Perseverance — Page 202
202 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american of his death he was 91 years of age. The deceased was born in the American city of [East] St. Louis in 1923. He entered the fold of Islam-Ahmadiyya in 1947 after taking the bay‘ah. After taking the bay‘ah, he travelled to Rabwah in 1949 to pursue religious education. Hadrat Mu s l i h Mau‘ u d ra personally received him at the Rabwah railway station. After studying at J a mi‘ah Ahmadiyyah for five years, he graduated as a qualified missionary. During his stay in Pakistan he learnt Urdu and Punjabi. He has the distinction of being the first one who was admitted in J a mi‘ah Ahmadiyyah as a student from America. During his five year stay in Rabwah, he became a close companion of Hadrat Mu s l i h Mau‘ u d ra. Huzoor arranged his marriage with Ms. Sara Qudsia, the daughter of the Ahmadi missionary Al- Ha j Ibrah i m Khal i l. He was blessed with three children from this marriage. One son had passed away, and one daughter and another son are currently living in the US. After his graduation from J a mi‘ah Ahmadiyyah, he was sent to the USA as a missionary. Upon his departure, Hadrat Mu s l i h Mau‘ u d ra instructed him and gifted him, with his blessed hand, a kulah of his turban, in which a piece of the sacred garment of the Promised Messiah as was sewn. He cherished this gift and still had it in his possession. Now it has been passed on to his children. He was the first native African-American missionary of the USA Jam a ‘ah. He performed his missionary duties in Chicago, St. Louis and various other cities. He was the National President of the USA Jam a ‘ah for several years. For a long time he was the President of the Milwaukee Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He held other offices of the Jam a ‘ah as well.