A pair of trousers

Mawlana Shamsuddin Mohammad Yahya was an intimate friend of Mawlana Sadruddin Nawli. Both of them used to hear quite a lot about the spiritual greatness of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya. They had never met him. One day, when they came to Ghiyaspur to wash their clothes, they decided to go to Nizamuddin Awliya to see what kind of dervish he was and to find how much learning and knowledge he possessed. But they felt annoyed by the type of devotion that so many people offered to Nizamuddin Awliya. They considered it to be contrary to Islam. That is why they would only say ‘Peace be with you’ according to the Islamic precepts and then sit down.

As soon as Nizamuddin Awliya looked towards them, they both were unarmed. In fact they were so much overpowered by his personality, that contrary to their firm resolve and determination they behaved like the devotees in folk Sufism and bowed down in reverence.

Nizamuddin Awliya asked them to sit down. He then asked them about their education and they replied that they studied Bazudi with Mawlana Zahiruddin. Nizamuddin smiled and asked them a searching question about the portion of that book they had studied. Even their teacher Mawlana Zahiruddin could not satisfactorily solve this difficult question. Then Nizamuddin Awliya discussed the problem at length, so much so that they were quite satisfied and impressed by his learning. He gave to Mawlana Shamsuddin a pair of trousers and to Mawlana Sadruddin he gave a turban. The next day when Mawlana Shamsuddin went to Mawlana Zahiruddin, he had that pair of trousers tied on his head!