Continuously rising to climes of knowledge,
What horizons the Qur'an unfolds in his spirit!
It recalls to him the vow of "Am I not your Lord?"
Since pre-eternity the lover is intoxicated with that emanation.Thus, Bediuzzaman was an exceptional person who received grace so wondrous, prisons were transformed into rose gardens, from where eternal light-filled vistas opened up for him. The gallows were pulpits for offering guidance, from where he instructed humanity in patience and steadfastness in pursuing a lofty aim, and in courage and firmness. Prisons all became 'Schools of Joseph' (Medrese-i Yusufiye), which he entered as a professor enters a university to teach. For the prisoners were his students, in need of his effulgent guidance. His greatest happiness was to each day save the belief of a handful of people and to transform criminals into angels.
Doubtless, with his elevated consciousness of belief and sincerity, leav¬ing behind him in the dense world of matter the gilded effects of time and space, he rose in his spirit to the pure luminous climes of the non-physical worlds.
The lofty degree defined by the great figures of Sufism (May God be pleased with them) as 'annihilation in God' and 'permanence in God,' is to attain to this sacred honour.
Yes, all believers have their own particular states of veneration, spiritual advancement, withdrawal, and absorption in God. And every person may receive the outflowing of this divine pleasure proportionately to his belief and knowledge, piety and good works, effulgence and spirituality. But the great mujahids, called "those who do right" in the above verse, experience this sweet state of union perpetually. It is because of this that they do not forget their Maker. Like lions, they spend all their lives fighting. Every breath, they progress and advance to greater heights. Their whole beings are dissolved in the pleasure of the Lord of All the Worlds, with His attrib¬utes of beauty, perfection, and glory.
May Almighty God include us among that class of the great! Amen.
* * *
Above we mentioned Ustad's tremendous belief, which filled his ene¬mies with fear as much as it captivated those who loved him. Now we shall describe his exceptional personal qualities, morals, and perfections, which enveloped him like a halo of light.
As is known, everyone possesses different qualities. Ustad's personality was formed by the following qualities:
• His Self-Abnegation and Unselfishness
Self-abnegation or unselfishness is the quality most necessary for a man with a cause, and especially a reformer, if he is to be successful. For people tend to scrutinize this most important point with the closest attention. Ustad's life is full of brilliant examples of his unselfishness.
I once heard the great scholar 'Allama Shaykh al-Islam Mustafa Sabri say about self-abnegation: "Today Islam needs such mujahids that they are prepared to sacrifice their lives not only in this world, but in the hereafter as well."
I did not grasp these words entirely at the time, and equated them with the mysterious utterances of Sufis in ecstasy, and did not repeat them to everyone.
Then, on reading the same thing among Bediuzzaman's fiery writings, I understood that this was the measure of lofty person's self-abnegation. Would our most munificent God, the Most Merciful of the Merciful, aban¬don the mujahids who are happy to practise such bitter self-abnegation for Islam? Would it befit Him to deprive such devoted servants of His favour and munificence, His grace and mercy?
Bediuzzaman was the most brilliant example of this manifestation. He remained single all his life, forgoing completely all the licit pleasures of this world. He found neither the time nor the opportunity to found a home and lead a happy family life. But Almighty God bestowed such blessings on him, transient pens are incapable of describing their magnificence.