Patience Wins Hearts

Smiling, Maulana said, “He is traveling right now. By tomorrow he will return. Then you can meet him.” The youth asked, “How do you know he is traveling?” Maulana replied, “The traveler you are speaking to is that very Maulana Ikramuddin.” As soon as he heard this, the young man fell at his feet. He said, “Forgive me. I have made a terrible mistake. I feel like punishing myself for it.” He insisted that Maulana sit in his place, while he himself stood until the last station. At the next stop, when they both got off, the youth pressed Maulana to have breakfast with him. Maulana narrated more such incidents and remarked, “Among Hindus we have found good character. Such character we do not find among present-day Muslims.” He shared another story as well: In 1982, I went to Bangalore to lead the Tarawih prayers. One day, I was traveling by scooter from Hegnur to Koram Halli. On the way, my scooter ran out of petrol. I pushed it for some distance until I saw a coconut grove by the roadside, with a car parked inside. I went in. A Hindu man was sitting there. As soon as he saw me, he told his worker, “Bring a chair.” They seated me and asked what the matter was. I explained, “My scooter has run out of petrol. The nearest petrol is eight kilometers away. Seeing your car, I thought I might get some petrol here.” The Hindu immediately told his driver, “Check if there’s