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

my bath under hot showers. My daughter helped me dry my hair with a dryer. I am so grateful to God who gave me all these facilities.” Seemingly, this was the simple narration of an ordinary incident. But then he turned ordinary incidents into extraordinary tales. It was the style of writing, infused with everyday examples, drawing on the wide reading and understanding of classical Islamic literature and modern science, that made Al-Risala, the monthly mouthpiece of his Islamic Centre, so popular. The magazine made the Maulana a household name among Urdu readers. He was a scholar who engaged with life’s issues–religious, social, ethical–in common man’s idiom. When he wrote or spoke, the Maulana didn’t pontificate. He conversed. What I liked most about him were the positive vibes he gave. A decade or so ago some of his admirers and disciples planned his talks in Mumbai. He and his team were put up at a hotel in Jogeshwari. The Maulana fell in the bathroom and fractured an ankle. When I met him in hospital, he was as alert, agile and enthusiastic as ever. We thought his lectures would be cancelled. But the next morning he surprised many of us when he was wheeled in, his fractured leg cast in plaster. He didn’t dwell on the mishap or the pain he suffered. Instead, he spoke about how to look for opportunities in adversities. Having lost his father early, the Maulana trained himself to remain positive at all situations, good or bad. Never allowing the blizzard of criticism that some of his speeches and writings earned him, he stayed the course. He said frankly