Man who Desecrated a Photo of Shaikh Muḥammad

Date: NA/10/2014
Location: Shadab Nagar – Bangalore – Karnataka

Once, as usual, I gave a picture of the Shaikh with printouts of the dhikrs and chain to new dervishes. A few days later, on 18/10/2014, one of those I gave the pledge to came to see me. He looked pale, so I asked him what was wrong with him. He said:

I ask Allah for forgiveness, I ask Allah for forgiveness. My son tore the photo of the Shaikh and did an abominable thing to it. He afterward suffered internal bleeding and is now in hospital. Also, without prior warning, his wife had today filed for divorce. The court police went to notify him while he was in extensive care. They told him that he should go to the court as soon as he leaves hospital.

I asked why his son did that, and the father replied: “He is a Salafi and hates all photos as they are prohibited according to his doctrine.” I told the dervish father: “Your son will not recover unless he comes to me to ask for forgiveness for him, and the Shaikh asks for forgiveness for him, and he takes the pledge.” The father said: “I will let him know.”

On 21/10/2014, the man came again and said: “My son has died. What do I do now?” I quoted the verse: “We belong to Allah, and to Him we return” (2.156). After the funeral, he brought all of his family and they took the pledge.

Of course, I did not tell the Shaikh what the son exactly did to the photo. I only said that he had transgressed against it. The Shaikh asked me why I did not forgive him. I replied: “Had he come to me or even made a gesture of asking for forgiveness, I would have forgiven him. He rather transgressed and did not repent, so I did not forgive him.” After some time, the father came and said: “All that I ask for is that the Shaikh prays for him so he does not end up in hell.”