Hazrat Shaikh-ul-Hind had to make grand sacrifices for religion. It is written in his biography that when he passed away at the residence of Hakeem Muhammad Ajmal, the person performing the ritual bath (Ghusl) noticed large scars from wounds on his back. He asked the relatives, who in turn asked the family members, but no one knew anything about it. Everyone was astonished. This matter had been kept hidden even from the family. What could the matter be after all? Hazrat Maulana Husain Ahmad Madni (may Allah have mercy on him) had gone to Calcutta at that time. When he learned of Shaikh-ul-Hind's passing, he came from there to attend the funeral. Someone asked him, "Please tell us, what is the matter behind this?" Tears welled up in Hazrat Madni’s eyes, and he said, "This was a secret, and Hazrat had forbidden me, saying, 'You must not tell anyone during my lifetime.' Therefore, it was a trust, and I could not reveal it. Now that Hazrat has passed away, I can speak." He began to narrate, "When we were imprisoned in Malta, Hazrat was subjected to such severe punishments that wounds would form on his body. Many times, the British officers would spread burning embers and make Hazrat lie on top of them. The prison authorities would say, 'Mahmud! Just say this much: I am not an opponent of the British, and we will release you.' But Hazrat would reply, 'No, I cannot utter these words.' They used to torture him immensely. When Hazrat would return to his place to sleep at night, he could not even sleep. He faced pain from the lack of sleep and suffering from the torture. Seeing Hazrat's condition, we would become deeply distressed. One day, we gathered up the courage and said, 'Hazrat! After all, Imam Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote "Kitab al-Hiyal" (The Book of Legal Stratagems). Is there any such stratagem by which you can escape their punishment?' Hazrat replied, 'No.' The next day, Hazrat was punished again. When this punishment continued consecutively for several days, one day a British officer stood up and said, 'Why do you not want to say that you are not against the British?' At that moment, Hazrat replied, 'I do not want to say it because I do not want to have my name removed from Allah's register and registered in your register.' Hazrat Madni (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that once when Hazrat came back, we saw that he had been given an excruciating punishment. There were three or four of us students with Hazrat. Together we requested, 'Hazrat! Please show some mercy on yourself.' When Hazrat saw that we had made a collective plea, signs of anger appeared on his face and he said, 'Husain Ahmad! What do you take me for? I am the spiritual son of Hazrat Bilal; I am the spiritual son of Hazrat Khubaib; I am the spiritual son of Hazrat Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with her); I am the spiritual son of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, who was flogged so severely that if an elephant were lashed like that, even it would shriek in agony; I am the spiritual son of Mujaddid Alf Sani, who was imprisoned in the Gwalior Fort for two years; I am the spiritual son of Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi, whose hands were broken near the wrists and rendered useless. Should I accept defeat before these Britishers? They can extract life from my body, but they cannot extract faith from my heart!'"