
|
The College Union and Debating Club The Hiking and Mountaineering Club Students in Service of the Nation
Personal Profiles and Autobiographies Messages from Children of Students They were once with us - Uzkuru Amwatukum bil Khair Letters and articles written in Urdu
|
Alumni in the USA Messages: Professor Sharif Khan Sahib
Autobiography : The year 1946 is the year when I entered in the realm of knowledge, as a student of “Kachhi” (prep) class of Talimul Islam Primary School, Qadian. My class was a “Tat” (sitting on mats) class, venue was under the shade of a large mango tree, one in the tree-line that marked the boundaries between Talimul Islam High School and Talimul Islam College. I tapped door of world of knowledge with words “Alif, Ba, Ta, Sa”, which were forced into my memory by the painful strokes of “miswak” on my fingers by our master Muhammad Baskh Solanghi sahib (marhoom). After partition my family moved to our native village Chaksan, District Gujranwala in Pakistan, then to Ghakkhar Mandi, where I did my matriculation in 1956. When I was in 8th class I offered myself for “waqf-a-zindgi” (devotee), which was accepted by Hadhrat Khalifa tul Messih the II (rz) (Alhamdolliah). I was advised to get admission in Talimul Islam College, Rabwah, and after doing master I was to report in the Nazarat-a-Talim. In Talimul Islam College I studied as a F. Sc. Premedical student. Then I left Talimul Islam College, because I was interested in Biological subjects, not offered there at that time. I did B. Sc from Islamia College, civil lines Lahore in 1961, M.Sc. Zoology from University of the Punjab, in 1963, standing first in order of merit, and was awarded Sir William Roberts Gold Medal, and Roll of Honor (Alhamdolliah). I was advised by Nazarat-a-Talim to report to the Principal Talimul Islam College, where I joined the staff as lecturer in Zoology, in September, 1963. My first research paper was published in 1965. The calm and serene environments in Talimul Islam College provided me the impetuous to carry on my research there. I still remember very vividly, the college biological laboratory, its spacious demonstration tables and high stools, where I worked after college time. Often I use to gaze at the nearby hilly rampart across the lab windows, how majestically it stood there! It provided strength to my determination. As I sit all alone, Shadi’s oft and on shouts making his presence announced to the trespassers, were my only companion. For several of my subsequent published papers I owe support and determination to the tables and that hills, that still stand there! I completed my doctoral experimental work in the same laboratory, on the same tables, sitting at the same high stools in the Biological Laboratory, where I fist got instructions as an F. Sc. Student back in 1956. I received my Ph.D. degree from University of the Punjab, Lahore, in 1991. I taught subjects of Biology and Zoology to F.Sc and B. Sc classes from 1963-1999, retiring in September of that year. During my F.Sc I stayed in Fazal-a-Omar hostel. In college my English teachers were Ch Abul Latif (marhoom), M. H. Zaidi and Kanwar Indrees sahib; Biology: Dr Naseer A. Bashir (marhoom); Physics: Masood Ahmed Atif (marhoom); Chemistry: Prof. Mubark Ahmed Sahib Ansari; Deeniat: Milk Muhammad Abdullah (marhoom). Later Atif sahib, Ansari sahib and Malik sahib were my colleagues. My research interest has been Herpetology (study of amphibians and reptiles). Very little was known about Pakistani species of these animals. I toured different remote parts of the country, studying these animals in their natural environments and collecting them for my research. Several M.Sc students from Qaid-a-Azam University, Islamabad; Government College, Lahore; Punjab University and Government college, Lahore and Faisalabad completed their research paper under my supervision. At the time of immigration to U. S. A. I donated my large collection of specimens to Zoological Museum Government College, Lahore; and collection scientific books to Khalafat Library, Rabwah. Alhamdolliah, I am still working on my data that I brought from Pakistan, and getting it published in different international scientific journals. I have gotten published over 300 research papers, have described several new species and discovering new records for Pakistan. I have published two books in Urdu, two in English, one in German (published in Germany and USA). I was recognized as “Zoologist of the year 2002” and awarded a certificate and a shield by the Zoological Society of Pakistan. When I look at myself, I am still a child, and remember and feel the pain I felt by the “miswak” strokes by my teacher of “Kachhi” class, who knows how sincerely that pious man was praying for his pupils at that time? May his soul rests in peace in heaven, Amen!wassalam alaikum Muhammad Sharif Khan, Ph.D. Dr. Safi-ullah Chauhdary
Fellow Alumni Dr. Muhammad Zafarullah
A friend of my family wrote to him saying good things about me and
mentioning the possibility that I might not get higher education due to
poverty. Hadhrat Saheb (rh) promptly wrote back something like: Send him
over we will give him admission. That is what brought me toT.I.C. with Rs.
145 in my pocket. With the low fees and very low hostel charges, I was
always able to live off the regular scholarship money. Low fees etc. do
not make a college good, teachers do. T.I.C. did indeed have a good bunch
of teachers. I studied from some of them such as: Professors Aftab Ahmad,
Habibullah Khan (Marhoum), Ibrahim Nasir (Marhoum), Chaudhury Hameedullah,
Rashid Ghani (Marhoum), Mubarak Ansari, Pervez Parwazi, Masoud Atif
(Marhoum), Mirza Khurshid Ahmad, and Chaudury Sharif Khalid. These
gentlemen gave me a good run for my 145 rupees during my formative years.
Somewhere during my studies, at T.I.C., I got the lust for “what is new”
and “what more can be said”, and got the notion of playing around with the
problem and giving a Mathematical/logical proof. Blended with my
independent nature these gifts still serve me well. Of course I also
learned to say what I thought was right, without any qualms about me being
the small man. The deeply religious atmosphere also helped shape my
thinking. I benefited from personal acquaintance with some of my teachers.
Professor Chaudhury Muhammad Ali was the Warden of Fazle-Omer Hostel and
in more than one ways my mentor. Instead of saying “do this, don’t do
that” he would come up with an example or an anecdote. Professor Qazi
Muhammad Aslam, who became the principal of T.I.C. after Hadhrat Mirza
Nasir Ahmad (rh) was elected Khalifatul-Masih, indirectly trained me on
analyzing statements. And Professor Mirza Anas Ahmad gave me the lust for
logic. Let me put it this way, with these three around, my questions would
get answered amply and I had plenty of questions. I was an unruly boy who
would rather read from the books than come to class and Professor Rashid
Ghani (Marhoum) would have me brought from my room if there was something
important happening in the class or at the college. Professor Chaudhury
Hameed Ahmad (Hameedi Saheb, we called him then) mentored me well when I
was one of the editors of the English section of Al- Manar. I am sure that
most of my English contributions to Al-Manar were corrected or commented
on by him. Right after my M. Sc. I taught Physics under the direction of
Professor Naseer Ahmad Khan. I had a fresh Masters in Pure Mathematics.
So, I had to work very hard to keep my head above water. Professor Naseer
Khan was a source of help. His energy and his zeal for the task at hand
have always served as beacons of light for me. In addition I had my
guardian angel Hadhrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, who seemed to have a high
opinion of me for some reason. His prayers seem to be with me even now.
Indeed there were others who taught and trained me, such as Professor
Abdul Majeed of the University of the Punjab, Professor Lal Muhammad
Chawla (Marhoum) of Govt. College Lahore and Professor Paul Cohn of the
University of London. They built upon what I had from T.I.C. After
completing my education I have taught at more universities than my fair
share but I never found the atmosphere like T.I.C. Finally, the college
has made me and thousands more like me who we are. Based on what I know
now, learning is a form of worship. It is learning that in the end leads
one to say: Lord Thou hast not created this universe in vain (from
verse192 of Al-Imran). Colleges like T.I.C. of my time, if there are any,
are more than just seats of learning. They are places of worship that also
produce worshippers who think and reach the conclusions mentioned in the
Quran. We ought to show as much zeal in building and maintaining such
colleges as we do in building mosques. Muhammad Zafrullah, 57 Colgate
Street, Pocatello, ID 83201, USA. Phone: 208-478-2759 e-mail:
mzafrullah@usa.net URL: www.lohar.com Nasim Ahmad Gujrati
Pictures of Alumni in the USA
Jamil M. Chaudhry and brother Haleem Chaudhry with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV
Mobashar Ahmad Khan, Rashid Khalid, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Anwar and ?
Faiz Muhiyuddin, Abdul Rashid Khalid and Mobashar Ahmad Khan
Qazi Mubarik Ahmad, Abdul Hafeez, Hafiz Nafees Ahmad, Jamil Latif, A. Rashid Khalid
Syed Abdul Hayee Lateef, Anees Ahmad Chaudhry and another friend
Jamil M. Chaudhry, Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, Haleem Chaudhry and friends on Jalsa 2001
Abdul-Hameed Rammah and Safir Rammah
Akram Mahmood - Waseem Ahmad -- Khalil Latif - Shahid Chaudhry
Tahir M. Kahlon - Saifullah Cheema - Safirul Haq Rama & Hanif Butt
Naeem Siddiqui - Ghulam Murtaza - Mubarak Ahmad & Habib-ur-Rehman
Bashir-ul-din Shamas and Nasir Ahmad
|