Junior Tennis Journey

Happy birthday my son. May you continue to reach for the stars and strive to accomplish the improbable. You’re gonna shock the world. Rumble young man, rumble.

Happy 15th birthday to the most talented, brilliant and loving daughter a father can have. Keep soaring and shining, I know you’re going to accomplish so much! Love to the moon and back 🚀🌕

From PK to UK to the US of A. Happy Fathers Day Abu. We miss you.

Fourteen years ago, my wife and I were blessed with the greatest gift Allah SWT has bestowed on us! Happy birthday to the most caring and brilliant girl a dad can ask for! She gets it all from her momma! Thank you you both (and the other two little munchkins) for being in my life and making it whole.

Today you would have been 79 years old. You never did celebrate your birthday, as you never wanted anyone to fuss over you. Rather, you’d celebrate everyone else. But guess what dad? As you rise and rise to the heavens, we celebrate you every day. We pray for you, we try to do good in your name, and we will always try to make you proud. So keep rising until you reach the highest level of Paraside, where the companions of the Prophet, and the Prophet himself, will give you the greatest gift and celebration of all…the chance to see our Lord. We love you to the heavens and back…

"Even in our sleep pain which cannot forget,
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
-Aeschylus
Miss you dad…

To God do we belong and to God to Er return. My beloved father, Aijaz Khan, returned to his Lord this past Monday. There is a void in our family’s life that will never be filled again. My father was among the most righteous and selfless men that people have known. One of greatest lessons was to be content with yourself but want better for others. After migrating to the US with advanced degrees from the UK, he brought my mother’s family and his family from Pakistan, and made sure that two generations were established in the US. He wanted others to strive to achieve wonders but was always content with what he had.
My fathers greatest love was my children. He reveled in their first words, first steps, first day of school, their swimming, horse riding and tennis. Over the past year of his declining health, his joy was to have my kids at his side while he lived with us. The last phrase he would always repeat to my children was “I love you”. My children would say it repeatedly and their grandfather would say it back.
The one sign of peace that I have is that I was with him as he transitioned to the next world. I was by his side. As the great companion Abu Bakr said when he saw the beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he passed, “You have died the death that was decreed to you. Just as you were beautiful in life, so are you beautiful in death”.
Thank you Allah for giving me a father that was amongst your beloved.

This year, our tennis journey (as with so many other families) had a little hiccup with COVID19. Even though tennis is a safe sport to play, we were a little extra careful because of Zakariya’s grandparents, not training for 6 months as we were still learning about this virus and how it spreads. So we lost a lot of valuable time, but thank God, have all been healthy so far. We are staying safe but are training again. We are back with a little bang as Zakariya is starting to play with bigger and stronger players that are older than him, as I’m trying to have him get used to reacting to and hitting a bigger ball. He’s having growing pains as it’s a tall task to adjust, but he’s getting there. He’s hitting his forehand slightly bigger, his serve is getting more consistent and his backhand is looking strong. We now have to work on footwork, consistency and the mental game. One step at a time...

Happy 10th birthday to this amazing little man. It’s been such an honor watching Zakariya grow up into a kind and selfless tween, to which all credit goes to his mom. She’s taught him etiquettes on being a little gentlemen and always striving to do the right thing. For me, watching my kids figure out this thing called life has been among my greatest honors. I still remember when Zakariya’s aunt, Fakhera (May Allah bless her soul in heaven, Ameen), came to the hospital to help bring this little bouncing boy home with us. This little guy has made so many proud and happy. Love you to the moon and back Zak!