How long have you been living in Surat?

My family is originally from Rampura. We are from Bawa Mulla Khan’s lineage. My family has always been in khidmat and when dawat shifted to Surat, the family moved too. Our home was gifted to my great great grandfather, Sh.Yusuf bhai Tapia, by Syedna Abdulqader Najmuddin (RA). It is a 146 year old building and we still live there today.

Tell us about your education and career…

I studied both in Surat and in Mumbai, finishing my Matriculate in Mumbai. My father died when I was young and that compelled me to earn a living. It was also a supposedly ‘modern’ generation into which I was born into and being labeled a ‘Mullah saheb’s’ son was not something I liked. To break away from that mould and to seek new pastures, I sought work in a share brokers’ office as an employee in Mumbai and eventually returned to Surat to start my own firm in this business, but I terminated it after a few years as per Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’s ^(TUS) instructions.

Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(RA) rendered an influential role in shaping your life. Can you share some memories with us?

Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(RA) kept a close watch on everything my family did. Before my father passed away, he took me to Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(TUS) and said, “Hawe aap ehne sambhali lo”. Since he died soon after, I kept coming to Syedna Taher Saifuddin’s ^(RA) hazrat to ask for his permission and guidance in whatever I undertook. It was not so difficult, then, to gain an audience with him and we used to gather at Saifee Mahal every night to discuss our personal issues with him. He would never reply to our questions immediately, but instead replying, “Kaale awje”. This cleverly ensured that we would keep returning!

In 1960, when I shifted to Mumbai to seek a job, I had nowhere to stay. I requested raza from Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(RA) to stay in Badri Mahal. Raza was granted on one condition-that I do khidmat along with my business ventures. That was when, slowly but surely, the desire to do khidmat was planted in me.  

How long have you been the Manager of Dawat Properties Trust?  

When Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(RA) passed away in 1964, I asked Maula Burhanuddin ^(TUS) what I should do. He instructed me to return to Surat and do business. I did so for the period of 1965-74. During this time, the then manager of Dawat Properties Trust had to take a leave of absence for a while and I was positioned by Shz. Abbas Bhaisaheb as part-time manager. This was my first experience in DPT.

In 1972, when the old manager passed away, Syedi Yusuf Bhaisaheb Najmuddin called upon me to take over as the new manager and asked if I was ready. I accepted immediately. In Jamea Saifyah’s Eiwaan Mubarak, during bethak, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin ^(TUS) called me and asked me to get out of the share brokerage line and get involved in khidmat full time. That is what I did and eventually my father’s dream of seeing me in khidmat was realized. He used to tell me,“If you do dawat’s khidmat, you will gain both deen and dunya”. This truth materialized for me in the very first year when I got to do Haj and ziyarats around the world-from Yemen to Karbala to Misr.

What has life taught you?

When I was young, I tried to run away from dawat and religion, and succeed in the outside world. What my experiences have taught me is what my father tried to instill in me-if you try to conquer the world and forget about deen and Maula, then you will surely lose. But if you embrace deen, you will win both. Today, I am happily settled and my children are in dawat’s khidmat too. I have only Syedna Taher Saifuddin ^(RA) and Aqa Maula ^(TUS) to thank for their benedictions. May Allah grant Aqa Maula a long and prosperous life until the Day of Judgment. Ameen!