A Youth’s Banquet

Once a poor young man invited Alahazrat for breakfast. Alahazrat agreed to go and went with one of his companions to the young man’s home. It was in the poorer neighbourhoods of the city.

The young man was half-expecting that he may not come and upon seeing the great man walking towards his door, he was exhilarated and ran inside saying: “The Mawlānā is here!” Meanwhile, Alahazrat’s companion had stopped to make enquiries about this house; soon after, he caught up with Alahazrat and whispered in his ear that the house belonged to a drummer.[1]

Alahazrat was mortified by this and after a short while in the house, he asked the young man: “Boy, where is your father, and what does he do?” His mother answered from inside: “Mawlānā, my husband is now dead. He used to be a drummer once upon a time, but he repented in his later life. We have only this boy who is a construction worker.”

Alahazrat praised Allāh táāla in relief,[2] and ate the coarse millet bread and white lentils[3] without hesitation[4] and prayed for blessings [barakah] for the family. On another occasion, the host presented beef and Alahazrat was allergic to beef. One of his companions suggested that the host must be informed to bring something else, but Alahazrat refused and said: “It is not my habit to do so.” He then ate from whatever was on the spread. Later, his gums became swollen and he could not talk; he had to subsist only on milk for many days.

[1] naqqārah, naubat: kettledrum

[2] Because income from a musician’s work is illegitimate and impermissible.

[3] Which was the kind of food very poor people usually ate.

[4] Even though he had a delicate disposition and would usually eat biscuits for breakfast.