Ghulam Hassan Khan
Ghulam Hassan Khan was born on January 11, 1907 and died on December 31, 2003.
Ghulam Hassan Khan (GHK) was born in Srinagar, Kashmir on January 11, 1907.
After a brief stay at Aligarh Muslim University, GHK was selected to attend Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was the first Kashmiri to receive this prestigious scholarship. Both his parents were illiterate. While his visionary father, Qadir Khan, was ecstatic with GHK’s scholarship, his mother, Khurshappa was very skeptical and concerned she would never see her son again. At Harvard, GHK was Alpha Omega Alpha and Tau Beta Pi. After obtaining his M.Sc. in Engineering, GHK returned to Kashmir where he had a career as an Engineer for 32 years.
He served as Assistant Engineer for 10 years, Divisional Engineer for eight years, Principal Polytechnic for two years, Secretary to Government for one year, Chief Engineer, PWD for four years, and in the Irrigation Department for seven years. Many projects in Kashmir were developed either by him or under his supervision – a few examples: SMHS Hospital, Srinagar; Habakadel and Zainakadel Bridges; Aerodrome and Hangar, Damodhar Karewa; Dal Lockgate and RCC Deck Bridge.
He was a hands-on person, be it in the managing of the neighborhood mosque, protecting and defending the right of minorities, educating the masses via his writings in Kashmiri, Urdu and English, and adding his voice of opposition to the scourge of terrorism and violence against civilians and non-combatants. Some of his writings after retirement include:
- A Happy and Successful Life – An Islamic View
- Kashmiri Mussalman
- Nikkah/Wedding in the Light of the Glorious Qur’an
- Prophet’s Traditions S.A.W.S
- The Qur’an and Science
- Islamic Contributions to Scientific Culture – Preface and Commentary to the Lectures of Maurice Bucaille
- Avrade-e-Fathiyah – English Translation
- Extracts from The Glorious Qur’an with Meaning in English.
In May 1992 GHK started writing the Qur’an by hand, a task he completed in September 1992. When asked why he did this, his response was, "The purpose of my writing the Holy Book is primarily to illustrate to my progeny that, when at this advanced age of 86 years I am able to do this work, you can and you should all learn to read it and to write it in Arabic, understand its meaning and follow the commandments in their daily routine".