Alhamdulillah, my husband returned safely from his emergency trip to Egypt. \u00a0If you are connected to his or my Facebook, you know that his brother passed away over the weekend. \u00a0As Muslims, when we hear of a death, we say \u201cInna lilahi wa inna ilahi rajiuun\u201d, \u00a0which translates as \u201cIndeed, we belong to God and to Him is our return\u201d. \u00a0It is a reminder that our time here in this world is borrowed time. \u00a0Our loved ones do not belong to us; they are a trust for us. \u00a0Every person is born and dies according to Allah\u2019s will and with His permission.<\/p>\n
My brother-in-law\u2019s story is not mine to tell. \u00a0The memory of his life belongs mostly to others; I talked with him both times I visited Egypt but we were not close. \u00a0He was tall, spare, and had a classic Egyptian face, taking after his mother, may Allah have mercy on her. \u00a0Didn\u2019t look like my husband at all. \u00a0He chain smoked. \u00a0He laughed loudly. \u00a0He argued in typical enthusiastic Egyptian fashion.<\/p>\n
He died in his brother\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n
Aside from quick Viber calls from Egypt expressing frustration with the hospital and doctors, my husband did not tell me too much about\u00a0the situation while he was\u00a0there. \u00a0And after his brother passed, he made one quick call to let me know, his voice thick with grief. \u00a0Since he returned last night, one sentence only, and then, \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it\u201d. \u00a0I respect his grief, his silence. \u00a0It is too new, too raw, to speak of.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s out now, back to work, back to daily life. \u00a0I\u2019m so glad he went to be with his brother. \u00a0His brother had issues, big ones, but I am here to tell you that Allah sent my husband to be with him. \u00a0It had to be him, no one else, because my husband cuts to the essence of what it is to live and die well. My husband would be the only one there who cared more for his afterlife than his life, and I know, even if he never speaks of it, that he would have said words to help save his brother from the Fire. \u00a0I know. \u00a0And I know that his brother would accept it from him, because even though my husband is the youngest, he has always been the leader, the gadfly, the reminder, the stick poking in the wasp nest of forgetfulness. \u00a0At his last moment, with his last breath, I\u2019m sure my brother-in-law remembered his soul, because his brother wouldn\u2019t let him forget.<\/p>\n
Inna lilahi wa inna ilahi rajiuun.<\/p>\n
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Alhamdulillah, my husband returned safely from his emergency trip to Egypt. \u00a0If you are connected to his or my Facebook, you know that his brother passed away over the weekend. \u00a0As Muslims, when we hear of a death, we say \u201cInna lilahi wa inna ilahi rajiuun\u201d, \u00a0which translates as \u201cIndeed, we belong to God and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam-2"],"yoast_head":"\n