Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 144
Khilafat Centenary lunch he was hosting for the visiting Finance Minister of Pakistan, I mentioned to him that whenever we visit Pakistan, the Finance Minister always has a dinner for us at his residence and we should also invite him to our home rather than to a restaurant. He turned to me and said: "Do you think I don't want to invite him to our home? If I invited him, the Pakistani press and religious fanatics will not leave him alone. " In both cases, his concern for their welfare was given precedence over his desire to invite his friends to his home. While on the subject of his concern for others, let me share an incident that occurred when President Yahya Khan was in Washington for treatment after being released from house arrest under Bhutto's regime. Mian Sahib visited him in the hospital on a regular basis. He tried his best to attend to any needs that the former President and Mr. Y ah ya Khan ma y have had. On several occasions, he dro ve him to our home in order to spend a day out of the hospital. On their departure from Washington, Mr. Yah ya Khan pointed to the sky and said, "Oh Allah! If Muzaffar Ahmad is a Kafir, make this entire world Kafir. " He was also a very gracious man. He gave new meaning to the Urdu saying: 'Phal- daar Darakht Hames ha ]hukta Hai' i. e. a tree loaded with fruit always bows down. On a number of occasions, if he felt that he had been unfair to me or an y other member of the family, he would come up to us and , without making any excuses or giving any reasons, simply say, "I was wrong, please forgive me". One could clearly see that he meant every word of it. He was also very gracious in appreciating any little service that anyone could provide for him. I remember him thanking Siddique who took care of him. He was genuinely grateful to my mother, Sahibzadi Amatul Qayyum, Sahibzadi Amtul Jameel , Tazeen and even the children, Muhammad and Marium. He was extremely grateful to the members of the Jama ' at for all the prayers and the sincere love they showed him through the years. Humility No discussion about Mian Sahib would be complete without a discussion about his humility. Here I will give three examples. Once he returned to Sialkot where he had been a very popular deputy commissioner. At the time of his return, he was the additional Chief Secretary of the entire West Pakistan. At his arrival, when he saw the welcoming arrangements, he turned to the then deputy commissioner and asked, "Are you awaiting a VIP?" The commissioner turned to him and said, "Yes sir. We were awaiting you. " Various comments have been recorded regarding his humility. In his article, Farhan Ahmad Sahib writes, "A legendary man asking an insignificant young man like myself about life does not happen often. But when humility and grace are woven deeply in your heart and your name is Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad, it happened quite a bit. " You ma y recall on the 50th birthda y of Pakistan, there was a souvenir published by the USJama'at. This contained brief descriptions and photos of Jama 'a t members who had contributed to the cause of Pakistan. If you look at the souvenir, you will see that there is no mention of Mian Sahib. As he was publishing it, he did not think that it would be appropriate to mention himself. On another occasion, we were at London's Heathrow airport. Mian Sahib was busy with a news conference and my mother and I were sitting and watching. Once the news conference was over, we drove to the ambassador's house where we were to stay. During the drive, my mother asked him why the news people were addressing him as "His Excellency", as that is reserved for federal ministers and so on. In a very uncomfortable and shy tone he responded by saying, "I am a minister". That is when we found out that he was actually a federal minister! Personal integrity Personal integrity was the essence of this incredible man. Regardless of the amount, he always kept personal and official accounts separated. I remember Dr. Zaheer Bajwa, who was his assistant, mentioning the fact that even when Mian Sahib asked Zaheer Bajwa to bring a book of stamps, Mian Sahib would not only pa y for it, but insist on the receipt. All through the years in the service of the government of Pakistan, he never used any thing that belonged to the government for his personal use. He had given the driver of the official car a notebook