Assalamualaikum,

My nana (great uncle) has sadly passed away in this blessed month of ramadan.

He was the rock of our family, and passed away peacefully with everybody by his side; in his armchair, like a true warrior, in his family's arms.

His cancer was caught 4 weeks ago and he miraculously experienced no pain up until 2-3 days before he passed. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I believe he truly was one of Allah’s favourites and the lack of his unwavering love and presence in our family is already so so palpable.

May Allah grant him the highest level of jannatul ferdaus, accept all his good deeds and grant his family sabr, strength and the ability to be able to live out our lives like the one he set for us as an example. One where we lead with our hearts and have a positive impact on every single person we meet.

He passed in the most dignified way, like a true warrior. Didn’t want to accept a hospital bed into his house and didn’t up until the one or two days before he passed away and even then, he refused to lie in it. His King size bed was the only thing he’d lie in, so he’d be surrounded by his family at all times. And surrounded by family he was, up until his last moments every single person who his light had touched was able to visit, and he left with almost 30 family members besides him, making dua’a, able to see him off.

If there’s one thing we can all learn from my nana, it is to treat every single person you come across in life as an amaanah from Allah. An opportunity to do and be the best you can do and be, treat everyone with pure kindness, pure intentions. I aspire to be half the light he was as a person, touch half the lives he did in the way that he did, and maybe one day, when the time inevitably comes, Allah will bless us all with a passing as dignified as his.

His Janaazah will be held at East London Masjid on Wednesday In’sha’Allah. Please attend if you can.

I have distinct memories of touring round the village with him in Bangladesh as a child to give taka to the poor and as the annoying little kid I was, I would be shouting far and wide that my Nana has unlimited supply of taka as he just kept pulling it out from his pocket so we could hand it out together. He truly was one of a kind.

In his memory I'd like to donate a tube well, in'sha'Allah in Bangladesh. Please donate if you can, and keep him and his family in your dua'as.

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In Bangladesh, 68.3 million people lack safely managed drinking water, while 103 million people lack safely managed sanitation facilities. [Unicef]

Iqra International is working on the ground providing water wells in the most needy areas in Bangladesh and around the world.