Nawaab ‘Ishrat ‘Ali Khan Qaisar Saheb (rahimahullah) was a renowned saint of Pakistan who passed away in Safar 1433 A.H (2011). His mother was an extremely pious woman. Her attachment to the Quraan Majeed was such, that she would complete one khatam of the Quraan Majeed in three days during the blessed month of Ramadhaan and in six to seven days during the remainder of the year. This was her habit even when she was extremely ill and weak, and it continued until a few weeks before her demise. At times, she would spend the entire night reciting the Quraan Majeed. Although her eyesight had become very weak due to her cataract, she would still recite the Quraan Majeed without using glasses (spectacles).
Due to this attachment of hers to the Quraan Majeed, she would perceive the divine light and the blessings of the Quraan Majeed around her. When she would lay in bed, she would actually see the verses of the Quraan Majeed taking up an extremely beautiful visible form on all four sides of her. The walls and the ceiling of her room would be decorated with these verses to such an extent that out of respect, she would even fold up her legs. (Mithaali Khawaateen pg. 301)
‘Aarif Billah, Moulana Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar (rahimahullah) was a great saint and the shaikh (spiritual mentor and guide) of many senior ‘Ulama of our country. He mentioned the following regarding his respected wife, “When I would arrive home, I would almost always find my respected wife engaged in reciting the Quraan Majeed. Towards the end of her life, she became extremely ill and weak. Even in this weakened state, her nafl salaah, zikr and recitation of the Quraan Majeed did not decrease. I would sometimes (take pity on her due to her illness and) say to her, ‘Decrease your nafl ‘ibaadah a little.’ However, she would merely smile and remain silent.” (Rashk-e-Awliyaa, Hayaate Akhtar pg. 42)
Moulana Mahmood Madani Desai (rahimahullah) was a senior ‘aalim of South Africa, who passed away on 28th August 2016. He was the founder of Madrasah In‘aamiyyah, Camperdown. His respected mother, who passed away recently in the year 2021, was a great lover of the Quraan Majeed.
Her grandson, Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya Desai (daamat barakaatuhum), wrote the following regarding her, “Alhamdulillah, I was fortunate to have witnessed my daadi (paternal grandmother), who was blessed with piety and many good qualities. From among those excellent qualities was her love for the Quraan Majeed and the recitation of the Quraan Majeed. It was her normal practice to recite 10 juz (paras) a day out of Ramadhaan. During the month of Ramadan, that would increase to 20 or 22 juz. Allah had blessed her with a long life in excess of 100 years. Her steadfastness on this practice was almost up to the age of 96. We were fortunate to witness this till the sunset years of her life.
Whilst on this subject, I recall an incident that is mentioned by the elders of our family regarding my great grandmother, who was also a very pious woman but was not formally educated. Her love for the Quraan Majeed was so intense, despite not being fluent in recitation, that she used to take her finger and pass it over every verse and say in Gujrati “Aai Allah nu kalaam che, haq Che” (this is the speech of Allah and it is undoubtedly the truth). In this manner she used to complete khatam upon khatam of the Quraan Majeed.”