Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Sahib was blessed with excellent language skills by Allah the Exalted. He delivered powerful speeches in large chambers of the world, where he demonstrated his God-given intelligence, insight and reasoning.
He had very good command over English language. His style of public speaking was very effective and had an exceptional impact on the audience.
Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih III (may Allah have mercy on him) had directed him that during his stay in Holland, he should visit London monthly and devote some time for tarbiyyat of Jama’at there.
Accordingly, he used to visit London, took ta’alim and tarbiyyat classes and delivered one Friday sermon, usually in English. The members, especially the young Khuddam, benefitted greatly.
I remember that on one occasion when he stood up for the sermon, he said: “Usually I deliver Friday sermon in English but today it will be in Urdu because I will not be able to express a special message that I want to impress on the minds of the members in English.”
That was just an example of his humility and modesty; otherwise he was blessed by Allah with a good mastery of English.
Probably the other reason was that vocabulary in English is not as vast as it is in Arabic or Urdu.
Chaudhry Sahib used to state in a lighter vein that English is not a language of spirituality, and one cannot always find suitable words for many spiritual insights and subtleties.
Sittings with Chaudhry Sahib used to be very beneficial and enjoyable. He would talk on scholarly points and insightful matters and, when appropriate, tell light jokes and humorous anecdotes.
Once, he narrated that during his tour of East Africa, he happened to be in Nairobi. There, he was invited to attend and address the meeting of the local Punjabi Literary Association.
He added that, when going there he thought that though they are Punjabi, they would not be free of the imprint of English. Sure enough, every speaker there spoke in English. When at the end it was his turn, he said: “I started my speech in Punjabi and thereupon the eyes of the audience lit up.”
When Chaudhry Sahib completed his speech in typical Punjabi, a Sikh blurted out: “adj te swaad aa gia (really enjoyed it today)!”