Wrote this in 2001 after my dad passed away..

Assalamu'alaikum wth....

Thank you dear friends for visiting me and writing to me to share my grief.

There is so much i wish to share with all of you. How my children handled
the departure of their dearest grandfather( he had been baby-sitting them in
the evenings for the last 2 weeks of his life).
The feeling that this was all just a dream......
Probably it would have been different if he had been sick.
Probably it would have been different if he was really old.....
He was 55 ( just retired 2 months ago) and full of life.
He had lost weight, looked relaxed without the stress of work and
travelling.
He was enjoying the times spent with my daughters. Which he would not have
had the oppurtunity to do if he was still working.
He had just done his umrah last Ramadahan and his Hajj earlier this year.
May Allah bless his soul. May Allah have mercy on him.
Semoga hajinya haji mabrur.....

What i realised throughout all this is that i have no regrets. The last 2
weeks of his life was filled with togetherness. We spent a lot of time on
being family. I still remember him giving a hug & a kiss the night before he
died. He was helping me with a working paper for a Munawwarah project. He
died peacefully, he looked exactly like he was asleep.

I believe that we should all appreciate the people around us. Love and
cherish. Of course we argue and have our misunderstandings...but we should
hasten to forgive and make things right. If you feel a burst of emotion,
show it and say it. Kadang-kadang ianya alamat yang ajal seseorang itu akan
tiba.It's just that we don't realise it.
Because if you don't, you may regret it...it may be too late.
Allah akan mengambil nyawa setiap insan - it will happen to you, your
spouse, your parents, your child......we should all be prepared.....it does
not happen in chronological order.

Yang pergi tidak akan kembali. Tinggallah kami untuk meneruskan kehidupan di
alam ini. Doakan kekeutan kami. Doakan kesejahteraannya. Dan ambil iktibar
bahawa kematian boleh berlaku anytime any place any age. Just prepare
yourself.........


regards,
ina ali