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Hazrat
Maulana Sadr-ud-Din of Blessed Memory:
by the Late
Ameer (Head) K.B. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan Sahib S.K.
(The Light, Vol. 61, No. 23 and 24, 8th and 24th Dec
1981, p. 47-50)
"Every one on it passes away
– And there endures forever the person of thy Lord,
the Lord of glory and honour" (The Qur'an, 55 :
26-27).
Hazrat Maulana
Sadr-ud-Din, the Amir
[Head] of the Ahmadiyya community of the Lahore
Section, and a companion of the Founder of the Movement
[Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib of Qadian] passed
away on the night between the 14th and
15th November 1981. "For God we are and
to Him do we return." His loss is irreparable. He had
been serving the cause of the propagation of Islam for a
very long time in as much as he was one of the founders of
the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at-i-Islam, Lahore and a member
of the first General Council constituted on the
3rd of May 1914.
As Head
Master of Taleem-ul-Islam High School, Qadian:
I had the opportunity to see
him from close quarters during 1913-14, when I was a student
of the Taleem-ul-Islam High School Qadian, of which he was
the Head Master. He left deep and permanent impressions of
his attractive personality on my mind. It is no exaggeration
to say that under his guidance the Taleem-ul-Islam High
School was being run in many respects better than the
English Medium Public Schools of that time, and even the
modern ones. His discipline was exemplary and yet as far as
I am aware he never treated a student harshly. In fact,
everybody thought that he had a special fatherly interest in
him. He loved his students and joined even the little
children in their sports with the result that the academic
and extra-curricular activities of the School were of a very
high order. In addition, he gave special attention to the
moral and religious training of the staff and students
alike. All the five prayers were said regularly in
Masjid-i-Noor attached to the School. The students
attended even the Dars-i-Qur'an [religious
talk on the Holy Quran] by Hazrat Maulana Noor-ud-Din
after the 'Asr prayer. The personality of the late Maulana
Sadr-ud-Din contributed to the establishment of the fame of
the School far and wide. Even the late Sir Muhammad Iqbal
sent his son Aftab Ahmad (who was my class fellow) to the
Qadian School rather than to any other public
school.
The Maulana's training left an
unforgettable mark on the field of play. The circle
Tournament in which many schools took part was once held in
Amritsar. The Hockey final was played between the
Taleem-ul-Islam High School Qadian and the Khalsa High
School Amritsar. Our team won the match. When the referee
blew the final whistle, all of our players, wherever they
were on the playground, prostrated themselves before Allah
in thanks giving. This left a deep impression on the
spectators. The tradition set at Qadian has been kept alive
by our National Hockey Team in Final matches of
International level.
Recitation
of the Holy Quran:
We all know that the late
Maulana recited the Holy Quran in a very melodious manner.
Whether it was during Dars or during a speech or
during prayers, and whether it was a long recitation or a
short one, it produced a special effect on the audience. At
Qadian the students insisted that he should lead the
'Isha' prayer. Sometimes, he obliged. In this respect
his contribution to the children's upbringing has been
unique.
He dressed well, talked well, was
humorous, hospitable and endowed with manly beauty as well.
Yet by God's Grace he set an example of high moral character
when he went to England and Germany as a missionary of
Islam. Allah has bestowed His special blessings on the
missionaries of this Anjuman that they have left marks of
chastity and purity right in the heart of the immoralities
of the Western civilisation. The Maulana had a high sense of
aesthetics, amply manifested in the Berlin Mosque,
and the get up of the German Translation of the Holy
Quran.
Indomitable
Courage:
The late Maulana was quite
capable of displaying boldness where necessary. I remember
the Anjuman entrusted the Maulana to take possession of
the lands at Okara from those occupying it illegally. It
was due to his bold efforts that the Anjuman succeeded in
taking possession of the lands with the help of the Deputy
Commissioner concerned. He displayed even greater courage
during 1953, when he was in his seventies at which age
personal courage and valour usually fade away. There were
disturbances all over. and it was feared Ahmadiyya Buildings
would be attacked. He was advised by friends to move to some
place of safety. His reply was, "We shall not die. We
shall live here. Where else can we go? Life and death are in
Allah's hands." God saved him and indeed the entire
Ahmadiyya Buildings and its residents miraculously. This
happened again during 1974. He had such firm faith in
his stand that he did not leave his residence.
An Eloquent
Speaker:
He was an eloquent orator
especially when
his subject was the life of the Holy
Prophet on whom be peace and
blessings of Allah. His exposition of the Prophet's life had
an enchanting effect on the audience. Even Hazrat Maulana
Muhammad Ali of Blessed memory once remarked that God had
granted Maulana Sadr-ud-Din special talent to speak on the
Prophet's life. He also delivered Dars at the
Ahmadiyya Buildings during the Annual Gatherings, with
visible effect on the audience.
Once he came to the Dadar Sanatorium,
of which I was the Superintendent. We arranged a function in
his honour. This was attended by the Sanatorium Staff, a
large number of patients and others. He spoke on the
existence of God. The audience were much impressed and used
to talk about it later as well.
Outstanding
Services to the Cause of Islam:
He rendered outstanding
services to the cause of the propagation of Islam. When
Hazrat Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din returned home after serving the
Woking Mission, Hazrat Maulana Sadr-ud-Din was sent
in his place. He carried on the missionary work very ably,
and returned in January 1917. In April 1917 the Anjuman
established the Muslim High School Lahore which also
catered for Senior Cambridge classes. In view of the good
work done at Qadian, the Maulana was considered the fittest
person to be appointed as its Principal. Under his guidance
this School and College earned such good reputation that
many children of the noble families joined it instead of
going to the Chiefs' College. For example the late Nawab
Gurmani ex-Governor of Punjab, Syed Amjad Ali Shah,
ex-Finance Minister, Syed Maratab Ali Shah and his children
all studied at this institution. Mr. Cross, famous Inspector
of Schools who paid a surprise visit to the School was so
much impressed by the discipline and high academic standard
of the School that he remarked, "I came to surprise the
School but I find myself surprised." An ex-student of
this School, Mr. Ashiq Hussain Batalvi who became a literary
man, an author and Secretary of the Punjab Muslim League and
who is not an Ahmadi writes, "The school-day impressions
received in the Ahmadiyya atmosphere cannot be effaced from
the mind. We lived in the (Muslim) Hostel. Early in the
morning there was Dars-i-Quran by the late Akbar Shah
Khan Sahib Najeebabadi. The School started with a short
discourse on Hadith by Maulana Sadr-ud-Din. In the
afternoons we went to the Ahmadiyya Buildings which was the
venue of Dars-i-Quran by Maulana Muhammad Ali Sahib
on whom be Blessings of Allah – How can this impression
be effaced?" (Paigham-i-Sulh, June 6,
1962).
Muslim
Mission and the Mosque at Berlin:
In 1919 Hazrat Maulana
Sadr-ud-Din again joined the Woking Mission, England.
He proceeded to Berlin for the propagation of Islam
when the Anjuman decided to open a mission there in 1922. He
worked there for four years and started a magazine
Moslemische Reveu in the German language. The
articles published in this magazine were of such a high
order that many learned German scholars embraced
Islam. During his stay in Germany he constructed the
Berlin Mosque which is a rare specimen of
architecture and an ornament of West Berlin. It also
portrays his own aesthetic sense. Propagation of Islam by a
single person in an alien land is not an easy job. There
were obstacles and difficulties but he faced them
single-handedly. This could not have been possible except by
a strong faith in the Almighty. In 1928, the Anjuman decided
to have the Holy Qur'an translated in the German
language. This great service to the cause of Islam was
also arranged by him. The translation was published in
1940.
On his return from Germany he rendered
valuable service to the Anjuman in various capacities. For a
long time he was its Vice President. Then in 1951 on the
death of Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali, on whom be Blessings
of Allah, he was elected Amir [Head] which
position he retained till his death. During this period he
constructed Masih-i-Mau'ud Hall and Ahmadiyya Market
Nos.
1 and 2, which considerably enhanced the Anjuman's
income. These buildings also are unforgettable monuments of
his industry and determination.
His death has taken him away from us,
but his services will always be remembered by the Jama'at.
May Almighty Allah grant him His nearness in
Jannat-ul-Firdous (Heaven). Ameen.
See his photographs by
clicking
here.
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