{"id":118102,"date":"2021-09-13T16:35:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T23:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=118102"},"modified":"2021-09-13T16:35:38","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T23:35:38","slug":"obituary-syed-taalay-ahmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/09\/13\/obituary-syed-taalay-ahmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Obituary – Syed Taalay Ahmed"},"content":{"rendered":"

by A. Abdul Aziz<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Ahmadiyya\nKhalifa His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad in his Friday Sermon delivered\non 3rd<\/sup> September said that recently, a very dear life-devotee, Syed\nTaalay Ahmed (31) was martyred in Ghana, Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadiyya\nHead expressed his own love and admiration for Syed Taalay Ahmad too in the\nsermon. He said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was a\ngem that left us. May Allah the Exalted continue to grant the Jama\u2019at such\nloyal people who have a relationship with Khilafat (system of Caliph) that is\nbased on obedience and sincerity and who give precedence to faith over the\nworld This beloved individual fully understood the spirit of waqf<\/em> [life\ndevotion] and fulfilled the oath that he had made in the truest sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in\nHartlepool, U.K., he was the son of Syed Hashim Akbar and Amatul Shakoor. He\nleft his wife Hazrat Nusrat Jahan Begum and two children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the\nnight between the 23rd and 24th of August, the MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya\nInternational) team which was filming a documentary was travelling when they\nwere attacked by robbers who fired at them, injuring two people, Umar Farooq\nand Syed Taalay Ahmed. On the way to the hospital, Syed Taalay Ahmed passed\naway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syed\nTaalay Ahmed had been active in serving the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association\nUK in various capacities. He also served the Community in his local chapter of\nHartlepool, UK. He was appointed to the MTA News team full-time in 2016. He had\nthe opportunity of making various documentaries for MTA. He was also the one to\ninitiate the very popular This Week With Huzoor<\/em> programme\nwhich features on MTA, according to Ahmadiyya Head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syed\nTaalay Ahmed was very passionate about his work and seeing it through, no\nmatter the hardships he may have to face along the way. His main focus was\nalways to ensure that the work was carried out. This was evident from the\nincident of his martyrdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robbers\nhad begun firing at the vehicle after which they approached the vehicle and\ntook whatever valuables they had. Syed Taalay Ahmed had been struck in the back\nand lost a great deal of blood. As the robbery was happening, he quickly hid\nthe laptop and other equipment under the seats so that the robbers would not be\nable to find it. As they were driving to a nearby clinic, Syed Taalay Ahmed\nwould ask whether His Holinesshad been informed about this\nincident. From the clinic, it was decided that he would need to be taken to a\nhospital. Along the way, he said, \u2018Tell His Holiness that I love him and tell\nmy family that I love them.\u2019, as detailed by Ahmadiyya Head in his Friday\nSermon of September 3rd<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nHolinesssaid that this was a beautiful gem which has\nleft us. This loss has shaken everyone. He understood his oath of life-devotion\nand fulfilled it to the utmost degree. His Holiness said that\nSyed Taalay Ahmed always surprised him, and he would wonder how a youngster who\nhad been raised amidst a worldly environment was able to understand and fulfil\nhis pledge of devotion. His level of love and devotion for Khilafat was such\nthat even some who have deep-rooted knowledge of faith do not possess it. His\ndevotion to Khilafat (System of Caliph) was such that even in his last moments,\nhe was constantly expressing his love for Khilafat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nHolinesssaid that a few years ago, Syed Taalay Ahmed wrote a poem\nin which he expressed his love for Khilafat (system of Caliph). He started the\npoem by saying that he loved his Khalifathe most\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we produce Syed Talay Ahmad\nSahib\u2019s poem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love my Caliph more than the\nothers,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They only love, I\u2019m only his\nlover.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They crawl to his hand from far\nicy coasts,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wonderful host, supported by\nhosts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mountains migrate for prophets\nand kings,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When heaven comes near, they see\nhim and sing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My silence might grate but I love\nhim more,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whole with holiness as my soothed\nsoul soars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they see his face they weep\nand they cry,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart beats to tears but my\neyes are dry.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But by God\u2019s promise I\u2019m able to\nboast,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swear I can prove I love him\nthe most.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They truthfully tell, disclosing\ntheir love,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humble, he blushes, embarrassed\nenough.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his weary eyes, here surely\nprefer,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Durood and takbirs, Allahu Akbar!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So their cue of lovers ends at\nthis line,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep my secret for his sake not\nmine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lamp in my night, forever\naglow,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love my Caliph, but he\u2019ll never\nknow.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(By Syed Talay Ahmad Martyr\n(Shaheed)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ended\nby saying that perhaps His Holinesswould never know how much he\nloved him. Ahmadiyya Khalifa said that even before Syed Taalay Ahmed\u2019s last\nwords, he knew \u2013 he knew how much Syed Taalay Ahmed loved him when he was\nfilming with his camera, and even when he met him without his camera. He could\ntell from the sparkle in his eyes and the light on his face, indeed from his\nevery action, His Holinesswas aware of the love that Syed Taalay\nAhmed had for him, according to the Friday Sermon of September 3rd<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadiyya\nKhalifa said that he himself bears testament to the fact that Syed Taalay Ahmed\nfulfilled his oath of life-devotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nHolinessshared the sentiments of Syed Taalay Ahmed\u2019s father Syed\nHashim Akbar. He said that he had seen a dream about his own martyrdom and\nlater learned that his son Syed Taalay Ahmed had seen the same dream about the\nmartyrdom of his father. However he must have prayed that he should be martyred\ninstead of his father. Seeing his excellent qualities, God Almihgty accepted\nhis prayer and bestowed upon him the rank of martyrdom. His soul was devoted to\nthe Holy Prophet, (PBUH) and he lived and breathed for the sake of Khilafat.\nSyed Taalay Ahmed\u2019s mother Amatul Shakoor said that he was inclined towards\nreligion from a young age. He was very good at his studies and would obtain\ngood grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nHolinessshared the sentiments of Abid Khan, Press Secretary of the\nAhmadiyya Community who was also Syed Taalay Ahmed\u2019s maternal uncle. He said\nthat Syed Taalay Ahmed possessed a profound love for the Promised Messiah,\npeace be on him. Though he was extremely proud to be from the progeny of the\nPromised Messiah, peace be on him, he never openly shared this fact nor did he\never use it to receive any sort of favourable treatment\u2026\u2026.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nHolinesssaid that Syed Taalay Ahmed fulfilled his due in being the\nspiritual and physical progeny of the Holy Prophet(PUH) as well as\nthe Promised Messiah, peace be on him. His Holiness said that thus, it is\nfitting that Allah Almighty chose the (Islamic) month of Muharram<\/em> for\nSyed Taalay Ahmed to be able to present this sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\nend, Ahmadiyya Khalifa prayed that may Allah Almighty continue to elevate the\nstation of Syed Taalay Ahmed. Surely, he would have been given a place in\nParadise near the Holy ProphetMuhammad (PBUH). In fact, someone saw\na dream that he was running towards the Holy Prophet(PBUH) who\nwas welcoming him. His Holinessalso prayed that his family may be\nable to bear this loss with patience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013,\nSyed Taalay Ahmad, after completing his master\u2019s degree in journalism,\nsacrificed his life for the cause of Islam Ahmadiyyat and was posted to the\nCentral Press & Media department. In 2016, he was assigned duties in the\nMTA News department, an office which he took to new heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syed Taalay Ahmed, British\nJournalist completed a Masters in Journalism from Sunderland University, is\nreported to leave behind his wife, two young children, parents and siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a Press Secretary of\nAhmadiyya Muslim Jama\u2019at, Sri Lanka, I was familiar to him for years. Syed\nTaalay Ahmed (Shaheed \u2013 Martyr) was always assisting us in preparing our News\nto MTA and air in excellent manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once he was\ncontacting me until 10.30 p.m. as the MTA News to go at 11.30 p.m. (Sri Lankan\nTime) in an effort to include our News Bulletin on that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also had the habit\nof appreciating our preaching efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May Allah elevate his status\nfurther and further. Ameen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The word \u2018Promised Messiah\u2019 \u2013 refers to: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam\nAhmad \u2013 the Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama\u2019at in Islam.) <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}