Passing of Shazad Ahmed

Last Sunday one of my wife's relatives passed away, may Allah have mercy on him. He had been suffering from lung cancer for a number of years and despite feeling immense pain in the last few months of his illness he never complained to anyone. I was told that if he awoke in the middle of the night due to pain he would quietly go lie downstairs on the sofa rather than disturb his wife's sleep.

By Allah's grace the family were able to arrange the funeral for the next day and he was buried in the "Gardens of Peace" cemetery just outside London. It was the first time i have attended a burial there and i was impressed. The land is well-kept and the trustees have ensured that the graves are simple in accordance with Muslim tradition; each grave is marked only by a small stone tablet bearing the name of the deceased upon it. Its also the only cemetery that i know which allows the deceased to be buried outside of the casket.

In the 24 hours between his passing and his burial I had seen my in-laws reciting the following prayer over and over again, and encouraging all well-wishers to do the same:

"O Allah! Forgive him and have Mercy on him and give him strength and pardon him. Be generous to him and cause his entrance to be wide and wash him with water and snow and hail. Cleanse him of his transgressions as white cloth is cleansed of stains. Give him an abode better than his home, and a family better than his family and a wife better than his wife. Take him into Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave."

Once we had arrived at the cemetery the very moment the body was taken out of the vehicle a terrific hail storm descended and ended only as they placed his body in the grave. It lasted perhaps four minutes, and in accordance with the du'a a good sign we hope.

He leaves behind him a wife and three young children, all under the age of 10, and it would mean a lot to us if the readers of this blog would say a small prayer both for him and his family.