True Teachings Of Islam

Azam Ali, an Ahmadi Moslem

   Chapter 04 – DREAMS, True

 One of Almighty God’s great gifts to Father was his dreams that came true. I believe that was because Father constantly prayed with the following words of the prophet Joseph, p.o.h.

Rub-bay  qud  aa-tai-ta  nee  may-na  ul-mool-kay                                                                    Wa  ul-lum-ta  nee  min  tau-vee-lay  l-aa-haa-dee-thay                                                              Faa-tay-ra  us-sa-maa-waa-tay  wa  ul-ur-dzay                                                                            Un-ta  va-lee-yee  fee  d-doon-yaa  wa  ul-aa-khay-ra-tay                                                          Ta-wuf-fa  nee  moos-lay-mun                                                                                                        Wa  ul-hiq  nee  bay  is-sua-lay-hee-n                 سُوۡرَةُ یُوسُف         –   Ch: 012, Verse 102  

God, you have granted me the power                                                                                  And taught me the interpretation of events.                                                                The Creator of the heavens and earth!                                                                            You are my Real Friend in this life and the Hereafter.                                            Please bring me death as an obedient person                                                              And join me with the righteous.                                                                012:102       

When Father dreamt that his son Hamid was translating the Holy Qor-aan, he never knew that one of his sons Hamid in the sense of one who praises Allah a lot would do such translation in a style not done before. It got filled some twenty years after he himself had left this world.

When my uncle got accused of a serious criminal case in our village, Father was posted as a Judge in a distant town and dreamt of his accusation. Later it became known that both events of uncle’s accusation in the village and Father’s dream hundreds of miles away had simultaneously occurred. Father dreamt of his acquittal and foretold the family about it. And that’s what happened.

When I fell while exercising, injured my spine, had to be hospitalized, and my upper body was put in hard plaster jacket from above my shoulder to below my hips for 3 months in Lahore, Father had dreamt of the tragedy in advance 235 miles away in Multan.

When I was taking my LL.M. exam in London University in 1966 and had to discontinue taking it — due to a raging rash of huge nauseating bubbles all over my body, face and even the eyes which made the invigilator think that I had some sort of contagious disease from which he wanted other examinees to be protected and so sent me home — Abba Ji had dreamt in Pakistan that my LL.M attempted had to be aborted in that go.

When Father dreamt that a raging bull with red eyes, fuming nostrils and furious looks was preparing to charge at him and he had started praying, he interpreted that an enemy’s vicious attack on him would fizzle out as he turned to God seeking help. A few weeks later a false and frivolous complaint filed against him was dismissed with a remark by the inquiring High Court Judge that with just 2 Judges like my father, he could wipe out corruption from the whole country.

When my brother’s rice husking factory was usurped by Zolfiqar Ali Bhutto’s Ghoonda Government by Nationalization (See Tr – Azam ali, an Ahmadi Moslem – Ch 09  – Illustration), Father was extremely unhappy. All his life as a Judge he had judicially struck down injustices of all kinds. Now his own son was hurt by a brazen day-light robbery by gangsters in govt who had also outlawed all judicial remedies against abuse of process of law that ordinary citizens had. He dreamt that a pig climbed a few steps up on a ladder and then fell flat on his back with all four legs raised towards the sky. He told us that the dream meant that Bhutto’s end was near, and in death he would be disowned like a filthy pig. Soon Bhutto was imprisoned, tried, convicted, hung by neck till dead and humiliated for scheming and causing the murder in the first degree of an opponent.

Father was about 78 when he last visited us in Rosebud, Missouri, USA. He stayed for 39 days. He had failing health. One morning he appeared even more week and low. We insisted and he told us that he had dreamt of my mother but could not recall if she had come to take him with her. My mother’s name Sakina is an Arabic word that means peace of mind and tranquility. Dreaming of her signified what her name meant. Father finally took his dream to have those plausible, positive and pleasant meanings. She was a Moosi who had bequeathed one-tenth of her estate for charity and is buried in Bahishti Maqbrah, Rabwah as shown in the following headstone.

A couple of days later Father told us of another dream. His father came and told him that he had come to take him with him.  My grandfather’s name Rehmat Ali in Arabic means the Blessings of the Highest. Dreaming of him is interpreted to mean receiving God’s blessings. Father’s dream had clearly indicated that he had God’s blessings that would stay with him till his end. He was a Moosi and is buried in Bahishti Maqbrah, Rabwah as shown in the following headstone..

No one could say for sure whether he really cheered up or just wore that expression to save us the agony. But deep down we all knew that the end was near. Soon after returning to Pakistan, he passed away in Lahore. He was a Moosi and is buried in Bahishti Maqbrah, Rabwah as shown in the following headstone.

In-na  lay  il-laa-hay  wa  in-na  alai  hay  raa-jay-oon       سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة  –  Ch: 002, Verse 157  We surely belong to Allah.  And we surely will return to Him.        002:157

  Kool-lo  nuf-sin  zaa-aiy-qa-ta  ul-mao-tay             سُوۡرَةُ آل عِمرَان   –  Ch: 003, Verse:186        Every person will taste death                           003:186,  021:036 &  029:058

Dream of two daughters to be married with two brothers

Once Father dreamt that two of his daughters were married to two brothers and that was long before anyone was even engaged to be married.

Then in 1962, Father married his oldest daughter Rasheedah to Major Mansoor K Bajwa who was the younger brother of the wife of Brigadier M Iqbal. And at the same time, he married his next younger daughter Sajda with Riaz A Ghumman who was the younger brother of the same Brigadier M Iqbal. One being the younger brother of husband and the other being the younger brother of wife, it was thought that the dream was fulfilled.

But then in 1966 Father married his third daughter Qanta with Dr Ahsan U Zafar. Four years later in 1970, Dr Zafar’s younger brother Sami U Zafar returned from England with a master’s degree in law and was married to Father’s fourth and youngest daughter Khalda. That was the  real fulfillment of Father’s dream of his two daughters being married to two brothers.

All aforesaid marriages have lasted over one-half of a century and all four of my sisters  have lived to become grandmothers. The eldest two have even become great-grandmothers many times.

His dreams revealed the truth

Personally, all my life I feared that no matter what, when and where an objectionable, bad or poor thing I did, the Almighty God while even hiding it from the whole wide world would still let my father know of it. Deep down in my heart I knew that Abba Ji was constantly seeing the true dreams about me and others he loved, continuously praying to the Almighty God to forgive us and keep our wrongs unexposed and was being obliged by God Almighty’s special grace on him to keep away the ill consequences of our human follies.

All my siblings, all in our family, all friends knew of thousands of Father’s dreams he had seen about them. Whenever he saw a dream regarding friends or things happening around, he told about it and his interpretation of it. He warned all of us of the impending dangers and gave the news of good things that lay ahead. Everyone who knew Father requested him for prayers and later asked if he had a dream and his interpretation of it. We took clues to run our days accordingly.

Regarding the marriages of all his children, Father did the Istikhara, the special prayer seeking God’s guidance and approval about what a person thinks is best. Today over one-half century later to the last such marriage, I can say for sure that all these seven marriages were successful — by any known measure of remarkable spirituality, no-divorce, no-separation, happy in-laws, procreation, and raising highly educated, well-to-do and successful families of their own.

It is impossible for me to accurately describe my feelings by going back in the memory lane to recall how true his dreams came out so consistently. But some letters from others who wrote about Father and which I received reflect that phenomenon as well.

Azam Ali, an Ahmadi Moslem

Chapter 03 – Coach

 Reap what you sow 

Abba Ji had a unique way of instructing – teaching, tutoring and training. He used to ask lots of questions, all sorts of questions, of us brothers and sisters, while we were growing up, even when we were grown up.

I was quite young when walking out in the fields one day he pointed to a standing crop. He explained that some farmer had ploughed the land and sowed the seed (paddy) for rice. He would watch it for months, look after it as much as he could, and then would harvest it.

Then he asked, “What will be the crop if the seed was wheat?”

After my answer, he asked, “Can the seed of rice grow the crop of wheat?”

After my answer, he asked, “Can the seed of wheat grow the crop of rice?”

After all that and back home, I shared my ‘discovery’ with my siblings who except my older half-sister were younger than me. No wonder a kid through such a drill cannot easily forget that You Reap What You Sow.

Abba Ji lived the life of a Moslem. Out of the home he was a lawyer and a judge who stated things very clearly and succinctly. Inside the home he was a father as well who guided and determined the future of at one time ten children of whom seven grew up to be grandparents.

His walks and talks reflected all the values and virtues that he believed, professed and practiced.  His conversations referred abundantly to his village life where he grew up and to his family roots.  He stated his personal experiences endowed richly with rainbow colors of wisdom and knowledge.  He interspersed his talk and life experiences with such frequent repetitions that we all knew them.  He followed the same regime asking questions at home with kids and outside with whoso he dealt.  He impressed his audience by telling stories and elaborating results from which they learnt easily.  He taught everyone who came close to him and all my life I watched him how he made his point.  He started invariably by outlining his plan and making every effort to accomplish what his plan was.  He repeated his pinpointed goal and kept asking questions so that his listener in effect learnt twice.  He asked his addressee about his goal and helped him to zero in on a way to reach those goals.  He swiftly moved to the implementation stage after he had guided the forming of the desired goal.  He repeated the same process in every situation and his listener learnt lessons without being taught.

Encouraged Effort

Sometime in 1948 he had a refugee visitor who complained of joblessness due to the Indo-Pak Partition. After his usual discussion of fixing a goal and selecting a road to reach it he called me, then his 12-year-old son. He introduced me to the visitor and asked me to recite a poem which at that time was a favorite of Father and me. Now I don’t remember the whole Urdu poem but recall the lines with which each verse ended as follows.                               Ooth baand kamar keya darta hai      i.e.       Get up. Be ready. What is there to fear.              Phir daikh khuda kiya karta hai.        i.e.       Then see how God makes thing appear.        The visitor acted upon the plan, found a job he was happy to do, and became a life-long friend.

Teaching children

In October 1948 my mother passed away. Then on our father had also to be the mother of us all seven from 1-year-old to 13-years-old children (See Tr – Azam Ali, an Ahmadi Moslem, Ch – 11 – Knowledge)

Abba Ji had lined up all seven of us (Khalida in his lap, me Abid, Hamid, Sajda, Majid, Qanta and Sadiq) beside our mother Sakina Begum who passed away on October 12, 1948, in Campbellpore.

Father intended to make us his kids physically strong, spiritually sound and morally solid.  All his input was focused on producing those results.  He used to pick one of the daily activities.  Then he microscopically examined and thoroughly explained numerous aspects of that activity.  Then he told of a story of someone who resolved to excel in that activity and had reached its top.  Then he talked of an appropriate prayer that had or could have helped him in reaching that goal.  Then he discussed additional benefits of that prayer and improvements in other fields as well.  He used to tell us of the prayer first and then instructed us to repeat it after him word by word. He passed us through these introductory stages just like a classroom discipline and atmosphere. He urged us to memorize each prayer, write it down if necessary and start using it continually.  He recited those words in the daily prayers, often loud for us to hear him and correct ourselves. He intended all those prayers to settle down deep in our minds and take roots for permanent use. He gathered us all children almost daily in a classroom scenario and asked us about the prayers.    Those who failed to give the right answers suffered the effect of the cause of failing homework.

Father’s ways were that I followed since most children do what they see their parents do.  He continually led us to memorize, internalize and utilize the prayers. The process to learn them at that time was easy as all it required was to narrate them if asked to. Over eighty years later now I am amazed at the lasting nature of his input and things he taught us. I still remember some of the occasions when we were taught or tested for a prayer or lesson. I need no effort in recalling a prayer which is most suitable for any good or sad occasion I face.

Our oldest sister’s son Dr Zarar Bajwa has often remarked: “The prayers Nana Abu (maternal grandfather) taught us after the Fajr (the morning) prayers when he visited us are hard to forget.” That is how Abba Ji is remembered by those of his third generation who had the good fortune to have benefitted by his love while also teaching, training and tutoring them imperceptibly.

Coach

Abba Ji was my guide and mentor. What I saw him do was that I subconsciously learnt to do as well. His way of forming an intent, setting up a plan, and right away start implementing the plan I copied. His ways of logic, reasoning and presentation I emulated in my talks, speeches and argumentation. His instructive teaching style in my speeches, advocacy and delivery of messages benefitted me well.

The onlookers in the fields of law and religion told me all my life that hearing and seeing me render some service, deliver a sermon in a mosque, or argue a case in a Court room made them feel as if they were hearing my father. I laid emphasis and fluctuated my tones in public speeches like that of my father. Even when I took a position that would have been 180 degrees opposite his way or view, my manner and method of expressing myself was that of Abba Ji. After all, Every Action Has An Opposite Reaction must also come into play sometime.

In 1959-60, Mr. Justice Orthicon heard me argue before him my first case ever in Lahore High Court. After I had left his court room, he openly made some complimentary remarks about my argumentation. Present in the court room was Chaudhry Mohammed Anwar Buttar Advocate who pointed out to the Judge that I was his colleague Chaudhry Azam Ali’ son.  “How unlike his father!” the Judge remarked. Apparently, he knew my father well and had high regards for his services in the Judiciary. He was happy to know that I was his colleague’s son who did the job well in his court. What the Judge appreciated was my presentation of the facts and preparation for my case even as I impugned the judgment of a lower court like that of my father.

Father is not with us today, but those prayers are and will benefit us forever. The prayers were an immensely rich treasure he laboriously instilled in us, and we conveniently accumulated.

Father in the spring of 1957 was in Montgomery, later called Sahiwal. He was there as the District and Sessions Judge to try a couple of murder trials and stay at the Government Rest House. I had come from the law school boarding house to stay with him for 2 weeks to prepare for my finals by pulling myself away from other activities.

One evening when returning from the mosque after the Mughrib (early evening) prayers we were walking together when in a rare show of emotion and affection he suddenly held my upper left arm and started, “Son, soon you will be a full-fledged lawyer and take the lead of your pack (meaning my siblings) from us older people.”

He talked for the next several minutes. I don’t recall what he said since I was lost in a rare outburst of his emotions which sort of lifted me up to cloud 9. Until suddenly I was shaken awake as if from a trance with the loud clicks of heavy boots of the Police Guard who came to the position of Attention to greet Father’s return to the Rest House.

Today I can’t recall what specific prayer he had discussed on that occasion.  But thinking back on our walk I am almost sure that he wanted me to understand the real impact of the prayer which Abraham had offered for his progeny, parents and people around him.

Rub-bay  ij-ul  nee  mo-qee-ma  us-sa-laa-tay  wa  min  zoor-ree-ya  tee                                 Rub-ba  naa  wa  ta-qub-bul  do-aa-aa                                                                                               Rub-ba  naugh-fir  lee  wa  lay  waa-lay-duy  ya                                                                             Wa  lay  il-mo-may-ne-na  yao-ma  ya-qoo-mo  ol-hay-saab.                                                                                                                        سُوۡرَةُ إبراهیم    –   Ch: 014, Verse 041 & 042       

           God, please make me and my progeny regular in prayers.                                           God of us all, please accept (this) prayer.                                                                           God of us all, please forgive me, my parents                                                                     And the believers the day Accounting takes place.    014:041 & 014:042

Tough act

Abba Ji, his parents, and parents of our mother prayed for us all the time. I think all parents do that. But our parents also established in us the belief that we were the conduits who must pass their prayers on to our next generation, and further had the duty to inculcate in them the determination to be the conduits to pass on to their children, and that the process must go on and on.

Today as a grandparent myself I wish I could pass even a millionth of the quantity or quality of those prayers or their results for my successors who nevertheless have a tremendous treasure of prayers coming down in pike to them from their ancestors.