Obituary: Rafi Sharif of USA
American Convert from Judaism
The Light (UK), April 2006 Issue (p. 8)
Tariq Ahmad from Washington D.C., U.S.A., has reported to Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaats that our brother Rafi Sharif died in hospital in Baltimore on 2nd March 2006 — inna lillahi wa inna ilai-hi rajiun (“We belong to God and to Him do we return”). Sometime ago he had a liver and kidney transplant, but the strong medications he had to take for his new kidney affected his liver, and this, with other complications, led to his death. Tariq Ahmad has written a note about the life of Rafi Sharif which we reproduce below.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that brother Rafi Sharif passed away this morning (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun). He led a valiant fight against tremendous odds, however it was his time to move on. May Allah shower his maghfirat [forgiveness] on Rafi’s soul and place him in Jannat-i-firdaus with other fellow Ahmadis who remained true to their belief despite overwhelming odds and strived with their utmost in His path. May Allah also give patience to his family members, especially his 12-year-old daughter who has now lost both her mother and father in these past few months. She now needs all of our support and prayers.
“Rafi’s namaz-i-janaza [funeral prayer] will be held on Sunday March 5th and he will be buried in a VA Cemetery (Veteran’s Affairs) in Maryland.
“Rafi had a long and honorable service in the Marine Corps of USA, where he retired as a Staff Sergeant. Subsequently he rose to a high post with the Boy Scouts of America and was then employed with the State of Maryland (in USA) in their department of Veteran’s Affairs. He also taught for two years in a school in the city of Baltimore.
“Rafi had an incredibly rich background. He embraced Islam about half a century ago at a time when Islam was almost unknown in American society. He was not only of Jewish descent, but from an Orthodox Jewish family. His introduction to Ahmadiyyat was by joining the Qadiani Jamaat which he left in the early 1980s and joined the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, taking his baiat [pledge] at the hands of our late Amir [Head] Hazrat Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan in Lahore, Pakistan.
“Rafi, although a white Muslim, was a teacher with the African-American Moorish Science Temple group and had close dealings with the Nation of Islam. He was well known in the Baltimore Muslim and interfaith community for hosting zikrs, interfaith discussions and other community events. He was very much interested in the Sufi or the mystical side of Islam. The list goes on and on. He really was a unique individual who had been actively involved in the American Muslim community for many years before Muslims started to arrive in large numbers during the 1970s. He led a fascinating and full life.
“Rafi was 66 years old when he passed away. He is survived by two sons and two daughters with many grand children from his first marriage and by a 12-year-old daughter from his second marriage. He is also survived by grieving members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in the Washington D.C. area.”