do have a nega- tive effect on the message I have brought that would turn people away from the Faith. I always kept the couplet from the poem of Hazrat Khalifatul- Masih II in my mind: