My Grand Father, Abdul Hannan Khan


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.”

My father’s name is Danishmand Khan. He was born around 1890 in our village Mohib Banda. Abd ul Hannan Khan was the name of his father who was a Land Lord and owned extensive agricultural land. He was an authoritarian person and was easily roused. Since he was illiterate, when angry he would often exceed all limits. Due to this unfortunate feature, he became the target of a bullet shot at him by his own nephew.

Once a servant told him that the Chief Police officer had passed through our street mounted on a horse. There was a possibility that he would have seen our ladies inside our home courtyard. My grandfather got furious and immediately followed the Inspector and arrested him. He locked him in a room of the Hujra for one whole day. The British Government could not tolerate this and arrested my grandfather and took him to Lahore and charged him with rebellion. The case against him prolonged and my grandfather along with my father had to travel to Lahore for a long time to pursue the case. Eventually grandfather was acquitted with a warning. This incident shows his bad and uncontrollable temper.

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.”

My grandmother responded by saying:

“If Danishmand has taken a certain step after due consideration there is really no need for you to be furious. His affair is with his Maker.”

However, my grandfather remained frustrated and his health deteriorated rapidly. Then our grandmother sent a servant to Mastung to tell our father about the state of our grandfather’s health. She strongly suggested to him that he should immediately return to the village to see his father. Our father became exceedingly concerned about his father’s illness and immediately returned to the village. He found him extremely weak and he had lost a lot of weight. The two embraced each other and in that state wept for quite a while. Then, in an emotional voice, my grandfather said:

“My son if you had been guilty of theft or robbery or even a murder it would not have caused me much concern. However, on acceptance of Ahmadiyyat you have blackened my face and I am unable to show it to anyone in the village.”

Our father replied:

“After having accepted Ahmadiyyat I have totally repented from all my sins. At one time, I did not offer my prayers and now, apart from the five obligatory prayers, I offer Tahajjud. I also keep fasts, not only the obligatory ones during Ramadan but also, as an option, on some other days. In the past, I never recited the Quran and now not only do I recite the Quran but I am also learning its meaning. Are all these deeds Un Islamic? Compared to what I was, do you not now find me a better human being?”

This conversation had no effect on our grandfather and he remained adamant and insisted that father should give up Ahmadiyyat. He said:

“Do whatever you like. You may steal or rob. You may commit adultery and even murder someone, that would not bother me in the least as long as you give up Ahmadiyyat.”

However, this was by no means a deal acceptable to my father. A few days passed in extreme tension. Father and son debated with each other. Grandfather would insist on his son giving up the truth while the son seemed prepared to give up even his life for the sake of the truth .During this turbulent period, my grandfather said to his son:

“I am an uneducated person. Why don’t you discuss the matter with the Village Moulvi Sahib?”

Accordingly, my father went to see the Moulvi Sahib who admitted that he had already been instructed by grandfather to hold a debate with his son. They debated for the whole day about the issue of the demise of Jesus, the Messiah. The vast majority of the Moulvis believed that, Jesus was still alive but not one of them could quote any references from the Holy Quran or Ahadees ( Sayings of the Holy Prophet) to support their belief. My father maintained that he was bound only by what was in the Quran or what was in Ahadeeth. He said he cared little for what the Moulvis believed in. The Maulvi admitted that the ascention of Jesus alive to the heaven could not be proved from the Holy Quran or authentic Hadith.In this manner, though the debate concluded there was no positive result.

A few more days passed. Once, in the evening, my grand mother observed that our grandfather was very much agitated and had his revolver in his hand. She got anxious about her son and pleaded for him. Grandfather told my grandmother that he would go to the Mosque for the Fajr prayers along with his son and he would tell him to pray behind his Imam. If the son disobeyed his command, he would immediately shoot him there and then. My grandmother had already seen the revolver under grandfather’s pillow the day before. Naturally, she was thrown off balance and she sent a servant to the Hujra where my father was asleep. The servant faithfully delivered the message to my father, i.e. either obeys your father and renounce your faith in Ahmadiyyat or be ready to die the next morning. She begged him to leave the village before the Fajr prayers. My father knew his parent very well and was sure that his father would do exactly what he said he would do. Therefore, during the night, my father bid farewell to his mother and the village and proceeded to Mastung. Thereafter, my father was not able to return to the village until sometime after my grandfather had been murdered.

In the morning when my grand father came to know that his son had left the village he was furious with my grand mother as he suspected that she must have told her son the intention of his father to kill him the next morning.

After a few months he along with a faithful servant decided to go to Mastung and confront his son. If the son did not renounce his faith in Ahmadiyyat he will kill him. They arrived in Mastung but my father had been warned by my grand mother through a courier. My father left Mastung for sometime and was saved from the bad intentions of my grand father.

I had seen my grand mother who lived with us. She was of very cool temrament and loved me dearly. I remember the night she died. My father kept awake all night to comfort her. She died early in the morning. I remember my father crying loudly with tears flowing from his eyes. He loved his mother greatly. I also wept.
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