Page 21 - The Western Horizon #12

to Huzooraa it will be on behalf of all of you. Although it was the
smallest of gestures, they were elated. So, I was determined and I
had made the intention that my next Salam to Huzooraa would be
on behalf of my family in Pakistan. So, as the time for Huzooraa
to come to the office came near, I, along with all the other office
workers, got up and began assuming our usual positions. But, that
day I decided to walk down the hallway a bit. Eventually, I found
myself standing right by the door that Huzooraa would enter the
second floor from, after having walked up the stairs, and no one
told me to move. I couldn’t believe it, I was literally going to be
just a foot away from Huzooraa. As members of the Hifazat-e-Khas
team began walking in, I became more and more anxious. Finally,
ever so majestically and with the greatest of grace, Huzooraa turned
the corner and entered through the doorway. As soon as he entered
the first thing he laid his eyes upon was this humble servant waiting
for his beloved Imam. Then with determination and my family in
Pakistan in mind, I said “Assalamo Alaikum Pyare Huzur.” Huzooraa
was looking right at me, he seemed to scan me from head to toe,
He paused for a second, all the while looking at me, and said “Wa
Alaikum Assalam.” The way in which he said it, the strength of his
words which I felt, I could feel that just as the Salam he received was were people lined up on both sides. There was another decision to
from more than just one person, his response was to more than one
person as well.
The epitome of saying Salam to Huzooraa was
on one of his last days here. He was in the
Lajna office conducting a meeting, and people
were standing all around the house hoping
to see Huzooraa when he came out. I, along
with another Jamia student, decided to take a
chance; we stood well away from the crowd on
one of the driveways on Ahmadiyya Avenue,
anticipating that Huzooraa would walk that
way. It was a 50/50 chance, if Huzooraa
walked the other way, then we would miss the
opportunity. Some other people came by as well and stood with us,
but then said that it was too big of a risk and went closer where they
The awaited month had finally arrived
with the coming of our beloved Huzooraa.
I had planned from well before that I will
take full advantage of being near him at
every opportunity I get. So, Huzooraa had
arrived and it was soon time for Maghrib
and Ishaa. I had lined up 2 hours prior
to namaz. Thus, from waiting outside
now we were waiting inside and I had
HASSAN occupied a very good place which was
MINHAS directly in front of where Huzooraa would
be. There were still 15 to 20 minutes left
untill namaz. However, the door suddenly opened and the
bodyguards came in and all we see is Huzooraa enter. It was
such an incredible moment of joy and shock. Usually, Huzooraa
comes to the mosque right about the allocated time due to his
busy schedule. But, this was rare and I was feeling blessed to
Page # 21
thought they would be able to see Huzooraa. When Huzooraa finally
came out, at first it seemed he was going the other way, and for a
second we felt demoralized. But, then we saw that in fact, Huzooraa
was walking right in our direction, and there was no one around us.
So, as he came nearer I waved and said, “Assalamo Alaikum Pyare
Huzur!” He looked my way, smiled and waved. I was overjoyed and
couldn’t believe that the chance we took actually worked out. Then,
as Huzooraa walked along Ahmadiyya Avenue and turned left on
Mosque Gate towards Tahir Hall, we thought why not try again,
right now. So, we ran through the trees between the Tahir Hall and
Ahmadiyya Avenue and through a sea of people as well. Everyone
took a different position, I found a spot, somehow, right beside
the door Huzooraa was going to enter the Tahir Hall from. As he
came closer I said again “Assalamo Allaikum Pyare Huzur!” and once
again he looked my way. Then, Huzooraa walked into the Tahir Hall
but didn’t go up to the second floor right away. Something came
over me and I immediately thought to run up to the second floor
before Huzooraa got there. When I got there, people were unsure
as to which side of the Tahir Hall Huzooraa would come up from,
either the stairs or the elevator, both on opposite ends. So, there
be made, and I decided to join the group waiting by the elevator.
As the security began to walk by, it became
clear that Huzooraa would indeed be coming
by the elevator, and he did. He came out of
the elevator and upon seeing everyone waiting
began to smile and even gave a comment to
a young missionary wearing glasses saying
“Yeh kya bachon wali ainak lagayee hui hai.”
Huzooraa was smiling and even the constantly
serious faced Hifazat-e-Khas team, which had
come with Huzur from London, couldn’t help
but smile upon this comment. In fact everyone
was laughing and in this elated atmosphere as
Huzooraa walked no more than two feet in
front of me I said for the third time in about 7 minutes “Assalamo
Allaikum Pyare Huzur!”
be right in front of him. Huzooraa looked at his watch and said
that there is still time till namaz, therefore he sat down facing
everybody in the mosque. The feeling I had at that time is
indescribable. Huzoor’saa first glance was towards my direction.
Beside myself was my classmate Asif Rashid. Both of us were
dressed in our Jamia uniform. Huzooraa asked us if we were
from Jamia. Then, he asked us which year we were in. He
also told us that we should work very hard to learn the Arabic
language and we should try to be fluent in speaking. In all
of this, I was extremely nervous and my responses were very
timid as a result. I was truly in awe of the grandeur of Khilafat.
It was a matter of a minute. However, this one minute felt
better than all of the worldly joys I have experienced in my
lifetime.
TThheeWWeesstteerrnnHHoorriizzoonn Syedna Masroor Edition