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Muslim Way of Life
to be opened up, he will be disturbing those who are resting. Someone gave him a blanket. Alas! was he sleeping the whole day? Why did he not make his arrangement earlier.
5. OUR CONDUCT Nowadays our conduct is of a new kind. It is considered contrary to culture to ask the guest of the duration of his stay. Some guests make their own food arrangement without informing the host. The host undergoes much difficulty to prepare meals for guests and to make them comfortable, but just when meals are about to be served, they inform the host of their own arrangement. The host will suffer considerable grief by this rebuff. A guest who was here brought along his own food but did not inform me. At the time when meals were about to be served, he opened up his food. I said to him: You should have informed me that you had brought food with you. There is nothing wrong in this. Since you did not inform me and imposedadiff iculty on me, take this food and sit elsewhere to eat. Do not sit to eat it here. When I go on a journey and intend to stay over in Saharanpur for a while and if my arrival coincides with meal-time, I immediately inform on arrival of my intention that I have brought along food or I have arranged to eat at a certain place. If I had taken along some food, then on arrival I will immediately hand it over to the host who can decide what to do with it.
6. Hadhrat said to a mureed: "If you have to come on a Friday, bring along your food. If you come some other day, then, if, possible we may entertain you. We have announced to all that whoever comes on a Friday is not our guest. He has come for Salaatl~lkJuma'h. Furthermore, on Fridays numerous people come from nearby towns (for Juma'h). I do not operate a feasting-house here. Eat at home, then set out. However, those who have journeyed from distant places
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intending to be my guests, they may arrive any day. They are my guests." Wherever MaulanaMuzaffar Hussain (rahmatullahalayh) would go, he would immediately inform: "I shall be your guest for one day or two days." One day this saint was the guest of Hadhrat Maulana Gangohi (rahmatullah alayh). In the morning Maulana Gangohi asked Maulana (the guest) to have breakfast. Maulana Muzaffar had to go to Rampur that morning, and fearing a delay, he said to Maulana Gangohi: "If you have anything left over from last night's food, bring it."
Maulana Gangohi brought the simple food (which was left over of the previous night) and some stale bread. Maulana Muzaffar Husain took the food along and departed. On reaching Rampur, MaulanaMuzaffarHussainspoke highly of Maulana Gangohi in the presence of HakeemZiyauddin. Hakeem Saheb commented: "He is a saint." Maulana Muzaffar Hussain said: "I am not praising his sainthood. I am saying that he is a good man. If you don't understand, then ask." Hakeem Saheb said: "Hadhrat, inform me." Maulana Muzaffar Husain said: "Look, what a good man he is. He asked me for meals, but on my request, he brought, without any qualms, whatever leftovers he had. For this reason I said that he is a good man." Once Hadhrat Maulana Gangohi (rahmatullahalayh) was the guest of Hakeem Mueenuddin, the son of Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Ya'qoob (rahmatullah alayh). The host is very informal type of a person. On that articular day there was no food in the house to serve. The host said: "Today there is no food by us. However, most friends are eagerly inviting you. If you agree, I can accept an invitation."
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