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RASHID NISAR KHAN 1953-2013

Comments read after funeral prayer at

Islamic Association of Raleigh

1. My name is Aasil Ahmad. Rashid Khan was my father in law and I would like to say a few things on behalf of his family to those of you who have honored us with your presence today.

2. Thank God for bringing us here and allowing us to pay our final respects.

3. Thanks to the Raleigh community for being here to help Rashid Khan. This was his home for 23 years. He moved here and did not want to leave Raleigh for any reason. Those of you who have come here today were a part of his family. And you know better than I do his love and attachment to the people of Raleigh.

4. As he did with everything in his life, Rashid Khan handled his affliction with dignity and poise. Never complaining and never feeling sorry for himself and fighting to the last moment to be as small a burden on anyone else as he could manage.

5. And yet Rashid Khan knew that the entire community joined together to help him and his family. He was immensely grateful for every single act of kindness and generosity that was made for his sake throughout the past 30 months. We thank Allah for extending Rashid Khan’s life as long as He did so that we could share a few more moments with him to benefit from these acts of kindness.

6. The Prophet Muhammad said that on the Day of Judgment God will ask the people of Adam why they did not visit Him, the Almighty. And the people will ask how could we visit You and You are the Lord of the Worlds? And God Almighty will reply that my servant was ill and you did not visit him. Did you not realize that if you had visited him you would have found Me with him.

7. I convey to you as Rashid would have were he still able a sincere thank you for every plate of food and every night of shelter, every trip to the hospital and every double and triple check of his medications. And of course all of your prayers for him. It was truly a group effort.

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8. This has been a difficult time for Carla, Nadia, Nushmia, Saffa and Sara but the love and caring you have shown for the sake of Allah made it so much easier to bear. May Allah recognize what you did to help this man and his family and reward you for it on the Day of Judgment.

9. I want to recognize the Khan family for rushing to North Carolina on short notice to be with us. This has been a difficult month, if I were to make the understatement of the year. It was impossible to think that we would be meeting so many times in such a short period of time for so many sad farewells. There is an old saying that the sun does not always remain behind the clouds. We have grown closer and we have come to appreciate with greater clarity the fragility and fleeting nature of life. Hopefully this makes us all more prepared for the day we will be in Rashid’s position and may Allah make that Day easy for all of us.

10. I have a few simple requests to make from those who are gathered here today

a. Please ask for Allah’s forgiveness on Rashid Khan’s behalf. Please pray that the affliction and pain he endured for the last 30 months has cleansed him of mistakes he made in his life so that his return to his Creator is with a clean record as if he were born yesterday.

b. Anyone who he may have wronged please forgive him with a clear heart and conscience. Please continue to make du’a for him today, tomorrow and into the future. Please pray for his wife and his daughters to give them sabr in these very sad days and increase them in iman.

c. If there is anyone to whom Rashid Khan owed something I ask that you absolve him of those debts or you come forward now and identify yourself so that we may repay what is owed. We will honor his outstanding debts.

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d. I also ask you to pray for the entire Khan family. Rashid Khan's eldest brother’s daughter, Sophia Khan passed away in Indianapolis on May 7th. Husham Hussain (Shaami), who is one of the cousins of the Khan family passed away May 23rd in Chicago. Rashid Khan himself passed away yesterday right here in Raleigh. Many of the family and surviving relatives of these people are here today. Time has not passed for them to overcome the grief and sorrow of their own loved ones that they have had to gather themselves for the next janazah. God is truly Great and He does not burden his servant with anything greater that he or she can bear.

e. Rashid Khan’s daughters Nadia Nushmia and Saffa and his first wife Fatimah no longer live in Raleigh but thank everyone for making this place home. They are indebted to this mosque for providing them with love support and a religious education.

f. Rashid Khan has also left his second wife Carla Von Glehn Khan and his fourth daughter Sarah Von Glehn Khan behind to live in this community. We ask that you continue to show them love and support and most especially to help Carla raise Sarah as a God fearing, balanced and confident young Muslim woman. This was the parting and most important wish of Rashid Khan.

g. We will now proceed to the burial grounds. Please join me in a dua

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Allahu akbar hadha ma waadnaa allahu wa rasuluhu wa sadaqa allahu. allahumma zidna imanan wa tasliman. alhamdolillah aladhi ta'azzaza bil qudratihi wa qahara al'ibadi bil mawti (God is great. This is what had been promised to us by God and His Prophet and Allah is true. O Allah increase us in faith and obedience. All praise is for God Who dominates with His qudra and Who has subdued his servant with death. Allahum aj'alhu lanaa faratan waj'alhu lanaa ajran wa dhukhran wajalhu lanaa shafi'an wa mushaffi'an (Allah make him our forerunner, a source of reward and treasure and make him a pleader for us and (make him) one whose plea has been accepted)

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Translation: "O Allah! Forgive our living and dead, present and absent, big and small, men and women. O Allah! Whoever among us is kept alive by You, keep him alive on Islam, and whoever You give death, let him die on Imaan."

O Allaah, forgive and have mercy upon him, excuse him and pardon him, and make honorable his reception. Expand his entry, and cleanse him with water, snow, and ice, and purify him of sin as a white robe is purified of filth. Exchange his home for a better home, and his family for a better family, and his spouse for a better spouse. Admit him into the Garden, protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahumma innahu 'abduka wa'bnu 'abdika wa'bnu amatika. Kana yash-hadu an la ilaha illa anta wa anna Muhammadan 'abduka wa rasuluka, wa anta 'alamu bihi. Allahumma in kana muhsinan zid fi ihsanihi, wa in kana musiyan fa tajawaz 'an sayyiatihi. Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la taftinna ba'dahu. 'O Allah, he is Your slave and the son of Your male slave and Your female slave. He used to testify that there is no god but You and that Muhammad is Your slave and Your Messenger, and You know that best. O Allah! If he acted well, then increase for him his good action, and if he acted wrongly, then overlook his wrong actions. O Allah! Do not deprive us of his reward, and do not try us after him.'"