study in Madrasah.’ He رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه further stated: Once I went towards a jungle during the days of Hajj. I was following a bull, but suddenly that bull looked at me and said: یَا عَبْدَ الْقَادِرِمَا لِھٰذَا خُلِقْتَ i.e. ‘O Abdul Qaadir! You have not been created for these types of activities.’ I came home anxiously and climbed up onto the roof. I saw that people were standing in the plain of ‘Arafat. Thereafter, I went to my mother and humbly said: ‘Please give me permission to go to Baghdad so that I gain Islamic knowledge over there.’ My mother رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْهَا asked me its reason so I told her the event of that bull. This event moved her to tears and she brought the 80 dinars which my father had left in inheritance. I took 40 dinars from them and left 40 dinars for my brother Sayyid Abu Ahmad Jeelani رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه.

My mother sewed my 40 dinars in my specific Jubbah which had many patches and gave me permission to go to Baghdad. She strongly advised me to tell the truth in every circumstance and accompanied me to some distance outside Jeelan to see me off. She then said: یَا  وَلَدِیْ  اِذْہَبْ   فَقَدْ خَرَجْتُ  عَنْکَ  لِلّٰہِ  فَہٰذَا  وَجْہٌ  لَا  اَرَاہُ   اِلٰی   یَوْمِ  الْقِیَامَۃِ, i.e. O my beloved son! Go! In order to please Allah Almighty I send you away from me and now I will see your face on the Day of Judgement.

Then I left for Baghdad from Jeelan along with a caravan. On the way to Baghdad, the caravan was attacked by sixty robbers who started snatching belongings from the travellers of the caravan. They robbed everyone, but no robber asked me [Sayyiduna Ghaus-e-A’zam رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه] for anything because I seemed to have nothing. However, one of them asked me: What do you have? I replied truthfully: ‘Yes! I have forty dinars [i.e. gold coins].’ He asked: Where are they? I told him: They are sewn in my Gudri (pocket) under my armpit.

The robber considered it a joke and moved ahead. After a short while, another robber came and asked me the same question, and I gave the same reply. He also moved away from me. When both robbers informed their chief about me, I was taken to him on his orders. That time they all were dividing the belongings among themselves which they robbed. Having seen me their chief asked about what I had. I gave the same reply as before.