19 Arshad Mahmood Ansari
Central Jail, New Delhi
3 February 1981 Dear Arshad Mahmood,
Assalamu Alaikum!
I received your letter in the last week of the previous month. I apologise for the delay in replying. It is not difficult to understand that, despite one’s wishes, a person in captivity cannot always fulfil every desire. Therefore, do not mistake my failure to respond in time as deliberate negligence. I also do not wish to cite these constraints as an excuse, for doing so might suggest that I am inviting you to partake in my hardships. As Ghalib aptly said, the best way to erase the feeling of pain is to become accustomed to suffering.1 However, I do not consider it appropriate to express such feelings and sadden my friends. Is it not enough that even in this state of separation and helplessness, we continue to uphold the bonds of loyalty and brotherhood, thus tending to the garden of our hopes2 which we rightfully consider our shared heritage.
It cannot be denied that a person is inevitably influenced by their surroundings. However, those with lofty goals and grand aspirations strive to shield their thoughts and actions from negative influences, even in the most unfavourable circumstances. They make it their practice to seek the positive aspects of the experiences that life presents. To succumb to adversities, to allow despair and hopelessness to overpower the heart and mind—such weakness is deemed the gravest sin by the faithful and the resolute. Pray that Allah keeps us from becoming among such misguided souls and continues to bless us with the abundant joys of hope and determination. Ameen, Summa Ameen.
I was pleased to learn that you conveyed news of my well-being to my friends and companions in Mirpur. Please extend my greetings to them all, particularly to the esteemed Advocate Abdul Khaliq Ansari, Sufi Zaman, G.M. Mir, Basheer Tabassum, brother Sabir Sahib, and my dear Ashfaq Ansari. Kindly send them my heartfelt salutations. My prayers and good wishes shall always remain with them and all our other comrades.
You mentioned the proposed visit of the respected Amanullah Sahib to Makkah. If you have met him, do provide news of his well-being in your reply. If possible, also mention briefly what he has been engaged in.
By the grace of Allah, my health is perfectly fine, and these days of confinement are passing with patience and gratitude. Everything else remains as it was. Convey my greetings to all the young companions you mentioned in your letter.
May Allah grant these young men success in their noble endeavours. From such a distance, what else can I offer them but my prayers.
Wassalam,
In need of your prayers,
Muhammad Maqbool Bhat
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- Ghalib’s verse:
“Ranj se khugar hua insaan to mit jata hai ranj,
Mushkilein mujh par padi itni ke aasan ho gayin.”
“When a man grows accustomed to sorrow, sorrow ceases to exist;
So many hardships befell me that they became easy to bear.”
- The “garden of hopes” refers to a prosperous and independent Kashmir.