I lost my dear friend today. She was only 56 years old, not even at retirement age yet. She passed away from lung cancer, even though she didn’t smoke and seldom ate outside, let alone junk food or fast food. No fancy meals. She always cooked at home for her husband and children, simple Malay food. That habit and lifestyle were also followed by her children. No lepak mamak or fancy restaurants. And now, they cook for their parents. The kids are already grown up and working.
Maybe it was Allah’s plan for her to retire early, because she only had 3 to 4 years to relax and enjoy life before she fell sick with cancer.
Yesterday, I was scrolling through my Facebook friends list because I wanted to do some clean-up… then I realised a few of my friends on the list are already deceased. It really saddened me. I’ve reached the stage in life where people in my circle of friends are being dijemput Allah balik.
She was the kind of friend I always went to for advice and tempat meluah perasaan. Sbb dia jenis macam mak-mak. Dulu-dulu nak kahwin dengan husband yang sekarang pun, tanya Kzie. And dia kata husband tu orang yang baik. Sbb dia pun kenal.
Yesterday, I got a call at 5 o’clock in the morning while I was still in dreamland. I saw the number, my friend’s daughter. Every time her name appeared, I was already expecting bad news. And this time, it happened. She said, “Mak dah takde.” Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.
I stared at the ceiling, speechless, even though I knew I had been expecting it. It still hit me hard. I got up and started drafting the message to inform others in the office. Another friend called; she was cooking breakfast. She also froze and couldn’t continue cooking… she went blank. Yes, it was the shocked stage, even though we knew this would come one day.
I went to the funeral. One of my friends who always handles mandikan jenazah was there. I was not strong. Even seeing her face before she was dikafankan broke me; my tears defeated me. Yesterday was the day my friend began another journey.
What are we chasing in this rat race? Death is chasing us, too. Be the smart ones.
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعون
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهَا وَارْحَمْهَا وَعَافِهَا وَاعْفُ عَنْهَا
(Allahummaghfir laha warhamha wa ‘aafiha wa’fu ‘anha)
Moga Allah ampuni , rahmati , muliakan kematiannya, lapangkan kuburnya, jadikanlah syurga sebagai ganti tempat tinggalnya dan berilah kesabaran kepada ahli keluarganya, semoga dia di tempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman.
Al Fatihah..
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـلَمِين۞ ٱلرَّحْمَـنِ ٱلرَّحِيم۞مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّين۞إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ۞ ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ۞صِرَطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ۞ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ ٱلضَّاۤلِّينَ۞امين.
