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

In the morning of 23 July 2017, I and my wife visited and had spiritual audience (Ziyarat Wa Sohbat) with the late Hazrat Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Sahib (Quddissa sirruhul Aziz Wa Rahmatullah Taala Alayh [may Allah honour and bless his sacred memory and grant him the best of Allah’s mercies]) in his residence at Nizamuddin West, New Delhi, India. Hazrat Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Sahib is internationally recognized for his contributions to world peace. He has received, among others, the Demiurgus Peace International Award, the Padma Bhushan Award, the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award and the National Citizen’s Award. The book, “The 500 Most Influential Muslims” has named him “Islam’s Spiritual Ambassador of Peace to the World.” In January 2021, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan Award, India’s second-highest honorific award for its civilian citizens. “Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu and his wife Prof. Dr. Belinda F. Espiritu having audience with Hazrat Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Sahib at his residence on 23 July 2017.” Hazrat Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Sahib was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, North India on 1 January 1925. From his early years, he showed passionate interest for both traditional Islamic knowledge and Western philosophies. As a result, all his books show masterful synthesis of Islamic teachings with the practicality demanded by contemporary modern life. His extensive Islamic and philosophical researches led him to conclude that the need of the present era is to present Islamic teachings in the style and language