anniversary

Sometime early last week, was the anniversary of my father's death. It's amazing to think that it has already been close to six or seven years that he's been gone. It's also amazing that most of my most vivid memories of him are restricted to those few difficult months after his stroke, up until his passing. The significance of every other memory of him, during happier moments, seem to be eclipsed by that tumultous period of darkness when my family grappled with the aftermath of his stroke, and then his eventual death.

Rasulullah SAW. bersabda, "Apabila seseorang telah meninggal, terputus untuknya pahala segala amal, kecuali dari tiga hal yang tetap kekal: sedekah jariyah, ilmu yang bermanfaat, dan anak saleh yang senantiasa mendoakannya."

One of my biggest regrets in life is not being able to know my father truly, as a person, beyond his obligations as dad and husband, and not being able to tell him how much I loved him and appreciated his efforts to give me a good education so that I can have a "bright" future. I may not be, or even could ever be, the "anak saleh" father had wished or hoped for, but I have, and always will, mention father in my prayers.