by A. Abdul Aziz
Ahmadiyya
Khalifa His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad in his Friday Sermon delivered
on 3rd September said that recently, a very dear life-devotee, Syed
Taalay Ahmed (31) was martyred in Ghana, Africa.
Ahmadiyya
Head expressed his own love and admiration for Syed Taalay Ahmad too in the
sermon. He said:
He was a
gem that left us. May Allah the Exalted continue to grant the Jama’at such
loyal people who have a relationship with Khilafat (system of Caliph) that is
based on obedience and sincerity and who give precedence to faith over the
world This beloved individual fully understood the spirit of waqf [life
devotion] and fulfilled the oath that he had made in the truest sense.
Born in
Hartlepool, U.K., he was the son of Syed Hashim Akbar and Amatul Shakoor. He
left his wife Hazrat Nusrat Jahan Begum and two children.
On the
night between the 23rd and 24th of August, the MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya
International) team which was filming a documentary was travelling when they
were attacked by robbers who fired at them, injuring two people, Umar Farooq
and Syed Taalay Ahmed. On the way to the hospital, Syed Taalay Ahmed passed
away.
Syed
Taalay Ahmed had been active in serving the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association
UK in various capacities. He also served the Community in his local chapter of
Hartlepool, UK. He was appointed to the MTA News team full-time in 2016. He had
the opportunity of making various documentaries for MTA. He was also the one to
initiate the very popular This Week With Huzoor programme
which features on MTA, according to Ahmadiyya Head.
Syed
Taalay Ahmed was very passionate about his work and seeing it through, no
matter the hardships he may have to face along the way. His main focus was
always to ensure that the work was carried out. This was evident from the
incident of his martyrdom.
Robbers
had begun firing at the vehicle after which they approached the vehicle and
took whatever valuables they had. Syed Taalay Ahmed had been struck in the back
and lost a great deal of blood. As the robbery was happening, he quickly hid
the laptop and other equipment under the seats so that the robbers would not be
able to find it. As they were driving to a nearby clinic, Syed Taalay Ahmed
would ask whether His Holinesshad been informed about this
incident. From the clinic, it was decided that he would need to be taken to a
hospital. Along the way, he said, ‘Tell His Holiness that I love him and tell
my family that I love them.’, as detailed by Ahmadiyya Head in his Friday
Sermon of September 3rd.
His
Holinesssaid that this was a beautiful gem which has
left us. This loss has shaken everyone. He understood his oath of life-devotion
and fulfilled it to the utmost degree. His Holiness said that
Syed Taalay Ahmed always surprised him, and he would wonder how a youngster who
had been raised amidst a worldly environment was able to understand and fulfil
his pledge of devotion. His level of love and devotion for Khilafat was such
that even some who have deep-rooted knowledge of faith do not possess it. His
devotion to Khilafat (System of Caliph) was such that even in his last moments,
he was constantly expressing his love for Khilafat.
His
Holinesssaid that a few years ago, Syed Taalay Ahmed wrote a poem
in which he expressed his love for Khilafat (system of Caliph). He started the
poem by saying that he loved his Khalifathe most………………
Below we produce Syed Talay Ahmad
Sahib’s poem.
I love my Caliph more than the
others,
They only love, I’m only his
lover.
They crawl to his hand from far
icy coasts,
A wonderful host, supported by
hosts.
As mountains migrate for prophets
and kings,
When heaven comes near, they see
him and sing.
My silence might grate but I love
him more,
Whole with holiness as my soothed
soul soars.
When they see his face they weep
and they cry,
My heart beats to tears but my
eyes are dry.
But by God’s promise I’m able to
boast,
I swear I can prove I love him
the most.
They truthfully tell, disclosing
their love,
Humble, he blushes, embarrassed
enough.
For his weary eyes, here surely
prefer,
Durood and takbirs, Allahu Akbar!
So their cue of lovers ends at
this line,
I keep my secret for his sake not
mine.
The lamp in my night, forever
aglow,
I love my Caliph, but he’ll never
know.”
(By Syed Talay Ahmad Martyr
(Shaheed)
He ended
by saying that perhaps His Holinesswould never know how much he
loved him. Ahmadiyya Khalifa said that even before Syed Taalay Ahmed’s last
words, he knew – he knew how much Syed Taalay Ahmed loved him when he was
filming with his camera, and even when he met him without his camera. He could
tell from the sparkle in his eyes and the light on his face, indeed from his
every action, His Holinesswas aware of the love that Syed Taalay
Ahmed had for him, according to the Friday Sermon of September 3rd.
Ahmadiyya
Khalifa said that he himself bears testament to the fact that Syed Taalay Ahmed
fulfilled his oath of life-devotion.
His
Holinessshared the sentiments of Syed Taalay Ahmed’s father Syed
Hashim Akbar. He said that he had seen a dream about his own martyrdom and
later learned that his son Syed Taalay Ahmed had seen the same dream about the
martyrdom of his father. However he must have prayed that he should be martyred
instead of his father. Seeing his excellent qualities, God Almihgty accepted
his prayer and bestowed upon him the rank of martyrdom. His soul was devoted to
the Holy Prophet, (PBUH) and he lived and breathed for the sake of Khilafat.
Syed Taalay Ahmed’s mother Amatul Shakoor said that he was inclined towards
religion from a young age. He was very good at his studies and would obtain
good grades.
His
Holinessshared the sentiments of Abid Khan, Press Secretary of the
Ahmadiyya Community who was also Syed Taalay Ahmed’s maternal uncle. He said
that Syed Taalay Ahmed possessed a profound love for the Promised Messiah,
peace be on him. Though he was extremely proud to be from the progeny of the
Promised Messiah, peace be on him, he never openly shared this fact nor did he
ever use it to receive any sort of favourable treatment……..
His
Holinesssaid that Syed Taalay Ahmed fulfilled his due in being the
spiritual and physical progeny of the Holy Prophet(PUH) as well as
the Promised Messiah, peace be on him. His Holiness said that thus, it is
fitting that Allah Almighty chose the (Islamic) month of Muharram for
Syed Taalay Ahmed to be able to present this sacrifice.
In the
end, Ahmadiyya Khalifa prayed that may Allah Almighty continue to elevate the
station of Syed Taalay Ahmed. Surely, he would have been given a place in
Paradise near the Holy ProphetMuhammad (PBUH). In fact, someone saw
a dream that he was running towards the Holy Prophet(PBUH) who
was welcoming him. His Holinessalso prayed that his family may be
able to bear this loss with patience.
In 2013,
Syed Taalay Ahmad, after completing his master’s degree in journalism,
sacrificed his life for the cause of Islam Ahmadiyyat and was posted to the
Central Press & Media department. In 2016, he was assigned duties in the
MTA News department, an office which he took to new heights.
Syed Taalay Ahmed, British
Journalist completed a Masters in Journalism from Sunderland University, is
reported to leave behind his wife, two young children, parents and siblings.
Being a Press Secretary of
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Sri Lanka, I was familiar to him for years. Syed
Taalay Ahmed (Shaheed – Martyr) was always assisting us in preparing our News
to MTA and air in excellent manner.
Once he was
contacting me until 10.30 p.m. as the MTA News to go at 11.30 p.m. (Sri Lankan
Time) in an effort to include our News Bulletin on that day.
He also had the habit
of appreciating our preaching efforts.
May Allah elevate his status
further and further. Ameen.
(The word ‘Promised Messiah’ – refers to: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad – the Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in Islam.)
