I tremble at the thought of an early travelogue
(Rumi Ahmed Puri)

Readers Assalaam u Alaikum! Today I am presenting my initial travelogue before you. The most dangerous and mysterious journey of my life so far and I will not forget writing that it was full of fun. It happened probably in 2014. Sheikh-ul-Wazaif’s caravan first moved to Mansehra and then Abbot Abad. Sheikh-ul-Wazaif had to give a lecture in Abbottabad. After the Dars, the caravan of lovers set off on a journey to an unknown destination. All we knew was that we were going to meet a pious man in a faraway forest. It was the rainy season and the rains were on the rise those days. It used to rain daily but that day the sun was at its peak. Sheikh-ul-Wazaif asked to travel on the jeep but his companions suggested that small Mehran would be a better option. Sheikh-ul-Wazaif accepted his companions’ suggestions and we set off after almost 10’O clock in the morning. We kept traveling the whole day yet the destination was invisible. I and my younger brother were also traveling and we kept asking where we were going. Every time, Sheikh-ul-Wazaif would say, “We are about to reach there” but we were not reaching. Finally, we took a break in the afternoon. We all took turns using the wooden toilet. It looked like it would just break and we would fall into a ditch. We offered prayer and then had lunch in a nearby hotel. Gradually the weather changed and clouds covered the sky. At the same hotel, we met a stranger who said that he would take us to our destination. Our companions took him along in the car. Thus, the car set off again on an unknown journey. As we proceeded, the road was getting narrower and uneven. It was getting dark; we spread the sheets on one side of the road and offered our Maghrib prayer. It was getting cold and dark; a deep silence prevailed everywhere around and adding to the thrill was the noise of the water of river Neelum, hitting the mountains and falling in our ears. As we moved forward, we saw a truck driver coming back on the way. He said, “My truck got stuck, you are on a car, it would not make it. Sheikh-ul-Wazaif said, “It doesn’t matter, just move ahead.” While we moved a little further, we came across a car.
The driver said with grief, “My car could not go forward, a huge waterfall is falling ahead, in which my car was stuck. That waterfall is so fast that it has the power to throw a car into the river.” Sheikh-ul-Wazaif asked the companions to start reciting the invocation for safety. I remember well that at that time I could not understand which invocation I should recite. I was extremely terrified. I bent my head down out of fear and started reciting Allah’s names. I used to study in an Islamic school where we learned all the invocations, practices, and Sunnah but everything disappeared from my mind. At that time, I was young, and out of fear, I started missing my mother. My condition got worse and finally, we reached the waterfall. My legs started trembling to see such a heavy flow of water and its noise. The driver asked everyone to get out of the car. When I put my feet in the waterfall, I was about to slip through the water but suddenly Sheikh-ul-Wazaif saved me. The car crossed the waterfall with great difficulty. It was night and it started raining too. A howling wilderness prevailed on the road. We could hear the sounds of numerous animals and the water falling in the river Neelum. (Continued on page 58)