Birthdate: June 3, 1919
URS May 31, 2011
Khair-un-nisa was born on June 3, 1919, the youngest child of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan and Ameena Begum. The name Claire was given to her by her older sister Noor-un-nisa. In her early years, Claire trained as a pianist and studied musical composition under Nadia Boulanger in Paris. As the Second World War approached, Claire studied nursing and during World War II she worked in British hospitals. Following the war, Claire moved between the United States and Europe while working and raising her son David Inayat Harper.
In her later years, Claire wrote her memories of life in the Inayat Khan family. Her memoir, “We Rubies Four” was published by Omega Publications in 2011.
I remember when she lived at the Abode of the Message for a short while, my friend and I would drive her to the doctor’s office occasionally. Such a sweet soul, delicate. The fragrance of her essence was always with her, and always brightened the drive. I don’t have much more to say other then it was truly a blessing to have known her.
Claire was also a pioneer in growing penicillin – being one of the first two women ever permitted to enter the august walls of Sir Howard Florey’s Dunn institute at highly old fashioned Oxford university !