A Friend, Family Man and Teacher
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
“We belong to Allah, and we shall return to Him” (Al-Baqarah, 2:156)
By Prof Dr Musharraf Hussain OBE, DL
This is a tribute I presented on the khatam to commemorate the passing of Haji Mohammed Javed Ayyub Khan (Javed Khan). The beloved messenger (peace be upon him) encouraged us to “pay tribute to your deceased” (Tirmidhi). Javed was a friend, a father, and a family man whose passing has left a deep void in our hearts and in our community.
When someone beloved departs, it creates a silence that speaks louder than words. In our fast-moving world, we rarely pause to confront the certainty of death. But moments like this force us to look inward, to reckon with the inevitable, and to find solace not in denial, but in remembrance.
Javed trained as an English teacher and taught GCSE and A-level English in a state school before he joined our Nottingham Islamia School. He was a man of books, loved reading, and I remember when I visited him at home, he showed me what he was reading: not surprisingly, ‘The Majestic Quran’ and ‘Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources’ by Martin Lings.
At Javed’s janazah, grief poured in from all corners of Nottingham and beyond. The gathering of mourners, the quiet tears, the hands raised in du’a, all bore witness to a man whose life touched many. His soft, gentle smile, now gone, lingers in our memories like a fading light at dusk. Allah says in the Quran: “Every soul shall taste death. And only on the Day of Judgment will you be paid your full recompense. Whoever is spared from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has truly succeeded” (Ale-Imran, 3:185).
Haji Javed lived a full and fruitful life, Masha’Allah. His investments weren’t in fleeting glories or worldly recognition, but in his family, friendships, and community. These are the legacies that endure. His children and grandchildren. The countless hearts he touched, these are the living testimonies of a life well-lived. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When a person dies, all his deeds come to an end except three: a continuous charity, knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for him” (Muslim).
Haji Javed was a passionate educationist, dedicating himself to a life of service, mentoring those who wanted to get into the teaching profession and setting the standards, which have benefitted orphan and needy children around the globe for nearly two decades.
Umar Rashid, his colleague at Muslim Hands, called him ‘coach’ and fondly remembered his tender and kind style of coaching, since Javed was a first-class footballer and used to coach Karimia’s Bobbersmill FC.
Indeed, those who stood in grief at his grave are the ones who will continue his legacy through their prayers and remembrance. For a believer, death is not an end; it is a homecoming. In the words of Imam al-Ghazali: “Death is a passage, not a punishment. It is the entrance to eternity.” Rumi so beautifully captured this moment: “This world is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Death is like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was pain.”
The demise of a beloved is a time for collective mourning and personal reflection. It is a mirror that forces us to see our own mortality, the uncertainty of our last breath, the unspoken farewells we may leave behind. We gather at such times not only to honour the deceased, but to remind ourselves of what truly matters. Allah reminds us: “Know that the life of this world is amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another, and competition in increase of wealth and children…” (Al-Hadid, 57:20).
When we bury a loved one, we bury a part of ourselves, our memories, our shared joys, our losses. But what remains is love, which even death cannot erase. I saw people embrace each other, pray together, shed tears and I realised: this is the power of sincere connection. This is the ajr (reward) of living a life of meaning. Let us carry Haji Sahib’s memory (you can remember your loved one) not as a burden, but as a guiding light. His gentleness, humility, and sincerity were his true wealth. And this wealth, unlike gold or silver, does not perish with death.
Let us end with hope. When the janazah of Sa’ad ibn Mu’adh (RA) was lifted, his mother wept loudly. The Prophet (peace be upon him) turned to her and said: “Dear mother of Sa’ad, your tears should stop now, the Throne of the Compassionate Lord shook at the death of Sa’ad, and the gates of Heaven opened for him, and seventy thousand angels attended his funeral” (Tabarani). We pray that Haji Javed Ayyub Khan is received in a similar honourable way. May his soul find eternal peace, and may Allah illuminate his grave, forgive his sins, and elevate his ranks among the righteous.
Obituary from Dr Aisha Javed Khan
My father was a teacher, coach, charity worker, family man, and a loyal, devoted friend. But to me, he was more than just my father, he was my world, and we were his. Growing up, he raised us with tenderness and care. He provided for us selflessly, without ever a word of complaint. Yet he also broke many generational and cultural stereotypes. He wasn’t only a man who “put food on the table”, he was the one who set the table.
He set the standards of our household. He made sure we ate together, laughed together, and shared our days. We never felt like a burden to him. Instead, he made us feel cherished, always wanting more for us, to learn to swim, to ride our bikes, to experience the world, to enjoy days out, and to savour cosy evenings at home playing board games. We loved his company, and he loved ours. He was our dearest friend and closest companion. We were truly spoilt with love.
I remember vividly how, whenever I was unwell as a child, he would bring me flowers and serve my meals on a tray in bed. He would hold me until I felt better. His care was constant and gentle; it never wavered. Papa never made me feel as though there was anything I couldn’t achieve. He encouraged me to be strong, dynamic, courageous, and hardworking. But above all, he wanted his children to be good people, to serve others and to remember Allah ta‘ala in everything we did. His very essence was goodness, and his soul was drawn to all that pleased Allah ta‘ala. Even during his illness, he remained steadfast, loving, respectful, and kind.
We pray that we are a beautiful legacy for our beloved father, that we continue to make him proud and carry the radiant light he brought into this world, a light that shone so brightly in all our lives. We ask Allah ta‘ala to have mercy upon our noble and esteemed father, to grant him ease in the barzakh, companionship among those he loved most, visits from the beloved Rasool (peace b upon him) and his companions, to drink from his (peace b upon him) blessed hands, and to reunite us all again in the highest stations of Jannah, without reckoning. Ameen!
