Dada was a huge figure in every stage of my life, giving life lessons in his approach throughout the way.
As a child, I didn’t sleep well most nights. I would go to Dada and have him tell me stories all night. And he would patiently comply, without any complaints.
He taught me to read namaz at the age of 4 – it took me some time to realize I needed to read in the feminine way – I think Allah (swt) will let me slide with that 🤭.
As I got older, he first taught me to read Quran in Urdu. He always said we needed to understand the message of the Quran vs just reading for the sake of reading. A message we need to hold on to in this age of constant misinformation.
Coming into my teen tears, my inquisitive nature started to take over. My love for questioning everything came from him, and he always made sure to let me know it’s okay. Islam was not for the sheep to accept it all – it was for the thinkers to understand the why of the universe. We had heated debates regularly, but it was okay, because to him, it showed that I had a stance on something and I was thinking about the things he was saying. A lot of times these are not acceptable traits as Muslim women culturally, but I was never made to feel that way with him.
I will miss the patience and grace he showed me while I was young. I wish I could have repaid the same while he was older.
Imam Ali (AS) frequently stated, “Ask me before you lose me” (Arabic: Saluni qabla an tafqiduni). Dada emulated this trait of our first Imam by constantly having talks with the younger generations in his family in the hopes to increase their knowledge of Islam and life.
May we all follow Dada’s lead in the quest for knowledge toward the right path IA.
I want to send my condolences to the entire family on the passing of our patriarch. May Allah (swt) elevate his rank in jannah and grant us all sabr to deal with this huge loss. Ameen 🤲🏼
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