Nazir Ahmad Nangli
Biography
In India, the British rule ceased in 1947 and the country was divided in India with a majority of Hindus on one hand and West- and East Pakistan with a majority of Muslims on the other. The happiness over getting rid of the British rule soon turned over into ensuing, riots with bloody fights and violence resulting in approximately 2 million killed people. To get some understanding about the cruelties and horror, I read a novel by name “Train to Pakistan”, first published in 1994.
Qadian was situated in India but near the new Pakistani border, which made the situation there very dangerous. Almost all Muslims who so could, fled to Pakistan. In order to protect the holy grave of the Promised Messiah (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which was situated in Qadian, 313 devoted Ahmadis bravely vowed their lives for this very difficult and dangerous task. This group of men are now called Darwesh.
One of these Darwesh was Nazir Ahmad Nangli. I met him personally in Qadian and have a special relation to him and his wife, Nusrat Jahan Begum, since I adopted their youngest child, a little girl, when she was only 2 months old, and brought her with me to Sweden.
His biography is interesting – and so is the one of his wife, so it is a pleasure for me to present their biographies here:
Nazir Ahmad Nangli, lived in Mohalla Ahmadiyya, Qadian, Batala, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India. He was born 1912 in the village called Nangal Baghban just in the outskirts of Qadian, Gurdaspur, India. He was married to Nusrat Jahan Begum. He had not learned how to read and write, but worked for the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in Qadian. He passed away in 2004 at an age of 92 years.
His father was Elahi Bakhsh who lived in the same village, Nangal Baghban. He died when his son was only 3 months old.
His mother Fateh Bibi, then a widow, dedicated him to Jama’at. In 1947 she fled to Pakistan where she later settled in Sindh. During her life in Qadian, it is known that she used to cook Sagh (spinach and mustard leaves) with Tarkah (garlic in oil or ghee, cumin (zeerah) and green chili) and bring this dish now and then for the Promised Messiah.
Nusrat Jahan Begum was the wife of Nazir Ahmad Nangli. She was born in 1939 in the village Kandoor, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh (near Hyderabad), India. Actually her name at birth was Ahmad un-Nisa, but when she got married in Qadian and moved there she changed her name to Nusrat Jahan. She could read and write, which was rather unusual among Indian women at that time – this was because her father, called Ustad jee (meaning respected teacher), had been very keen on women’s education and was a front figure in this respect.
His name was Sayyed Hussain He lived in in the village Kandoor, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh (near Hyderabad), India and was married to Bismillah Bi. By all people in the village Kandoor he was called “Ustad jee”. He was a learned man and wrote many books for the propagation and teachig others about Ahmadiyyt, but none of these books is saved. He was very active in preaching Ahmadiyyat and he also converted many to Ahmadiyyat. The 4th Khalifa appreciated his work for the Ahmadiyya Jama’at and during his visit in Qadian in 1991, he mentioned this to his daughter, Nusrat Jahan Begum, during her Mulakat.
He had several children and three of them were married in Qadian since he wanted them to be near to the Promised Messiah (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The names known to me are: 1. Ahmad un-Nisa – Nusrat Jahan (wife of Nazir Ahmad Nangli ), 2. Rahim un-Nisa, 3. Gauran-Nisa who later changed her name to Tahira. She got married in Rabwah to Hanif Ahmad who served whole his life in the Jamia, 4. Saghirun-Nisa and 5. Karim un-Nisa. He might have had more daughters, though I have not found out their names.
His two sons never converted to Ahmadiyyat and on the death of their father, “Ustad jee”, they tore up all his books. Each page was folded and glued to small paper bags, used for small items like for example buttons, in the market. All these small paper bags were sold to shopkeepers in the neighborhood. Sadly enough it has not been possible to find a single copy of any of his many books.
The 12th January 2006 Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, visited the home of Nazir Ahmad Nangli in Qadian. It was a great honou for all the family.
Nazir Ahmad Nangli and Nusrat Jahan Begum had nine children in all. Some of them stayed in Qadian and still live there, and some moved abroad.
It is a special pleasure for me that the biological mother of my daughter has the same name as the Nusrat Djahan Mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I signed my Bai’at in 1967.
With thanks to Renata T. Ahmad, London, for helping me find facts and details.
Dr. Qanita