It was an ordinary Wednesday morning, I got up as usual to get ready for work and was in the bathroom when I overheard my wife getting a phone call from my mother. It was just before 6 am. It's unusual to receive calls at that time unless there is an emergency. As I later found out there was.
My brother-in-law have lost his father that morning. His father have already been admitted for a week. Due to various complications his left arm needed to be amputated. But he already have additional complications from a weak heart and kidney. And to amputate they needed to stabilise that first. What a Hobson's choice! It is no choice at all! Allah being kind decided to be what was best, to take away a kind man from us and the world.
I knew him even way earlier during my sojourn in a small company in Terengganu. Then he was conducting a few executive training programmes and what an effective trainer he was. Little that I know that one day he will be my sister's father in law. He left an indelible mark on me as a trainer and as a relative.
Knowing that my brother in law was alone at the hospital to manage everything, I decided to drop everything to be by his side. I sent a message to my fellow Management Team that I won't be coming to office, the same message made its way to my team and I was on my way to the hospital. Of course I needed Waze, a wonderful app if you were to ask me.
I got there and of course there were no more parking space within the hospital compound. So I had to look for parking spots outside, soon I found one and as I later found out how prescient I was! It was right next to the Forensics Department where the body will be brought to.
I rushed to the ward on the Fifth Floor, Ward 5A, 9th Bed, and there he was serenely lying down. I hugged my brother-in-law. Soon after the hospital staff came to bring the body to the Forensics Department to be cleansed and placed in a shroud as required by Islam. I have been involved in many funerals before, but this is the first time that I am fully participating in cleansing the body. I have carried bodies before and place it on the cloths for the shroud.
This is a link on how to bathe the body. Bathing the deceased the Islamic way.
The ritual was led by an ustaz (religious teacher) that made the process as simple as possible. The most important is to maintain the modesty of the deceased. So he is always covered by a sheet. Then a few of us were tasked with washing the deceased with a cloth, soap and water. He was then rinsed with water mixed with kapur barus (camphor), dried and placed on the cloths to be shrouded.
He was then transported in a hospital hearse and brought back to his home. Since my car was nearby I was able to get to it quickly.
He was taken back to his house where there were many visitors and later proceeded to be taken to Masjid Kampung Klangate for prayers and for burial.
After the prayers my father who was with me opened the passenger side of the door and somehow the door will not latch! Had to create a makeshift latch so that I can bring it to the nearby Ford Service Centre. My father then brought me home. I arrived home at almost 5 pm and I was thoroughly exhausted. After chatting with my mother who was at home with my wife, I had a quick lunch and quickly dozed off until nearly 8 pm. Woke up, performed my prayers and before I knew it I was asleep again. The sleep was quite disturbed by the day's events and what was going to happen tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be saying farewell to a formidable man.
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