Shaykh Hussain رحمه اللّٰه was cordial to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. He would feed forty people daily on his dastarkhan (mat). The community knew that his dastarkhan was available for everyone. In those days, the poverty-stricken Indians would sleep on the streets. Weeks would pass by and they would be unable to shower. One day, a dirty, poor man came to eat. He had lice in his hair and his body emitted a foul smell. The other people on the dastarkhan sat far away from him. He sat alone and ate. Shaykh Hussain رحمه اللّٰه entered and noticed. Immediately, he sat next to him and ate from the same bowl, until the man felt comfortable and at ease. This was in emulation of the Sunnah. Nabi ﷺ made everyone feel special in his presence. He never shunned anyone, no matter how poor they were.
Cleaning the toilet for a Hindu
On another occasion, Shaykh Hussain رحمه اللّٰه was sitting on the train next to a Hindu man. The Hindu man went to the toilet and returned. His return was so quick, it was obvious that he had not used the toilet at all. After a few minutes, Shaykh Madani quietly went to the toilet to check and he noticed that it was dirty. With his own bare hands, he cleaned the mess until the toilet was clean to use. He then returned and quietly told the Hindu man that I went to the toilet. It is an ok state now. Out of humility, he did not point out that he cleaned it for him. He would often say that everyone is Allah’s slave. We must be good to everyone.
— Shaykh Dawood Seedat حفظه اللّٰه
Above is an extract from Shaykh’s talk on 8/7/19 in Masjid-ut-Taqwa, Pietermaritzburg. To listen to the full talk, please click here.
