The tireless caller to Islam, Shaykh Nimatullah Khoja, may Allah have mercy on him (1931-2021), who carried the message of faith even into bars and casinos.
It was 1979. In Berlin, Germany, Shaykh Nimatullah was giving a talk in a mosque of Turkish immigrants. After speaking for two or three hours, he asked the audience, "Where are the rest of your people?"
The audience replied, "Why do you ask about them? Keep speaking to us. We will listen for hours and hours."
The Shaykh said, "Tell me where they are. I want to go to them."
They answered, "They are in the tavern."
The Shaykh said, "I will go to them. Give me someone to show me the way."
The Shaykh went to the tavern with his guide. He walked right into the middle of the people and addressed them all: "O mujahids, as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah!"
They began looking at one another. Where did any mujahids come from, here?
The Shaykh said, "You are the mujahids. You are mujahids for three reasons:
One. You walk around Germany carrying Muslim names. Your names are Ahmad, Khalil, Ibrahim and so on. Your very names remind people of Islam.
Two. You came to Germany in search of halal sustenance for your parents and your children. That too is a kind of jihad, a noble struggle.
Three. You are descendants of the Ottomans. They were mujahids, so you are the heirs of mujahids."
Then the Shaykh continued, "I have come from Madinah, and I have brought good news for you from there. The good news is that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said that whoever says La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasulullah will enter Paradise. If you recite this testimony, Allah will reward me because of you."
All of them said together, "La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasulullah!"
He said, "For many years I have been speaking to people about faith in mosques. Meeting you was my duty too, just as the prophets went to people's gatherings to call them to the true religion."
At the Shaykh's words, everyone began to sob. They begged him to say more. They said, "Please sit a little. The bricks here are not haram, after all."
The Shaykh said, "Sitting here would mean keeping company with what is forbidden. In any case, you are now people of Paradise. Now I will go to call others."
They pleaded with him to say more. The Shaykh said, "How long shall I keep talking? You are now dwellers of Paradise in the Hereafter. Now I am calling you to the paradise of this world, the mosque." Then he asked, "Will you help build a mosque near you?" It was the Shaykh's experience that those who drink are generous when it comes to giving for a mosque.
They all said together, "Shaykh, we will give, we will give! But how can we go to the mosque? Some among us need to take a ritual bath."
The Shaykh said, "They will bathe in the mosque's washroom. The water is cold. But I have already told you, you are mujahids. Bathing with cold water in winter counts as jihad."
They asked, "And what about the drunk ones?"
The Shaykh said, "Two who are less drunk will carry one who is more drunk."
They began encouraging one another, saying, "Aren't we Muslims? Come, let's go to the mosque."
The Shaykh went to the mosque with forty people. Some of them entered the mosque, while others waited outside. The Shaykh recited the following verse and then its translation:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
"Say, O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful." (Surah Az-Zumar, 39:53)
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
خِيَارُكُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ خِيَارُكُمْ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ
"The best of you in the days of ignorance are the best of you in Islam." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 10296)
Some of them said, "Shaykh, some of our relatives are in such-and-such tavern. Let's go to them."
Three years after this event, the Shaykh was sitting in the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. A bearded Turkish man wearing a robe and turban came, greeted him and said, "Shaykh, do you recognize me?"
The Shaykh said, "How could I not? I have travelled to most of the towns and villages of Turkey. You must be an imam or a mufti from there."
The visitor said, "I know you well. But even if you tried for a thousand years, you would not recognize me. I am the last drunkard of Berlin, the one whom two men carried from the tavern to the mosque. You stroked my head with affection and said, 'You are very precious to Allah. He has accepted you into His house.' Though I was drunk, I could understand your words. I waited outside the mosque until the intoxication wore off. Then I bathed, prayed, and repented to Allah. From that day until today, I pray regularly and worship Allah. My wife now observes hijab too. We have come together to perform Umrah. Praise be to Allah, who has given me the chance to meet you."
