Misbah enters the courtroom once again; this time to interview Shk Abdulhusain Haidermota, a prominent advocate based in Karachi, who has contributed to some of the legislative affairs of dawat.

1. Give us a brief account of your judicial career.

I was called to the bar in 1955 from Lincoln's Inn, London. I was then 23 years old. I am eternally beholden to Maulana Muqaddas Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb (RA) who motivated, steered and guided me as a student and in building my career. I am equally indebted to Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb (TUS) who continued to inspire, guide, support and bless me at every stage of my career.

I have been an advocate of the High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1956. From 1983 to 1991, I worked as a counsel in London.

We have a firm by the name of Haidermota & Co., of which my son, Khozema, is a partner. There are presently 12 advocates working with us. We are considered as leading corporate and banking lawyers. We are counsel to the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank, and a large number of national and multinational corporations. We act for a number of international law firms. We have represented clients in courts and international arbitration in different countries.

Professional services for which we feel most proud and privileged is doing work for Dawat-e-Hadiyah. All major legal work of Dawat in Pakistan is entrusted to us.

A few illustrations which have left an imprint on me are: (a) Our success in getting cases filed against Syedna in Pakistan being dismissed at the very first preliminary hearing on ground of non-maintainability; (b) In preparing Syedna Taher Saifuddin Memorial Foundation Trust Deed; (c) In participating in the meeting in Hong Kong when a decision was made to recommence Karz-e-Hasana scheme which had been suspended; and (d) In preparing Amatullah Aaisaheb Trust Deed, which has been used as a model.

In a communication addressed to us, Shahzada Qaidjoher Bhai Saheb Ezzuddin states: "The draft trust deed for "Amatullah Aaisaheba Memorial Trust (Pakistan)", has been received with appreciation. The trust deed, indeed, has been quite well drafted. The hard work which you have put into the draft trust deed is clearly visible. Your khidmet in the fond memories of Busaheba and out of reverence and respect for her has been acknowledged."

2. Your book, "Legislative and Judicial Triumphs" is an insightful overview on the judicial history of Dawat. What was your object in writing this book and how did you achieve it?

My dominant motivation was the burning desire to do something as a mark of gratitude to Maulana Muqaddas and Aqa Maula (TUS) for the bounties and privileges bestowed on me. My greatest reward is that Aqa Maula (TUS) has recognised and accepted my khidmet.

My other object was to educate members of the Community of the significance of the judicial and legislative achievements of Dawat-e-Hadiyah and enhance their pride in our heritage. I have always felt that there is a relative lack of awareness of the significance of these landmark cases and practically no awareness of the achievements in legislative fields.

As stated earlier, I have had the privilege of rendering legal services to Dawat over decades. Consequently, I had studied from time to time cases and laws which I have discussed in the booklet. I did not have to spend time researching and finding the materials for the booklet. All relevant books and papers are available in our library. The difficult part was writing the booklet in a simple language free of legal jargons and niceties. A long or legalistic book would have put off most prospective readers. Writing simply and briefly proved to be a challenging task.

3. You write about your memorable audiences with Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA). Can you tell us something about the personality of Syedna (RA) and these audiences with him?

Like Syedna Burhanuddin Saheb (TUS), Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb (RA) was an angelic and magnetic personality.

Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb (RA) would generally call me around midnight. The subjects he discussed were diverse: political, legal, social or dawat related. He would talk about services rendered by the Haidermota family to dawat. I always felt that he wanted me to be of service to dawat. He had incredible insight and knowledge of every subject. He spoke about various world leaders whom he knew. Among others, he spoke very highly of the Shah of Iran, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India, and Mr. Zakir Hussain, former President of India.

Whenever I sought his guidance and benediction, he would put very penetrating questions. Sometimes he would chide me in a very subtle and affectionate manner.

He had a photogenic memory. On occasions when I repeated what I had said years earlier, he would remind me that I had already told him that before.

4. Syedna Taher Saifuddin's (RA) laqab was true to his character. Can you tell us something about his awesome courage in defending dawat against the enemies?

During my memorable audiences with Syedna, he would often recollect legal battles which he had to fight as Dai-al-Mutlaq. The legal battles he often talked about were landmark cases popularly known as Chandabhoy Gulla case, Burhanpur Darga case and Excommunication Act case. His narration would be vivid. He had the courage of his conviction which was founded on faith. In all his battles, he steadfastly stood by faith. Invariably Maulana prevailed. Faith triumphed. It had to.

Abd-e-Syedna (TUS),
Abdulhusen Haidermota