Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 137
Hadhrat Maulana Shaik h October 10, 1910 - May 9, 2001 Hadhrat Maulana Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad Sahib was born in Shujabad, District Multan. His father's name was Hadhrat Shaikh Muhammad Din , a companion of the Promised Messiah as. Maulana Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad devoted his life to the propagation of Islam, beginning as a young bo y of just 15. He was a tall, graceful figure with a charming smile and pleasing manners. He was deeply devoted to the study of the Holy Qur 'a n, which he recited in soft, pensive tones. A prolific writer, he left a legacy of 24 works in Urdu, English, Swahili and Kituyu. Shaikh Sahib was in his be st form in religious discussions. Among his adversaries was the famous Reverend Billy Graham, who boasted of healing power s. In March 1960, during one of his renowned visits to Africa made at the behest of President Eisen ower, the Rev erend Dr. Graham made nega tive re marks about Islam. He was promptl y challeng ed to a prayer debat e by Shaikh Sahib to "determine wh o it is blessed with God's grace and mercy 8nd who it is upon whom His door remains closed. " Shaikh Sahib suggested that some patients who h ad been diagnosed of i ncura ble diseases by the medical practitioners of Kenya should be allocated to the reverend evangelist and some to the flag- bearer of Islam in Kenya, Shaikh Sahib. Both the antagonists should pray to the Almighty God for the recovery of their respective group of patients. That party's religion would be considered as the true religion of God whose patients were cured. If the Reverend Graham declined, Shaikh Sahib argued, it would be proved to the world that Islam is the religion that is capable of establishing man 's relationship with God. This challenge was published in the East African Standard, The Sunday Post, The New York Times and a host of other papers. However, in spite of repeated cables from his M ubarak Ahmad fellow Pentecostals in the US, the Reverend neither picked up the gauntlet nor offered any comment to the press (Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad: Kaifeyaat- e- Zindagi). Shaikh Sahib paid special attention to the moral and spiritual upbringing of the you ng child ren of the Jama' at by supervising their tarbiyati camps and authoring a series for them entitled "Lessons in Islam. " One of his most distinguished students was Shaikh Amri Abedi of East Africa. With Hadhrat Shaikh Sahib's spiritual mentoring, this righteous man rose to become the Mayor of Dares Salaam and later, the Minister for Community Development and National Culture. In his memoirs Shaikh Abedi wrote of the many instances of the fulfillment of Hadhrat Shaikh Sahib's dreams and prayers. The following narration of the brief accounts of Hadhrat Maulana Shaikh Mubarak Ahmad's life has been drawn from his memoirs entitled Kaifeyaat- e -Zi ndagi, The 50th J alsa Salana Souvenir, and Biography of Shaikh Amri Abedi written by his son Shaikh Bakri Abedi. Asia After graduating from the Missionary College in Qadian Hadhrat Shaikh Sahib served missionary assignments in Ludhiana, Calcutta, Lahore, Rampur, Peshawar, and Srinagar, Kashmir. In one of his speeches on the occasion of the J alsa Sa lana, Qadian, 1933, Hadhrat Musl eh Ma u dr• note d with pleasure the acumen possessed by new missionaries including Shaikh Sahib. Africa Hadhrat Shaikh Sahib left Qadian for East Africa on November 11th, 1934. He was the first Ahma di 137