My soul was thirsty till I found Islam DR. ABDUL KARIM GERMANUS Dr. Abdul Karim Germanus is a well-known Orientalist of Hungary and is a scholar of world repute. He visited India between the wars. Later he came to Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi. It was here that he embraced Islam. Germanus is a linguist and an authority on Turkish language and literature and it was through oriental studies that he came to Islam. At present Germanus is working as professor and head of the department of Oriental and Islamic Studies at the Budapest University, Hungary. During a summer vacation I was lucky to travel to Bosnia, the nearest Oriental country adjacent to ours. It was night, and in the dimly lit streets I soon discovered a humble cafe in which on low straw stools a couple of Bosnians enjoyed their kayf (café). They wore the traditional bulging trousers kept straight at the waist by a broad belt bristling with daggers. Their headgear and the unfamiliar costume lent them an air of truculence. It was with a throbbing heart that I entered the Kahwekhame and timidly sat down in a distant corner. The, Bosnians looked with curious eyes upon me and I suddenly remembered all the bloodcurdling biased stories read in fanatical books about Muslim intolerance. I noticed that they were whispering among themselves and their topic was my unexpected presence. My childish imagination flared up in horror; they surely intended to draw their daggers on the intruding ‘infidel.’ I wished I could safely get out of this threatening environment, but I dared not budge. In a few seconds the waiter brought me a cup of fragrant coffee and pointed to the frightening group of men. I turned a fearful face toward them when one made a gentle salaam toward me accompanied with a friendly smile. I hesitatingly forced a smile on my trembling lips. The imagined ‘foes’ slowly rose and approached my little table. What now? — my throbbing heart inquired; will they oust me? A second salam followed and they sat around me. One of them offered me a cigarette and at its flickering light I noticed that their martial attire hid a hospitable soul. I gathered strength and addressed them in my primitive Turkish. Is acted like a magic wand. Their faces lit up in friendliness akin to affection, instead of hostility they invited me to their homes; instead of the falsely anticipated daggers they showered benevolence upon me. This was my first personal meeting with Muslims. Years had come and passed in a rich variety of events, travels and study. Each opened new vistas before my curious eyes. I crossed all the countries of Europe, studied at the University of Constantinople, admired the historic beauties of Asia Minor and Syria. I had learned Turkish, Persian and Arabic, and gained the chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Budapest. All the dry and tangible knowledge that was hoarded up through centuries, all the thousands of pages of learned books I had read with eager eyes, but my soul remained thirsty. I found Ariadne’s thread in the books of learning, but I yearned for the evergreen garden of religious experience. My brain was satiated but my soul remained thirsty. I had to divest myself of much of that learning I had gathered, in order to regain it through inner experience, ennobled in the fire of suffering, as the crude iron which the pain of sudden cold tempers into elastic steel. The next Friday witnessed a curious scene in the huge Jama Masjid of Delhi. A fair-haired pale-faced stranger elbowed his way, accompanied by some elders, through the thronging crowd of believers. I wore an Indian dress, on my head a small Rampuri cap, I put on my breast the Turkish orders, presented to me by previous sultans. The believers gazed at me in astonishment and surprise. Our small party paced straight on to the pulpit, which had been surrounded by the learned, respectable elders, who received me kindly with a loud salaam. I sat down near the mimbar, (pulpit) and let my eyes gaze on the beautifully ornamented front of the mosque. In its middle arcade wild bees had built their nests and swarmed undisturbed around it. Suddenly, the adhan (call to prayers) was sounded and the mukabbirs, standing on different spots of the courtyard, forwarded the cry to the farthest nook of the mosque. Some 4,000 men rose like soldiers at this heavenly command, rallied in close rows and said the prayer in deep devotion, I one among them. It was an exalting moment. After the Khutba (sermon) had been preached, Abdul Hayy took me by my hand and conducted me to the mimbar, I had to walk warily so as not to step on someone squatting on the ground.The great event had arrived. I stood at the steps of the mimbar. The huge mass of men began to stir. They inspired an unusual steadfastness into me, and without any fever or fear I slowly ascended the seventh step of the mimbar. From above I surveyed the interminable crowd, which waved below me like a living sea. Those who stood after stretched their necks toward me, and this seemed to set the whole courtyard in motion. “Ma’shaAllah,” exclaimed some nearby, and warm, affectionate looks radiated from their eyes. “Ayyuh Al-Saadaat Al-Kiram,” I started in Arabic, “I came from a distant land to acquire knowledge which I could not gain at home. I came to you for inspiration and you responded to the call.” I then proceeded and spoke of the task Islam had played in the world’s history, of the miracle God has wrought with His Prophet (peace be upon him). I explained on the decline of present-day Muslims and of the means whereby they could gain ascendancy anew. The Holy Qur’an says, “God betters not the condition of people unless they improve themselves.” I built my speech on this Qur’anic sentence and wound up with the praise of pious life, and the fight against wickedness. Then I sat down. I was aroused from the magnetic trance of my speech by a loud “Allahu Akbar,” shouted from every nook and corner of the place. The thrill was overwhelming, and I hardly remember anything but that Aslam called me from the mimbar, took me by the arm and dragged me out of the mosque. “Why this hurry?” I asked. Men stood before me and embraced me. Several of them looked with imploring eyes on me. They asked for my blessing and wanted to kiss my head. “O God!” I exclaimed, “Don’t allow innocent souls to lift me above them! I am a worm from among the worms of the earth, a wanderer toward the light, just as powerless as the other miserable creatures. The sighs and hopes of those innocent people ashamed me as if I had stolen or cheated. What a terrible burden it must be for a statesman, in whom people confide, from whom they hope for assistance and whom they consider to be better than themselves!” The next day and the following ones people flocked to congratulate me and I gathered so much warmth and spirit from their affection as will suffice me for a lifetime. • Courtesy: “Islam, Our Choice” arabnews/news/607176 The Prophet (sallallahu alaihiwasallam) said that seeking knowledge is a way to Paradise. He (sallallahu alaihiwasallam) said: Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make a path to Paradise easy for him. (Narrated by: Al-Bukhari)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:33:48 +0000