(The English Wife of Moulana ‘Uzair Gul [rahimahullah] – Part Two)

The town in which this English woman was residing, Manglaur, was approximately fourteen miles away from Deoband. However, this route could only be travelled by foot. Otherwise, one would need to travel by train via Roorkee and Saharanpur before reaching Deoband. The journey to Deoband would thus eventually be more than fifty miles.

Since she had to undergo this long tiresome journey whenever she needed to go to Deoband to learn more about Islam, Moulana Husain Ahmad Madani (rahimahullah) suggested that instead of travelling all the way to Deoband, she should go to Roorkee, which was much closer to her, and learn from Moulana ‘Uzair Gul (rahimahullah), the head ustaaz at Madrassah Rahmaniyyah in Roorkee. Moulana ‘Uzair Gul (rahimahullah) was among the great students of Shaikhul Hind, Moulana Mahmoodul Hasan (rahimahullah), and an ‘Aalim of a very high calibre. In fact, he even remained in the service of Shaikhul Hind (rahimahullah) for a long time in the island of Malta, where he was kept as a prisoner.

Moulana Husain Ahmad Madani (rahimahullah) had advised her to continue studying the Quraan Majeed and whenever she was unable to understand something, she should go to Roorkee and seek the explanation from Moulana ‘Uzair Gul (rahimahullah). He also advised her to study other Deeni literature under his guidance and to regard Moulana ‘Uzair (rahimahullah) as his deputy.

Till then, her husband, who had already returned to England, continued sending her an allowance of 200 Rupees a month which allowed her to live very comfortably. In this manner, she was able to spend her time studying the Quraan Majeed and other aspects of Deen. As per Moulana Madani’s (rahimahullah) instruction, whenever she faced any challenge in understanding something, she would easily travel to Roorkee and put her mind at ease by seeking an explanation from Moulana ‘Uzair Gul (rahimahullah). Due to these frequent visits, she developed a strong relationship with Moulana ‘Uzair’s (rahimahullah) wife. Similarly, she became quite close to his young children and they too took a liking to her. Her familiarity and relationship with the children and family of Moulana ‘Uzair (rahimahullah) became such that everyone would call her “mother”.

Moreover, she would even take the youngest son, Zuhair – who was around five years old – with her to Manglaur and he would stay with her for two to three days at a time as though it was his own home. In this manner, she kept a close relationship with this entire family and was very kind and compassionate towards them. This continued for approximately two to three years.

During this time, through Allah Ta‘ala’s will, Moulana ‘Uzair Gul’s (rahimahullah) wife fell ill and passed away shortly thereafter in Rajab 1355 A.H. at her parents’ home in Deoband. At that time, Moulana ‘Uzair (rahimahullah) was gone to Rander for some madrasah work. He (rahimahullah) was informed of this tragedy via telegram and he thus reached Deoband on the third day after her demise. Their house was now cheerless and gloomy and she had left behind young innocent children. This incident also hampered the English woman’s progress in her quest for knowledge (since Moulana’s [rahimahullah] deceased wife must have been the medium between them).

(Al-Furqaan Monthly – December 1978 pg. 37-38 & January 1979 pg. 28-29)

(to be continued)

Lessons:

1. In order to practice on Islam, a person needs to have knowledge of the laws and rulings that pertain to him. Hence, studying that much of Deen is an obligation on every person, no matter his age. Despite this English woman already being a mother of grown-up children, she went to great lengths in order to understand what Allah Ta‘ala wants from her. Moreover, since she did not have other responsibilities, she spent most of her time trying to understand the Quraan Majeed.

2. No matter the field or science a person maybe studying, he generally requires a tutor or instructor in order for him to understand it correctly. The same applies to Deen as well – a person cannot acquire the correct understanding of the Quraan Majeed and Deen by mere self-study, as has become the norm nowadays. Therefore, this English woman took the pain of regularly going to Moulana ‘Uzair Gul (rahimahullah) in order to ensure that she was understanding of the Quraan Majeed and Deen correctly.

3. In the past, due to the respect and importance that people showed to Deen, despite them not having the ease of communication and travel that we enjoy, they still made a point of referring to the ‘Ulama and increasing their knowledge of Deen. Allah Ta‘ala has made it so easy for us in today’s times, and blessed us with so many opportunities to study the Quraan Majeed and other sciences of Deen. Hence, we must appreciate this favour of Allah Ta‘ala and capitalise on the opportunities that we have.