As received
A wish that was heard
On July 29th, 2012 Shlad (not verified) says:
As received:
Fwd: As received:
Of late, I was overcome with the longing to have a glimpse of my
beloved Mowla. I cannot explain it, but every single day from the time
of awakening in the morning up to the time of nodding off at the end
of the day, one and only one thought was uppermost in my mind: When
would I see Him? And how?
I tried to convince myself that the time would come, the Imam will go
to grant His blessings to some jamat or the other around the world and
perhaps at that time, it might become possible to get a glimpse. I
tried to curb down my longing by explaining to myself over and over
again that I would have to wait. The month of Ramadhan was approaching
rapidly and it is well known amongst His jamats, Mowla does not travel
during this holy month. But no matter what I thought and said to
myself, this longing – this yearning – to have a glimpse of His
beautiful countenance would just not stay put. I tried to meditate but
could not concentrate at all. All that I could think of was: when
would I see Him? And how?
Time was passing very slowly. And I was getting more and more restless
as I thought of the whole month stretching ahead of me. Long day after
long day. Finally, I put my feelings clearly in front of Him during
prayer. I told Him that I really, really wanted to see Him, and this
was a sincere heartfelt wish of mine. I further told Him that I knew
Ramadhan was approaching (only a few days left) and that He did not
travel during Ramadhan. I told Him I knew all that and understood it,
but my heart was not willing to concede to waiting for the end of the
Ramadhan. So, I made a wish. I wished that I could see Him before
Ramadhan started and I told Him that nothing was impossible for Him;
He could make the impossible possible. After submitting my wish at His
feet, I felt a little bit better and was able to continue with my
daily routine.
On 16th July, 2012, late in the afternoon, a friend of mine just
mentioned in casual conversation that today the Imam was in Dar Es
Salaam. Upon hearing this, I felt very low indeed. In fact, I was very
upset. Here I was yearning to see Him for so many days now and without
my knowing the Imam had arrived in Dar Es Salaam already. I cried,
could not help it but I cried and begged the Imam for forgiveness.
Surely I must have done something terribly wrong and that is why I
missed such an invaluable opportunity. With these melancholy thoughts,
I arrived home at close to 6 o’clock, and narrated the news to my
family members. My voice was shaking with emotion and I could not
contain my anguish. Upon seeing my state of despair, my family
suggested that we should go to Dar Es Salaam. “Mowla has arrived in
Dar Es Salaam according to your friend but by all accounts, He has not
left yet. This means that He will probably leave tomorrow or even day
after tomorrow. So why don’t we go to Dar Es Salaam first thing
tomorrow and perhaps you will be able to get your glimpse at the time
of His departure?”
I could not imagine why I had not thought of this before. How silly of
me! Immediately I perked up and thereafter, late in the evening of
16th July 2012, all the miracles started happening in front of my
eyes. First of all, seats were available for the first flight out to
Dar Es Salaam the next morning. That in itself was a big miracle.
Secondly, there was no money (cash) in the house that evening but the
bank was open at that late hour when we rushed there, and even better
– the foreign currency I needed in cash was available in plenty. In
this way, we were able to catch the first flight to Dar Es Salaam the
next morning having packed hastily and spent the rest of the night in
prayer, begging Mowla to please not go before we reached there and to
please make it possible to have that all important glimpse.
The flight was on time and within an hour of departure, we arrived in
Dar Es Salaam with beating hearts and anxious expressions. We had
decided to ask the local taxi drivers where His Highness The Aga
Khan’s residence was situated in Oyster Bay so that we could go there
and see if He was really there or not. We were especially anxious
because we could not see His private jet anywhere in the airport.
“Perhaps my friend was just mistaken?” I thought with a sinking heart.
Nevertheless, we asked for a taxi driver who was familiar with the
Oyster Bay area and when we questioned him, his answer really
surprised us! He asked us why we wanted to go and wait for His
Highness at His residence and not at the old airport where He would be
arriving later on today (July 17th 2012). We were all flabbergasted!
“Are you sure He is coming today? We were told He has already arrived
yesterday!” We bombarded him with all kinds of questions. But he did
not waver. He insisted that His Highness was expected to arrive today,
He had not arrived and would be landing at the old airport later on in
the afternoon. We immediately took off for the old airport, which was
just nearby and the same taxi driver then went off to investigate and
a few minutes later, he informed us that he was right – His Highness
the Aga Khan was expected to arrive today at about 3:30pm in the
afternoon. Our happiness and ecstasy knew no bounds! We laughed and we
cried and took out tasbihs of shukrana. It was a very emotional moment
for us and completely unbelievable, incredible even! I was in a daze
myself. “Was I really here, in another country, awaiting the arrival
of my beloved whom I wished to see so desperately? Was it really true?
Would He really come? Would I get a glimpse?” At that time, the lack
of activity at the airport bothered me a lot. There was community
security visible anywhere and no jamati members at all. But it was
very early in the morning yet. So I thought the activity would
probably start later on, a couple of hours before the Imam’s arrival.
The taxi driver took us to find a hotel and I insisted that we should
not waste time settling in and so on. “What if the taxi driver was
mistaken and the Imam arrived earlier than expected?” With these
thoughts, we just left our luggage at the reception and rushed back to
the airport. The traffic was heavy, the weather was hot and humid and
I only relaxed at bit when we were safely back at the airport.
Then we settled down to wait. At about 1 00pm, a huge convoy of
government security vehicles arrived, accompanied by a band troupe and
traditional dancers. We looked at each other and asked if this could
be in preparation for receiving our Imam. But the taxi driver said
that an important world dignitary, a political leader of another
country, was scheduled to arrive at about 2 00pm and all this was in
preparation for that arrival. The Aga Khan would come after the
dignitary had left. At 2 30pm, we heard the band troupe playing
somewhere inside the airport and gun salutes went off. Our taxi
driver kept us well informed and said the leader has arrived and has
been received by the president himself. I kept on glancing nervously
at my watch. So far there were no signs of any Ismaili security and no
other jamati members were also in attendance. “Perhaps, the Imam would
also be received by the same government officials who were already
inside? And He too would then leave with the same convoy?” With these
thoughts running through my mind, I asked the taxi driver to quickly
park near the VIP gate so that if the Imam was also part of the
government convoy then we would not miss out on having a glimpse of
Him from the car.
The government convoy left in pomp and splendour at about 3:15pm. We
craned our necks but could not see the Imam’s car amongst the convoy.
We wondered what was happening and looked at each other dejectedly.
But not for long because a few minutes later, three other Ismailis
came to where we were standing near the gate. They were from abroad
too visiting Tanzania on holiday and they informed us that the Imam
would be arriving at 4 00pm. “But I have not seen any arrangements
being made for him!” I argued. Just then, a convoy of three to five
cars containing Ismaili security personnel arrived and went through
the VIP gate. The Imam’s green Audi was amongst that convoy. At last,
I was convinced that He was really coming and we jumped and jumped
with joy. The other Ismailis then suggested that perhaps we should go
look for the waving base as Mowla’s car (the Audi) looked heavily
tinted and it might not be possible to see the Imam from the car. We
fell in with that suggestion and trooped towards the main building to
ask about the waving base. Unfortunately, the old airport does not
have a waving base!
Just then we heard the loud drone of a jet’s engine and we quickly
walked towards the corner of the building outside. Lo and behold!
There was a set of glass doors (closed) but through which we could see
the runway and THE IMAM’S PLANE COMING TO A STOP JUST IN FRONT OF
THOSE VERY GLASS DOORS!!
Oh my my my. What a miracle! A few minutes later, in front of our eyes
the door of the plane opened and a few seconds after that, my beloved,
my beloved, my beloved came down, clearly visible to us from the glass
doors which we had never noticed before. He was really smiling and
looking extremely radiant and my heart expanded and expanded until I
thought it would come crashing out of my chest. I had really seen Him!
I could not believe my eyes! And BEFORE Ramadhan! What an amazing
occurrence.
Thereafter, we rushed back to the VIP gate and reached there in time
to wave at the Imam’s car. The car was not as heavily tinted as we had
assumed and we saw the Imam smiling and waving at us happily with both
hands. We were all jumping up and down with joy. All six of us. Once
the convoy had left, we hugged each other, we cried, we laughed, we
danced, we celebrated, much to the amusement of the airport staff and
our taxi driver.
“Eji Anant kirpa sahebe kidhi
Ane kaaj hamara saariya
Evi preet bandhi saheb saathe
Have rahiyo kem jay”
Shukranlillah. My wish was granted by He who is above all else, and
granted in such a loving, miraculous and unexpected way. All were used
by Him as part of the miracle: my friend on the previous afternoon,
the taxi driver (how can he know so convincingly about the Imam’s
schedule of arrival?), the other Ismailis from abroad who asked us to
find a waving base which then led us to the glass doors and a clear
unhindered glimpse of the Imam). It was all a miracle.
I share this with all as an inspirational example to submit all
heartfelt and sincere wishes to Him, and Him only, with conviction and
staunch faith. It is only the Imam who is worthy of all the praises in
this world for it is only Him who can show so much love and go out of
His way and undergo extreme inconveniences to grant our wishes. “No
mountains, no deserts, no oceans, no valleys can keep the Imam’s love
from reaching His murids.”
Mubaraki to the entire Tanzanian jamat for this extremely blessed visit.
*photos available but don't know how to post them here*
Imam accepts wish of a Murid - Tanzania July 2012
You can send pictures anytime to [email protected]
A slightly modified version of the article with photos at:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... oved-imam/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... oved-imam/