The Ramadan of Maulana Qasim Nanotwi

By Syaikhul Hadith Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandahlawi Rahimahullah

Unfortunately I could not ascertain the details of how Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi spent his Ramadan and today there is no one alive who will be able to supply us with that Haj journey of 1277 when he memorised the whole Quran. He daily memorised one para, which was then recited in taraweeh that evening.

Maulana Muhammad Yaqoob Nanotwi writes in 'SAWANEH Qasmi' that in Jamadil Thani 1277 H Maulana Qasim departed for Haj and arrived in Mecca at the end of Zil-Qada. He arrived in Medina for ziyarat after Haj in Safar and only returned to arrive in Bombay at the end of Rabi-ul-Awwal. At home he arrived by Jamadul-Thani.

On the way to Mecca he boarded a ship at Karachi. They saw the moon for Ramadan from the boat. Immediately they saw the moon Hazrat started memorising the Quran and reciting it in taraweeh that night. After Eid on reaching Mukalla (In Yemen) he bought Muscati sweetmeats and distributed it among his friends on the occasion of completing the khatam. Before that time on one was aware of the fact that he was memorising the Quran. It was only afterwards that he told them that he had been doing that for two years during Ramadan.

In memorising the Quran he did l-1/4 paras(Juzs) daily. Thereafter he repeated it numerous times. Having memorised it fully, he once recited twenty-seven paras in one raka-'ah. If it so happened that anyone followed him in nafl salaah, he made salaah after that raka-'ah and prohibited the follower from doing so. Thereafter he would continue to recite throughout the night."

SAWANIH QASMI

According to the most authentic version of the story he memorised the Quran in one year in Ramadan, but according to another version, he did so in two Ramadhan. From the fact that he memorised 1-1/4 para' at a time daily, it seems that in the first year he had memorised a considerable part of the Quran and finally completed it the following year when he was en route to Haj. This was the time when he completed the khatam.