After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated:
Respected Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib, who passed away a few days ago. Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib was the eldest son of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III (rh). He passed away in Rabwah a few days ago at the age of 81. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’oon [Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.] He was the eldest paternal grandson of Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra). He was the maternal grandson of Hazrat Nawab Mubaraka Begum Sahibah and Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib. Hence, he was also my cousin through my maternal uncle.
He attained his early education from Qadian and later completed it in Rabwah. He then obtained a master’s degree from the University of Punjab. Then he served in the college there for some time. He then studied at Oxford University here in England from where he obtained a master’s degree.
By the Grace of God, he formally dedicated his life [to the service of Islam Ahmadiyyat] in 1955 and entered into the practical field in 1962. He worked in various departments with great diligence. He had the habit of working with great passion, determination and effort.
He was very well versed in the subject of hadith, philosophy and English literature. He was especially fond of hadith. Therefore, due to his personal interest, he attained his initial study in hadith from the late respected Maulawi Khurshid Ahmad Sahib. He also had a very good library at his home, which contained many rare books. He was a very keen reader. Whenever a student approached him for guidance regarding any field of knowledge, he would give him very valuable advice. He had sets of books comprising of the important canon of hadith and he had collected them from various bookshops.
By the grace of God Almighty, he was able to serve in various offices of the Community for 56 years. His initial posting was in the Talimul Islam College as a lecturer. Then, he was appointed as the Naib Nazir Islah-o-Irshad in 1975, before being appointed as the Additional Nazir Islah-o-Irshad. He also served as the private secretary to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III (rh)and to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh), during his first trip to Europe. He also had the opportunity to serve as the administrator of Jamia Ahmadiyya. He also served as Nazir Talim for a few years.
He also served as the Na’ib Nazir Diwan He was currently serving as the Wakil-ut-Tasneef in Tehrik-e-Jadid. He was initially serving as the Wakil-ut-Tasneef and then in March 1999 he was appointed as the Wakil-ul-Isha’at. Even though he had reached the age of retirement in 1997, however he was enabled to serve until his very last breath. He also had the opportunity to serve in the central bodies of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya] and Ansarullah. He also translated Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and Mahmud Ki Ameen into English, which have already been published. He was currently working on the proof-reading of the English translation of Surma Chashma Arya, Izala Auham and Durr-e-Sameen. When our schools were nationalised, the Jama’at began to open its own schools under the Nasir Foundaiton and he also served as its chairman. He was also a member of the committee of jurisprudence and he was also a member of the board of the Noor Foundation. The Noor Foundation was established in order to publish the books of Ahadeeth [sayings and traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa)] under the Jama’at and also to prepare its translations and commentary. He was currently translating Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal into Urdu.
After the partition of India, when Ahmadis migrated from Qadian, thehu faced extreme hardship in Pakistan. There was not enough food, so one bread per person was the allowance. Hazrat Mirza Anas was a growing young man and one bread was not enough for him. One day, he cried with hunger. Hazrat Musleh-e-Mau’ud (ra) arranged that half of his portion of one bread should be given to Mirza Anas and Hazrat Museh Maud (ra) survived on half a bread.
His son-in-law, Mirza Waheed Ahmad Sahib, writes, “Once, I was travelling to Bukhara and Samarqand. Upon this, Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib said to ‘as you are travelling there, you should also visit the grave of Imam Bukhari and pray for him on my behalf and convey my greetings. (This was due to his love for the Holy Prophet (sa)) as the person, who collected and provide for us a treasure of the sayings and incidents of the Holy Prophet (sa) hundreds of years ago, deserves that we pray for him and convey our greetings to him.”
Dr Noori Sahib writes,
“In all of my experiences with him, as I had the opportunity to see him on many occasions, I observed that whatever task was entrusted to him, he would complete it with great enthusiasm. He would complete his tasks with great devotion, diligence and passion.” He further says, “Despite being weak and ill, I have seen him translate books of the Promised Messiah (as) on his laptop. He would type for hours on the computer and his fellow colleagues would stand beside him with references from the Holy Qur’an and the books of the Promised Messiah (as). He frequently used to say that my only desire is to complete the task, which the Khalifa of the time has entrusted me with through the help of God Almighty.”
Nudrat Sahiba, the daughter of the late Mir Daud Ahmad Sahib says, “Hearing about his demise brought back many of his memories to my heart and mind and it refreshed memories of Hazrat Khalifat-ul-Masih III (rh).”
His nephew, ‘Amir Ahmad, writes, “In times of happiness and sorrow, he was always a loving father. There are ups and downs in every family. However, he forgave in a manner as if nothing had ever happened. As a matter of fact, if he felt that someone was hurt as a result of his guidance or counsel, he would apologise and seek forgiveness from that person the next day, despite the fact that it was a virtuous piece of guidance or counsel.”
Munir-ud-din Shams sahib, Additional Wakeel-ul-Tasneef states: “I met him on many occasions and always found him to be kind and caring. He would never let me feel our age difference or his superiority in terms of knowledge despite the fact that he was much older than me.” He was able to render excellent translations of some portions of Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya.”
Indeed, he was a scholar and possessed tremendous knowledge which the Jama’at is bereft of now but may God Almighty continue to produce more scholars.
Hazfiz Muzaffar Ahmad sahib, Additional Nazir Islaho Irshad Muqami Rabwah, stated: “Mian Sahib possessed many attributes. Piety, love of God, love for the Holy Quran, love for the Holy Prophet (sa), simplicity, politeness and compassion were his salient attributes. Along with fulfilling the rights due to Allah, he remained cognisant about fulfilling the rights due to humanity. He took great care of the poor and needy people.
When I established a board of members to translate the Shih-e-Sitta, this was called the Noor Foundation, its purpose was to translate the hadith as I wanted them to be translated in Urdu and to write a commentary of these Ahadith. In regards to this, Hafiz Muzzaffar sahib writes, “Mian sahib was also appointed as a member of this and despite his work engagements, he took on the task of translating Musnad Ahmad bin Hunbal in Urdu which was the most difficult and time consuming work. And despite all other engagements and his illness he continuously carried out this work and even translated one portion of this which consisted of countless number of hadith.” This service rendered by him shall always be remembered. Hazfiz sahib continues to write, “His immense love for hadith was evident during the Holy month of Ramadhan when he would deliver Dars-e-Hadith [lecture on Hadith] which usually consisted of various topics about the character of the Holy Prophet (sa). He would prepare these lectures with great effort and diligence. He would select the very rare and unique material and would then present it. His voice had great passion and exuberance. We would particularly listen to his lectures during the month of Ramadhan. He had a beautiful style of delivering his lectures. His delivery was full of passion and love to the extent that it felt as it for a few moments one had travelled back into the early period of Islam.
Shamim Parvez Sahib, the Naib Wakeel Waqf-e-Nau writes: “One incident of his [Mirza Anas Sahib] ardent love for Khilafat is engraved in my mind.” He says, “During the elections of the fourth Khalifa, when it was announced from the mosque that Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Sahib had been elected as the fourth Khalifa, I saw Mirza Anas Sahib falling in prostration of gratitude on the scorching brick ground, despite the severe heat of the month June.”
Dr Iftikhar Sahib of London writes, “He was a life devotee personified. He never stopped coming to the office and busied himself in publication and translation work till his final breath.”
Khalid Sahib of the Russian Desk in London writes, “Whenever Mia Sahib’s thought comes to mind I feel that his character was the embodiment of the saying of the Holy Prophet (sa): (Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave). Mia Sahib had a never-ending desire to gain all kinds of knowledge. He would never let an opportunity pass to learn something or discover something new and his favourite subject was the study of the traditions of the Holy Prophet(sa).
Muhammad Salik Sahib, the missionary of Burma says, “There is one incident of a student from Sri Lanka which really moved me. The student, Muneer Ahmad had come from Sri Lanka to study in Jamia and is now serving as a missionary in Sri Lanka. During his time in Jamia he fell severely ill due to the extreme heat. Being very concerned for him, Mian Sahib would come night and day to the hostel to enquire about his health as if he one of his close relatives had fallen ill.” In those days Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib was Jamia administrator.
Shamshad Sahib, a missionary in America writes, “He would always try and instil a passion for Tabligh in missionaries whenever he met them. He had a great zeal for learning and would often remind missionaries to study regularly. At his office he would always have a pile of books on the desk. He would frequently read Sahih Bukhari and would have very intellectual discussions with the missionaries that visited.”
Shahid Mahmood Sahib, a missionary in Ghana writes, “I had the opportunity to work with Mian Sahib for over 12 years in the Wakalat-e-Isha’at office as the editor for the English section of the monthly Tehrik-e-Jadid magazine. He was filled with love for the Promised Messiah (as) and was brimming with love and obedience to Khilafat. Whenever I saw him offering his Sunnah prayers, this was a sight to see as he would offer his prayers with such pleasure and delight. He treated his office workers very kindly.”
Ayyaz Mahmood Khan Sahib, a missionary serving in Wakalat-e-Tasnif says, “I have learnt so much from him in terms of how to work. “When we went to Rabwah, Mian Sahib held some of the classes with us. He would tell us at the time, and even when I met him after, ‘you should read some literature and make a habit of reading all kinds of books. One should not only read books on religious matters, you should also read about philosophy, literature and novels. In that way you will broaden your knowledge and your language.’
Sheikh Naseer Sahib, who works as part of the Russian desk here, says: “I spent 16 years with Mia Sahib in Wakalat-e-Ishaat and learnt a lot from him. He was always kind and compassionate towards me and never made me feel like I was a subordinate. If I ever felt that my parents were not alive, he would always say that I should consider him in their place.”
Zahid Mahmood Majeed Sahib, who works in the Ishaat department writes: “I had the opportunity to serve alongside Respected Mia Sahib. He was a passionate devotee of Khilafat. Whenever he wanted to write a fax to you (he is addressing me here), he would be overcome by great emotion. If he was entrusted with work from me, he would be anxious to complete it..”
Muhammad Din Bhatti Sahib, who works in the Ishaat department writes: “I had the opportunity to work with him from 1995 until his demise. Mia Sahib would always be respectful towards his workers. Whenever he would call anyone over for work, he would ask them to sit down on the chair before explaining the task. Mia sahib would especially take care of poor students, those that are unemployed and widows. He would buy books and school uniforms for the poor students. He would write a letter of recommendation for anyone that was unemployed.”
Ihsanullah Sahib, a missionary serving in Ghana writes: “I had the opportunity to work under him for 9 years in Wakalat-e-Ishaat. He was filled with the love and respect of Khilafat. He would inject this love into the hearts of those who worked with him in the most excellent manner.”
Muhammad Talha Sahib is a teacher in the Jamia department which specialises in the subject of Hadith. He says: “Me and Syed Fahad Sahib, who is also a missionary, had the opportunity to study Hadith from Mirza Anas Ahmad Sahib for approximately one year during our specialisation. Despite his other commitments and illness, he would make the utmost effort to ensure that not a single day passed in which we did not have a Hadith class. One day, his was extremely ill and therefore could not come to office, however he called us to his home to continue the lessons.”
Asif Owais, who is also a missionary serving in Wakalat-e-Isha’at, writes: “I was appointed to the office of Wakalat-e-Isha’at a few months ago. These few months were some of the most memorable moments of my life. On every occasion, he took care of me with great love and kindness.”
A student of Jamia Ahmadiyya Rabwah, Muhammad Kashif, says: I visited Mirza Anas Sahib on numerous occasions in the last few months in relation to my thesis. By the grace of God Almighty, he very lovingly gave me some of his precious time. One day, in a very emotional tone, he said, ‘A summary of my life’s experiences are that one’s own efforts and struggles are of no value, whatever one has is purely due to the grace of God Almighty and through Khilafat.’”
Asif Ahmad Zafar from Rabwah says: “A short while before his demise, he was admitted in the Tahir Heart Hospital and I went to visit him. He was wearing an oxygen mask and when I introduced myself, he took off the oxygen mask himself and began talking to me.”
There is absolutely no exaggeration in regards to what various people have written about his relationship with Khilafat, in fact his relationship was even stronger than that and he demonstrated this relationship through every action and example of his.
When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) appointed me as the Amir Muqami and Nazir-e-A’la, he showed complete obedience to the Amir and had great regard for this even though I was at least 13/14 years younger than him but this was purely due to his obedience towards Khilafat. And after my appointment to Khilafat, he continued to show complete obedience and devotion.
May God Almighty grant him His mercy and forgiveness and may God Almighty also fulfil His desire which he mentioned in relation to acquiring the grace of God Almighty. May He grant him a place among the company of his loved ones and also enable his progeny to establish a bond of loyalty with Khialfat. When Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib passed away, he saw a dream which I also mentioned in the Friday Sermon. He related, “The night before yesterday, when Mia Sahib passed away, I saw a dream close to that time in which I saw that Mia Khurshid and Mia Ahmad have gone to God Almighty and they are meeting the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Promised Messiah (as). At the time, I desired to God Almighty that He also grant me the opportunity to meet them as well. And so, I prayed, ‘O Allah! Call me towards Yourself.’ God Almighty replied, ‘Come forward.’”
Thus, he was granted the closeness of God Almighty and God Almighty had informed him of bestowing His forgiveness and mercy upon him from before. May God Almighty continue to elevate his station and may his progeny also be righteous and pious.