ME AND MAULANA: A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION OF WAHIDUDDIN KHAN - John M. Butt

heavenly abode. But his memories and saintly fragrance stay on this earth. The lethal Covid-19 attack on Maulana Sahab snapped short his earthly life four years short of a century, leaving orphaned, millions of his followers, who consider him a fatherly figure. Born on January 1, 1925 in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, he is listed in the 500 most influential Muslims of the world. The book, The 500 Most Influential Muslims by Georgetown University, Washington DC, named him “Islam’s Spiritual Ambassador to the world.” His approach, the book points out, is “popular among Indians, both Muslim and nonMuslim.” The author Oswald Pereira with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan at his residence in Delhi on May 5, 2018 An Islamic scholar, who adopted peace as the mission of his life, Maulana Sahab authored more than 200 books, including a commentary and a translation of the Quran in English, Hindi and Urdu. Known for his Gandhian views, he considered nonviolence as the only method to achieve success. I had the good fortune to meet Maulana Sahab at his residence in Nizamuddin, Delhi, on May 5, 2018 to present him copies of my book, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life, in which he had written six articles. Then 93, Maulana Sahab full of life and energy, talked on various spiritual subjects. He went into raptures about his love for the country and what freedom and independence meant to him. He had said, “On the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, I felt like my feet had grown wings and I was flying freely like a