Dr. Khurshid Begum Razzaq, MD "Bari Dadi, Bari Nani"

ﺒﺴﻡ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺍﻟﺭﺤﻤﻥ ﺍﻟﺭﺤﻴﻡ

نحمده و نصل علي رسوله الكريم

اﻟﺴﻼﻡﻋﻠﻴﻜﻡ ﻭ ﺭﺤﻤﺔاﻟﻠﻪ ﻭ ﺒﺭﻜﺎﺘﻪ

A heavenly bird of diverse hues whose wings shaded countless souls was peacefully called back to her Lord سبحانه وتعالىٰ, Whom she lived to serve and manifest to the world. That Judgement Day was tasted last Tuesday, January 19th, 2021. That angel's name is Dr. Khurshid Begum Razzaq, our Matriarch, Saint, and home in this world and the next, lovingly known as "Bari Nani" and "Bari Dadi", mother of the motherless and healer of broken, daughter of Hazrat Master Nazir Husain, granddaughter of Hazrat Hakeem Muhammad Husain alias "Marham Isa" and Hazrat Miyan Abdul Aziz Mughal, great-granddaughter of Hazrat Miyan Chiragh-ud-Din رضي الله عنهم who were all among the 313 prominent Companions of the latter-day Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ of Qadian, India where she was born on September 6th, 1933.
She was surrounded by loved ones when the Angel of Death عليه السلام retrieved her soul, being well pleased with Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ, and He well pleased with her. Paradise desired to be more perfect and couldn't bear the separation of her motherly light any longer. Her legacy was that of Mary's, chaste mother of Messiah Jesus عليه السلام, Mother Khadijah's رضي الله, strong wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Hagar's, sacrificing spouse of Patriarch Abraham عليه السلام - to fulfill the rights owed to the Creator and serve the rights owed to His creation with equity and all of one's might only for the pleasure of Allah as perfected by her beloved lord and master Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Messenger of Allah and Seal of all Prophets "sent as a mercy for all creation". Allah’s perpetual praise and the Prophet ﷺ's remembrance anointed her lips and perfumed whatever setting she graced. She rooted for her progeny's education and achievements, but especially celebrated strivings in religion, spirituality, and unbiased service to humanity, with or without titles, considering it and simple household chores as a branch of Divine worship. Righteousness, however meager or grand, was elevated on a pedestal by her while she gracefully hushed down any involvement of her own, fearing Allah’s displeasure. She was independent of everything except her Lord, who was sufficient for her and the twenty-five years she braved without her endearing husband, Miyan Muhammad Abdul Razzaq, Allah’s mercy be on him. She exemplified "love for all, hatred for none", blissfulness, justice, kindness, kinship, humility, innocence, honesty, strength, honor, valor, chivalry, self-sacrifice, restraint, discipline, serenity, gratitude, inclusivity, positivity, simplicity, spirituality, morality, generosity, and most of all, taqwa, God-consciousness.

Bari Dadi and Bari Nani was a reminder of God and the Last Day. She emphasized the connection with and obedience to the living Khalifa of Messiah Ahmad from the Second, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad رضي الله, to the Fifth and current head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ايده الله, whose garden she happily served and beautified tirelessly to her last breath. She seemed herself strengthened by a palpable Spirit of Holiness, but would seek refuge in Allah if ever recognized. She became a Doctor with the prayers of the Promised Messiah's wife, Nusrat Jehan Begum رضي الله, and that of his Promised Son and Second Khalifa completing her studies with a full scholarship from Fatima Jinnah Medical College. She harnessed her excellence in education for dutiful service to humanity in both her mother country of Pakistan as a renowned Gynecologist, despite facing fierce persecution alongside fellow Ahmadi Muslims doing what she could to empower oppressed siblings, as well as here in the United States of America after immigrating here only to plant the seed of God’s chosen Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and spread God’s message of Islam Ahmadiyyat. Here she became a reputable Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, and Head of the Traumatic Brain Injury Unit at Connecticut Valley Hospital. She miraculously healed scores of patients and illnesses selflessly with the love and attention they needed and deserved. She also delivered babies and welcomed them into this transitory mirage as an OB/GYN. Yet, she found more honor in perfecting voluntary service as a pioneer elected President of the Women's Auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in North Carolina, Connecticut, and the Northeast Region of the U.S.A, serving quietly nationally and in various roles, planting prophesied seeds with patience and prayer, freely lending her wings so others could fly.

She was no less than a sign of the Most Gracious Ever Merciful Divine Provider alongside her husband as well as her brother Dr. Basharat Munir Mirza, Ohio's first Muslim Mayor, and her sisters like Dr. Lubna Razia Ijaz, Nobel Laureate Nominee, near whom she was recently buried. A devout servant of Allah & His Messenger ﷺ who lived up to her name “Khurshid Razzaq” being a brilliant sun for the evolution of new worlds while simultaneously being the water for life to thrive and flourish in barren deserts. She provided her houses in Middletown and Hebron as Masajid, Islamic Houses of Worship, for believers to gather in worship, for meetings, celebrations of Eid, observance of Friday Services, find shelter and a home away from home, eating roti and salan, and enjoying fellowship. Her nourishment was both corporeal and metaphysical. She was an exemplary host happily cooking and cleaning like a one-person army, never for a moment thinking it was beneath her, but rather feeling honored by the opportunity to champion another part of her faith. She did this for over fifteen years before donating benevolently to help purchase the well-known Baitul Aman "House of Peace" Mosque in Meriden. She somehow solved everyone's problems with a lasting impression whether they were personal or professional, secular or spiritual, familial or public. She was legendary, a Masjid personified. From when she gained consciousness to the day she passed away, she passionately spread the peace-loving teachings of True Islam Ahmadiyya, never wasting an opportunity to invite to goodness and truth whether she was serving or recovering in the Hospital and beyond. Myriads were guided through her life-giving callings and example. She was cherished by her family and friends for the fragrant flower from Paradise that she was, and always made an effort to have meaningful, unbreakable connections with both young and old, accepted and rejected, high and low, big and small, rich and poor, righteous and unrighteous, related and unrelated, Asian and Latino, Black and White, Muslim and nonMuslim, Christian and Jew, Hindu and Atheist, Buddhist and Agnostic, and everyone in between. She was blessed with a large household, witnessing her distant progeny, leaving behind four daughters, Tanweer, Teenat, Talhaht, and Bushra, a son, Zaffar, nineteen grandchildren, and twenty-seven great-grandchildren (from the Razzaqs, Sheikhs, Mannans, and Ahmads) whom she always empowered, united, and afforded tranquility. She reminded her great-grandchildren, beginning with Khadijah Sadiya Mannan and Abdullah Ahmad Mannan, that it was they who made her great and were her special friends sharing innocent secrets and youthful joys. Indeed, everyone that knew her felt as if she was theirs alone because of her personal, gentle, and encompassing touch.
She was a model for us all, women and men alike, in her uprightness and inclination towards the Hidden King of Kings in Whose presence she always seemed to be in. She was particularly timely and diligent in performing Wudu, Ablution, and Salat, Islamic formal worship, five times a day as well as Tahajjud, and in the recitation of the Holy Quran with translation and commentary, daily reflecting on the apparent and hidden meanings and generously imparting knowledge through dignified dialogue with whoever spent a moment in her company. In later years, she was often found praying awe-inspiringly and lengthily, writing to the Khalifa of the time, and translating Messiah Ahmad's and various Khalifas' revolutionary exegesis from Urdu to English, knowing much of her progeny and Community would benefit from it while emphasizing the need to know our mother tongue of Urdu and of owning and enshrining our identity as Ahmadi Muslims from a forgotten warrior spirit.
Her heavenly throne hungered for her return and settlement. Now she's escaped the barriers of this fleeting world, now the blurring veils separating her and her Lord are lifted, and she lives more deeply and clearly in awe of the Everlasting God of all. JazakAllah and thank you Bari Dadi and Bari Nani for the magical adventure, playing with us, raising us in your messianic hands, teaching us, listening to us, advising us, guiding us, loving us, enchanting us, and magnifying the light within us that we never imagined we had. You always stood up for the rights of others eclipsing your own. Thank you for showing us that miracles are real, that God is more than a fantasy. We only read about the Eternal One but you introduced us to Him and showed us His Majestic Face. We miss you dearly, you were our personalized hero made just for us to save us from the overspreading darkness. We long to hold you and to be held by you again, and we await reuniting with you and our ancestors, the Righteous, the Martyrs, the Truthful, and the Prophets all the way back to the limbs that make up Prophet Adam, father of humanity as “our collective creation and resurrection are only like that of one single unified being” (Quran 31:29). Your absence has left a hole but it's transforming into a window revealing the mysteries of the afterlife. I can still see you and can still recognize your light, whatever form you may evolve into. We've already forgotten the world, but keep that one foot in the door just to transfer your radiant torch onto your successors. Shelter us under your wings once more, you beautiful intercessor, you always had a way of melting our barriers into bridges. It's not that we lost a spiritual Empress, but that your celestial home gained its Queen. We were no longer worthy of your reviving affection, and yet we still feel your warmth around. You nurtured and polished our hearts to present them to the Divine First and the Last.
Like Prophet Moses' mother, you saved us, putting your trust in Allah and rescuing us in baskets on the river of life only to instill success here and hereafter. Like Mary’s mother you devoted whatever was in your womb and beyond for the pleasure of Allah. You were our friend and never made us feel unworthy of your time and energy, sacred though they were. Heaven cried to shine brighter so you were called back home. You plucked the sins from our hearts, you sacrificed your comforts to liberate us from our miseries, you restored hope for the hopeless, never running low yourself because of the manna and salwa that you were gifted. You were our wings when our legs and arms became too weak. Whenever we were afraid to take you away from your post or became too reliant on you, you whispered with sweetness; "open your eyes, you too have wings of your own, remember and transcend your artificial limits, fly high now, I am with you always and wherever you go". You were the key that unlocked every limiting shackle. We can only pray as we struggle to walk in your resurrecting footsteps. May we be given the power to do it all without you now until we meet you again, our love, our life, our guiding light. Our Paradise will always lay beneath your blessed feet. Do not forget us as you soar through new dimensions and reunite with your husband and then the Beloved Divine. "Surely, to Allah do we belong and to Allah shall we all return" (Quran 2:157). May the Source of Peace be on you Naniummi, and Allah’s mercy, and His choicest blessings. Now “...enter Gardens through which rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet nor those who have believed with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands. They will say, ‘Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us; surely Thou hast power over all things’” (Quran 66:9). Donate to Humanity First in her memory.
Written by Miyan Zaffar A. Razzaq, Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan, and all her loving children

In the end we extol; all praise belongs to Allah alone, Lord of all the worlds