In response to my above letter, I received a letter from Maulana Abul Lais Sahib on February 28th, in which I was again invited to attend the Majlis e Shura meeting in Delhi.

In response, I wrote that I would not be able to come to Delhi and requested that you send me your thoughts in writing. I assured you that I would consider your words with full sincerity and give you a thoughtful response.

Subsequently, I received his letter dated April 10, in which it was again urged that I participate in the Shura meeting so that we could have a conversation there. Otherwise we meet in Azamgarh, as he plans to visit Azamgarh, his  hometown, before Eid al-Adha. The letter stated:

“However, if, God forbid, you are unwilling to wait that long, then what else can I say? You should proceed with your plans, assuming that your affiliation with the Jamaat has already been severed. I am waiting to know if you will be coming or if you prefer to delay the matter until my visit. Or, if, unfortunately, you wish to conclude the matter immediately without a final discussion.”

When Maulana Abul Lais Sahib’s letter arrived, I was not present in Azamgarh. After my return, I wrote this response to him.

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Azamgarh – April 26, 1963

Respected Sir,

Assalamu Alaykum,

I was away for two weeks, so I only received your letter dated April 10 last night after Maghrib. In response, I want to say that if you wish to have a “final conversation” with me, I am willing to do so. If you had written down the points you wanted to discuss in your letter, this matter could have been resolved by now. Nonetheless, since you plan to visit Azamgarh before Eid al-Adha, we can talk here.

Sincerely,

Wahiduddin