Family History
My Khalifa, My Mentor
10/03/12 09:17
In 1956 I was a student of Jamiatu Mobashireen, Rabwah. In those days the students were not allowed to get married during their Jamia studies. My father wrote to me that it was his and my mother’s wish that I should get married in December 1956. My father suggested that I should write to Hazrat Khalifatul Mash II for special permission. He assured me that he will pray for the success of my application.
Before submitting my application I prayed vehemently. I then submitted my request to Huzoor and also sent a copy to the Principal, Hazrat Maulana Abul Ata Sahib. The Principal called me the next day and told me that there was absolutely no chance of the success of my request. Huzoor will never break the rule for your sake, he said. I kept quiet and left his office.
After a few days the Principal called me to his office. On entering the office the Principal handed over a letter to me from the Private Secretary. The letter was from Huzoor to the Principal, instructing him to give me the permission to go ahead with my marriage plans. The Principal congratulated me and told me that I was the only one whose request for permission of marriage during Jamia studies had been granted by Huzoor. I immediately informed my father of the outcome of my request.
I was married on 10th December, 1956 in my village. As I did not have any accommodation at Rabwah I left my wife at the village and returned to Rabwah. Rabwah was then a small village. To get rented accommodation was impossible. I tried my best to find suitable accommodation but was unsuccessful.
One day I read an advert in the Daily Alfazl that a house built by Huzoor for one of his wives was available for rent. The late Sharif Ashraf Sahib was the Private Secretary. He was a close friend of mine. I approached him and told him that I was interested in the house. He told me that it was a four bedroom house with two washrooms and a large courtyard on both sides of the house. He said that Huzoor had instructed him not to submit to him any application for renting the property which was less than Rs.120 per month. I told him that being a devotee of life I could not afford Rs.120 per month for renting a house. He said he was bound by the instructions of Huzoor.
I came out of his office with a heavy heart. Sharif Ashraf Sahib saw my disappointment and called me in his office again. He said that if I wrote to Huzoor about the reduction in the rent and sealed the envelope he would deliver it to Huzoor.
I wrote to Huzoor that it was impossible for me to get a suitable rented accommodation in Rabwah. My wife is in the village and I cannot call her over here to live with me. I said, that I was unable to pay Rs. 120 per month as rent as my total allowance from the Jamaat was Rs.65 per month.
The Private Secretary promptly took the sealed letter to Huzoor while I was waiting in his office. I had no hope of any reduction in the rent. After about half an hour the Private Secretary came back and told me that Huzoor wanted to know the amount that I could pay for the rent. I was happy that there was hope.
I wrote back and said that I could only afford R. 40 per month. This offer was considerably less than the asking rent and I felt nervous to submit it. However I sealed the envelope once again and gave to the Private Secretary. He took it to Huzoor while I was waiting in his office in a tense condition. He came back with a smiling face and told me that Huzoor has instructed him, that the keys be delivered to me forthwith. My joy knew no bounds. I thanked the Private Secretary and rushed to the Post office to send the glad tidings to my father.
I took charge of the house which was inside the Khandan enclosure. In a few days the house was ready for occupation. I went back to my village and brought Salima with me. My son Munir Ahmad was born in this house. I lived in this house for three years or more.
Before submitting my application I prayed vehemently. I then submitted my request to Huzoor and also sent a copy to the Principal, Hazrat Maulana Abul Ata Sahib. The Principal called me the next day and told me that there was absolutely no chance of the success of my request. Huzoor will never break the rule for your sake, he said. I kept quiet and left his office.
After a few days the Principal called me to his office. On entering the office the Principal handed over a letter to me from the Private Secretary. The letter was from Huzoor to the Principal, instructing him to give me the permission to go ahead with my marriage plans. The Principal congratulated me and told me that I was the only one whose request for permission of marriage during Jamia studies had been granted by Huzoor. I immediately informed my father of the outcome of my request.
I was married on 10th December, 1956 in my village. As I did not have any accommodation at Rabwah I left my wife at the village and returned to Rabwah. Rabwah was then a small village. To get rented accommodation was impossible. I tried my best to find suitable accommodation but was unsuccessful.
One day I read an advert in the Daily Alfazl that a house built by Huzoor for one of his wives was available for rent. The late Sharif Ashraf Sahib was the Private Secretary. He was a close friend of mine. I approached him and told him that I was interested in the house. He told me that it was a four bedroom house with two washrooms and a large courtyard on both sides of the house. He said that Huzoor had instructed him not to submit to him any application for renting the property which was less than Rs.120 per month. I told him that being a devotee of life I could not afford Rs.120 per month for renting a house. He said he was bound by the instructions of Huzoor.
I came out of his office with a heavy heart. Sharif Ashraf Sahib saw my disappointment and called me in his office again. He said that if I wrote to Huzoor about the reduction in the rent and sealed the envelope he would deliver it to Huzoor.
I wrote to Huzoor that it was impossible for me to get a suitable rented accommodation in Rabwah. My wife is in the village and I cannot call her over here to live with me. I said, that I was unable to pay Rs. 120 per month as rent as my total allowance from the Jamaat was Rs.65 per month.
The Private Secretary promptly took the sealed letter to Huzoor while I was waiting in his office. I had no hope of any reduction in the rent. After about half an hour the Private Secretary came back and told me that Huzoor wanted to know the amount that I could pay for the rent. I was happy that there was hope.
I wrote back and said that I could only afford R. 40 per month. This offer was considerably less than the asking rent and I felt nervous to submit it. However I sealed the envelope once again and gave to the Private Secretary. He took it to Huzoor while I was waiting in his office in a tense condition. He came back with a smiling face and told me that Huzoor has instructed him, that the keys be delivered to me forthwith. My joy knew no bounds. I thanked the Private Secretary and rushed to the Post office to send the glad tidings to my father.
I took charge of the house which was inside the Khandan enclosure. In a few days the house was ready for occupation. I went back to my village and brought Salima with me. My son Munir Ahmad was born in this house. I lived in this house for three years or more.
Comments
My Dedication of Life for the service of Islam
23/12/08 21:39
After having spent many years in Waqf, even today, based on my own experience I can truthfully say that the folks from my region have, through Allah’s Mercy and Grace, always shown me great respect. Whenever I visit the Frontier Province and whomever I meet, I am always shown great respect and esteem. Read More...
My Grand Father, Abdul Hannan Khan
23/12/08 21:35
Our grandfather had developed considerable animosity against Ahmadiyyat. Our father became an Ahmadi while he was in Mastung ( BAluchistan). He wrote to his father telling him that he had accepted Ahmadiyyat and invited him to join the fold. Our grandfather received an unbearable shock. He took his son’s letter to the Mullah of the local Mosque and asked him to respond to his son’s letter. In order to disentangle himself the Mullah said that he should write to his son and make it clear to him that he had become an apostate. The Mullah also said that to reply to a letter of an infidel is tantamount to becoming an infidel. Therefore, he counselled him not to reply to his son’s letter. My grandfather was not quite content with the advice of the Mullah and he continued to be greatly distressed which resulted in his illness. As the days passed by, he became feeble and weak. He would often say to our grandmother:
“While I am still alive Danishmand has pushed me into a grave. I am so humiliated that I dare not show my face to others.”
Read More...
My Wedding, Episode 2
23/12/08 21:02
My mother was not feeling very well even before our wedding day but on the next day of our wedding she became very ill. She did not go with us to Peshawar on the wedding day due to her illness. We were very worried as there were no adequate medical facilities in the village. On the fourth day of our wedding we decided to take her to Peshawar for a check up. In a rented car we took her to Peshawar and got her admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital. We left Salima in the village with my sisters and some other relatives who were still there. This was a very trying time for us all. Read More...
My 50th Wedding Anniversary
23/12/08 20:50
There are many happy returns of the days in one’s life but the fiftieth wedding anniversary never returns. It occurs only once in a lifetime. We are fortunate to have had this day in our lives. I had never thought even in my wild dreams that I would see this day in my life. God is Great who has graciously dawned upon us this happiest day of our live Read More...
Furqan Force
23/12/08 20:39
In June 1948, I was ordered to report to the Commandant of the Furqan Force at Jhelum. I went to my village to get permission from my parents. I told my father that I had volunteered to fight the Indian Army on the Kashmir Front. My father was very happy that I had responded to the call of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih but my mother was greatly worried and sad. I was her eldest son and was very young. She became very emotional and wept when I bade her farewell. My father accompanied me to the nearest Railway Station to see me off. Read More...
Our Roots
22/11/08 17:25
My youngest daughter has asked me to write about our elders. Unfortunately my paternal grandparents were non-Ahmadis. All my relatives from my father side are non-Ahmadis. They are of no importance to us. We did not inter- marry and so they were completely cut off from us.
My grandparents from mother side were Ahmadis. I have written about them in one of my episodes. I would like to trace their progeny in this episode for the benefit of our younger generation. Read More...
My grandparents from mother side were Ahmadis. I have written about them in one of my episodes. I would like to trace their progeny in this episode for the benefit of our younger generation. Read More...
My Mother, Fatima Bibi
13/11/08 21:15
My mother, Fatima Bibi, was the eldest daughter of Hadhrat Moulvi Muhammad Ilyas Khan Sahib who lived in Mastung in Baluchistan. Perhaps my mother was born there. She was very dear to him. She was most fortunate in that a spiritual person of such a high order brought her up. The name of her mother was Ashraaf Bibi.
She was still very young when she was married to my father. Soon after their marriage, my parents returned to live in our ancestral village Mohib Banda and that is where they spent the rest of their lives. Their love, affection, co-operation and mutual respect were a shining example for the whole family to follow. Never, throughout my life, did I ever see any unpleasantness between them. As in those days it was not customary for the girls to be educated, my mother’s learning had not gone very far. At home, she learnt to recite the Holy Quran. Habitually she would perform ablution before reciting a portion of the Quran. Every single day, in a subdued voice, we heard her recitation.
Read More...
She was still very young when she was married to my father. Soon after their marriage, my parents returned to live in our ancestral village Mohib Banda and that is where they spent the rest of their lives. Their love, affection, co-operation and mutual respect were a shining example for the whole family to follow. Never, throughout my life, did I ever see any unpleasantness between them. As in those days it was not customary for the girls to be educated, my mother’s learning had not gone very far. At home, she learnt to recite the Holy Quran. Habitually she would perform ablution before reciting a portion of the Quran. Every single day, in a subdued voice, we heard her recitation.
Read More...