(Wife of Moulana Qaasim Nanotwi [rahimahullah] – Part Two)
The respected wife of Moulana Qaasim (rahimahullah) bore him ten children – three sons and seven daughters. We can therefore imagine the extent to which she remained occupied in looking after the children and raising them, together with her many other domestic responsibilities. Nevertheless, this saintly woman was such that despite all her responsibilities, she was always motivated towards piety and eager to engage in works of righteousness.
No matter what she may have been engaged in, the very instant she heard the muazzin call out, “Hayya ‘alas salaah!”, she would cease whatever she was doing and prepare for salaah.
Similarly, despite her busy schedule, she made time for the ‘ibaadah of Allah Ta‘ala. Every morning, after performing the Fajr Salaah, she would cover her face with her scarf and engage in the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala. Such was her punctuality on her zikr that she would never miss it under any circumstance.
Likewise, for a period of two years, she made the time every day to benefit from her grandson who was becoming an ‘Aalim. Her grandson, Qaari Muhammad Tayyib (rahimahullah), says, “When I commenced my studies of hadeeth, I would come home every day, after my lessons, and explain the entire lesson to my grandmother. She would listen to the hadeeth with tears flowing from her eyes for the entire duration. This continued for two years.”
(Sawaanih-e-Qaasimi vol. 1, pg. 519 and Moulana Muhammad Qaasim Naanotwi – Hayaat aur Kaarnaame pg. 226)
Lessons:
1. In today’s fast-paced world, everybody complains that they ‘don’t have time’. However, if they regard something to be sufficiently important, they will take out the time for it. Whether it is a waleemah, a chat with a relative or a casual visit to some friend, they will somehow juggle their schedule and find a way to make it fit. Essentially, it all boils down to priorities. Since the respected wife of Moulana Qaasim (rahimahullah) regarded ‘ibaadahand Deen to be a priority, she made her schedule fit around this priority. She did not compromise on her salaah or zikr to make time for other engagements and activities.
2. It is a sign of true imaan that when the Quraan Majeed is recited or the ahaadeeth of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) are read, a person’s heart is affected and responds. Such a person will even be moved to the point where tears begin to flow from his eyes due to the softness of his heart.
3. No matter our age, we are never too old to learn Deen. We should also not regard it as being below our dignity to acquire the necessary knowledge of Deen from a person who is younger than us, just as the wife of Moulana Qaasim (rahimahullah) was learning Deen from her grandson. In fact, this is the blessing of having children and grandchildren who are ‘Ulama in one’s home – through them, the entire household benefits.