An Eventful Day in Ramadhan

About ten o'clock on the sunday morning of 06 September and 16 Ramadhan of 1430 Hijrah, I was informed by a short message on my cellphone that Zawawi's mother had passed away of old age and will be brought to At-Taqwa Mosque in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail for the solat jenazah and then to Bukit Kiara Muslim burial ground.

So I quickly dressed and told Nasimah that I would be going to pay my respects to Zawawi's mother and join my friends at the mosque. On arrival at the mosque I saw Hamzah and Mohamad Noor ( Gear ) seated around a table with a few others and greeted them with Salam. Then Zawawi came and I conveyed my condolences and he said the Imam of the mosque would be coming soon for the solat jenazah.

After the solat jenazah I took a lift with Mohamad Noor's car together with Hamzah and we followed the rest of the crowd to Bukit Kiara. The burial site is much further inside and we had to drive again after being told by the caretaker that it is one kilometre from where we originally parked the car.

The weather was hot and fortunately I brought two umbrellas as was suggested by Hamzah. When the talqin was recited by the Imam, it invoked in me that we would all be going the same way but only ALLAH shall determine that moment in time, not even a second earlier or later. Later in the evening when Hamzah dropped me off after the Buka Puasa do at OPA Penthouse in Saujana Resort, that I told him the talqin is meant more for the living than the dead and it's encouraged by Rasulullah ( S.A.W.) to accompany the deceased right up to the burial rites. Only then if one is willing to be reminded that our passage in this world is only transient and the final place for all believers will be the hereafter.

I stood barely a few metres from the Imam who was seated with Zawawi and his brother-in-law when the talqin was recited. It still rings in my ear when he said that do not be afraid when the two angels appear and start asking questions as who is your Rabb and your Prophet and what is your religion amongst the other questions. Thus I told Hamzah later that how would one be able to answer correctly if your preparation for the hereafter is less than satisfactory. Therefore we must constantly remind ourselves to perform our obligations as a Muslim diligently and without fail so that we would be able to face our fate when we are six feet underground.

After the crowd dispersed I met Yusof Ali Zain whom I have not met for a very long time and another colleague Samsudin Osman. I reached my house after going back to the mosque again to fetch my car, at about three o'clock as I stopped at two other places on the way home. It was a poignant moment of a day in Ramadhan especially when you are reminded of how fragile life is and what should one prepare to face that crucial "Question Time " where only your deeds which one performed when alive is the only salvation.