I FOUND MY CALLING UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MAULANA - Mr. Haroon Shaikh, Mumbai

It was with this background that I started reading Maulana regularly. His arguments seemed natural and convincing. Now, I decided to go one step further, though it took me more than two decades to take this step. In 1991, a friend of mine arranged a meeting with Maulana while I was in New Delhi. I was impressed and inspired by his extremely humble and simple lifestyle. He never even once tried to thrust his knowledge upon me, like other religious scholars. He patiently listened to everything I had to say and replied calmly and reassuringly. Since then, I have had the good fortune of meeting him on innumerable occasions across many cities. He was gracious enough to oblige me with some visits to my home in Mumbai. He was like a father figure to my family. He treated my wife as his daughter. My wife and I have fond memories of his visits to our home. Now, that he is no more, we feel a void in our lives. Of course, God has said in the Quran: “Every soul shall taste death;” still, I cannot but rue the missed chances where I could have learned more from him. Maulana lived for a mission. His mission was to sing the glory of God in an age that is characterized by scientific temperament. This temperament sometimes leads to atheism and even to ridicule of religion and God. It was this environment in which Maulana established the glory of God on a purely scientific foundation. He has left a treasure of his writings. Among the more than 200 of his books, I earnestly suggest all readers to read God Arises, Islam and the Modern Age and Tajdeed-e-Deen.