The Royal Dining of the Nawab and a Sudden Explosion
A friend of my father (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ) was hakeem Hafiz Abdul Karim Delhwi. He had a huge old-fashioned house but it was extremely clean and auspicious. Everything was placed neatly. We used to meet him often. His sayings were extremely precious. He had the privilege of being the royal physician of nawab of Bahawalpur. Once he said: “The nawab used to spend his summers in Shimla (the summer resort of India, such as we have Murree). Often I used to be with him in journeys. Once it so happened that a complaint came about the meal of nawab of Bahawalpur. That at once became a source of explosion that Nawab sahib was continuously complaining about one thing about the food that the chefs are not cooking the food properly. There is no taste in the food and it is not delicious. And Nawab sahib was saying himself that it is the fault of a chef of some other person. There is some deficiency that I (nawab) cannot understand due to which the there is no order or taste in the food and it is not delicious at all. At last Hakeem sahib said, I was appointed for this task, “you are a very sharp minded person. You should think that where did the taste in the food go?” Thus I engaged myself wholly and solely in this job. I could not understand anything. The same chef, the same manner, the same recipe, and the same royal style. Nawab of Bahawalpur was very sensitive. I spent my whole life with him. His complaint was not meaningless. Neither did he use to find faults with things unnecessarily. I was anxious that what happened after all? Now the last hope I had was that of my Lord. I started begging him that O Lord please save my respect and dignity that I cannot understand anything and I cannot think that what should I do after all? One night while begging and performing zikr I slept. When I woke up in the morning, Allah Almighty put this thing in my heart that the slaughtering procedure of the butcher is doubtful. I went and inquired that who that butcher was after all? They told me about the butcher. I asked if he was a new butcher or the same old one? They said, In fact when the Nawab started to travel to Shimla, his old butcher became sick. So the servants in the palace of Shimla arranged for an old and experienced butcher. So at once I thought that my crying and telling about my helplessness to Allah at night has worked. I knew that the old butcher of Allah prays and recites the Holy Quran and while slaughtering the recitation of Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar was done by him regularly and in proper manner. And I found all of that in this new butcher, except experience. Now I understood that in fact the slaughtering procedure is doubtful. And when I researched, I came to know that the butcher does not care about halal or haram, forbidden or allowed, neither does he pay any attention to it. So that was the doubtful slaughtering procedure that had removed taste from the food of the Nawab. This doubtful taste had affected the whole mechanism and the nawab became tasteless. Late hakeem sahib said that I immediately ordered to bring the old butcher that in whatever state he is, he should come back. In the interim I watched over this butcher. So neither did we tell nawab sahib about the coming of the old butcher and nor about the arrival of the old one. We were waiting that in changing the butcher the attitude of nawab sahib is going to change. And if changes then my diagnosis and analysis was absolutely correct that the slaughtering procedure was doubtful. The same thing happened of which I had the doubt as well as certainty. The day the old butcher slaughtered the animal (because nawab sahib used to eat meat one day, vegetables on another day and organic chicken on the other day), so on that day upon taking the first bite nawab sahib said that today really it looks as if the food is delicious. It sounds that you have thought about a solution for this. And at once he said to his slave to call hakeem sahib. I was waiting for this moment that certainly I shall be called by nawab sahib. I went close to the dining table of nawab sahib in the royal palace. I paid royal salutes and greetings. After that nawab sahib said, “hakeem sahib how did you trace the feet of the thief?” It was an argument about how did I reach this conclusion? So hakeem sahib said, “I said, sir the procedure of slaughtering was doubtful.” nawab sahib starred at me and said, “You said the truth. But because I had not reached this conclusion, that is why I did not speak about it. He gave me gifts and prizes. Readers! White dress cannot tolerate even the dung of a small housefly. You can feel the clear stains and signs. Similarly when the believer is in a state of faith, he keeps a keen eye on halal, haram, allowed, prohibited and doubtful. Even if he does not keep an eye, his inner instrument of feelings can feel the difference 100 %. And it rings right alarms. And the alarm draws his attention. If you go to a foreign country where there is prohibited food and it is a part of the national culture, then take along with you halal food even if it is packed necessarily. And eat that halal food. Keep an eye on halal and haram. Please pay attention to foreign made food and the formulas written on them and this concentration shall give you the taste of faith.
A few days back I had a chance to visit the “Laal Qila Hotel”. It made me happy that they feed halal food with arrangement; they pack it too and supply it across the whole world. www.lalqila.com
