Tehseen Khan: Some Stories DO Have a Happy Ending

Assalamu Alaikum,

I received a few messages asking me about Tehseen and what it was that put love for him in so many peoples' hearts even though some had never met him.  InshaAllah below is a brief summary of the characteristics of an individual I only knew for about 6 years but someone who became one of the most beloved people on the face of the earth to me.

This is an email to gain an understanding of what it is that makes people cry over the death of someone whom they hardly ever met, what makes people travel around the world in the aim of attending his janazah or comforting the family, what makes people give money to keep his legacy alive, what is it that makes a sheikh who is fighting for his life, send an encouraging message to his family, what is it that makes a sheikh who only spent about 30 days with him shed so many tears after his funeral? what is it that made the sheikh who lead his funeral and the other shuyookh present break down after his burial? Most of all, this is an email inshaAllah fulfilling what the Prophet (pbuh) had asked us to do: The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Mention the good deeds of your dead..."

I wasn't sure how or where to begin, until I remembered the following hadith:

“When Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala loves someone, he calls Jibreel and Allah then says, ‘Ya Jibreel! Inni uhibbu fulan! (Oh Jibreel! Verily, I love such and such a person, so love him!)’”  And Allah names that person and then Jibreel loves that person. Then Jibreel calls out to all the angels of the heavens and he says, “Allah loves so and so, so love him!”and so all the angels love him. And then Allah places pleasure in the hearts of the people towards this person!”

His Character

Tehseen was a person for whom Allah (swt) had put love for in the hearts of many people. Those that knew him and met him and those who'd only heard of him. Every time I met him, I found him smiling. I say this without exaggerating, I only ever saw him get angry once and even then, although it was justified anger, he apologized a few minutes later. He was the kind of person who always thought well of others. I remember a brother telling me a week a go upon reflection that even though we shared many laughs together, when people started mocking others, Tehseen would never join in.

He always saw good in others. I remember debating with him many times over organisations and people who I would boycott and encourage him to do so aswell but his reply would always be the same: Yes they have made mistakes but there is still a lot of good in them.

He was friendly, he was caring, he was selfless and he was always there when you needed him. He was the person many consulted and whose opinion we all valued.

He always had time for you and made you feel like you were one of the closest people on earth to him.

Even on his hospital bed he was more concerned about visitors and hospitality than he was about his situation. He always made dua for those that visited him. He always gave advice.

His Dawah

He spent majority of his adult life serving Allah and his deen. He was a man who traveled the world for knowledge, he was a man who had studied briefly under one of the current Imaams of masjid al-haram. Infact, just a few months before his illness, he was in Egypt to improve his Arabic and Quran.

He was one of the main people behind launching Bradford's first English language Islamic centre, a centre which until today stands as a testament to his and others' hard work and effort. He was the co-founder, manager and designer of the World's first global Islamic magazine for children in English: Little Explorers.

He was the main reason behind AlKauthar Institute coming to his beloved city: Bradford. A project which has the potential to benefit thousands and completely change peoples' lives.

He was the man involved in countless events and conferences up and down the country.

He was the man whom Allah (swt) chose to bring some of the most amazing and dedicated people to the dawah field. Take for example his best friend who he introduced to the dawah field by taking him to an AlKauthar course. This friend is now directly involved in or has initiated projects impacting millions of people around the world.

He never gave up on people. He always called people to good and was patient with them. Even if people rejected the call a few times, he wouldn't give up.

He lead by example. No matter how small, tedious or boring a task was he would set an example by taking part in it himself. I remember 2 years a go he drove down to London from Bradford for an event, arrived at around 9pm and started helping straight away. He went out of the venue around midnight, slept for 45 mins or so and was back setting up. He didn't sleep until the following night. I don't believe he ate since he arrived until late afternoon that day.

He continued to give advice and to give dawah until his last moments. We would visit the hospital and hear and witness him giving dawah to fellow patients and nurses.

He continued to seek knowledge till the end. I remember the Epic Journey course in Bradford with our beloved sheikh Sajid. He attended this course on a wheelchair after having gone through 5 operations on his brain. He didn't just attend, I was sat next to him and saw him following the course content and he even had a pen in his hand to make notes. SubhanAllah, this left me ashamed of myself, here was someone going through an extreme difficulty, yet, he didn't let this deter him from seeking knowledge. What was my excuse?

He didn't just give dawah or facilitate dawah, he was passionate about it! Here was a man working full time yet also involving himself in many dawah projects at the same time. I cannot recall a time where I asked him to do something for a project I was involved in and him turning around and saying 'I haven't got the time' or 'too busy'. Instead, he would just get on with things or point me to someone who could do what was needed.

His Illness

If ever there was an indicator for how Merciful Allah was to this slave of His then we saw the signs through his illness. At his most difficult time, Allah (swt) blessed him with unbelievable patience. I can honestly say there aren't many other instances in my life where I have myself witnessed the level of patience shown by Tehseen under extremely difficult and testing times.

Under tremendous amount of pain on his way to the MRI scan, he was not heard complaining or moaning, all he was doing was reciting the shahada, making adhkar and reciting verses from the Qur'an.

Even after his operation and finding out about his situation, his emaan and patience only increased. We would go to him and ask how he was and he would only reply with: 'Alhamdulilah' and then ask us about our health and our families or work.

Allah (swt) also showed us His Mercy by bestowing incredible patience on Tehseen's family. I remember myself and others breaking down many times at the hospital, yet, members of his family would hug us and remind us it is the Qadr of Allah and they are happy with whatever Allah has decreed for him and them.

His End

During his illness a sheikh visited him in hospital when suddenly Tehseen grabbed his hand and said: "Don't be scared" the sheikh was amazed and said to him: "I'm not scared, are you?" To which Tehseen replied: "No, I'm not scared of meeting Allah". Allahu Akbar.

This was a man genuinely excited about meeting his Creator! How many of us can say the same?

Thus it was that Allah (swt), after testing this slave of His for 10 months or so whilst giving him the patience to bear these tests and at the same time, through his dying, teaching those around him how to live, took Tehseen back. Tehseen left this dunya with his parents by him.

Yet, Allah's mercy and signs of a good ending did not stop there. Before leaving this dunya, Tehseen's last request was for one of two beloved people to him to lead his janazah. Yet, both these people were thousands of miles away with a very slim chance of them making it in time for his funeral so we asked him to think of another person as a backup. SubhanAllah, we plan and Allah plans and verily Allah is the best of planners.

One of the two was sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury, somebody who was living in Kuala Lumpur, whom it would take atleast a day to get to UK were something to happen. Yet, Allah (swt) fulfilled this final request of our beloved brother. As it so happened, sheikh Tawfique and various other shuyookh were in UK for a national tour and were all due in Bradford on that Sunday. How amazing is Allah's Wisdom that Tehseen left this dunya on that day and sheikh Tawfique lead a crowd of thousand plus praying over this amazing individual.

Tehseen Khan's life and death are a living proof that, yes, some stories do have a happy ending...

I ask Allah swt to grant our brother a beautiful place in Al-firdaus with Prophet Muhammad pbuh as his neighbor. I also ask Allah swt to grant patience to his family, especially his children and to those who loved him and those he loved. I ask Allah swt to unite us all in al-firdaus.

His Legacy

There is no doubt that Tehseen has left behind a lot of khair via the projects he was involved in or via the people Allah guided through him. However, he had one last wish and that was to launch a brand new multi purpose Islamic centre in his beloved city of Bradford. It is this vision which we now want to bring to life, if you want to help us, please visit: www.justgiving.com/tehseen

Finally, please make dua that Allah swt allows us to fulfill this vision.