The Week That Was

It has been an emotionally and physically draining week. 27th February 2009, my Pak Teh went into ICU. 7th of March, he left us forever. Within that period was the numerous visits to the hospital and my Grandma's house in Shah Alam. Not to forget, my parents' house was broken into and valuables stolen. Then came the phone call from the hospital on the 7th of March at about 9 pm. We rushed to the hospital and arrived a little too late as he breathed his last breath at 9.20 pm. None of us made it before 9.20 pm. It was a heavy blow to all of us, more so to my aunt and my two cousins. We felt that it was too soon for him to go. Age 49. Tapi kami percaya Allah knows best. Arwah's first son who will turn 17 soon, seemed too little in my eyes as he was called upon various times in many occasions following the departure of his father. Constantly he was called upon , "Mana anak lelaki sulung Arwah?" Many a time he looked confused and stressed out, but not a single tear he shed. When he and his younger brother (who is 15), went into the liang lahad for the burial of their late father, I can see the determination and courage in his face and I was rest assured that he will be allright and even more so, he will be able to be a source of strength to his mother and brother. From that moment on, I realized that the cousin brother whom I held in my arms when he was a babe, has grown and is man of the house now. Ya Allah, kuatkanlah semangatnya dan tetapkanlah hatinya Ya Allah. Sesungguhnya Engkaulah yang Maha Mengetahui.

There will be no more magic tricks performed by my late PakTeh to entertain all the little kiddos in the family. There will be no one to offer to babysit BabyAzan during family gatherings as he usually will offer, "Bagi budak kecik kat PakTeh, kasi mummy dia relax pulak." There will be no more of a great many things as he will usually be the 'penggerak' in most family events. All that's left are memories.

A man with a big heart and jovial character, he will be sorely missed. Not only by us but also his neighbourhood community. It was evident that he was well liked by many. Tak putus-putus orang datang dari jenazah sampai ke rumah, semasa sembahyang jenazah di masjid, semasa pengkebumian dan juga majlis tahlil. Ramai yang datang mendoakan kesejahteraan arwah. Alhamdulillah. Sesungguhnya dunia ini hanya sementara, hanya Iman dan Amal yang menjadi bekalan kita.

Firman Allah yang bermaksud, "Setiap yang bernyawa pasti merasai mati, kemudian kepada kamilah kamu dikembalikan." - (Surah al-Ankabut, ayat 57)