Letter from Huzoor  (English)

Letter from Huzoor (Urdu)

Tanya Khan Sahiba was truly a gem and a great blessing for our Jama’at. Most of us were touched by her great lively personality who has taught us new ways to enhance our Tabligh effort. She played a great role in motivating our youth who are deeply shocked by her demise. She was not only missed as great friend, sister but irreplaceable gem for Lajna Imaillah. May your children follow in her footsteps in service and devotion to lslam and Ahmadiyyat throughout their lives. Amen.

She was forever laughing, smiling and just so full of life; she was life.

She always had your cooperation and understanding (we always heard good from her) and with her life in such good hands, she stood tall to anything that came her way.

She always, always found a way for herself and for everyone around her.

Thank you for allowing us all to realize that a nothing is a barrier to love; hearts don’t speak different languages. She spoke to everyone (young and old) with the language of love, laughter and care.

Thank you for building such a special bond with her that she touched the stars whilst on earth.

She had this radiant energy that would illuminate everything she walked by.

We should remember, always smiling, always enthusiastic and always energetic Tanya and if we love her then we should try to adopt her qualities within our selves. Her passion for tabligh, her obedience of Khilafat, her model as being Ahmadi Muslim woman observing proper purdah without any hesitation, her way of training and raising up kids are some of the examples of her amazing personality that we can emulate. If we can do this, then we can say that we have fulfilled the right of loving her.

I have rarely read my board e-mail these past two months while being out here in Malaysia. I can only describe what just occurred about an hour ago, when I checked my email and read this tragic news was this hope that the name Tanya Khan is a common name that two employees share, and perhaps this was the one whom I didn’t know, and didn’t have such an outstanding future ahead of her .

I cannot imagine what some of you are going through. I can’t imagine what her former colleagues, students, and (my heart grows heavy now) her husband, family, and kids are going through, and will go through for the rest of their lives.

In times like this, people share and sew the seeds of the legacy of who this amazing person was, and though I know I have myself and God to share it with, I need to let my fingers talk so I too can share what a loss we just endured.

I honestly didn’t know Tanya well – let me just put that out there, however I just want to share my last and most amazing experience in speaking with her. It was late May, and I was attending another meeting at Louis Frechette PS with the organizing committee for Pat Daley’s retirement. As I walked through the parking lot, I saw an attendance sheet on the floor, and picked it up to take to the nearest teacher. Supervising a group of students waiting for the bus I saw a smiling sister (visible Muslim) wearing a white hijab and speaking energy*etically with the kids as they wait for their bus. I approached her hoping to give back the fallen attendance sheet, and simply said, “Hey Assalamul-Laikum, I think someone may have dropped this”.

To my utter surprise, she turned to me, with slick sunglasses on her face that couldn’t dim the brightness of her exuberance, and with the intonation one would have when seeing a long-lost friend , “Oh hey!!! Walaikum Asalam! How are you – it’s been so long”. I was taken back. Been so long? Oh no, do I know this sister and my stupid memory is once again not serving me. What a beautiful soul, she knew right away, and reminded me where we once met. She eluded to say that, “Oh, I’m sorry, you must think I am crazy… We met last year at the Educators for Social Justice Meeting…”. I then also immediately remembered her as well. She then went on to say “And I saw you this year at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference, and I wanted to say hi, but I didn’t want to bother you, and you were with, forgive me if I’m wrong, your wife…” We shared a good chuckle, and I told her I am stupid 95% of the time and can’t remember anything, but in the future never withhold yourself from saying hello. She then went on to tell me how well spoken she found me to be, and how just from hearing me that one day in the Social Justice meeting that she could sense the passion in my voice, and knows that InshaAllah I will do great things in this world, and I have a lot of ahead of me. This one time, this one opportunity we took to speak to one another, this is what she shared with me. When I walked in to the school, I couldn’t help but ask Eugenia about Tanya. I had to say, “That teacher is the sweetest soul”. Eugenia went on to tell me that she is going through the VP process, and how amazing she is going to be. That was the first and only time I ever spoke to Tanya.

I had one time, one chance in this fleeing life to meet this woman. She brightened my day, she complimented me, she made me feel important, she repaired any damage I inflicted to myself on my self-esteem that day, and she warmed my heart. Once, only once – my one chance to meet her she did this. I can’t fathom what she did for everyone that had the opportunity to be with her, every day. I cried a bit in my wife’s arms today, and she didn’t really know what to do. I saw Tanya as a cog in this change our board was starting to go through, that I (God willing/ InshaAllah) will hopefully be a part of someday.

My one encounter in my life with Tanya Khan was a beautiful, flawless, auspicious moment that made me love life a bit more, and admire the kindness and humanity in others. I will do all I can do tonight and go to the mosque nearby and pray for her, and her family.

Thank you for letting me share this. We all know that writing is the best therapy, but really I just want this to be another endorsement towards Tanya’s one-way ticket to heaven.