Power of the Unseen
A Miracle in Lahore
By Rafiq Ebrahim
Glen Ellyn IL

On returning from a family vacation in Murree, we stayed for two days in Lahore to revisit some historical places and pay homage at the shrine of Data Ganj Buksh – as we used to do every other year when we were in Pakistan.
It was in the scorching heat of April in the year 1988 during that visit that an incident occurred that I’ll never forget. Out in the sun the whole day, my twelve-year-old son, who had a chronic bronchitis, got the ill effects of the weather. Back in the hotel, he had high fever. In spite of taking fever-reducing syrup, his temperature was mounting. At ten that night he was burning with 103 degree or more. It was a sign to take him to the nearest emergency center.
As I was not aware of the location of a nearby clinic, I rushed down to phone a friend living in Gulberg to request him to come to the hotel and take us to a clinic, or to let me know the location of a clinic near the Clifton Hotel where we were staying.
To my dismay he informed me that his car had been stolen the same day and that the nearest clinic treating emergency cases was about ten miles away from the hotel and advised me to take my son immediately there in a taxi, as it appeared to him that my son had a sun-stroke which was very common in Lahore that summer.
This sudden emergency made my heart beat faster, shaking me to the core. It would not be an easy task to carry my son down from our room, and then look for a taxi at that hour. As I was ascending the stairs on my way to the hotel room, an image flickered in my mind – the mazaar of Data Sahib. God, I prayed earnestly. It was to pay homage and offer prayers at the mazaar of Data Sahib that we always came to Lahore. Do not let my son suffer anymore. Cure him, cure him immediately. I do not need any reward for whatever good I had done in my life so far, nor be punished for any bad actions on my part. Right now, please cure my son.
With these prayers on my lips, I came to the room to be informed by my wife that my son had started sweating – a sign that the fever was receding. I came to his bedside and saw drops of perspiration on his forehead. He was sweating profusely. His clothes got soaked with sweat. My wife wiped the perspiration off his body and changed his clothes. I touched his forehead again and this time it felt cool. His whole body seemed relaxed and soon he fell asleep.
At regular intervals I got up to see how he was doing. He was sleeping soundly and breathed easily. In the morning he got up and announced that he was hungry. After a hearty breakfast, we packed up and went to the station to catch the Shalimar Express for Karachi; the tickets for the journey had already been purchased by me earlier. There was not a trace of illness or indisposition in my son and he thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
Was it help from the Unknown? Power of the Unseen? A Miracle?
NEXT: A MIRACLE IN KARACHI


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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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