DUBAI // Pray sincerely, live without vices and your wishes will be granted – these are tenets Ajmal Khan lives by, especially during Ramadan.
During his 11 years working as a driver, Mr Khan, who attained his UAE driving licence at the first attempt, has never been involved in an accident and has been able to save enough money to send his father on the Haj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam.
“If you ask Allah from your heart for what you could not achieve in the other 11 months, you will get your wish,” said Mr Khan, 37, who works for a construction company.
“For me, Ramadan is a time to give thanks to Allah for all he has given. I pray for the good health of my family and that I don’t have an accident. At speeds of 120 to 140kph, with one mistake a person can die.”
After arriving in Dubai in 2004, it took two years of hard saving to put aside the 70,000 rupees (Dh4,000) he needed so his father could travel to Mecca.
“My father taught me an important lesson. He prays five times a day and said health is everything,” said Mr Khan, who lives with his wife and daughter in Fujairah.
“I pray, don’t chew tobacco or smoke or drink.”
Despite having had to leave school as a child in his hometown of Bihar, India, to find a job, Mr Khan counts himself fortunate to work for a kind-hearted employer.
“He takes care whatever our problem, like if a relative dies in India, he hands over money and an air ticket,” he said.
Picking up cues from his boss, Mr Khan also helps people in his village who need medical aid or cash to pay for a daughter’s wedding. “I can’t give a lot but I try to give as much as I can,” he said.
“I’m only telling you because you asked. I usually never talk about it because in Islam there is a saying that what you give with one hand, your other hand should not know.”
Three years after his 2010 wedding in India, Mr Khan was able to bring his wife to live with him in the UAE.
“There is nothing like going home for iftar to eat simple food,” Mr Khan said.
This Ramadan he has nothing to ask for.
“Whatever I need – my family – is with me,” he said. “I can only pray that however long I live should be peaceful and of use to someone.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
