(Mother of Moulana Sayyid Abul Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi [rahimahumallah] – Part Eleven)
The dream of Khairun Nisaa (rahimahallah) was for her son to develop within himself the Deeni qualities for which their family was renowned, and for him to become the flag bearer and true representative of his pious predecessors and his father. The dream to see him carry the name of Islam throughout the world was indeed her greatest dream and aspiration, and it was for this that she constantly engaged in du‘aa.
The decision to make him an ‘Aalim was an extremely difficult one, since the importance of English, secular education was on the rise and was being promoted very strongly in their family. Her nephews and other relatives were studying abroad, in London, America, Germany and Japan. Hence, the family members were exerting immense pressure and insisting that Moulana (rahimahullah) should not become an ‘Aalim. However, she did not buckle under this pressure and insisted on him pursuing his Deeni career. Her passion for this can be gauged from the following excerpt of a letter that she wrote to him:
“From your family, all have acquired secular education and they will continue to do so. However, there is nobody who is acquiring the knowledge of Deen. This is the need of the time. Despite not possessing any English education, how did those pious elders (of the family) attain such a position? ‘Ali! If I had a hundred children, I would ensure that I give Deeni education to all of them. At present, you are my only child (who can study Deen). May Allah Ta‘ala allow me to see the fruit of my sincerity by allowing you to do the good work of a hundred children. May Allah Ta‘ala allow me to be successful and honoured in both worlds and may He allow me to be regarded as a mother of many children, aameen!”
Lessons:
1. A Muslim child must never be deprived of basic Deeni education, as without the basic knowledge of Deen, how can he fulfil the obligations that he owes to Allah Ta‘ala, and how can he correctly fulfil the rights of people? If we neglect to give our children a proper secular education, then at the worst, they will be called ‘unqualified’. Even then, this will not impact on their material progress, as many ‘unqualified’ people are millionaires today. However, if we neglect to give them a proper Deeni education, we will be handicapping them in their journey to Jannah, and for this, we will be held accountable before Allah Ta‘ala.
2. Khairun Nisaa (rahimhallah) dedicated her son to the Deen of Allah Ta‘ala and had high aspirations for him to render great serve to Deen, despite her being a widow and not financially strong, and despite the pressure which was being exerted by her family. She made this choice since she understood that this was the best career decision that he could ever make, as this career would earn him more ‘profit’ than any other enterprise. Allah Ta‘ala showed her the day when her son became a world-renowned ‘Aalim and served the Deen on an international level.