TheRamadan of Shaykh Al-Hadith Ml ZakariyyaKandelwi by Dr Muhammad Ismail Memon Madani

the ramadan of shaikh muĤ ammud zakariyyĀ
if he is reciting from an open Qur’an. If anyone asks where such
and such an aya is in the Qur’an, Ĥađrat points it out immediately
and without second thought. When Ĥađrat was in Kānpur and
lead tarāwīĥ there [in his early days after graduating from ‘Dār al-
‘Ulūm], the masjid would become so full that unless ifţār was eaten
quickly and then one rushed to the masjid, it was nearly impossible
to find space. Prostrating after reciting the aya of prostration [sajdat
al-tilāwa] was difficult because people sometimes broke their śalāt
[i.e. the congregation became confused because people who were far
from the imam thought he was bowing when he was prostrating].
Ĥađrat solved this problem by following the second opinion [of
the Ĥanafī madhhab] in which he bowed immediately after reciting
the aya of prostration. According to this opinion, the necessary
prostration can be fulfilled in bowing without having to prostrate.
Despite this, Ĥađrat kept all the rak‘as the same length; it never
happened that one rak‘a became longer or shorter than the other
because of reciting the aya of prostration.
In Ramadan, Ĥađrat broke his fast in the school [Ĥađrat’s own
madrasa] with the guests. The adhān was called exactly at Maghrib
time. Without rushing, Ĥađrat opened his fast, washed his hands
and mouth and then came to lead śalāt. Sufficient time was given
between adhān and śalāt so that ablutions could be performed
without missing the opening takbīr. People in the neighborhood
also broke their fast at home and attended congregation with the
opening takbīr. Ĥađrat completed his Maghrib śalāt with the
routine aurād and then sat for dinner.
For ‘Ishā, he stood in the masjid shortly before its time. In
tarāwīĥ, he recited calmly and clearly. Between every four rak‘as,
he read the Sunna dhikr. His bowing and prostration were the same
length as in the average śalāt. In tahajjud, Ĥađrat recited loudly
and sometimes quietly. If Ĥađrat was in i‘tikāf and was praying
tahajjud, two to four people came and stood behind him. Though
Ĥađrat never objected to them standing behind him, he also never
made a point of praying tahajjud in congregation. In fact, once it
happened that Ĥađrat woke up late. He recited according to his
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