It was around 6:30 in the evening when
I came downstairs after offering my magrib prayers. My cousin who had
came down from my native along with her dad(my
uncle) was waiting for me to join her for the evening tea. I had just
sat near the table along with her when I heard a loud noise of
something falling, but didn't take it seriously and started enjoying
my tea along with the snacks which my mom had prepared. Soon after
this there was a very strange noises coming from somewhere near, I
cannot explain how the noises where but it sounded like water was
trying to spew out of a broken pipe. I start to head towards the
noise wondering which pipe in the house has broken, was it the
bathroom pipe? Or may be the kitchen sink had clogged? Or may be..? I
finally reached the source and guess what I saw? My dad had lost his
conscious and fallen flat on his back and his body was spewing out
from his mouth which was covering his face fully. His eyes, nose all
covered with his vomit and he was still continuously spewing. It was
a very strange sight, even today fear runs through my heart when I
think of it. I can never forget it.
He seemed fine to me when I met him
after my college that evening just a few hours ago. He had taken my
cousin and my uncle to the CET (Common Entrance Test) cell, prayed his juma salat,
went to hotel with them for lunch, brought them home safe. But then ,
when happened now?
Without wasting much of my time I
called my uncle( he is a doctor actually). Mean while my mom came
running from the kitchen. They started helping out my dad. She
cleaned him and with in few seconds he was up. He started talking and
said he was fine, but my uncle insisted to take him to hospital as
his pressure was down. My dad couldn't walk due to giddiness so he
was carried to the car by our neighbor and we headed towards a close
by clinic.
There were two doctors their who
started monitoring his heart and they where shaking their heads and
discussing so many things with my uncle. Soon he was taken to the
ICU. The doctors had given some prescription, me and brother who had
come to the clinic directly from his office by then, went to the
medical store inside the clinic, he brought the medicines and before he
could pay he asked me to take it to the ICU.I entered the ICU with the medicines, I saw
my dad lying there talking to the doctor explaining his discomfort.
That was the last time I saw him alive. Soon after handing the
medicines to a nurse there I came out. Just few minutes after that he died. Can you
imagine, a person who was perfectly fine talking all the time till
his last breath DIED.
This entire thing happened with in a
span of 2 hours. My dear dad left us for ever. But I didn't cry, not
a drop of tear came out of my eyes. I made my self strong and put all
my burden on Allah. I knew that I have to move on cause my time is
yet to come. This is the first death I saw in my entire life. I was
twenty then. Till then I had just heard of people dieing here and
there and never knew the seriousness about in.
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After this around 9 years later I saw
my husband's grandma die in the ICU, I was very near her along with
all her children one of them being my father in law. It was a slow
death what I would call, she was bedridden for couple of months and
was extremely sick for two days before she was taken to the hospital.
I was extremely sad. It had become a bit difficult for me to control
my tears, especially when I saw her children crying helplessly. But
somehow I managed to control it. By now I knew what death is and what
it was like to loose someone close to you. My life without my dad had made me
weak.
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Just few month's after that my
mother-in-law's father died. I had been with him for a very less time
but those were one of the most precious times of my life. He was a
wonderful human being.
Soon after I heard about his death I started
getting ready to go there. As I was changing my daughter's clothes
who was 3 years old then asked me where we were going. When I told
her that her great grandpa had died, and we are going to see him for
the last time, her face become sad. She asked me in a pleading way: Why do people die Umma( Mummy in arabic)? I don't like it.
Cant they be here? Why do Allah take them away? I want my grandpa.
Now this time I couldn't control myself and burst out crying. I
cannot handle any more deaths, it makes me weak day by day. Now even
when a stranger dies I cry, because now I know how important and
wonderful each and every human being is. The world might still move
on but it will definitely miss that person no matter who he/she was.
When ever I
read these ayaths in the Quran I cry:
And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.).
Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return."
They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones.
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Finally this is a nasheed which reminds
us of the once who have left us, I dedicate it to my friend's father
who died recently because of kidney failure.