Hazrat Choudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (ra) in Tanganyika’s (now Tanzania) self-help projects, “The Sphere,” 12 January, 1963.
Once, Chaudhry Sahib expressed his desire to have lunch at an average restaurant nearby. I found such a place on Garratt Lane, near the Mosque.
One day, we set out on foot after the Prayer and got there within a few minutes. This small restaurant was quite nice and clean, and Chaudhry Sahib liked it.
When he took his seat, I went to the counter, briefed the restaurant owner about Chaudhry Sahib and placed the order. Fried fish was Chaudhry Sahib’s favorite dish.
The owner fried the fish very carefully and served it with essential sundries very respectfully.
Chaudhry Sahib liked the food very much and ate it with pleasure. When we were leaving, the owner thanked Chaudhry Sahib and bade him farewell with regards. Chaudhry Sahib liked the whole arrangement and that reflected his simplicity and informality.
We walked back and, on the way, Chaudhry Sahib said, “By the Grace of Allah, food was very delicious and we will come here again sometimes, if Allah provided an opportunity.” However, such opportunity never arose.
Chaudhry Sahib was not in the habit of slipping in English words here and there when conversing in Urdu. He made sure of that himself and advised others to do the same.
I recall, a young man adopted that practice of mixing English and Urdu during conversation with him. Chaudhry Sahib counselled him most amicably. He said: “Look! I know both Urdu and English; speak in whichever language you please but do not intermingle the two.”
I noticed that his advice did have the desired effect temporarily, however, the deep-rooted habit soon took over again. Undeterred, Chaudhry Sahib persevered with this Jihad of reformation.
Hazrat Choudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (ra) in Tanganyika’s (now Tanzania) self-help projects, “The Sphere,” 12 January, 1963.