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

Maulana was a keen observer of people. He had a knack for identifying the capabilities of fellow human beings that they themselves were unaware of. During one of my visits, he asked me to start publishing the Hindi version of AlRisala. I was taken aback. Writing, editing and publishing had never been on my to-do list. However, simply because Maulana had said so, I forayed into the publishing world. Some years back, Maulana had asked me to keep a diary and write my discoveries and experiences in it. I had followed his advice. Now, this practice came in handy. The Hindi edition ran from 2001 to 2003. I had no formal education in Hindi. Sensing the challenges I faced while bringing out the Hindi version of Al-Risala, Maulana then told me to start publishing the English edition of Al-Risala. From 2003 to 2012, I published the English version of Al-Risala named The Spiritual Message. The quality and content of the magazine are widely appreciated. From 2013, the responsibility of the magazine was passed to Ms. Fathima Sarah from Bengaluru, a much more able person than me for this task. I am often credited for The Spiritual Message, but the fact is that the credit is all due to Maulana as he was the one whose ideas the magazine carried. Throughout the years, I have had my share of doubts, differences and disagreements with Maulana on many occasions. Maulana always encouraged open and unhindered dialogue to discuss doubts and differences. I always presented my side before Maulana. Every time it turned out that the doubts mainly emanated from my ignorance on the subject