Imam Bashir Ahmad Rafiq’s Biography
Chapter 41: My Brothers and Sisters
My parents were blessed with five daughters and three sons. A brother and a sister passed away when they were five and six years old respectively. My brother was named Bashir Ahmad and my sister was named Mah e Talaat. Naturally, it was a great shock for my parents as two of their children had passed away within a period of forty days. Talaat was the first to go to meet her Maker and Bashir followed her forty days later.
At the demise of these two my parents displayed exemplary patience. Contrary to the normal practice in our villages, my parents did not go into mourning. They were reconciled and content at God’s Will. In a state of deep grief my father was shown a dream that he would be blessed with more children. He was particularly advised of the birth of two sons. He wrote down this dream on a piece of paper that I have seen with my own eyes. It is a pity that it has been lost.
Amat ul Kareem: - My senior sister was named Amat ul Kareem. She was three years senior to me and has passed away recently. Since her childhood, we had been very fond of each and were very close. She was married to Muhammad Hassan Khan Durrani, son of Muhammad Akram Khan of Charsadha. Muhammad Akram Khan was the first graduate from the Frontier Province. He was a classmate of the famous poet Iqbal. He was indeed a devout and zealous Ahmadi. He always showed great kindness to me. He would always come to see me in the Boarding House whenever he visited Qadian and would bring me some presents. He took up residence in a new village that he had himself established near Charsadha. The surrounding agricultural lands belonged to him. The Almighty blessed him with the order of a ‘martyr’. Details appear in the ‘Tareekh e Ahmadiyyat’ Volume 14 Page 256.
My sister’s husband, Muhammad Hassan Khan Durrani was a very sincere and honest person and had the character of a Sufi.
Amat ul Kareem and Muhammad Hassan Khan were blessed by God with three sons – Muhammad Saeed Khan Durrani, Muhammad Arshad Khan Durrani and Muhammad Daood Khan Durrani. They were also blessed with a daughter, Shahida Begum.
Col. Nazir Ahmad Khan: -I have only one brother, Col. Nazir Ahmad Khan who has now permanently settled in Chicago. Naturally, we spent our childhood together and by the Grace of God we always benefit from a great, mutual love. Although he is only three years younger than me he treats me and respects me as if I were his father. In the Army, he rose to the rank of a Colonel and commanded the Kharian Army Station. He saw active service during the wars with India.
When I left for England in 1959 my mother became somewhat downcast. In those days, whoever sailed across the Seven Seas was liable never to return. My mother kept on crying whenever she recalled me. Once my father took her along to see Hadhrat Khalifa tul Masih II. My father said to Huzoor that my mother remained downhearted and due to having parted with Bashir Ahmad often cried. Addressing my mother Huzoor said:
“Why do you cry? You should be happy and grateful to God that he has endowed you with two sons and one of them is a soldier in the spiritual Army and the other is a soldier in the Pakistan Army.”
After retirement from the Army Nazir Ahmad remains continuously engaged in serving the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Chicago. For many years, he served as General Secretary of the Chicago Jamaat. Now he holds and in the past, he has held some other offices in the Jamaat. He married Shameem Akhtar, a daughter of a martyr, Muhammad Rustam Khan. His father in law was the first to be martyred during the third Khilafat. Opponents of Ahmadiyya shot and killed him in his own village.
Nazir Ahmad has been blessed with three sons; Tanweer Ahmad Khan, Dr. Nadeem Ahmad Khan and Dr. Faheem Ahmad Khan. He has also been blessed with a daughter, Durr e Sameen Nausheen. All of them are settled in Chicago.
Amat ul Hafeez: - My second sister, Amat ul Hafeez was married to the late Muhammad Hussain Khan, son of Abd ul Qayyoom Khan. They have been blessed with four sons; Dr. Mobasher Ahmad, Engineer Maqsood Ahmad, Kaleem Ahmad and Mansoor Ahmad. They have also been gifted a daughter, Rasheda. Muhammad Hussain Khan had a very gentle character. He was a sincere and devout Ahmadi.
Amat ul Hameed: - My third sister, Amat ul Hameed was married to Sahibzada Mahmood Ahmad, a grandson of Sahibzada Abd ul Lateef, the Martyr. A few years ago, Sahibzada Mahmood Ahmad passed away. He had a very gentle temperament and was a very sincere and a pious person. He has two sons; Dr. Manzoor Ahmad and Imran Khan. He also had two daughters; Amat ul Basith and Tahira Begum.
Amat ul Waheed: - My fourth sister, Amat ul Waheed is married to Sahibzada Fazil Lateef, a grandson of Sahibzada Abd ul Lateef, the Martyr. They have two daughters, Naomi and Aashi and one son, Khalid Ahmad. I pray that the Almighty God may make all of them earnest Ahmadis with a deep attachment to Ahmadiyyat and the Faith.