Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 139
Khilafat Centenary J alsa Salana of the US Jama ' at that same year. Shaikh Sahib undertook exten sive planning sessions for the blessed visit of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV t•. A well-designed security plan was put into operation. The Thanksgiving Celebration of the lOOth Anniversary of the Ahmadi yya Muslim Community was held on March 23rd, 1989. The celebrations were held in a par excellence style in every Jama'at in the USA. Public gatherings and wide-scale media coverage was arranged under the directions of Shaikh Sahib. A specially prepared press kit was released to all major pre ss agencies. A special souvenir magazine commemorating the Ahmadiyya Centennial Celebrations was published. For the first time a large exhibition was set up at the University of Baltimore, Mar y land , the venue of the annual convention that year. Another important assignment given by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV rt a during Shaikh Sahib's tenure was the preparation of index of the 5 Volume Commentar y of the Hol y Qur ' an by the Lajna Imaillah USA. The mosques in Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles, Portland and Willingboro and the mission house in Zion were opened and the lands for the mosques in Detroit, Houston , New Orleans and the National Mosque were acquired under his leadership. The foundation stone for Baitur Rahman Mosque and National Headquart ers Complex building was laid by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV t•. Distribution of the audio cassettes of Khutabat (sermons) of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV ta was started. Thousands of fl yers and brochures were printed and dis tributed in a well- planned tabligh campaign. Regular dialogues were held with the West Minister Theological Seminar y in Philadelphia every month for over three years. Shaikh Sahib attended most of them. He deliv ered lectures to schools, churches, and at the Universi ty of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg College. Professor Louis J. Hammond of the Gettysburg College wrote " An Introduction to Ahmadi yyat" at the request of Maulana Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad. The global marketing of the 5 Volume Commentar y of the Holy Qur ' an was launched. The Greek translation of the Hol y Qur ' an wa s rendered by the wife of Dr. Rahman. Retirement Maulana Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad retired in 1990, but remained active in the service of Islam in various official and personal capacities. He was assigned the duties of the Secretary of the Mosque and Africa and India Fund. He traveled from coast to coast, sometimes even house to house to collect substantial contrib,utions. These , like his other missionary efforts, won him special favor and blessed prayers of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV t•. Hadhrat Shaikh Sahib's progeny consisted of one son and three daughters from his first wife and a daughter from his second marriage. His stepchildren-three sons and a daughter-were equally devoted to serving him all his life. He had 13 grandchildren. His wife, Mohtarama Safia Begum Sahibs, his daughter Farida and her husband Mr. Khawas Bhatti Sahib served him devotedly. In his last address to the US Jama ' at on his retirement he said:. . . What has b ee n done in this great country and other parts of th e w orld during my assignment of nearly 60 ye ars has been don e through the she er mercy of the Almighty Allah and th e special prayers of Hadhrat Khalifatul Mas ih of the tim e, and through his guidance. I w as lu cky and fortunat e and honor ed to have served thr ee very r ev er ed and belo v ed Khulafaa in four diff ere nt contine nts of the w orld, namely , Asia, Africa, Eur op e and Am er ic a. I ha ve pondered very seriously again and again upon my limitations and hav e come to th e c onclu s ion that I am but nothing. The real source of my salv ation is th e grac e of Allah and the prayers of my r eve red Khulafaa, my pare nts , my teachers and my fri e nds. May Allah bl e ss th em all and you as well. Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad: Kifayat-e-Zindagi After a prolonged illness Hadhrat Maulana Shaikh Sahib passed away leaving a spiritual legacy of devoted service to Islam and Ahmadiyyat in six countries. Let us join in saying amen to the special pra yers offered by our beloved Supreme Spiritual Leader Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV t• for Shaikh Sahib: " Ma y the Almighty Allah accept his life-long sacrifices and services out of His grace and admit him into the loftiest station in J annatul Firdous. "