Chapter 16A: Life in Madeenah Munawarrah

Blessings of Madeenah Munawwarah and Difficulties Faced by Newcomers

Madeenah Munawwarah is a city that significantly blessed with resources as a result of the supplications by Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam; many blessings can be witnessed in the units of measurement for food: the mudd, the saa and other weights that were used. In comparison, not even a half or even a third of this blessing can be found in any other place; not even in Makkah Mukarramah - and why not? A hadeeth states; Allhummajal bil madeenati dhuafin ma bimakkati minal barkat. Another narration states dhuafi ma bi makkati minal barakah; "O Allah! Bestow on Madeenah twice the blessings You bestowed on Makkah.” Even so, newcomers from other countries would face many hardships staying there because of unfamiliarity, costliness and limited means of livelihood -or none.

Generally, the residents of Madeenah Munawwarah were soft natured and pleasant people. However, they regarded themselves as the best of all Muslims and the progeny of the pious; and would not view non-natives  as their equals in status . Yet, they were themselves the  second, third or even fourth generations of non-natives  that had over the years become the residents of Madeenah Munawwarah. At present, there are no generations remaining from the time of Sa’adaat sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Some say that one Ansaar household still resides there, yet, in reality, two to three generations of that family have moved on to settle in other places. The people born in Madeenah Munawwarah, considered non-natives as inferior, even though they came to Madeenah from the very same native-country as their forefathers and no matter if they were relatives. If the non-native did not know Arabic, the opinion of them was further reduced. Naturally, in every country and nation, non-natives are generally looked down upon as inferior, regardless of how much respect they may hold in their own country. Saying that, the honour of ahle - Madeenah (residents of Madinah) as the neighbours of Rasul Sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, is an extremely rare privilege, therefore, the distinction and status they receive in that respect is never enough. Rasulullah sallalahu alayhi wasallam has stated; "Madeenah is my place of Hijrat, and my resting place on earth. It is compulsory on my Ummah that they honour my neighbours, if they stay away from major sins. Whosoever refrains from this, Allah will make him drink from teenatul khabal - the pus of the people of Hell," (Qat fil ifrad an Jabir) (Tib an Maqal ibn Yassar). Apart from the above, there are many ahadeeth regarding the honour of Madeenah and the neighbours of Madeenah in Kanzul Amaal Volume 6 and many other hadeeth books.

Furthermore, when newcomers relocate to a new country they are separated from their family and close connections (those whom they were attached to and lived with in their homeland) and they are obliged to interact within a community that is completely unknown and new to them. The residents and likewise, the newcomers are therefore, unaware of each other’s status or stature. In summary, newcomers tended to face difficulties residing in Madeenah because of various reasons. Most likely, this is the reason why Rasul Sallalahu - alayhi-wasallam has stated; ‘Whosoever remains patient upon the difficulties they face in Madinah, I will be an intercessor, or a witness, for them on the Day of Judgment.” [Muslim). In another narration it is stated; ‘Whoever has the means to die in Madinah, let him die there for I shall intercede on behalf of everyone who dies there.’ (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)

Household Chores

As a similar case, my family also faced many difficulties, especially the womenfolk. They had already separated from their family and hometown; If that wasn’t difficult enough, the change of residence meant they had to endure additional new challenges: adapting to the change in culture and weather, and factors such as poverty and so forth. In India, although our family was poor, female servants would be employed to fulfil tasks such as; shopping, domestic chores, scrubbing and washing pots, and sweeping. Yet here, the womenfolk themselves had to undertake these tasks too. Apart from the habitual cooking chores they were accustomed to because of our previous poor living conditions, they had to hand grind the flour - something they had never experienced before. My elderly mother was extremely diligent and worked strenuously; even though each daughter in law was assigned a rota, she would help each one with hand grinding the flour and various shopping chores.

The womenfolk had to also handwash all the family laundry, which was never the case in our home country. In Madeenah Munawwarah, everyone would wash their own laundry in their own homes. In the poor and moderately well households the wives would wash the laundry, and in the wealthier households it was assigned to slave women. In general, each household would own an iron and store starch. The people of Madeenah took great interest in their clothes and were fond of their food, yet there was not a tradition of employing washerwomen. This was a difficult task for the women at first, however, there was no choice and it eventually became a habit. We, the menfolk, would also frequently wash clothes, and carry home mashqs (traditional water-carrying bags) full of sweet water on our shoulders; We would fulfil this task in the nights when the storehouse of the canal water was less busy. My brother Saeed Ahmad marhoom and I would regularly bring home water because the mashq of water we would purchase daily from the water-carrier was insufficient for cooking and drinking needs of twelve people.

Our Diet

Our diet was very basic because of our limited means and profit. Our father marhoom was well organised in matters. He would mainly purchase the cheapest greens. Sometimes we would have meat to eat, but mostly we ate lentils, and according to our cultural habit, we would have roti and rice. We would also have plentiful dates as part of our diet, despite only making only making a small profit selling them at our shop.

Our second move to a larger property and our circumstances

In Muharram 1318 Hijri (May 1900), we rented a different property which was larger and cleaner than our first property. Due to our daily living expenses, our funds continued decreasing because only a small profit was made from selling goods at our shop and secondly, because many customers would take goods on a pay later basis and had not come forward to repay us- so we lost money. We did not have the strength to argue with the Arabs and other people. In short, if this had not been the case, it would have been at a level of sufficiency.

Later, following some experiences, we decided it was better to close the shop down. My brother, Saeed Ahmad sahib marhoom found employment at the homes of some businessmen (who were newcomers) teaching children, whilst my eldest brother and I went to India in Dhil-Qa’dah 1318 Hijri (February /March 1901): Each of us had sixty rupees each for our travel (its details will follow later) and this period was very difficult for our family. Brother Saeed Ahmad sahib marhoom’s monthly wage was only twenty rupees and so no savings were made. In addition, two of us were away so, our father was obliged to take a loan of fifty rupees from an acquaintance, who was a businessman, to buy lentils and rice. For many months our family sustained themselves with rice for one meal and rice water /rice gruel for the second meal. When we reached India, my father’s peerbhais (spiritual brothers), whom were very closely acquainted with him, raised money between themselves for our father marhoom. We sent this money to our father marhoom via a bank draft and he was able to clear his debt and gained the means to buy food and drink. These were the most difficult months for my family in Madeenah Munawwarah and, thereafter, matters gradually began to get easier. Other people suffered from starvation for many months but bihamdillah, none of us ever suffered to that extent.

Trials Faced by Some of the Elders

I myself have heard Qutube Alam Hadhrat Haji Imdadullah sahib Qaddas-allahu sirruhul Azeez expressing how he survived on zamzam water for one whole week. During this period, he asked someone he considered an earnest friend, who was strong advocator of sincerity, for a small loan of a few coins. He made an excuse of his own neediness and inability to help – yet in reality, he wasn’t destitute. Hadhrat Qaddas allahu sirruhul Azeez explained; ’from the refusal of help, I realised that this was the wish of Allah (mansha-ulwahiyyat) so remained patient and silent. After one week had passed by, when weakness and debility became overbearing, I saw Khwaja Mueen ud-deeen Chisti Qaddas-allahu sirruhul Azeez in a dream who said to me; ‘we have made you the Muhtamin (Administrator) and Nazim (manager) of our kitchen’. In the morning, whilst it was still dark, somebody knocked at my door and when I opened it, a man gave me a bag containing one hundred riyals and left. After this day I never suffered from poverty.’ In the same manner, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Ghani sahib Mujaddidi Dehelwi and Hadhrat Shah Ahmad Saeed sahib Mujaddidi Qaddas-allahu israruhuma and their families suffered from hunger for a period of time. However, our family remained safe from this extreme test and this was expected: one’s trials are according ones strength of one’s faith:  ‘The most severely tested of the people are the prophets, then the next best, then the next best’ (Al Hadeeth). 

Qutube Alam Hadhrat Haji Imdadullah sahib Quddus allahu sirruhul Azeez made a dua for our family when he was bidding us farewell; ‘Oh Allah do not test this family with extreme trials’ - it would not be surprising if it was because of the effect of his dua (that we were protected).

Notice to move from our third property and our move to our fourth property outside Bab Al-Majidi

Towards the end of 1318 Hijri, (March/April 1901) whilst we were still on our travels in India and our family were putting up with their most difficult of trials, a problem arose regarding the house our family were residing in. The landlord served us a notice that the year was nearly up and either we gave the rent for the whole year and more, or we should move out. This situation was problematic. We could manage the daily expenses which around two to four Anna (one Anna is equal to 1/16 of a rupee), however, it was not possible for us pay off a year’s rent beyond 150-200. If relocating only involved menfolk, we could easily find shelter in an alley, narrow street, madrasah or a musafir khana - But where could you take women in purdah and children? We asked the landlord for an extension, but he refused. In Madeenah Munawwarah, there were some musafir khanas that were given as an endowment (waqf) for families that required purdah - but there were no vacant rooms. After much effort, we found a building that was partially constructed outside Bab Al-Majidi belonging to a rich Hyderabadi Nawaab Jaani Miah saab. The building construction work had stopped as they had run out of money. It had many rooms that catered for purdah needs. The trustee of the property, Doctor Muhammad Khwaja Hyderabadi marhoom, allowed us the free use of this house until there was further authorisation of its construction. This house did not have doors, windows or small wall recesses, it only had a main door made of pinewood. Our Hadhrat father favoured this building and arrangement that was put forward. The owner of the building was still in Hyderabad. Our whole family moved there. We used drapes made of sackcloth to protect us from the hot and cold weather, and to provide us with privacy. 

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The next chapter (16B) to be uploaded will continue to discuss life and challenges whilst living in Madeenah Munawwarah  inshaAllah.

A request for duas