A Wave Like the Mountains: Part 3 – The Lion of the Lion of God

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِيَ ٱلْعُلْيَا وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

'Allah sent down His sakeenat upon him, and strengthened him with forces which ye saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of Allah is exalted to the heights: for Allah is Exalted in might, Wise.'

(Surat al-Tawbah: 40)

This article series is written by Mazoon-e-Dawat Syedi Dr. Abdeali Bhaisaheb Saifuddin AAB. To read Part 1 - click here, to read Part 2 - click here.

The lion of the lion of God, Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin RA, roared against falsehood and injustice, just as his predecessor Syedna Qutbuddin Shaheed RA had done in front of Aurangzeb.

In the height of the full scale attack on Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin immediately after the wafaat of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA, there was a sea of calm but intense activity in the inner sanctum of Syedna Qutbuddin’s residence Darus Sakina in Thane; surrounded by an ocean of cursing, attacks, violence and fury perpetrated by the Shehzada Mufaddal and his coterie.

At the time, one Mumin Mukhlis arazed to Syedna Qutbuddin,

“Maula, why do you take so much burden and risk on yourself and your family? You can live in any peaceful corner of the world, and those with the clarity, commitment and conviction will come to you.”

Syedna Qutbuddin replied,

“It is waajib (compulsory) for me to fight for the souls and the future of my children, Mumineen. Both Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA have entrusted me with this amanat of Imam-uz-zaman. My predecessor Dais have sacrificed everything, even their lives for the Dawat of Imam-uz-Zaman. When Syedna Taher Saifuddin was threatened by his enemies with violence and an attempt on his life, he said to them, “your threats on my life do not affect me, do you not know that my predecessors have given their lives for Dawat, and I am ready to do the same.”

Syedna Qutbuddin Aqa then said,

“Today, I say that my conviction is the same. For even if I am standing alone, I will continue this mission.”

Syedna Qutbuddin was completely at peace, and unflinching and resolute in his approach as to what he needed to do. Syedna Qutbuddin Aqa’a presence, his resolve, his guidance reassured all of us. There was no doubting, even in the most agonizing of moments, that the ship of Dawat would survive and sail through these waves and this storm, no matter how impossible it seemed at time. We needed that succor, that nourishment, that reassurance continuously. Someone’s father, someone’s brother, someone’s wife, someone’s best friend, some people who owed their lives, their happiness, their fulfilment, to Qutbuddin Maula had turned and pronounced curses on him. Each time a curse was spewed, we could not believe that they had forgotten that for fifty years they had taken Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin’s name in their Misaaq, their oath to Syedna Burhanuddin himself. Syedna Qutbuddin, the one who was entrusted by Syedna Burhanuddin in this position of highest responsibility after the Dai, who was not just responsible for the running of Dawat affairs, but for the very souls of Mumineen.

Darus Sakina was a buzz of activity – it was the control center, the nerve center, of a Dawat which was under threat and under attack. The night after the wafaat of Syedna Burhanuddin, the FatemiDawat.com website was prepared and made live. Messages were sent out to virtually each and every Mumin, announcing the truth-cry of Syedna Qutbuddin. This constant attack drained our energies and sapped our strength, but we looked at Qutbuddin Maula, listened to his words, especially his doa, and we were instantly re-energized, replenished, re-strengthened. He was our energy and light, our sun, in this hour of great darkness and strife.

Under Syedna’s directive, all of us khidmatguzars were working literally round the clock, without regard for day or night, to get the message of truth to Mumineen worldwide, and to deal with the subsequent deluge of people, messages and calls that came in. Answering questions, clearing doubts and fears, reassuring the committed and strong and the not-so-strong, for people coming in hundreds in person to Darus Sakina, for the countless messages through email, SMS, Whatsapp, and the countless phone calls. Mostly to pledge their support, some asking questions to clear their doubts, and some of abuse and threats, the latter spurred on by the abuse, threats and cursing being conducted in Saifee Masjid under the auspices of the Shehzada Mufaddal. For weeks from the time that Syedna Qutbuddin Aqa revealed the truth to the world, my personal phone continued to ring incessantly without pause, so much so that I had to hand it to a young volunteer to man, and transfer to me when needed.

Each of us present in those early days of the struggle, the battle, felt that we were being aided by an invisible force in all and every endeavor, indeed, it is the truth of God’s words, in the Quran that He strengthened the righteous Prophet, Imam and Dai, “with an army that you did not see.”

Syedna Qutbuddin would say, “Lahu Dawatul Haq - Allah Ta’ala and Imam al-Zaman will protect the Dawat,” such was his complete conviction and faith in Allah Ta’ala and the Imam. He was thankful even in such times, and reminding us to be thankful for the khidmat that Allah Ta’ala had given us the opportunity to perform, of Dawat, in this time of great attack on Dawat. Out of hundreds of thousands Allah Ta’ala had given us this opportunity. Qutbuddin Maula would remind us that in this tragedy of tragedies there is opportunity for us. The opportunity of a millennium, to persevere and make a difference, to be a part of something that would affect the next hundreds of years of the future of Dawat and Mumineen, to be able to play even a small part in such momentous, earth-moving events. History was being written right in front of our eyes, and we were a part of it. Each step forward that we were able to take in this storm, would echo incessantly through the centuries to come.

May Allah Ta’ala grant our Maula Qutbuddin Afzal al-jaza in the high heavens, and may He grant Nasr-e-Aziz and Fath-e-Mubin to his successor, Syedna Taher Fakhruddin Aqa, and give him longest life till the day of Qiyamat. Today Fakhruddin Maula TUS is our succor, our source of strength, energy and perseverance – renewed and revitalized manifold with the barakat of Qutbuddin Maula and the nazaraat and tayeed of Imam-uz-Zaman SA.

In the next instalment of this series, I will examine in detail how the battle in the court was established, and give anecdotes of the brave souls who stood like the Ansaar of Rasulullah SA, with Rasulullah’s Dai, Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin Aqa.