By Alhaj Rafiq A. Tschannen, your Associate Chief Editor of The Muslim Times.

I have met Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) for the first time when he came to Zurich, Switzerland, to attend the opening ceremony of Mahmud Mosque, the first Mosque in Switzerland, in August 1963. Sir Zafarullah Khan was at the time President of the UN General Assembly. He arrived from Moscow on official tour together with one (male) Secretary.

At the time all Ahmadi Missionaries from Europe were present, I think 5 of them. During the lunch I was sitting next to the Swiss architect. He mentioned to me that ‘I thought the lunch will be boring, with all these religious people around, but your guest of honor, Sir Mohammad Zafrullah Khan, keeps making jokes and the whole gathering is in a real jolly mood’.

From Zurich Sir Mohammad Zafrullah Khan flew to London and I managed to take the same flight, as I was proceeding to London too. Chaudhry Sahib, as Sir Mohammad Zafrullah Khan was also called informally, was travelling in Business Class and I was travelling in Economy. Chaudhry Sahib requested the Swissair staff to permit me to join him in Business Class, and I could ‘move forward’.

In London Chaudhry Sahib was received by an officer of the Public Relations Department of the UK Government. It was useful, because there was a strike of baggage handlers. We gave him our passports and boarding cards and the Public Relations Officers did all the necessary thing like Passport Control and baggage collection.

I was going to Orpington, Kent, and Chaudhry Sahib, being received in London by a driver from the Pakistani Embassy was so kind as to drop me off at my destination, before proceeding to his London accomodation. (Hotel or Pakistani Embassy, not sure).

As I was working for Swissair at the time and paid only ten percent of the ticket cost Chaudhry Sahib later, in December 1963, while he was at his last month as President of the UN General Assembly, invited me to spend a week with him in New York. What an experience for a 19 year old! Every day I went with him to the office, joined him for lunch at the delegates’ lounge and attended together with him whatever dinner parties he had to attend. Many times we would go for the first dish to one host, the main dish to another host and for dessert to a third host, as he had so many invitations.

Interesting observation. Only the Algerian Embassy at the time did not serve alcohol. The Pakistan Embassy ‘had to’ still serve alcohol. Some Embassies would leave the bar open and many guests did not want to leave and continue drinking. Chaudhry Sahib used the trick that if the invitation read ‘from 6 to 9’ he would close the bar sharp at 9, and therefore we could proceed to the dinner invitations without further delay.

On one occasion, on a Sunday, Chaudhry Sahib was invited to give a speech organised by The New York Times. Before the speech there was a small ‘get together’ with the organisers. Chaudhry Sahib asked for a cup of hot milk with honey, good for speaking afterwards. The wife of the New York Times editor, as was usual at the time, as an American lady sort of verbally attacked Chaudhry Sahib and said ‘we ladies in USA have equal rights’. Chaudhry Sahib listened quietly for a while and then asked the lady if she had any children. As a proud mother she answered that yes she had three, one in college and two in High School. Now Chaudhry Sahib told her ‘can you now please ask your husband to have the next three children’.? The lady was of course shocked by such a ‘silly’ comment. Chaudhry Sahib then explained that yes, the Quran testifies that males and females are equal in ‘value’ and ‘status’ but they can never be equal in function. And he explained that with quotations from the Quran. Naturally the lady was very impressed and a bit embarrassed by her initial comment.

Chaudhry Sahib also wanted to give a copy of his book to a Jewish friend. (Islam, its meaning for modern men). We went to a Jewish Community Center where a dance of youth was going on. The organizer explained that ‘we are holding these functions so that boys and girls should meet each other, as the ‘danger’ that they will otherwise marry non-Jews is quite high. (May be Lajna and Khuddam should hold similar meetings to ensure that Jamaat members do not marry outside of the Jamaat?). (just saying…).

An interesting ‘side remark’. Chaudhry Sahib had accomodation provided by the Pakistani Embassy. As his predecessor as Pakistani Ambassador had a large family they rented two appartments. Chaudhry Sahib was alone and therefore needed only one. A diplomat from an African country was desparately looking for accomodation and Chaudhry Sahib kindly told him that you can stay in my appartment (that I do not need) until you find your own. After a few days the Concierge of the Building came and said that ‘sorry, I have to inform you that some of the other tenants object to a black man residing in this building. Ah, that was (and probably still is) the good old USA.

In 1964 I was working for SWISSAIR in Paris and one day Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan happened to come to Paris and he invited me for dinner. We had French Onion Soup and Strawberries with Cream… and a nice chat of course.

On my 20th birthday I reached Pakistan to take up a job at Marala Barrage Project, which a German company carried out. My first night in Pakistan I stayed in Sir Mohammad Zafarullah’s House (daughter’s house) in Lahore Cantonement. During my stay in Pakistan I often visited Chaudhry Sahib. Once during my stay for tea a Minister of the Government of Pakistan turned up. When I was introduced as a Convert to Islam the Minister mentioned that ‘I cannot understand how anyone can join the Ahmadiyya Community’. My response was that ‘you, as a Minister of the Government of Pakistan respect Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan so much that you come and have a cup of tea with him. Therefore, I cannot understand how you cannot join the Ahmadiyya Community, which, as you know, is close to Chaudhry Sahib’s heart’. The Minister could not reply.

Chaudhry Sahib was very strictly organised. After the Minister’s visit he said that now his timetable was upset. He now still had to work for half an hour on his Quran translation. He invited me to join him under the condition that I would not speak a word. I sat quietly. And after the work he said ‘and now it is time for my walk’ and we had a walk round and round the garden. And after the walk he said ‘and now we can have a cup of tea’.

During a job application for a job in Ghana with the Union Trading Company of Ghana Ltd I enclosed a recommendation from Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan. He wrote that as I did not work for him he could not comment on my professional experience but as he knew me well he could comment on my character. Well, of course I got the job.

For the last time I met Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan during the opening ceremony of the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Spain.

And in the meantime, right from 1963 until he passed away we had regular contact by letters. There was not one of my letters that he would not reply to nearly immediately.

May He Rest in Peace. May He have the best possible in the next world.