A police officer stationed in Thana Bhawan requested spiritual allegiance (Ba'yah) from Hakim al-Ummat Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him), in response to which he wrote to him, introducing himself:
"I am a dry student. In this era, the things considered essentials of dervish-hood (Sufism), such as Mawlid Sharif, Giyarween, Urs, Niyaz, Fatiha, Qawwali, spiritual control (Tasarruf), and the like—I am deprived of all of them, and I prefer to keep my friends upon this dry path as well. I am neither a possessor of miracles (Karamat) nor of spiritual unveiling (Kashf), neither a person of spiritual authority (Tasarruf) nor an amulet-writer (Amil). I merely inform people about the commandments of Allah and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). I do not maintain any formality with my friends, nor do I wish to hide my condition, my teachings, or any advice regarding religious matters. I do not compel anyone to act upon them; however, I certainly feel happy seeing someone act upon them and aggrieved seeing someone distant from action.
I neither make any demands of anyone nor do I make recommendations for anyone, which is why some opinionated people call me dry. My temperament is such that I do not cause harm to anyone for the sake of another, even if it is a verbal slight. The greatest care I take for myself and my friends is that no one should be caused any kind of harm, whether it is physical like beating, financial like depriving someone of their right or wrongfully taking something, related to honor like insulting someone or backbiting, or psychological like causing anxiety to someone or dealing with them in an unpleasant and distressing manner. And if such a thing happens due to one's own mistake, one should not feel ashamed to seek forgiveness.
I care about these matters to such an extent that seeing someone's appearance contrary to Islamic law (Shariah) only brings a grievance, but seeing negligence in these matters of causing harm brings immense grief, and I pray that Allah grants salvation from it."
اناس میمن پلانپوری
