Following interview of Shaikh Yusufbhai Muchhala, Mumbai, by Mudar Patherya

The moral of my story is ‘Ad-Dai yanzoro be noorillah! A Dai sees with the light of Allah.

My 50-year old story showcases this belief system. In the late Fifties, I was approached by a certain Tasadduq Husain, a mumin resident of a small town called Satana, deep inside Maharashtra.  He had a grave problem: he was a petty kirana trader with a fiduciary relationship with a local bania. As soon as he stopped buying, the bania claimed that the muminbhai owed him Rs 10,000, which formed the basis of a suit filed in the Satana court. The first round of legal proceedings went against the mumin bhai; he took Huzurala’s raza mubaraka before filing an appeal in the Bombay High Court. Huzurala asked Tasadduqbhai to maano nazrul maqaam and file the appeal at a certain hour on a certain date; Tasadduqbhai did so by putting his right foot inside the court at the appointed minute.

However, we did not enjoy an access to critical documents pertaining to the judgment, making it difficult to get to the heart of the reality. Tasadduq Husainbhai went again to Huzurala for direction; he was firmly advised to proceed. Even though we were on a weak wicket, we decided to make the best of the circumstances. We translated the Marathi of the proceedings into English for enhanced clarity. Immediately, we discovered an opportunity; there were a number of loopholes around which we structured our defense.

We ran into yet another problem. Tasadduq Husainbhai, we now discovered, had no financial means to sustain his defense. He could not hope to get a stay of the execution of the money decree unless he, as an appellant, first deposited the money awarded under the decree – Rs 10,000 – with the court. But Tasadduqbhai confessed: ‘Maara si nahi baney’.

So I did what any reasonable lawyer would - suggested an out of court settlement with the raza mubaraka of Huzurala. Tasadduqbhai was slightly nervous when he asked me to accompany him for raza. Based on the realities, I did a brief araz, covering the salient points of the case, the cost of sustained litigation, Tasadduqbhai’s financial condition and my recommendation of a settlement.

I remember vividly: we were standing in front of Huzurala and suddenly he paused….we thought he was going to say something…he never spoke…we felt that perhaps we had not conveyed ourselves audibly enough…he sustained the silence as if in communion with another power… then 45 seconds later – an eternity if you have been in Huzurala’s presence – he looked up and asked Tasadduq Husain whether he would be able to bear the cost of litigation. Suddenly, Tasadduq Husainbhai summoned up the kind of courage he had never shown until that point, and said: “Maula, aap raza aapso to mein paisa no bandobust karees.”  Once again, Huzurala appeared to be deeply immersed in thought and then said with a rare vocal emphasis “Aagal wadho!” I was slightly taken aback at the emphasis and the advice, which were counter to what I had been advising from a legal standpoint.

And so we proceeded. Now came the question of raising the Rs 10,000. We had to raise the funds upfront. But the judge DB Patel – by reputation a martinet - thundered: “In the event of your client losing the case, he will have to pay interest on the decretal amount from the date of the suit!” We couldn’t believe our ears. The judge was actually telling us that we did not need to pay the full amount! This was unprecedented; I studied the records and can state that this was probably the only instance since 1862 when the execution of the money decree was stayed by the Bombay High Court. Our first response was a hurried “Yes, m’lord” and the case resumed.

In fact, the case rolled on for a couple of years. Each time Tasadduqbhai would go for dua, Huzurala would smile. One day, Huzurala told him, ‘Khuda taala tamne fateh aapey!’ The following day in 1970, judge GN Vaidya set the matter aside and Tasadduq Husainbhai was relieved of the financial claim.

As it turned out, Tasadduq Husainbhai’s destiny transformed dramatically thereafter. He became a man of means, grew his business, acquired property; on the other hand, the bania was reportedly wiped out and left town.

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