One day in the month of Rabi-us-Sani of the year 725 of the Hijri of the Prophet (peace be upon Him) corresponding to AD 1324 of the Roman calendar, the Khwaja Sahib told us that he could hear the angels singing songs of welcome. But before he left the world he would purge his body of earthly dross by fasting for forty days. We pleaded with him. ‘O Beloved of God! Hakeems say that your body needs nourishment and even a week’s fast may be too much for it.’ He rebuked us. ‘Is this all you have learnt from me? Know you not that fasting and prayer are food for a better life than we lead on earth?’

A pall of melancholy spread over Ghiaspur. The Khwaja Sahib sensed our concern. ‘I will be with you till Thursday; on Friday I will depart,’ he told us. ‘Bury my remains in this courtyard. Do not let Khusrau (he was then in Lakhnauti) come near my grave lest I am tempted to defy the laws of nature and rise to embrace him. The message of Allah and His Holy Prophet (may peace be upon Him) will continue to be delivered to you by my chief disciple Makhdoom Nasiruddin. He will be your guide in this dark world, for he is Roshan Chiragh Dilli, light of the Divine Lamp in Delhi.’

It happened exactly as the Khwaja Sahib had foretold. It was on the morning of Friday, the 18th of Rabi-us-Sani 725 A.H. (3 April 1324) that the Khwaja Sahib’s soul winged its way to paradise. What cries of lamentation rent the skies! Hundreds of thousands of people from the neighbouring towns came to Ghiaspur. Women beat their breasts chanting Ya Allah! Ya Allah! Hazrat Roshan Chiragh, whom the Khwaja Sahib had named his successor, came out and pleaded in a tearful voice that such demonstrations of grief were forbidden by the holy law; he divided the mourners into different groups and gave them passages from the Quran to chant in unison.

The Khwaja Sahib’s body was bathed. The bier was placed in the courtyard of the mosque for the last prayer. Then it was taken out in procession round Ghiaspur. Qawwals sang as they went along. The party closest to the bier sang one which began with the following words:

People crave to see thy face

Why hast thou turned thy back on the world?

Whither art thou bound, O Fair One

Beloved of God! Whom hast thou gone to meet?

Someone shouted that the Khwaja Sahib had put his hand out of the shroud. The bier was placed on the ground and the mob surged towards it. It took a while to restore order. The pall-bearers insisted that they had heard the Khwaja Sahib’s voice replying to the questions in the song. Hazrat Roshan Chiragh cupped his mouth and spoke loudly into the ears of the Khwaja Sahib. ‘Beloved of God! Does thy dervish have to remind thee that speaking after death is against the ordinance of Allah? Go in peace to thy tryst.’ He put the Khwaja Sahib’s hand back into the shroud and the procession proceeded on its way.