saturday, and then it was sunday

let me tell you about my recent weekend.

saturday saw me in class from morning. class was good. i feel that i shared a lot, and gained a lot. many of the others were hanging onto my words, but i guess that was normal, seeing that i'm the only one in the class trained in social science.

received a lot of sms's too. one was from the imam, informing me about an activist who was having an emergency operation. the name didn't sound familiar, and since the class was very engaging, i put away the sms, thinking that i'd get back to it and ask who the guy was.

another was from alil, asking me about the subject matter of my uncle's lessons.

back to the first sms. during the lunch break, a colleague called to update me on the activist's status. jamaludin of the sms was actually cik jamal. he collapsed at work. and his prognosis wasn't so good. i was shocked.

after class, there was the farewell dinner, to bid adieu to the 4 of us who left the workplace for a -hopefully- better future ahead. it was fun, the food was good, and the company was superb. but cik jamal was always on our mind.

rushed to gleneagles right after dinner. it was about 9pm when we reached there. he was out of the operation theatre, held in the icu. he was still. his pulse was week. and the machine was breathing for him. his lifeline. his tearful wife, looking very weak, and brave, was with him throughout.

sunday, and cik jamal was gone. the news did not come as a shock, even though i was hopeful before.

he was a good man, with a big laugh, and an even bigger heart. always willing to listen, always willing to land a hand.

it is still fresh in my head, how i used to nag at him, a heavy smoker that he was. he took it good naturedly. what an irony this is, with all the chaos about the four of us leaving the place -two have gone, and me with another colleague still serving the one-month notice - it is cik jamal who left first.

he was 47. survived by a wife and 3 children.

he was a good man. Allahumma fashhad.

Lord, grant him your Forgiveness, your Mercy, your Compassion, your Blessings. Amin.