Rafat Ahmad: An Ocean of Generosity

Rafat, affectionately known as Baji or Rafat Apa within her circles, faced loss early in life—her father passed away when she was just four months old. The youngest of five sisters and two brothers, she grew up in Bhopal, then a princely state ruled by a woman monarch but still bound by a social climate that disapproved of single mothers working to support their families.

Her mother, despite these challenges, raised all her children with strong family values and impeccable moral etiquette. Rafat Apa embodies those values to this day. In her adopted country, where she has now lived longer than in her native India, she has been a mother, sister, and friend to countless people.

Together with her husband, she has sponsored hundreds of students in pursuit of higher education. Many sick and destitute individuals have found in them a source of compassion and practical help. For nearly forty years, their home was open for youth education, Qur'an study, prayers, and taraweeh (nightly prayers during the Muslim month of fasting), especially during the community's formative years. Even in 2025, now in their later years, the couple continues to host weekly Friday gatherings to reflect on the Qur'an with friends.

Rafat comes from a distinguished religious family whose legacy has enriched India's spiritual and cultural heritage. Her lineage traces back to Hadhrat Muhammad Ghaus, a 16th-century Sufi saint born in Gwalior in 1500. The name Gwaliyari means of Gwalior. Among his notable ancestors was the Persian poet and mystic Farīdūddīn' Attar of Nīshāpūr.

In the preface to his celebrated work al-Jawahir al-Khams (The Five Jewels), Ghaus wrote that he completed the book at the age of twenty-five. In 1549, at the age of fifty, he traveled to Gujarat. He settled in Ahmedabad for ten years, where he founded the Ek Toda Mosque and continued his mission of teaching and providing spiritual guidance.

One of Ghaus's remarkable contributions was his Persian translation of the Sanskrit text Amrtakunda, titled Bahr al-Hayat (The Ocean of Life). This work integrated certain yoga practices into a Sufi framework, skillfully drawing parallels between yogic and Sufi terminology, as noted by scholar Carl W. Ernst.

Akbar himself commissioned Ghaus's tomb in Gwalior, now a renowned example of Mughal architecture. Famous for its exquisite stone lattice work, the tomb complex also holds Tansen's grave, making it a site of both spiritual reverence and historical significance.

Jawahir-i-Khamsa (The Five Jewels), later translated into Arabic as al-Jawahir al-Khams by Meccan scholar Sibghat Allah (d. 1606 CE), describes mystical beings called Muakkil, believed to come under the influence of Sufi masters through special spiritual chants.

His Bahr al-Hayat (The Ocean of Life), adapted from Hawd al-Hayat (The Pool of Life), itself an Arabic rendering of the lost Sanskrit Amrtakunda, remains an extraordinary example of the cross-cultural spiritual exchange between Indian mysticism and Islamic Sufism.

She tries to live the path her ancestors paved. Every Friday, in a mosque in California, she and her husband look for the needy and the destitute, offering them help. In her circles, she is the first one to reach out to the sick, the widows, the impoverished.

Whenever she hears of the illness or demise of any, she arranges a special dua (prayer) gathering in her house. At a time when interfaith was a taboo among many Muslims, she and her family organized several gatherings at her home, inviting scores of interfaith leaders. When 9/11 occurred, her family hosted an FBI deputy director to explain Muslim perspectives.

By education, she is a law graduate, but she did not practice it because her mother did not want to represent unjust people. She successfully raised a son and a daughter, whom she nurtured to be true to her Islamic values.

Her presence in the community offers a feeling of joy and comfort.