Hazrat Salihah Bibi

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Hazrat Salihah Bibi (May Allah be pleased with her)

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Hazrat Salihah Bibi Written in Urdu by Amatul Hakim Laiqa First Published in the UK, 2022 © Islam International Publications Limited All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be repro- duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the Publisher, Islam International Publications Ltd.Photo(s) from Makhzan-e-Tasaweer are subject to their copyright.Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd.Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey, UK, GU9 9PS Printed in UK at: For further information, please visit www.alislam.org Cover design by Bushra Shahid ISBN: 978-1-84880-578-1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD

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Contents Foreword....................................................V CHAPTER ONE....................................1 CHAPTER TWO....................................9 CHAPTER THREE..............................19 REFERENCES.....................................27 Words to Know..........................................29 Questions..................................................32 Answers.....................................................48 Publisher's Note..........................................53 iii

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FOREWORD Hazrat Salihah Bibi was one of the companions of the Promised Messiah as.This book draws a brief sketch of her life as well as touching upon some of her exemplary traits like patience in difficult circumstances and reli- ance on prayer.Amatul Hakim Laiqa wrote the book in Urdu.It was published under the title Mohtarma Salihah Bibi Sahibah aur Mohtarma Amatur-Rahman Sahibah.While produc- ing the English version, the two books were separated.Mohtarma Amatur-Rahman Sahibah will be published as a separate book.This English version of Mohtarma Salihah Bibi Sahibah is translated by Amatulhaee v

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Ahmad of the English translation Section of Additional Wakalat-e-Tasneef, and was further modified as neces- sary.We would like to acknowledge the work of Waseem Sayed, Bushra Shahid, Maryam Bhatti, Namoode Sahar Choudhary and Neha Shahid.May Allah bless them all for their hard work and reward them abundantly in this world and the Hereafter.The readers may test their knowledge by doing the various activities given at the end.A detailed glossary of Jama’at/Islamic terms is also provided.Al-Haaj Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wakilut-Tasneef, London July 2022 vi

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CHAPTER ONE Today we will explore the story of ra who was fortunate to spend time in the company of the Promised Messiah as.She is therefore, a sahabiyah.Her father’s name was Miran Bakhsh, and he was from the district of Gujranwala, Pakistan.But we have been una- ble to discover if he took bai’at to become an Ahmadi or not.The story of ra begins in 1898 or 1899 when she married Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra.He was one of the 313 sahaba of the Promised Messiah as and had migrated to Qadian.The reason of this 1

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migration was a letter that the Promised Messiah as wrote to Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem’s father, stating: We would be very happy to have you come over, and bring your daughter-in-law too.It would be no burden at all even if you stay three or four months.To have two people as guests will be no burden at all.By daughter-in-law, he meant ra.It so happened that her husband’s government job ended in 1901, so they moved to Qadian.There, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra worked as a clerk in the Talim-ul- Islam school for a salary of seven rupees per month.Not having a place to live, they lived for some time in a

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pic of Dar-ul-Masih ra lived in Darul-Masih Qadian for some time.

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the lower part of the house of the Promised Messiah as which is also called Darul-Masih.These were difficult days, but both husband and wife spent this time with patience and gratitude.On October 01, 1901, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra, wrote about this period in their lives: At present, I am earning seven rupees.For me these are equal to seventy rupees.I am so thank- ful to the Lord of all the worlds for this.ra explains about this period of their lives in the following way, I used to help my husband bind the Jama’at a

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magazine Review of Religions.I would use the scraps of paper that were cut off, as fuel to cook food.ra had not yet openly taken the bai’at , even though she was deeply attached to the Jama’at.In 1902, she was blessed with the opportunity of taking bai’at when she was living in Qadian.She writes about this important incident in her life as follows: I took bai’at of the Promised Messiah as most likely in 1902.It was wintertime, perhaps November.It was in the downstairs hall in the house of the Promised Messiah as.Two other women also took bai’at with me.One was the mother of Khawaja a

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Ali, and the other was the mother-in-law of Sheikh Asghar Ali.At the time of bai’at , the Promised Messiah as sat facing east, while we were facing west, (in other words, we were facing each other).Huzoor as asked us to repeat after him, ‘Today at the hand of Ahmad, I repent from all those sins with which I was afflicted.’ We repeated this sen- tence three times.Then he asked us to say: I will not commit shirk [associate any partner with Allah], I will not steal, I will not lie, and I will not betray my husband’s trust.I will offer all five daily prayers at their appointed times.If Allah Almighty enables me, I will offer tahajjud a

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prayer as well, and I will act on everything good that you may tell me.After that Huzoor as raised his hands for silent prayer, and we also prayed with him.In January 1903, ’s husband, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra, lost his job.This led to the couple facing a lot of difficulties.Since there were no suitable job opportunities in Qadian at that time, the Promised Messiah as gave him permission to find employment outside Qadian.On January 13, 1904, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra travelled to Jammu to look for a job while his father moved in to help out his daughter-in-law and grandchildren in Qadian.Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra was blessed with a new job on a

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March 30th.However, then his father passed away in May, and ra was left alone with her children.a

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CHAPTER TWO After 's father-in-law passed away, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih I ra advised Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra to keep his family with him.So, on July 30, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra moved his wife and children to Jammu.They lived there for some time.However in May 1908, before the sad demise of the Promised Messiah as, the family moved back to Qadian permanently.In this way, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra and his family had the honour of living in the holy town of Qadian and reaping many blessings from 1905–1947.One of these blessings was that the daughter of ra, Amatur-Rahman , had the 9

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ra had loving memories of Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad ra (pictured above) when he was a child.

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honour of living with Ummul - Momineen Hazrat Amma Jaan ra.ra loved the family of the Promised Messiah as very much.She would narrate this incident with great joy: One day, while I was returning home from some- where, I saw Sahibzada Mirza Nasir Ahmad ra , who was a child at the time, coming out of an alley near Qasr-e-Khilafat.I greeted him, say- ing, Assalamu Alaikum and gave him one or two rupees as a gift that I had in my pocket which he happily accepted.This made ra very happy.aa

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Hazrat Ummul - Momineen would sometimes pay ra a casual visit.ra considered this to be a blessing of Allah and would be so very delighted.On such occasions she would always present Hazrat Amma Jaan ra with some kind of gift.ra was a very pious and prayer- ful lady.She recited the Holy Quran very regularly.It was her practice to recite the prayers of the Holy Prophet s as from the prayer book Hizbul - Maqbool aloud and with great passion.Since her children listened to their mother all the time, they too memorized these prayers.She also enjoyed singing poems from Durre- Thamin and Kalaam-e-Mahmood.During her difficult times she would often recite this couplet from a poem as

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of the Promised Messiah as.She would substitute mas- culine form for feminine: روجنروہں ی می رےزومخںرپاگلرممہہکم زنار و زار ا ی گ وہ ی م نس وک رف�یادوں می ری Pray! Dress my wounds with balm for I am grieved, And listen to my beseeching for I am weak and frail.In 1912, ra lived in the apartments of Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya.This was in the neighbour- hood of Darul-Uloom in Qadian but she greatly wished to have a home of her own.So every day after Maghrib [evening] Prayer, she would have her children gather on the prayer mat and pray with intent.These prayers were accepted and by the grace of Allah, not only was she granted a house, but a large one.In Qadian, she spent the difficult times frugally and as

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INSERT PIC OF QADIAN A view of Qadian.

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wisely.She always took care of her family with honour and integrity.Even when Allah granted her abundance, she did not forget these good qualities and always con- tinued to show her gratitude for the blessings of Allah.ra also raised buffaloes in her home and would take care of all the work herself.She would also plant and garden.There were gardens next to her house, which she tended to with love.Regarding another interesting incident in her life, she narrates: Once my brother-in-law, Bashir Ahmad, who was a small child at the time, was very sick and weak.My father-in-law sent him with me to see the Promised Messiah as.Huzoor as looked at him as

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and said: ‘Oh, no! He has become very weak.’ He placed his hand on the child’s head with affec- tion.Then he gave me a bottle of bugloss and aniseed (araq gaou zabaan) and a china bowl.Huzoor as prepared one dose in the bowl and gave it to the child right away.When I returned the bowl, Huzoor as said: ‘No! Take this bowl and bottle, and give it to him twice a day, and also take him to Maulawi Sahib (Hazrat Khalifatul- Masih I ra ).Tell Qazi Sahib (her father-in-law), that I will pray for this child and he will be fine, don’t worry!’ as

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Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah as

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CHAPTER THREE Once, the Promised Messiah as asked Hazrat Amma Jaan ra to cook some pulao [fried rice and meat] and have it dis- tributed to all the houses in Qadian.Huzoor as instructed that all the people in each house should be given this rice.At that time ’s husband worked in Jammu so her father-in-law, Qazi Zia-ud-Din ra, not wanting his son to miss out on the blessings, took a few grains of rice and stuck them to a piece of paper.He then mailed it to his son, and instructed him to eat the part where the few grains of rice were.Another memory ra had of the Promised Messiah (as) was that during the hot days of 19

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summer a woman, who sold small clay toys, came to the house of the Promised Messiah as.She took the bas- ket down from her head and sat down by the well in the courtyard.She said to the maid in the house, ‘I’m very hungry.’ The maid gave her two pieces of pita bread.The woman broke a piece of the roti or pita bread and was about to put it in her mouth, when she stopped, looked around, and asked, ‘Does this house belong to Christians?’ The maid asked her who she was, and the woman replied, ‘I’m a person of God and a follower of the Holy Prophet s as.’ The Promised Messiah as was strolling in the veranda or porch, at that time.When he heard the woman say this, he said immediately that let her know that that as

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home belonged to Muslims and was a truly Muslim home.He then gave the woman one rupee and said, ‘She said the name of my beloved (Holy Prophet s as), and despite her hunger, she feared Allah and didn’t just put the food in her mouth.’ The woman was very pleased.She finished eating and left, cheerful and happy.’s granddaughter, Amatul-Aziz Saeeda, had been raised by her as if she were her own daughter.She was very talented and well-educated.Sadly, she passed away at a young age, just a few months after her marriage.Two months before she died, she saw a dream in which someone said to her, ‘How little is the significance of a person! Two months are left.’ It is inter- esting to note that ra also passed away as

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two months before the second year of her granddaugh- ter’s death.She lived in Rawalpindi at the time.Thus the number two seems to hold a special significance in this dream.On the night of November 12, 1950, in Rawalpindi, ra left this world at the age of seventy-two years, to meet her Creator and Master.To Allah we belong and to Him is our return.Her husband was able to come the next day.Her funeral prayer was offered twice in Rawalpindi, and once in Qadian by the Dervish of Qadian.In this way her funeral prayer was offered three times.Then, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih II ra also led her funeral prayer in absentia on December 1, aa

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1950, after Friday Prayers.About 1500 people were in attendance, and Huzoor ra prayed for her for a long time.At the time she died, she was buried in Rawalpindi temporarily.Almost four years later, in January 1954, when her son, Qazi Abdus-Salam, returned to Pakistan from East Africa, he had her casket taken out and trans- ported to Rabwah.There she was laid to rest next to her husband, Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra Bhatti who had also passed away sometime after her.'s wasiyyat number was 37.This shows that she was one of the early moosiyah.With her casket transported from Rawalpindi to Rabwah, she was finally laid to rest in the section of the companions of the Promised Messiah as in Bahishti Maqbarah.May Allah, as

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24 the Exalted, elevate her rank and grant her a lofty station in Paradise.May Allah the Almighty also enable all of us to follow in the footsteps of the noble companions of the Promised Messiah as.Aameen.

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ra was laid to rest in Bahishti Maqbarah, Rabwah

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REFERENCE In order to prepare this book we made use of the book, Ashaab-e-Ahmad, by Salah-ud-Din Malik, Vol.VI, p.75–78 and p.123–124, published in Qadian, 1959.27

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wordS TO KNOW Bahishti Maqbarah— Heavenly graveyard.Graveyard established by the Promised Messiah as.Bai’at— The bai’at is an oath of allegiance taken by Ahmadis as a promise to accept the Promised Messiah as as the Imam of the age and his Khalifah as the rightly guided leader of our community appointed by Allah.Bibi— A respectful title used for women in South Asia.Darul-Masih— Residence of the Promised Messiah as.Dervish of Qadian— The word Dervish means some- one who takes a vow of simplicity, and devotes his life for the sake of Islam.After the partition of In- dia, in October 1947, Hazrat Musleh Ma’ud ra made a plan for some Ahmadis to remain in Qadian to pro- tect the holy places of the Jama’at (such as Bahishti 29

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Maqbarah, Masjid Aqsa, Masjid Mubarak, and Darul- Masih).When Qadian was evacuated, 313 Ahmadis remained behind in Qadian to serve the Jama’at by protecting the sacred places.They are known as the Dervish of Qadian.Durre-Thamin— A book of poetry containing the Urdu poems of the Promised Messiah as.Funeral prayer in absentia— Funeral prayer offered in which the deceased body is not present.Normally it is offered after the original funeral prayer.Hazrat/Huzoor— His holiness/ Your holiness.Hizbul-Maqbool— A book of prayers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as compiled by Mufti Zubair Bayat.Kalaam-e-Mahmood— Complete collection of poetry of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih IIra.30

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Moosiyah— A woman who is part of the Wasiyyat scheme launched by the Promised Messiah as.Qasr-e-Khilafat— Residence of the Khalifah.Rupee— The currency used in India and Pakistan.Sahabiyah/Sahabi— Female/Male companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as or the Promised Messiah as.Tahajjud— Optional prayers of great merit offered in the latter part of the night.Ummul-Momineen— A title used only for wives of Prophets.It means ‘Mother of believers’.Wasiyyat— A system instituted by the Promised Mes- siah as in which a person promises to sacrifice his/her wealth to attain righteousness.Upon his/her death he/she is buried in Bahishti Maqbarah or Heavenly graveyard if possible.The word wasiyyat means ‘will’.31

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Questions Questions

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FIND THE ANSWERS Question 1: From this book, what facts did you learn about ’s father? ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ 33

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Question 2: To whom did ra marry and what was special about this person? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Question 3: Where did ra and her husband migrate to after their marriage? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 34

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Question 4: ra used to help her husband to bind a Jamaa’t magazine that is still in print today—what is the name of that magazine? _______________________________ _______________________________ Question 5: What did the Promised Messiah as write to Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem’s father when he moved to Qadian? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 35

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Question 6: How did ra and her husband live after they moved to Qadian? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 36

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Question 7: Why did ’s husband leave Qadian in 1903? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Question 8: Where and when did ra pass away? ________________________________ ________________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 37

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REFLECT & DISCUSS onE: Describe the incident of ra tak- ing bai’at at the hand of the Promised Messiah as? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 38

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tWo: Relate an incident of ’s interaction with the family of the Promised Messiah as? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 39

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THREE: ra was a sahabiyah.What does that mean? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 40

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FOUR: Why is it important to learn about the sahaba and sahabiyaat of the Promised Messiah (as)? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 41

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FIVE: What important character traits did you learn about ra after reading this book? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 42

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SIX: We learn from her story that ra was a moosiyah and that her wasiyyat (will) number was 37.What does that mean? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 43

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SEVEN: If ra was alive today, what questions would you ask her? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 44

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Crossword Puzzle Across 3.Hazrat Abdur-Raheem ra and ra got married and migrated to __________ in 1901.6.Hazrat ________ would sometimes pay ra a visit.7.ra loved the ________ of the Promised Messiah as.8.ra loved plants and _________.45

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DOWN 1.ra passed away in the city called ________.2.Hazrat Abdur-Raheem ra was one of the 313 ________ of the Promised Messiah as.4.ra raised _________ in her home.5.’s father’s name is ________.46

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8 5 7 3 1 6 2 4 ⁸⁵

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Answers Answers

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AnswerS 1.Her father’s name was Miran Bakhsh, and he was from the district of Gujranwala.It is not known if he took bai’at or not.2.ra married Hazrat Qazi Abdur- Raheem ra.Hazrat Qazi Abdur-Raheem ra was one of the 313 companions of the Promised Messiah as.3.They migrated to Qadian after their marriage.4.The magazine is The Review of Religions.5.The Promised Messiah as wrote to Hazrat Qazi Abdur- Raheem’s father to bring ra along with him to Qadian.6.They lived with a lot of patience and gratitude after moving to Qadian.49

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7.He left Qadian to look for a suitable job.8.ra passed away on the night of November 12, 1950, in Rawalpindi.as

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51 ⁸ G ⁵M I R A N B A K H S H L R ⁷F D W L A O E S 3Q M N 1R A ⁶A P I N D I D M L N I M Y G 2S A H A B A N J A A N ⁴B U F F CROSSWORD SOLUTION

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE Salutations are recited out of respect when mentioning the names of Prophets and holy personages.These salu- tations have been abbreviated and inserted into the text where applicable.sas sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, meaning ‘may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’, is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.as ‘alaihis-salaam, meaning ‘peace be on him’, is writ- ten after the names of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.53

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ra raziyallahu‘anhu/‘anhaa/‘anhum, meaning ‘Allah be pleased with him/her/them’, is written after the names of the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as or of the Promised Messiah as.as

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MY NOTES _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ 55

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THIS BOOK BELONGS TO THIS BOOK BELONGS TO _______________________________ _______________________________

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