ACKNOWLEDGING THE ROLE OF PROF FARIDA KHANAM

ACKNOWLEDGING THE ROLE OF PROF FARIDA KHANAM On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we bring to the fore some aspects of Prof Farida Khanam (or Farida Aapa, as we fondly call her) from the pen of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. A N individual who has greatly contributed and helped me in my mission is my daughter, Farida Khanam. She was born on May 2, 1952, in Azamgarh. Despite facing health challenges since childhood, she achieved a higher education through extraordinary perseverance. She began by privately preparing for her high school and pre-university exams at Aligarh Muslim University. Subsequently, she successfully passed her BA (English Honors) examination from Delhi College (New Delhi). She pursued her MA in English Literature from Delhi University and further pursued an MA in Islamic Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi). Eventually, she obtained her doctorate from Jamia Millia Islamia and later retired as a reader from the Department of Islamic Studies at the same institution. Farida Khanam’s contribution to our mission is immeasurable and cannot be adequately expressed in words. In 1976, when I launched the monthly publication Al-Risala, she took on a significant portion of the workload, including article preparation. Since then, she has remained fully dedicated to our mission. She has played a crucial role in the administrative affairs of the Al-Risala Mission, ensuring its global dissemination, while my son Saniyasnain Khan has taken charge of its management. Farida Khanam has provided invaluable support in terms of writing. In my experience, individuals who have contributed to my mission often desire recognition for their efforts. However, in Farida Khanam, I have found a unique quality best described by the saying, “Do good and throw it in the river.” Selfless dedication to a mission is a trait that is perhaps more commonly found in women than in men. One of my Urdu books, Mazhab Aur Jadeed Challenge, gained widespread acclaim. The book gained significant popularity and was subsequently translated into multiple languages. The Arabic translation of the book carries the title Al-Islam Yatahadda.