Shawahid Al-Vilayat - Khalifatullah Mehdi

13. At AhmadabadThis is about Hazrat Imam Syed Muhammad Mahdi al-Mau'ood ASarriving at Ahmadabad, camping at the mosque of Taj Khan Salar,making the second claim to be Mahdi al-Mau'ood and thousandsand thousands of people reposing Iman [Faith] in the Imam AS .Allah says: “He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, andhe whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guidingfriend.” 1It is narrated that Hazrat Imam AS did not stay in any place for 18months except in four places: Chapanir, Ahmadabad, Piran Patanand Barhli [all in Gujarat, India]. There were 360 neighbourhoodsin this city when the Imam AS came here. The Imam AS camped at theMosque of Taj Khan Salar, which is near the Jamalpur Darwaza[Gate]. The Imam AS camped here for 18 months. Allah says, “…Hesaid: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! Ye have no other god but Him.Will ye not fear (Allah)?” 2 In accordance with this command ofAllah, Hazrat Imam Mahdi AS called the people unto Allah, as thecoming of the Imam AS was like the coming of a Prophet SLM . HazratMuhammad SLM has said, “How will my ummah be destroyed whenI am at its beginning, Esa AS is at its end and Mahdi from among mydescendants is in the middle?” And when Prophet Muhammad SLMhad said this, the Imam AShad not staked his claim to be apreceptor, teacher or preacher. The behaviour of the Imam AS wasnot like that of a saint. In other words, the Imam AS did not engagein learning the sciences of Fiqh, Tafsir, Hadis, Suluk, Tariqat, theRealities and Tasawwuf by reading the relevant books. He wouldnot perform the supererogatory [nawafil] prayers. He used toperform the obligatory and sunnat prayers. He did not perform anywaza’if [daily worship, counting of beads]. He did not practise thecustoms of the mashayakhin [old holy persons] and wa’iz[preachers], which tended to be innovations [bid’aat] and violatedthe sunnat [practice] of Prophet Muhammad SLM . He was free of1 Quran, S. 18: 17 MMP.2 Quran, S. 7: 65 AYA.78Shawahid Al-Vilayatthem all. He always tended towards lamenting, poverty and totaldependence on Allah. He always called the people to perform theobligations, follow the practices of Prophet Muhammad SLMandperform zikr [remembrance of Allah].It is narrated that large numbers of people assembled to listen tothe bountiful bayan [discourse, sermon] and fruitful and rewardingdivine call. The assembly was so great that there used to be noplace near the Imam AS . The mosque was large and could allowthousands of people to assemble. The courtyard of the mosque toowas larger than the yards of large and spacious mosques elsewhere.That grand mosque proudly stands there even to this day. In short,if they could not get a place to sit or stand near the Imam AS , theyused to occupy the yard. And if they could not get accommodationeven there, they would climb the walls and nearby trees to listen tothe discourse of the Imam AS .An open miracle of the Imam AS was that the people who were veryclose to the Imam AS and those who were far away from him, usedto hear the voice of the Imam ASat one and the same level ofloudness.It is narrated that the people who assembled to listen to thediscourse of the Imam AS experienced unawareness and inebriationof the divine Love, which manifested the effects of his bounty andhis paskhurda [sanctified leftover]. They would be attractedtowards the Divinity without any effort on their part. Whiledelivering the discourse, the Imam AS used to cry and tears floweddown his cheeks and beard. If even a drop of such tears fell onanybody, the latter would go into a divine ecstasy and remainunaware of the surroundings for days on end. The person who metthe Imam ASwould repent [perform tauba] his evil deeds on hisown and reverted to the best of behavior. The zani [adulterers]abandoned adultery. The killers became humane. Thieves wouldgive up stealing. Sinners gave up sins.It is narrated that a nephew of Sultan Mahmood Be-gadha [ruler ofGujarat] went to the house of a fallen woman with some of his