Zia Khan Passes away

The Urdu-loving community of California is mourning the death of a prominent Urdu poet, an excellent professional engineer, and a very senior and concerned member of the Muslim community , Zia Khan, who passed away at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital on July 23.   Zia Khan had been hospitalized for the last few months. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon

 

May Allah rest his departed soul in eternal peace in Jannat al-Firdaus and give his entire family  fortitude and courage to bear this monumental loss. My heartfelt condolences and sincere prayers are with the entire family, especially his ailing wife,  Tina, children Kamran and  Shan, grandchildren, and other family members. 

    I have known  Zia Khan very well for the last 46 years. My first meeting with  him in Los Angeles in 1969 had left me with an everlasting impression of  Zia Khan as a  sharing, caring, cooperative and a very sincere and honest person. I will never forget when he got married to Tina in 1970. Their wedding, in fact, was the first wedding I had attended in the US. 

When I and Shahana (my deceased wife) organized the very first and successful  Mushaira  in the history of California in 1974 in Hollywood,  I had encouraged  Zia Khan to participate and was very happy to introduce him as  an emerging young poet at that Mushaira. His first appearance was a great success and he instantly became a  'hit' not only at that time, but also for years to come. The Urdu-loving community of California will for sure, miss him and his beautiful poetry for years to come. His death is a great loss for all of us.   Zia Bhai, we will all miss you! 

The funeral prayers  for   Zia Khan were held on  Friday, July 24, 2015 right after the Friday prayers at   the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, California. His burial service was held at  Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. May his soul rest in peace. (Ameen) - Rafique Ahmed