In September 1857, when John Nicholson was mortally wounded on an assault on Delhi by the British, Muhammad Hayat looked after him until he died. Before dying, Nicholson recommended him to Sir John Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of the Punjab and later its first Governor. Muhammad Hayat was thus given a series of important civil appointments in the Punjab province by the grateful British, and after serving as an Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and then Sessions Judge, he eventually became the first Muslim native to be appointed as a member of the Punjab Legislative Council.