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

the ramadan of shaikh muĤ ammud zakariyyĀ
asked my father to lead tarāwīĥ. My father said that, “From the
age of seven I had never needed to open a Qur’an until the 29th
of Sha‘bān/ November, 1903 of that year due to fear of my shaikh
[Shaikh Rashīd Aĥmad Gangohī]. Once my fear had passed after
the first day of tarāwīĥ, I was fine.”
I have written repeatedly that my father was always busy reciting
Qur’an. He was busy in his book shop, taking books out, packaging
them, and writing addresses etc. all the while reciting the Qur’an
loudly.
During his stay in Sahāranpūr, he spent every Ramadan there
except for one Ramadan [I don’t remember where he was at the
time]. In 1332/1914, when the masjid of Dār al-Ţalaba was ready,
my father led the first tarāwīĥ on the request of my Shaikh [Shaikh
Khalīl Aĥmad Sahāranpūrī]. My father’s devotions in Sahāranpūr
were as follows:
Aside from the time he was teaching at the school, my father
spent most of his time, including ifţār, in the Mauchī Walī Masjid
[adjacent to Ĥakīm Ya‘qūb’s house]. He opened his ifţār with
whatever was present, though he preferred dates and Zamzam.
Dates and Zamzam were a necessary part of my shaikh, Shaikh
Sahāranpūrī’s ifţār. If the hajjis brought dates and Zamzam for
my Shaikh, they were immediately preserved in boxes and bottles
[Zamzam and dates were not as common then as they are today
due to the ease of modern transportation].
My father prayed short voluntary śalāt after Maghrib and ate
very little. He ate alone or occasionally with one or two friends, as
eating with people usually takes up more time [which he disliked].
He then lay down and quietly recited the same part he recited in
tarāwīĥ [aside from the Qur’an he recited throughout the day]. This
is the only time I saw him reciting the tarāwīĥ part. After tarāwīĥ,
which was not in any particular place [as mentioned previously]
he returned home and rested for a short while. My father always
suffered from insomnia. He recited Qur’an until he fell asleep. He
ate seĥr [which did not consist of anything in particular e.g. milk
and tea] in the very last minutes and ate whatever was cooked.
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