Azizullah

My maternal uncle, Mohtaram Col. Muhammad Saeed sāhib, passed away on March 16, 2011 at the age of 88 years, 10 months and 9 days. Innā lillāhi wa Inna ilaihi Rāji`ūn.

Throughout his long life, he played many roles. He was a dear friend, husband, father, grandfather, father in law, mentor, cousin, colleague and a respected elder.

​Today, I have taken upon myself to relate the story of his final journey. He was on his way to Pakistan. He started his journey at the end of this life and ended his journey at the beginning of the next.

It all began when my wife started to plan our annual visit to Pakistan in October of 2010. My wife, my uncle’s daughter, has been going to Pakistan almost every year for health reasons. She suffers from Fibromyalgia and visiting Pakistan has helped her cope with the ailment – perhaps due to the weather change or perhaps due to the change of environment.

She has taken care of her parents for many years and she has almost always taken her parents with her to Pakistan. The health benefits she reaps herself are also reaped by her parents in their senior years. The quantity of medication that they take in Canada before their visit to Pakistan is almost halved on their return. This ritual is repeated almost every year and everyone is happy. Even her physician often reminds her that she should visit Pakistan for her health reason.

My dear uncle had been suffering from weakness and loss of balance that resulted in frequent collapsing. It had been difficult for him to stand up after a fall without assistance. Hence, he was always hesitant to go out and if we ever asked him whether he wanted to go out anywhere, he would say no. The only place he desired to go willingly was to Jalsa Sālāna or to Pakistan.

He was mostly passing life quietly communicating often in sign language only motioning his hands for his needs. We had to look at him to see his response to any question asked. Whenever we asked him how he was, he would simply respond by saying, “Alhamdulillāh.” On visits to the doctor, the physician would ask him the purpose of his visit, to which he would respond that his daughter forced him to see the physician. By the grace of Allāh, he did not have any ailment except old age itself. When we asked him if he wished to go to Pakistan, he would enthusiastically respond,  “Insha’allāh” in a strong voice.

​He suffered from congestive heart failure in December 2010 for which he was hospitalized for one night. The nurse visited him at home regularly to monitor his health and the case managers for health coordinators suggested for him to be put in residence for a better long term care program.

To be considered for long term care, his case managers had to have consent of the patient. To get this consent, the case manager asked him directly that incase of any contingency what would happen. This was to convince him that long term care was the best solution for him and for his caretakers. He was asked three times and every time his response was that Allāh will take care of him. When asked for the fourth time, he pointed to his daughter and said that she will take care of him. He did not wish to go to a long term care facility.

Slowly he recovered from the effect of congestive heart attack and we started to plan his visit seriously in February, he suffered from breathing problems and we had to take him to hospital by ambulance. He was checked and we were informed that he had suffered from Pneumonia with excess water in his lungs. This dampened our travel plans. Our visits to the doctors and hospitals for checkups became more frequent in the quest to ensure his proper health for travel.

If he did not become well enough to travel, he would have to remain in Canada but Allāh had other plans. We met the doctor early in March who declared him fit to travel anywhere in the world. His chest was clear of Pneumonia and he had no heart problem. It seems that his sicknesses were blessings in disguise. He had full checkups to assure us that he was medically fit to travel.

Mamūjān was excited and happy that we were finally going to Pakistan. We were to fly on Tuesday, March 15, and had booked the seat almost at the last minute to avoid penalty of cancellation due to health reasons. It was on Saturday, March 12, that we travelled to Montreal to confirm seats and pay for the tickets. Afterwhich we started packing for the journey.

On Sunday, March 13, his eldest son, Usamah Saeed and his wife came to visit him from Montreal before he left for Pakistan. Mohtaram Ashraf Sial sāhib, our regional Amīr sāhib came specially to see Mamūjān on the 14^th in the afternoon. It was a very joyful visit for all and Mamūjān was in very good spirits, talking as if he was never sick. Naeem Talat sāhib arrived and the three talked away joyfully. Naeem Talat sāhib, who is the nephew of Mamūjān’s second son in law, has become a very close family member since the arrival of Mamūjān in Cornwall. He has looked after the family many a times whenever needed during the day or night.

​Early in the morning on March 15, we departed from Cornwall at around 10 am. Naeem Talat sāhib was there as usual to see us off. We arrived at the Toronto Airport Holiday Inn after 2:00 pm.

The two brothers, Mamūjān’s other two sons, Sohail Saeed and Zubair Saeed were there to wish us farewell for the plane journey to Pakistan. The two of them escorted us to the airport where final good-byes were exchanged. On the way to the boarding gate, phone calls from Nadia & Marya Obaid, his two granddaughters (Nadia and Marya Azizullah), were received to wish us well on our journey.

The plane was boarded on time but some delay was experienced due to which we took off at 7:30 pm. With the gracious cooperation of a fellow passenger, we were able to obtain 2 pairs of seats with her own seat in the middle.

All seemed to be well and we settled in our comfortable business class seats playing with controls to adjust to comfortable positions.

Dinner was served which was enjoyed by all. By 10:00 pm Canadian time, dinner was over and passengers started to make themselves comfortable for sleeping through the night. My armchair was tapped by Khālajān, my mother’s younger sister who is also my mother-in-law, requesting me to get Mamūjān’s cane from the overhead storage compartment. The request was complied with and Mamūjān went to the washroom helped by the stewardess. Within a few minutes he was back cheerfully chatting away with the stewardess who helped him to his seat.

Khālajān had asked him if he was in need of a puffer to aid breathing (his usual requirement) to which he said ‘No,’ and that he was fine. Khālajān suggested that since he had refreshed himself, he should carry out his Salāt. Khālajān then turned to the gracious passenger for small talk. Moments later, she looked back at Mamūjān who was sitting in the prayer mode but Khālajān noticed that his lips were not moving as normal in Salāt. So she called him to see if he was okay and try to shake him when his dentures, which were in his hand, dropped. Khālajān tapped my armchair with her walking stick to get my attention and told me that something may be wrong and that I should have a look. It was not yet 10:00 pm Canadian time. I came round through the front galley, where the PIA staff was having a brief break and called Mamūjān and touched him to get a reaction without success. Perceiving something serious, I immediately called on the PIA staff sitting in the galley indicating to them that we may have an emergency.

The staff reacted quickly and checked the pulse for breathing and attempted to revive him. I returned to Sabiha, my wife, indicating to her that something serious may be happening to her father. In the meantime, the staff had requested the help of  a medical doctor on board and when I returned, Mamūjān was already moved to the galley on the floor and CPR was being administered by the PIA staff in the presence of three doctors from among the passengers on board.

The doctors enquired about Mamūjān’s heart condition and if we had any heart medication for him. With the negative response from us, the PIA staff requested the passengers on board through the PA system if any heart medication was available. The PIA staff and the medical personnel did their best for over 20 minutes, administering injections directly into the heart twice in order to revive him but he had already gone to his maker peacefully some 25 minutes earlier without struggle and without any objection.

The staff and medical personnel present finally had to declare reluctantly at 10:20 pm Canadian time that Colonel sāhib was no longer in this world – Innā lillāhi wa Inna ilaihi Rāji`ūn. The official time recorded was that of GMT being 2:20 am of March 16 (7:20 AM March 16, 2011 – Pakistan time). His death took place in the PIA flight flying over Labrador-Greenland-Iceland at an altitude of 37,000 ft. The PIA staff enquired of me if I believed all possible efforts were made to revive him. My affirmative response finally concluded their efforts. Both Sabiha and her mother were informed of the conclusions. Both of them had been offering nawāfil throughout the ordeal and after learning of the demise they continued to offer the nawāfil.

The 3 physicians were requested to write a brief report of the revival efforts carried out to which my signatures were also appended. The body was then prepared and deposited in a body bag and then transported on the two dinner trolleys in tandem to the back row of the aircraft in the darkness of the night. The body was laid on the 3 middle seats in the final row and was covered up with loose covering for the remaining part of the journey. No one apparently knew the occurrence of the death except for the few passengers in the business class.

The deceased’s daughter asked the purser as to the next step regarding the flight and was informed that the flight would continue to Lahore as planned. The purser was requested to inform the incident to the pertinent relatives, the two brothers’ numbers in Canada were given and also the number of Chaudhry Khurshid Ahmad, the husband of my niece in Pakistan who was expecting our arrival in Pakistan on that flight. The purser agreed to convey the message but we were kept in the dark concerning the dispatch of the message until one hour before the landing in Lahore. However we were looked after well by the staff. The doctors kept Khālajān under observation and the staff continued to check on our welfare. We had nothing but thoughts of what will need to be done on arrival in Lahore.

In the meantime, Chaudhry Khurshid Ahmad was contacted by the PIA headquarters in Pakistan and informed of the incident. It was agreed between them that PIA would make arrangements for the ambulance because it would facilitate matters, and the body would be transported to Rabwah as desired by the family without any charge.

The next issue was informing the rest of the family. Fozia, my niece in Pakistan, could only remember the phone number of her sister-in- law, Yusra, in England and she was informed of the news who conveyed the message to Ms. Samina Naveed, Mamūjān’s daughter in London, who then called her brother, Usamah Saeed in Montreal at 3:00 am Canada time. Hence the message was received by all concerned in a matter of hours and the message was conveyed to all concerned in the three continents before our landing in Lahore. The Ahmadīyya Muslim Jamā`at Canada had relayed the message through its system to the Jamā`at and Hudūr^aa had also been informed.

The purser then came to us and requested our permission to honour the deceased as they considered him a Pakistani Soldier (Lieutenant. Colonel of the Pakistan Army and a Muslim Brother of Pakistan National). After being granted permission and being informed that we being Ahmadīs, do not necessarily follow their ways, the entire staff came to our seats in their full uniform and offered Fātiha led by Brother Khalid Zia, a fellow passenger of Pakistan National and resident of Canada, and the staff gave salutation to the departed and offered condolences to the bereaved widow.

About an hour before landing, we were informed that the message had been conveyed and had been acknowledged. No detail was given. We were satisfied that at least those receiving us were aware of the situation.

Once we landed and the ground staff arrived in the plane, the purser acquired a cell phone from a member of the ground staff and Khurshid was contacted and I spoke to him and enquired if he already knew. He assured me that all was being taken care of. Before leaving the plane we had to complete the formalities of the death certificate with the local health authorities. All went smoothly and we were escorted by the PIA staff through all the immigration and custom formalities. On arrival, we discovered that the number of people receiving us was larger than normal. The Qāid of Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya of Montreal East had called his mother and his two Khādim brothers to be at the airport to be available for any help. Khurshid’s nephew Zohaib was also there. It was great consolation that the Van driver, Brother Yahya, was also one of our Ahmadī brothers known to us from previous trips. May Allāh bless them all for their timely support. In fact, all that was needed was being done for us by the grace of Allāh.

On arrival in Rabwah, we were met by Khurshid’s brothers, brother Mubarak and Munawwar and his son Musawwar (Sons and grandson of late Chaudhry. Ibrahim sāhib – Chakki Walai). The preparations were already in place to bathe the body and preparation of the coffin. Members of the family, Brothers Sheikh Harris and Waseem Tahir arrived almost immediately. Our cousin, Dr. Laaeq Ansari was contacted regarding the morgue arrangements at the Fadl-e Umar hospital, he also alerted the morgue to receive the body that night. Sheikh Harris and Waseem Tahir took charge to inform all family contacts in Pakistan. Within the hour, the body was prepared, a Hospital ambulance had arrived and the body was on its way escorted by Waseem Tahir’s car and Dr. Laeeq Ansari’s car.

​From the hospital, we arrived back home to sleep for the remainder of the night as we had much to do the next day. Early in the morning we went to the Wasīyyat office where the evaluation was to take place. The file of Mamūjān’s Wasīyyat was retrieved and the record was reviewed. To our surprise the available records, including the latest data faxed by the National Wasīyyat Secretary of Canada Jamā`at, indicated every aspect was satisfactory and within 15 minutes we were ready to proceed.

The question of burial in Bahishtī Maqbara was raised at the Wasīyyat office and the secretary of the Wasīyyat office indicated that this is allowed only by Hudūr’s permission. The secretary asked if we had plans to make such a request to which our reply was in the negative and the issue was considered closed.

Later however, just before the burial prayer at `Asr, we learnt that Hudūr had requested reports for the burial location. The burial proceedings could not be delayed for more than an hour according to Dr. Laeeq Ansari sāhib. However, by the grace of Allāh, within 10 minutes, a message was received from Tabshīr office in London UK, that Hudūr had kindly authorized the for burial to take place in the Bahishtī Maqbara.

The arrangements were made for transporting the body from the morgue, viewing was held in Dārul Ziafat and Namāz Janāza at Masjid Mubarak after `Asr prayer. Everything proceeded smoothly and without any difficulty. The burial took place almost 24 hours after the plane landed in Lahore and within less than 36 hours of the demise. Our cousin Professor Qādi Mubarak Ahmad sāhib Ansari led the final silent prayers after the burial.

I would be neglecting my duty if I do not gratefully acknowledge the support given to us by many of those whose names I do not know or remember. Some have been named above and for others we pray that Allāh may reward them the best reward.

It was the desire of the family that the Namāz Janāza of late Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Saeed sāhib be offered by Hudūr. Several phone calls and e-mails were exchanged between the various departments and offices of the Jamā`at and Mohtaram Amīr sāhib of Canada to prepare a short summary of the accomplishments of the late Lieutenant Col Muhammad Saeed sāhib. An outline of the summary was prepared by myself and Brother Usamah Saeed sāhib and after being properly prepared by Tabshīr was presented to Hudūr. By the grace of Allāh, Hudūr mentioned the demise of Mamūjān, the late Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Saeed sāhib, and the following week in the Friday sermon and indicated that he would offer the Janāza Ghā’ib for the deceased after the Friday prayer. Alhamdulillāh.

In order to clear the paper work and transfer the government pension to the deceased’s spouse, much work was needed. There were many who helped us in this matter and are still helping us. Again all these individuals cannot be named but our heartfelt thanks and prayers are always with them.

​It seems that throughout the phase of the final journey, God’s hand was at work. We were merely pawns in the hands of Allāh. This made me realize with absolute certainty that Allāh is a Living Being, All-Powerful and is watching us all the time. No further proof is needed to have firm faith in His being alive, All-Aware and All- Powerful. He works in mysterious ways to come to aid of those he loves.

Although Mamūjān never openly declared it, he was a Pakistani and loved his home country without being disloyal to his adopted country – Canada. Pakistan was calling him as seen in his enthusiastic desire to return home. He travelled on Pakistan Airlines and passed his last breath in Pakistan’s jurisdiction among Pakistani nationals and finally laid to rest on Pakistan soil. May Allāh elevate his soul and may he rest in peace, Āmīn.

This article was published in Jan 2012 issue of Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada