إنا لله و إنا إليه راجعون

We have just received news of the passing of Hajjah Safiah binti Abdul Karim, aged 83, the mother of 7 accomplished daughters, one of whom is married to my brother. Hajjah Safiah had been bed-ridden for a few years. The following is an extract from a little book about the family elders, written by my sister-in-law, as a bithday gift to her grandson, Riyadh.

Do you know Riyadh, that the lady, lying in bed, was once an energetic mum, grandma, organiser of family weddings and functions, and most of all she was a Da'ie (pendakwah)?

She was not highly educated, and was overcome by events, such as losing both parents at 10 years old, the World War, the Emergency, all those affected her schooling. But she had Tok Bak as a point of reference. Tok Bak read and understood the Quran. So each time she went for her talks, Tok Bak would be her consultant on the Quran and Hadith. She was gifted in giving dakwah to a point that her audience will shed tears everytime she spoke especially on the Prophet's trials and tribulations in spreading Islam.

She was also a courageous lady, a motivator, always pushing her daughters to excel, to be looked up to and never to be looked down by others. Her advice come from Malay proverbs (she memorised it all) and applied it to situations and context whenever we sisters got into conflicts or sibling arguments.

Even your mum could remember some of Tok Mak's famous maxims such as "buat sampai orang puji, "jangan sudah terantuk baru tengadah" and so on. We learnt from her to be "berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah".


She was a teacher of values. "Jangan memandang orang terlalu tinggi atau terlalu rendah". So one must behave according to situations and dress accordingly too. She was intuitive and quick to have insights of characters, words and manners. In her words "baru pegang perahu, aku dah sampai seberang", "berkilau ikan di air sudah tahu jantan betina"!

So Riyadh, Tok Mak knows and when she comments, she comments with wisdom. I pray one day you will remember her as that "WISE OLD LADY". Remember her kiss on your forehead."


May her soul be amongst the righteous. Amin.

I'll attend the funeral in the morning and then to a Majlis Aqiqah to commemorate the birth of the first grandchild of a former work colleague.

Such is the cycle of life.


Till next time, Insya Allah