Hazrat Choudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Sahib (ra) arriving at the Round Table Conference with Khan Sahib Farz and Ali Khan Sahib in London, 1932.
Now I am going to state an aspect of Chaudhry Sahib’s character known to very few. By the Grace of Allah, I am an eyewitness to these. These incidences relate to the years 1971 and 1972.
As already mentioned, Chaudhry Sahib used to stay in a very small flat. I was staying in the adjoining flat while my family was in Pakistan.
We had agreed on a schedule that Chaudhry Sahib would enter through the middle door at an appointed time and we would have breakfast together on the same table. I used to open the middle door shortly before that time and Chaudhry Sahib used to come dressed in his night gown at the exact time, I was also dressed in the gown. We both used to go to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast.
Let me mention here that the very first day I had respectfully and firmly requested that I be granted the service to prepare the breakfast, saying that it would be a source of great blessing for me. You take your seat, I prepare the breakfast and serve you.
However, Chadhry Sahib replied emphatically, “No, I will fully participate in preparing the breakfast.” I had no option but to comply with his directive. Accordingly, Chaudhry Sahib participated fully in preparing the breakfast. Then, he would take the cups and plates to the next room where we both had breakfast.
Afterwards, despite my insistence, he joined me in washing up. That was very hard for me but as the saying goes, الامر فوق الادب (obedience to an order gets preference over respect), I had no choice.
Hazrat Choudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Sahib (ra) arriving at the Round Table Conference with Khan Sahib Farz and Ali Khan Sahib in London, 1932.