Update: The Miracle of the Growing Grave

I sent the photographs of the growing grave to Mr. George Smith as requested and he promptly forwarded the photos to his father, who had originally witnessed this miracle in 1947. His father was amazed and replied that:

"......it is much bigger now than in was in 1947".I had a little B/W snap of it, taken in 1947; the rough stones around the cross were only about 1/4 of the height of the cross then. They are MUCH taller now".

An actual eyewitness to the growth of the grave who can vouch for the authenticity of this miracle of Allah "Subhana Wa Tala" (The Sacred and The Mighty).

The Miracle of the Growing Grave

A few weeks ago I received an email from a certain Mr. George Smith of Georgia, Atlanta inquiring about a certain grave in a cemetery in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I quote Mr. Smith himself:

"My father who was raised in Rawalpindi recently asked about a grave at the Military cemetery in Rawalpindi – it was apparently called the growing grave and I wondered if it is still there.This is what he said about it. Then there is the case of the `Growing Grave` in West Ridge cemetery at Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, northern Pakistan. My father was stationed there in 1947 and we lived in West Ridge, where there was a Christian cemetery. In that cemetery was a gravestone, in the shape of a vertical cross, seeming to sprout from a rock at its base. Engraved on the cross were the words: `If there is a God in heaven, this stone will grow around my grave`. I have no idea of the name on the grave. On the rock was a vertical scale, with years cut into it, seeming to record the growth of the stone. I had a photo of it, but lost it about 30 years ago".

Intrigued by his inquiry because I had thought that while photographing the Rawalpindi War Cemetery, Harley Street for an article and then for the War Graves Photographic Project, I had covered all the notable graves in Rawalpindi. Being in London at that time I resolved to research this phenomenon myself when I went back to Pakistan. During the Easter break I got the opportunity to start looking for evidence of this amazing grave.

I met a lot of dead ends then out of the blue found an article about the Harley Street Cemetery (Gora Qubristan) in the Official magazine of Pearl Continental (a chain of Five Star Hotels in Pakistan, Issue no 13) written by Ishrat Hyatt. In that piece she mentioned the legend of the growing grave and I quote her:

"Among these graves is one that stands out because of its unusual shape and height. What can be seen above the ground is a broken headstone in the shape of a cross and a number of protrusions surrounding it - but it has line markings on one side with dates written alongside them. The dates are for different years and supposedly mark the 'growth' of the stone. the legend goes that a female who is buried here, Clara, said she did not believe in God and the hereafter but if there is a God and life after death, her grave will grow. And grow it did, whether by natural means like the root of a tree growing nearby pushing it up or as some believe, by miraculous design,......."(Hyatt, pg 28-9)

After reading this article I set out to find out more about this grave. The main section of the Harley Street Cemetery is adjacent to the Rawalpindi War Cemetery managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and has been serving the dead of the Christian community since the 1800's. Shown the grave by the caretaker Mr. Peters I was spellbound for a few moments because it was indeed as the stones had been growing over time 'a ring of stones which must have been placed originally around the headstone growing and forming an enclosed circle'. On one side there is a marker on the stone which marks the growth. Surrounded by graves, in the middle of a graveyard you can feel the goosebumps on your flesh while witnessing a surreal experience like this.

Experiencing this living miracle in person makes one realize the greatness of God and how he makes his presence felt from time to time when we start believing otherwise. God is not the property of a specific religious sect or belief but he is God for all eternity and as God in heaven does not differentiate between his people on the basis of caste, creed and religion; we the people of the world should also try to live harmoniously. Because we are 'Children of God' and the believers are those who are blessed with such miracles through which they can witness the greatness of God.

The grave has stopped growing; the caretaker told me, I asked why and he simply said because of the mistakes of people. What are these mistakes I leave it open to interpretation.

References:

Hyatt,I. 2012. Harley Street Cemetery in Our Heritage. Pakistan Services Ltd. Issue 1

Images all rights reserved with Blog owner.

Update: All The President's Men (posted on 12th March 2012)

The saga continues. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein keep people engaged with their story about a President and his men.

This newspaper cutting is from The News, a mainstream Pakistani English Daily, published on 12th April 2012.