As you approach Anona House to attend the sitting (majlis) you see Jama'at people making the round (gasht). This time these are rather senior functionaries who have come to Anona House Mosque. Professor Hakim Abdul Mannan and Professor Hakim Obaidullah Sahab are two of them. Technically it is just wall crossing for them because they both are from Ajmal Khan Tibbia College of AMU. In reality they have come from the far end of Civil Lines, where they live. When dirty people look at their own actions they can get solace only from the actions of the people like these ones. These people put enormous amount of their time in this work. By the Grace of Allah Most High the effects of their efforts are there for all to see.
There was a new guest in the sitting. He is from Sarai Mir, Azamgarh. He has put lots of time in the company of two Elders. Hazrat Abdul Ghani Phoolpuri (RA) and Hazrat Shah Abrar-ul-Haq (RA), Hazrat Shaikh (DB) informs. This is interesting. That is also the route taken by Hakim Akhtar Sahab (DB).
When you come to the Mosque after the sitting then you see few very young children playing there. Sounds of Maghrib Prayer calls starts emanating from different Mosques. In two minutes Anona House Mosque too will follow suit. One of the children says that let us go to Prayer. Prayer is a good thing, he adds. This is not said to please the people going to the Mosque. The children are still running around and are completely oblivious to the presence of the elders.
Mention this fact to Hakim Obaidullah and he says that this is the effect of environment. When hard work is put into religion this is what happens. When Prophetic (PBUH) Companions (RA) worked hard on religion then even wild beast started showing the route to the believers and the idols told the unbelievers to be believers. This later story is from the Life of Companions (Hayat-us-Sahaba), he said. Maulana Umar Palanpuri used to read the corresponding Arabic Couplet with abandon, he further adds.
After the Prayers there was the Sermon by Professor Hakim Abdul Mannan Sahab. The topic wanders to the effect of the hard work put into religious tasks. Forty years ago there were not many religious seminaries where children could learn even reading of the Holy Qura'n. There was only one in M.M Hall organized by Dr Nadir Ali Khan. He will make rounds to collect money so that the Arabic teacher can be paid his salary in the madarsa. Now there are so many seminaries (madaris). A small colony called Wadi-e-Ismaeel had more than ten places where the Taraweeh Prayers were organized. A boy even went to a nearby village to lead Taraweeh Prayers. On the last day he got lots of money as gift. He donated it all to the same seminary where he lead the Prayers and came back.
Hakim Sahab told another example of the effects of this hard work. This time it is the story of a locality in Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand. There six furnaces for extracting alcohol have been abandoned. Three movie halls have closed down.
And there are examples where people have abandoned interest based lending as a source of their livelihood.
And all Praise is for Allah Most High for all this.