In Memoriam 1992-1997/Abdu’l Rahman Zarqani

ABDU’L RAHMAN ZARQANI

Knight of Baha’u’ilah 1923—1994

DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING S’I‘EADFAST KNIGHT BAHA’U’LLAH ABDU’L RAHMAN ZARQANI. HIS DEVOTED SERVICES UNFORGETTABLE. URGE BEFITTING MEMORIAL GATHERINGS HIS HONOUR THROUGHOUT COUNTRY.

ASSURE BELOVED MEMBERS FAMILY HEARTFELT SYMPATHY FERVENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM;

Universal House of Justice September 26, 1994

bdu'l Rahman Zarqani was born on October 16, 1923, in old Delhi, India, the eldest child of Muslim parents. His father was Abdul Wahid Sidiqqi and his mother Qadeer un Nissan. As a youth he was a seeker after truth. Somewhat disillusioned by certain aspects of institutionalized religion and eager to find lasting solutions to the problems that he felt beset his world, he investigated briefly the Communist movement but found that it was grounded on materialistic principles only. When he was about twenty—five years of age, a Bahá’í acquaintance gave him an

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invitation to a lecture on the Faith that was given by Mr. Mani Metha.111 Abdu’l Rahman’s interest was immediately awakened, and he felt inspired. Over the next few years he studied the Bahá’í Faith in great depth. To his astonishment he could find nothing with which he disagreed. Each of his questions was answered, and his troubled soul found solace at last. His new life and journey were about to begin—a journey of trials and suffering, of challenges and victories.

His father was strongly opposed to the Faith, but this did not deter Abdu’l Rahman from openly declaring himself a Bahá’í. Driven away from his home at knifepoint and refused any financial assistance to fiJtther his education, he stayed with some friends while he continued his work in a clerical office. He was educated at St. Stephen’s High School for Boys where he completed his “0” levels. A solid

1“ See “In Memoriam," 777? 811/1117 W/orld, voli XI, pp. stz—Is.

THE Bahá’í WORLD

educational foundation would serve him in good stead in the years to come.

Abdu’l Rahman served the Faith with great devotion. As a member of the National Youth Committee of India, his lectures and organization skills took him from place to place. At a summer school held at the New Era High School in Panchgani, he met his future bride, Munira, a Burmese ofIranian descent whose roots dated back to the earliest disciples of Baha’u’llah.

In 1952 at the age of twenty—nine, he became the youngest secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of his native land. He carried these onerous responsibilities on his youthful shoulders with unswerving devotion and efficiency. In January of the same year he and Munira were wed. Their first daughter, Farida, was born in November. Then came the launching of the Guardian’s Ten Year Crusade, which was destined to profoundly alter the course of his life.

He worked tirelessly toward the planning and execution of the New Delhi Conference in 1953. And then the memorable event was over. On December 15, 1953, he expressed his dilemma in a letter to the beloved Guardian. His “overwhelming desire for pioneering” and to answer the Ten Year Crusade call of the Guardian was hampered by the increasing workload at the National Headquarters and by the particulars of his domestic situation. The divine response to his letter came two weeks later on December 30:

APPROVE PIONEERING, URGE PROCEED PROMPTLY WHEREVER FEASIBLE, PRAYING SUCCESS. SHOGHI

On January 8, 1954, just a week later, he sailed to the Seychelles Islands bound for the Chagos Archipelago, leaving behind his young wife who was to give birth to their second daughter, Fauzia, in February. Many

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pioneers had attempted to settle in the Chagos, but they were unsuccessfial because of the difficulty of finding employment there. Abdu’l Rahman therefore established himself in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles, and he soon called for his family to join him, eH’brts that earned for him the distinction of Knight of Baha’u’llah. (The Guardian’s wish was fulfilled in 1968 when the Seychelles sent two local pioneers to open the Chagos Islands.)

Before six months were over the first

“3 accepted the Faith, and the

Seychellois first Bahá’í group was formed. From then on victory Followed victory in quick succession in spite ofgrowing opposition from the clergy and their supporters. Rocks were sometimes thrown at Abdu’l Rahman’s old car, which was known in Bahá’í circles as the “Bahá’í donkey.”

A little over a year later, in July 1955, the first Local Spiritual Assembly was formed in Victoria. The second and third largest islands, Praslin and La Digue, were opened to the Faith in 1956 and 1957 respectively.

One of the greatest miracles in those early pioneering days was the passage, in 1957, of the Bill of Incorporation of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Victoria by the Legislative Council. The bill was hotly debated and denounced by certain members closely allied to the Catholic Church, which represented the majority of the population. They were days of intense prayer and suspense. The bill was passed by majority vote and paved the way for the incorporation of the National Spiritual

”2 The first pioneer and Knight of Baha’u’llzih For

the Seychelles was Kamil Abbas who arrived in 1953. He was able to stay only five weeks, but he is credited with teaching the Faith to the first Seychellois to become a Bahá’í, a local teacher, Marshall Delcy. (“Festivities exceed expectations." Victoria, Seychelles January 12‘ 7.004, Bahá’í \Vorld News Service)

Assembly in 1972. Abdu’l Rahman’s joy at that time knew no bounds.

In 1966 he sought an interview with the broadcasting manager of the radio service. By 1969, after untiring efTorts, the Seychelles was the first Bahá’í community in the Indian Ocean to have regular airtime on national radio. The initial broadcast’ ing time approved was ten fifteen—minute programs annually. This was later extended to ten minutes fortnightly.

The sweetest victory was still to come. By Riḍván 1971 the original goals of the Nine Year Plan were won. One can only imagine the exhilaration in everybody’s heart when the Universal House ofjustice announced in 1972 that the Seychelles was ready to elect its own National Spiritual Assembly. Following the First National Convention that Riḍván, Abdu’l Rahman was elected secretary of the National Assembly—a post he held, along with that ofsecretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Victoria, for almost a decade. (By the end of the Plan in 1973, the goal of five Local Spiritual Assemblies was met with the achievement of eight.)

Abdu’l Rahman’s life during that significant period of Bahá’í history was one singularly lacking in leisure and comfort. He had to raise and educate a family of six. Four more children were born at his pioneering post: Marion in 1956, Sarah and Sandra in 1958 and 1959 respectively, and his only son, Kamal, in 1961.

Starting as a shipping Clerk at Jivan Jetha and Company, Abdu’l Rahman later became shipping manager at the United Lighterage Company. Working long hours by candlelight at correspondence courses in order to better his life and that of his family, he finally qualified as a member of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and joined the public service as an accountant in various ministries of the government.

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When he suffered a stroke at the age of sixty, he had been promoted to Chief Accountant in the Ministry of Health. A perfectionist by nature he was highly reputed for his meticulousness, his diligence, and his strict sense of fairness at work. He was also well liked by his colleagues for his warm and extroverted temperament.

In 1983 Abclu’l Rahman Zarqani suffered a coronary thrombosis that left him partially paralyzed and affected his powers of speech for almost ten years. By December of that year the Faith had spread to seven islands of the archipelago and the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies had reached nineteen. Despite his ailing health he took keen interest in the progress of the Faith in his last years and was present in his wheelchair at the most important events, including the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Haifa and the placing of the Roll of Honour, illuminated with the names of the Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, in the Shrine of the Best Beloved in May 1997..

True to his wish, when the long—awaited call of his Beloved came on September 25, 1994, Mr. Zarqani’s body was laid to rest in the main cemetery overlooking the quiet town and harbor ofVictoria where he had come as a youth those many years before.

Marion Zarqani—Gendron