236
Council in the Ali Imam regime. We saw a good
deal of each other and got an insight into much
that could not be reached from the office table;
while our literary tastes and meditative propen-
sities brought us still closer together. It was a
wrench when we parted towards the end of 1922,
on his deciding to go back to the place of his
domicile and the post of higher duty.
I had the pleasure of meeting him again after
some years in 1935 at Mecca during the Haj, and
afterwards at Jeddah. At Mecca I was able to
look farther along the avenues of his mind which
in spite of his English habits, had led him to the
home of faith; and I found that his heart was kept
constantly open to receive inspiring suggestions
from the historic associations of the Sacred City.
In this way the commentary on the Qur'an
which he was shaping in his mind, was gradually
gathering beams of the pristine light emanating
from the Kaaba.
Knowledge of his inner nature convinced me
that a man like him, if lost to the country as an
official, is regained as a far more useful worker in a
higher sphere, where the nature of the service is
purer and more exalted and its effects more lasting
and more beneficial. If he had remained on with
us as Revenue Minister, could he have done any-
thing of equal value ? But I regret his absence
from Hyderabad for a different reason ; a mind
like his would have exerted on our young men a
wholesome influence on the educational and cultur-
al side. And, further, he would have served as