HASAN MUHAMMAD KHAN ARIF

I was born in the City of Jullundhur, a town in East Punjab (India) eighty five years ago. When I was born, my father had already accepted Ahmadiyyat. He was employed in an office of Government of India and after serving in that office for about 35 years, he retired as Deputy Assistant Financial Adviser to the Government of Pakistan. Since I was five years old I saw him and found him a saint in every respect. He died when I was fifty years old and throughout my life, it was not even once that my opinion about him as saint wavered. A profound Mu’min who acted upon every tenet of Islam very faithfully. A devoted preacher of Islam and Ahmadiyyat. Briefly, I can safely say that dozens of people joined Ahmadiyyat with his tabligh. Converting non Muslims to Islam, it was my personal experience that in British Indian days, he converted two Englishmen to Islam. One of them was Mr. Hutchins and the other’s name I do not remember. Till my primary education, I was extra intelligent student of the class. It was a terrible shock of my life that I lost my mother when I was nine years old. Her death was the death of my academic career. A student getting top grades, slid deep down to the bottom. But somehow I climbed up the academic hill till I reached my graduation classes. During that period I had not flunked even once. But the last ladder, that is, my graduation was a hill I could not scale and flunked. My parents refused to shoulder my educational expenses any more and I had no other choice but to seek some job. This, I got without difficulty and was employed in the Government of India. In 1943 Hadrat Musleh Mau’ood came to Delhi. There I made the final decision of my life and decided to dedicate my life for Islam. It was a deep plunge. My father was extra happy to hear about it. But in warning tone he told me that it was a thorny trail with difficulties mountain high. The life will suddenly change from prince to pauper. My remuneration will be peanuts as compared to that of my job in Government of India. But I had taken the plunge and my decision was final. So, I went with my father to have an audience with Hadrat Musleh Mau’ood. It was a grilling interview half of me and half of my father. Hudur knew my father for the last thirty years. The final decision was that he will accept me as Waqif-i-Zindigi if I could get my B.A. degree. For me it was an uphill task. But I had firmly decided and had to move mountains for achieving the B.A. degree. I worked very hard and graduated in 1945 and humbly informed Hadrat Musleh Mau’ood about it. I received reply which said that I should report as early as possible. In complying with the orders of the Markaz, I resigned my Government of India job, terminated my tennis club membership of which I was a star player and finished other small and big engagements. Hudur was pleased to appoint me as Naib Vakiluttijarat just to say a “Gazetted officer” right from the start. At this job, I served for two and a half years when the great upheaval of partition of India took place and the country was split into India and Pakistan. I took another decision of my life and opted to become a Dervish to live in Qadian for the rest of my life. My request was granted. But just after a few months I received immediate orders to reach Lahore without delay and resume my job as Naib Vakiluttijarat. Our office was still at Lahore and had not moved to Rabwah like other offices. This job continued till 1951 when I was transferred to the office of Vakiluttabshir and I reported at Rabwah. While in this office, the great Punjab Disturbances of 1953 took place and during police search of Tahrik-i-Jadid offices, I was arrested also for committing the crime of sending a Newsletter to our missionaries around the globe every month. After the imposition of Martial Law in Punjab, we were freed and our work of sending newsletters to the missionaries continued. A few weeks after, I was transferred as Settlement Officer of Rabwah land where I worked for two years and it was during my tenure that the whole land of Rabwah was transferred to their owners. It was strange for me and a great honour that I was the highest authority to issue title deeds of all the residential and commercial property of that sacred town. After half a century some people still come and show me that title deed with my signatures for which I am proud but I see that paper with moist eyes. Again I was transferred back in Vakiluttabshir’s office and just after that, Hadrat Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmad was transferred as Vakiluttabshir and it is my great honour that I worked with him with great success for nearly three decades. Many Naibs Vakiluttabshir came and went but Hasan Muhamad Khan was not moved even once any where else. Again it was my honour that holding my original office, I officiated temporarily nearly all the senior posts of Tahrik-i-Jadid, like Vakilud Diwan, Vakiluttaleem, Vakiluzzaraat, Vakilul Mal etc. At times I think that I am a very humble person and how could I perform these heavy and onerous duties. Then I consider that it was all due the mercy and kindness of my God Who is Almighty. In 1963, T.I. College Rabwah was granted permission to start post graduate classes in Arabic. At the forceful instigation of my very dear friend, Sahibzada Mirza Naeem Ahmad, the younger brother of Hadrat Sahibzada Mirza Waseem Ahmad, Amir Jama`at Ahmadiyya Qadian, we both joined the premier Arabic M.A. class and successfully got my post graduate degree in Arabic. As a student of that college, I am proud to say that our Principal was Hadrat Sahibzada Mirza Nasir Ahmad, who later became our Syedna Hadrat Khalifatul Masih III (peace be upon him). I still cherish the degree which I received at the hands of that great saint. I am proud to spend those two years under the cool shade of that soft spoken principal who had loaded me with favour after favour. But it is a long story. I retired in 1981 and migrated to Canada in that year. Right after my arrival, I was entrusted with the job of Editor of “Ahmadiyya Gazette” which after twenty four years still hold and it is my honour that now this magazine is the leading journal among Ahmadiyya magazines of the World. I take pleasure to say that much of its credit goes to our Amir, Maulana Naseem Mahdi. Contact: Hasan Muhammad Khan Arif 202-3577 Derry Road East Mississauga, Ontario L4T 1B3 Canada Phone / Fax : 905-612-0646 mansadia@yahoo.com

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   Abdul Hai Tahir

Abdul Hadi Tahir

Duration of study in the T.I. College: 1971-1976 Completed: M.Sc (Physics) (Msc. Nuclear Engineering PINSTECH Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad) Special Activities in the College: Secretary Mathematical Society, 1970-71 - President Mathematical Society, 1972-73. -- Rendered Services: NDVP Volunteer 1975-76 Physics Department T.I.College, Rabwah. Present Status: Senior Automation Engineer Kautex Textron Windsor Canada. Martial Status: Married with Rasheda (Ghazi) Tahir, four daughters. Other Social Activities: Zaim Ansarullah Jamaat Ahamadiyyia Windsor, Canada. Present Address: 2740 Cappelletto Road, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 5N1 CANADA