Close Encounter of the Tablighi Jamaat: Part 1 - Exotic Strangers

All praise is for Allah. I praise Him and seek help from Him. I believe in Him and have complete trust in Him. There can be none to misguide the person whom Allah has guided and there can be none to guide the person whom Allah has caused to go astray.

To you and the rest of the world, they are known as "Tablighi Jamaat". To me, they are simply the people that had completely changed my life through the blessing and mercy of Allah Most High.

They had come to visit me at least once a month at home for almost six months. Headed by my elder brother, they came in group of four to six persons. They were all my seniors in age, most of them were childhood friends of my brother. Prior to that, I only knew them by names. Most of them were from my hometown. The first thing that I noticed about them were their unique dresses and long flowing beard. Being part of ethnic pushtun family, I had been familiar with kurta and shalwar, but recalled only occasionally put on the dress during my childhood days. Their beards were in different colours. My brother had grey black beard, another persons had mat black and dark brown beard, while the other one's was red. Amusingly, it was like 'United Colours of Benetton'.

I received them with warm heart. When they talked about Deen, I listened to them attentively but with some degree of caution. I was cautious that they would say something that was unacceptable to me, something totally different from what I knew about Islam, albeit my very limited knowledge of Deen. But what had been said during those visits simply fascinated me, especially when they told me the stories of, and narrations about the Sahabah radiyalaahu anhum - about their lives with Rasulullah Sallalaahu Alayhi Wassalam. 

From all those nights that they visited me, not a night passed by without me feeling awestruck at the stories of the Sahabah radiyalaahu anhum. Their lives and actions simply astonished me. At that point of time I began to question myself how could I had only heard of a handful of them like Sayyidina Abu Bakar, Umar, Usman, Ali and Abu Hurayrah radiyalaahu anhum before this? How could the textbooks that I read at school failed to mention a great many more of the Sahabah radiyalaahu anhum? 

In this manner, we engaged in Deeni talks and discourses sometimes until fajr during those blessed nights. Then whenever they were around, I began to frequent Masjid Jame' Sri Petaling, the central markaz of dakwah and tabligh effort in Malaysia which also host Madrasah Miftahul Uloom where hundreds of youngsters studying hifz and aalim. The Deeni environment there was so overwhelmed to me, as I began to mixed around with thousands of people that gathered there on weekends - talking, eating, joking, and more importantly sharing their concern for Deen. 

I observed that they not only look alike with one another, but they shared the same thing - one mindset and one heartfelt. Never had I witnessed anyone talked more about the bounties and greatness of Allah anywhere before - not just the discourses in the Masjid but also on the streets, in shops, at restaurants, while eating, while selling, while buying, by elderly men and youngsters - it was a whole new enlightening experience to me.

For about six months, I was like someone who wandered on a journey in the darkest of night, with thunder and lightning - every time the light (helped) me, I walked therein, and when the darkness grew on me, I stood still. And during this vital period, numerous tasykeel had been asked for me to spend my time for 3 days in the path of Allah.