Abang in memory .... 2

I visited Abang almost every time I was down in KL. Either using public transport or if Noor was driving...I went to visit him with Noor, my sons or my sisters. During the last visit which I went with Kak Hajar, Ikram and Syafiq, there were signs he was trying to tell us. Even though his speech was still hoarse, when he said these words, it was very clear. He said it as a matter of fact and was looking at me as if I would understand. Surprisingly, I understood him what he meant very well. Kak Hajar was unclear about it until I explained to her what Abang meant. He said "Abang dah 71 tahun tau. Tak lama dah lagi."  I told him I knew. What he meant was Bapak died at the age of 71. Mak died at the age of 71. His mother passed away much younger due to cancer. As usual, we usually just ignored what the sick said and did not pay much attention to it. He was a good man and did his duty as a brother and head of the Aziz family with all their idiosyncracies and temperaments as well as he could.

Allah made everything so smooth for him. He passed away on 17 Ramadhan (19 JULY 2014) or "Nuzul Quran". A special date for the Muslims. I had just completed my 3 days duty as examiner for SPM oral for private candidates at Hotel Seri Malaysia. I reached home about 1:00pm. Rested before I started to prepare something for "iftar" and was having a nap when the phone rang. I had not even unpacked my bag. It was from Kak Hajar. I was quite disoriented being woken up from my nap and the news took some time to sink in. It was almost 4:00pm. The first thing that came into my mind was my oral centre the next day where I was the chief examiner. Going home was not an option. I called Noor and told him I was going home as soon as I could. He said he would try to settle everything and we could leave as soon as possible. I called Fakaruddy (my ULKCP chief) to inform him of my situation and he told me to go home. He would take over my place as chief examiner. It was not easy to get one at an instant so he volunteered. Alhamdulillah for friends. ....

We finally left about 6pm. I drove. I needed to do something to focus so that my mind would not think about the sudden demise. As I was driving, the tears just rolled down that it was blurring my vision. Noor asked if I was okay and I said yes. We arrived at Wah's house about midnight as we made stops for breaking fast and prayers. There was no rush as the funeral was the next morning. Kak Hajar, Abang Zul and Nadia had already arrived from Camerons. Kak Ti and Kak Leha with their families stayed at a hotel near Ampang. We were all so tired. When we woke up for our dawn meal (sahur) we recited the surah Yaasin  for Abang.

By 9am, we convoyed to Abang's house in Keramat and went straight to the mosque nearby. There they held a the usual rites of bacaan surah Yaasin, tahlil, solat jenazah and finally prayers by Uztaz Habib Ali. Abang was one of the founders of Pondok Jenderam near Dengkil, a centre for the studies of Quran and religion. Thus, there were many representatives, friends, families, neighbours and strangers who came. We went to the cemetery (Taman Perkuburan Ampang) right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The cemetery was surrounded by high rise buildings of KLCC, hotels, banks and other institutions.

Tanah Perkuburan Ampang, KL - the crowd whom escorted Abang to his grave. Women were not allowed on the graveyard until all the rites had completed. That was Abang's wish. So, we waited until the men had dispersed before we went to his grave to offer our prayers ...

It was a cloudy and gloomy weather but there was no hint of rain. Abang got his wish to be buried next to his mother's grave. Everybody was solemn but there were no tears of acute grieving. Just silent tears rolled down the cheeks when we felt the sadness of the occasion. We let him go, our first sibling, who was 71 years old and who was a pious and religious person with our thoughts, love and prayers. I will always include him in my daily prayers for my parents. Hopefully, make a yearly visit to Kak Ita ... my sister in-law so that she would not feel isolated from the family. May Abang rest in peace .... Al-fatihah for Abang, Bapak and Mak. Aamiiin.