My Daddy

How can I write a piece to document the greatness of a 66 year old man. Its impossible to describe how much I love and respect my dad, I have stars in my eyes when I look at him the man is perfect in my eyes. He is all I could have hoped for as a father, as a wise friend as a permanent guardian.

Allah truly blessed us with a man who could take on the task of raising 6daughters and a son firstly in his native Hargaisa and then in his adopted mancheser. He raised us to think with our heads and our hearts. He taught us what it means to be a family and to love each other unconditionally, to be able to fight and bicker but make up in a few hours later. He taughts us about our creator and our Deen. He told us stories about a world in which Allah’s religion was upheld and practiced and made us long for it and wants to strive for it.

He tried his best to prepare us for this world and the next. We got dropped of at school early everyday and we were picked up by him everyday after. A constant pillar of wisdom and discipline, I never feared my daddy I feared his displeasure because he means so much to me. My daddy lived his life for our success not necessary in money or materialist things but our success as humans.

Having 6 daughters, living in a foreign country his worst fear has always been our welfare when he passes away. I remember my daddy very early on in my teens sitting me down and telling me that a father leaves his children 2things in this life, The deen and the means within which to look after themselves and since he wasn’t leaving us money he was leaving us with an educated, strong willed mind so that he could be confident that no matter what we could look after ourselves. He would never want us dependent on another human being.

I will never forget your gentle way of correcting my behaviour, of patting me on the head as your said “may allah grant your father paradise”. I will never forget you trying to teach me the value of time and at 22 am finally learning to be on time. I will never forget your reflective face or your vast knowledge, I will never forget the way you hum your istikhfar, or your love for the Qur’an. I will never forget the way you understood your responsibility as the head of the household, I will never forget the way you made us present our case when we wanted to do something you disagreed with instead of simply saying no! I will never forget the way that you love and respect my mother, your understanding of the worth of your woman. I thank you for making our childhood stable, we never feared that you or mummy would ever separate or divorce. We never saw you fight or disrespect each other, am sure you had almighty rows and fights but we never witnessed one! My friends say i live in a rainbow coloured bubble thats because my childhood was so special. Daddy you are the standard by whom I will judge the father of my children.

My father now a days likes to talk about being in his sunset years, According to him he is in his Maghrib years. He likes to remind us that death is inevitable and one day he will pass away. I can’t say I won’t be heart broken or cry for him but I am truly humbled by Allah’s blessing upon our household when he chose to grant us my daddy as our father. It is said true love never dies and my father will always be the one man I have loved above all men. After Allah and our prophet it most definately is you and my mother.

I LOVE YOU simply does not do justice as to how I feel about you! You have made me all that I am. I make du’a that Allah grants you a place in jannatual-firdaus amongst his most beloved, amongst his prophets, his martyrs, and the heroes of Islam because you are my hero.