For a Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community Syedna is as equally important to them, as that of a Pope is important to the Christians.
When I was in my early twenties I was staying with my maternal aunt and uncle. That's when I first time shared my desire to see our then Syedna, any news from anywhere about Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin arriving to my city my aunt and I would just try to run to that place to see his glimpse. I stayed with my aunt and uncle for four years but with no chance of seeing him. Then I moved back to my parents house in another city. In approximately 2-3 years I got married and migrated to another country. My desire to see him atleast once was still incomplete. Many a times I would hear my relatives and Dawoodi Bohra Muslim friends sharing their experience of seeing and meeting our late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, deep down my heart I would just question myself, why I never got a chance yet? Will I ever see him?
After my marriage one afternoon I fell asleep. Usually I don't sleep in the afternoon. But that particular afternoon I did. I had a dream that I'm standing in a crowded market, I'm pregnant. All of a sudden there is a chaos as Syeda Mohammed Burhanuddinis to pass by the area. I try to look out for him but I get pushed to the floor. All I see is his back. Suddenly one man I see standing in front of me saying syedna wants to meet you. I'm baffled. And tell that man I have no clue where to, he says just follow me. Next I see myself in a huge white room and in front is my syedna Mohammed burhanuddin. I walk up to him and sit right below his feet. He asked me what is the problem I am facing? A little amazed I confirmed with him problem? He says yes. I replied back with you and Moula Ali I can't face any problem. He smiled at me and my eyes opened. For sometime I just kept on wondering what actually happened with me! After a few days I got to know I'm pregnant for the first time. My happiness had no boundaries. But it didn't last long and I went through a miscarriage. That's when I realized that my Syedna had come to warn me about this difficult situation I was about to encounter. But my answer to him that you and Moula Ali around me, I'm blessed with twin boys, who are now 10 years old. That is the time when I became an ardent believer of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin.
When I was in my early teens my father got me a permalian dog because I was being a little stubborn about it. And after I got married my parents shifted him to our ancestral house. That house was once such a place where my paternal grandparents would regularly conduct religious gathering. Approximately two years had passed by from the time I first saw syedna Mohammed burhanuddin in my dreams, and I had another dream. I see myself cleaning and scrubbing my ancestral house, my clothes are a total mess. All of a sudden door bell rings, I open the door and see it is syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin at the door. My happiness has no boundaries. Even though I am not dressed in clean clothes he allowed me to catch his hand and greet him. I welcome him inside and I'm just not letting his hand go off my hand. It's then he says, I have a surprise for you waiting down, why don't you just go and have a look. I am astonished! A surprise! For me! I am hardly bothered to wear my foot wear and I rush down my house to see what is the surprise. Oh it was an unexpected surprise! I see his father Syedna Taher Saifuddin standing there. I greet him and bring him to my house. In one room of my ancestral home 51st and 52nd syedna are sitting. Wow what a blessing. When my eyes open again I'm confused with what I saw in my dreams and more importantly, why did I see this dream?
Alas my questions were answered in a few days. The dog that I had, soon passed away. Basically being a Muslim it is not allowed for us to keep a dog as a pet.
Few years passed by and I became a mother of 3 boys. And I migrated back to my home town. That year syedna Mohammed burhanuddin had conducted all the mohrram majlis in my city. Co-incidently my younger cousin brother was helping the members in controlling the crowed. Over the call I told my brother if he could help me in seeing syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin. He asked me to travel around 40-45 Kms from my house and meet him at one point and he would take care of the rest. I caught hold of my children who were just 2 years and 5 years and rushed to the point where my brother had asked me to meet him. It was something 3pm then. He arranged for me and my children a seating area which was like a balcony opposite to the masjid where as per the schedule syedna Mohammed burhanuddin would pray his evening prayers. I had milk and snacks in my huge bag along with diapers and extra pair of clothes so we could survive and stick to that place for 5 hours. Yes! At 8pm I saw my Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin. That was the day my deep desire to see him was accomplished.
Few days passed by and Dawoodi Bohra Muslim heard his demise. At the back of my mind I just had one thought, all these years he was aware of my desire to meet him, see him, that's why he opened all doors of possibilities in his last days of life on earth and made my travelling 40-45 Kms a cake walk.
Being in the same city as where both 51st and 52nd syedna are resting, I have taken the opportunity to visit their holy shrine a number of times. With the pandemic of Covid -19 and total lockdown I started to realize what is missing in my life. Those 6-7 months I only waited for lock down to ease out as I wanted to visit their holy shrine. As soon as the government allowed to open places of worship, our community also started the process of entry pass allocations to visit the Holy shrines across the country. I too had applied for the pass. But the confirmation of the pass came after a month. One night prior before I could receive the confirmation, I had 2 dreams. First dream was all about being in total darkness and being surrounded by negative vibes. When I woke up it was approximately 2 and. I just thought to myself it's a bad dream, and I went off to sleep. Again I had a dream where I see myself surrounded with white and bright light a lot of positive vibes and a voice continuously saying, don't worry it will happen. As usual I didn't understand what I saw and why I saw. After my break fast I got the news that next day I am allocated a pass to visit the Holy shrine of both syedna. At last my wait was over and I was getting all set for the next day. Few hours later we came to know that there will be a complete lockdown For some protest against newly formed government rules. My complete family was uncomfortable with the fact that my pass is also for the same day. They tried to convince me not to go. But I just didn't listen to them and went ahead to visit the Holy shrine. On my way with 3 kids and back home I never felt any sort of insecurity because of the the ongoing protest. It seemed to be like a cake walk. And now I actually understood the meaning of my last dream and the voice was of my syedna Mohammed burhanuddin who was assuring me of my safety.
