In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

...... The HOPE Bulletin ………..

Health, Ongoing Projects, Education

A TRIBUTE IN MEMORY OF BBBegumBegum Zakia Iqbal OF PAKISTAN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Akbar Ibn Abdullah, Editor

We acknowledge with thanks receipt of a photograph of Marhooma Zakia Iqbal Khan from our dear brother Dr. Zahid Aziz of the United Kingdom. The photo, on the cover of this tribute supplement, was taken in Lahore, Pakistan in November of 2010.

The venerable Dr. Yaqub (d. 1936) was a philanthropist and a dedicated Ahmadi, and loved by the Holy Founder Hazrat Mirza . He was one of the founders of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat- i-Islam, Lahore, and on his death left behind two sons, namely, Mirza Daud Baig, who was at that time practicing homeopathy medicine in Turkey, and Mirza Abdur Rahman Baig, who was an Officer in the Railways and who, after retirement, settled in Austin, Texas, USA, and was the son-in-law of the late Hazrat Ameer, Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan Sahib Marhoom (may Allah be pleased with him).

Dr. Mirza Yaqub Baig also had five daughters. One, called Tayyiba, died in teenage in 1944 of TB. The others were called Rashida, Safia, Razia and Zakia. The second youngest of these was the late Begum Razia Madad Ali (d. 2006), mother-in-law of the present Ameer , Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed Sahib, and of Dr. Zahid Aziz of the United Kingdom. Begum Razia Madad Ali was a very active member of the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at , like her venerable father.

The Marhooma, Begum Zakia Iqbal Khan, was the youngest daughter and the last of the remaining progeny of the late Dr. Mirza Yaqub Baig Sahib. The deceased was also, of course, the khala (maternal aunt) of Begum Sabiha Saheed, wife of Hazrat Ameer, and Begum Fauqia Aziz, wife of Dr. Zahid Aziz of the United Kingdom.

May Allah ( swt ) have mercy on the departed soul of Marhooma and grant her a peaceful resting place in the highest pedestal of Jannate-Firdouse. Aameen . We also pray that Allah ( swt ), in His bountiful mercy and graceful blessings, may descend His solace and bounties on the families of the departed soul of the Marhooma and help them to bear this irreparable loss in their anguish with patience, courage and perseverance. Aameen .

Death, in the light of the plain teachings of the Holy Qur’an, is not the end of man’s life; it only opens the door to another, a higher, form of life: “Have you considered the small life-germ? Is it you that create it or are We the Creator? We have ordained death among you and none can prevent Us that We may change your attributes and make you grow into what you know not” (56:58-61).

Just as from the small life-germ grows the man, and he does not lose his individuality for all the changes which he undergoes, so from this man is made the higher man, his attributes being changed, and he himself being made to grow into what he cannot conceive at present. That this new life is a higher form of life is also made plain: “See how We have made some of them to excel others. And certainly the Hereafter is greater in degrees and greater in excellence.” (17:21). – The Muslim Revival , Dec. 1935

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OBITUARY ANNOUNCEMENT

We received the sorrowful obituary news from Dr. Zahid Aziz of the United Kingdom that Mrs. Zakia Iqbal Khan of Lahore, Pakistan returned to her Maker on Friday, February 24, 2012 in Lahore, after a protracted illness and at the ripe old age of over 90. Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilehi Rajeoon .

Dr. Zahid Aziz Sahib wrote:

Dear brother Akbar, assalamu alaikum .

I am sorry to bring you the news that the death has taken place, in Lahore on Friday 24th February, of Mrs Zakia Iqbal Khan, the last remaining one of the progeny of Dr Mirza Yaqub Baig.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajiun.

May Allah grant her His protection and forgiveness, and admit her to His great mercy to join her righteous elders, ameen . She was over 90 years of age and seriously ailing for the past few months. The marhooma was maternal aunt of my wife Mrs Fauqia Aziz.

The marhooma , besides being the youngest daughter of Dr Mirza Yaqub Baig, was daughter-in- law of Shaikh Nur Ahmad of Abbottabad, one of the founding members of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore in 1914. She leaves behind three daughters and one son.

Regards, Zahid Aziz

REMEMBRANCE

A Tribute: Reminiscence by Captain Abdus Salam Khan, USA

The sad news of the passing away of our respected Begum Zakia Iqbal Ahmad Khan (may her soul rest in peace in the highest reaches of heaven) brought back some poignant memories of the Ahmadiyya Buildings Ladies who formed the ‘A’ team of the Lahore Ahmadiyya community in the first half of the twentieth century.

She was the younger sister of the late Begum Razia Madad Ali, mother-in-law of our respected Hazrat Ameer, Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed.

This ladies group, comprising the daughters of our elders living in Ahmadiyya Buildings, Lahore, spearheaded the movement towards emancipation of our women who broke the “ Burqa barrier” and stepped into the twentieth century armed with both a spiritual and a modern education. I think she was the last of this A team. 3

I am sure her soul will be well-pleased by the glad news of the present Women’s Rights Bill being piloted through the National Assembly of Pakistan.

One of the moving spirits behind the Bill is Dr. Fauzia Saeed, daughter of our respected cousin, Chaudhary Saeed Ahmad Sahib, former Imam of the Berlin Mosque. She appeared on Geo TV yesterday to inform the public about the objects of the Bill. Her two books, Taboo , and Living Among the Sharks , are both focused on women’s empowerment. Taboo has been hailed here in the U.S.A. as a seminal work and is prescribed as a textbook in many colleges.

Zakia Iqbal Khan was married to Iqbal Ahmad Khan, my mother’s step-cousin, who was son of Sheikh Nur Ahmad, a lawyer of Abbotabad, and Mohtarama Saleeman Khala, my mother’s step-khala . Iqbal Uncle’s maternal grandfather was Babu Safdar Jung, the Police Chief of Amritsar, whose other daughter, Heleema Begum, was my Nani , being married to my Nana , Dr. Basharat Ahmad Sahib.

It was Haleema Nani who was instrumental in bringing the torch of Ahmadiyyat into our family. It all happened at the turn of the century, perhaps 1901. It was she who, realizing that her toddler son, Mumtaz (the late Uncle Mumtaz Ahmad Faruqui), was hopelessly ill with typhoid, asked our Nana to go to Qadian to seek the prayers of a saint she had heard about for her son. So Nana, himself a physician, travelled to Qadian from Amritsar and met with the Promised Messiah.

On seeing and hearing the Promised Messiah, he became so enthralled by his magnetic spiritual presence that he forthwith offered his hand to the Promised Messiah to take his Bai‘at , forgetting all about his mission — to seek prayers for his son.

Luckily, just as he was leaving the room, he remembered his mission and beseeched the Holy Imam’s prayers for his son. The Holy Imam lifted his hands and started to pray, seeking divine help. Lo and behold! At the very moment when the Holy Imam was busy supplicating to Allah for the child, a miracle happened in Amritsar. The child’s temperature suddenly dropped to normal.

Nani, thinking that this could be the throes of death, sent for the British Civil Surgeon. On examining the child, the Civil Surgeon declared this must be a miracle as he had never seen so sudden a recovery in such advanced cases of typhoid.

Iqbal Uncle spent his life in Karachi, first serving in the customs and then as a civilian intelligence officer in the Navy. Their home was a watering hole for me in Karachi, and whenever my ship was in port, I would call upon them to partake of their congenial company and lavish hospitality. His nephew, his sister Surrayya Baji’s son, is now a naval chief, and the other son the foreign secretary. His younger brother, Col. Aftab Ahmad Khan, was the son-in-law of Ghulam Rabbani Khan of Mansehra, the former Imam of the Woking Mosque, who was one of the pioneers of the idea of Pakistan, having moved a resolution to this effect in the NWFP Assembly in the thirties suggesting partition of the country.

On her sad demise I am reminded of the Urdu couplet:

Mowqa milay toe khawk seh poochoon keh ai la'eem too nay woh gunj-ha-ai gran-maya kiya kee- ai. If I do get a chance, I would ask the dust: What have you done to these precious treasures of ours, O cursed one.

Rest in peace, Zakia Baji!

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Comments of Dr. Zahid Aziz on the eulogy submitted by Captain Abdus Salam Khan

Capt. Salam writes about the husband of Zakia marhoom:

“He is nephew, his sister Surrayya Baji’s son, is now the naval chief and the other son the foreign secretary.”

The naval chief is Noman Bashir, about whom you can read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noman_Bashir

The foreign secretary is Salman Bashir, about whom you can read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Bashir

Capt. Salam relates the incident of Mumtaz Ahmad Faruqui falling ill and Dr Basharat Ahmad going to Qadian to request Hazrat Mirza sahib for prayer, which resulted in miraculous recovery. This whole incident is related by Dr Basharat Ahmad in his account of how he joined the Ahmadiyya Movement. The English translation of that account is available online at: http://www.ahmadiyya.org/intro/pioneers/dr-b-ahmad.htm

He writes in it:

“And indeed it was the grace of God and a miracle of a Messiah. How truly does Hazrat Mirza sahib say (in a poetic verse about the qualities of the exalted man who is chosen and sent by God):

‘You can wrack your brains a thousand times and still not solve your problem, But when you come before him, just one prayer by him is enough.’ ”

What a beautiful description!

I would like to add that Zakia khala was visiting London in 1986 at the time when our late Imam , Muhammad Anwar shaheed , was assassinated by a Muslim religious fanatic in Georgetown, Guyana, on 9th April, having gone there to attend one of our Conventions. In those tragic circumstances, with all of us stunned and grieving, she came to our Centre repeatedly to help and provide emotional support.

CONDOLENCES

Message of sympathy and condolence from Parveen and Akbar Abdullah

Dear Hazrat Ameer Dr. Pasha Sahib and family and Dr. Zahid Aziz and family: Assalam-o-Alaikum w.r.w.b.

Parveen and I pray that may Allah Ta’ala in His infinite mercy grant the departed soul of the late Begum Zakia Iqbal Khan the highest abode amongst His various servants in Jannate-Firdouse. Aameen.

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May Allah also grant patience and fortitude to the bereaved family, especially Begums Sabiha Saeed and Fauqia Aziz, and all of us in the worldwide Jama‘ats to bear this great irreparable loss. Aameen .

Condolence and du‘a from Shaukat A. Ali, Coordinator, Asia-Pacific Region

Dear Hazrat Ameer and Dr. Zahid Aziz, Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahe wa Barakatuhu in Janaate-Firdouse. Aameen.

We are very sorry to learn that Mrs. Zakia Iqbal Khan has left this world to meet with our Maker. Inna- lillahe wa Inna Ilaihi rajioon.

We pray that Allah ta’ala grants her soul eternal peace and a place in the highest pedestal of Jannat-ul Firdous among His chosen ones - aameen .

We are aware that Marhooma was the daughter of one of the founders of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Dr. Mirza Yakub Baig, and also the maternal Aunt of sisters Sabiha Saeed and Fauqia Aziz .

We pray that Almighty Allah grant you, your loved ones and the members of your immediate and extended families strength, solace and sabr to bear this sad and irreparable loss at a time of great anguish.

Please convey our heartfelt sympathy and sincere condolences to the other members of the bereaved family.

Allah hafiz , Shaukat

Message of sympathy and condolence from Jalal Ud Dean, Suva, Fiji

Assalaamu'Alaikum Wr Wb

Thank you for this third consecutive notification of deepest sadness in as many days. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un .

Since the departed Faithful x 3 would be buried in India and Pakistan, and considering the different time zones with Fiji, their Janaza-Gaibana will all be performed at our Jummah in Fiji, next week, on Friday 2nd March 2012, altogether as:

1. Begum Khadija Ashraf (UK) 2. Janab Muhammad Tariq Sahib (India) 3. Mrs Zakia Iqbal Khan (Pakistan)

Wassalaam.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Akbar Abdullah Editor, The HOPE Bulletin Mailing Address : P.O. Box 232023 Sacramento, California 95823-0430, U.S.A. E-mail Address : [email protected] Telephone Number : (773) 539-6892

“ISLAM ” stands for “ I S HALL LOVE ALL MANKIND”

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