My Father, My Teacher

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful

I often think about a man who made such a deep impact on me

Obstinate as I was I now realise that he was teaching me the person to be

Sadness overwhelmed us as his worldly life was slowly taken from him

But even to the end this silent teacher taught as to remember Him

So now when I recite that “there is no either deity to be worshipped but Allah”

How better to remember the one who taught me about Allah

And I thus pray for the mercy of the Almighty on him who taught me all this

That this person deserves nothing less than the Garden of Bliss

A great thanks to my Dad for what he taught me with such few words

I remember well how he took out time to also feed the birds

So I can go on and on about the lesson I learnt from this great man

Yet few knew him and yet less will even begin to understand

That parents are a blessing from Allah if only we will sit and ponder

There are lessons for us in this life that will take us to an awesome place yonder

And so I remember my father who taught me to remember my Creator

To Him, no doubt,  is our final return as He decrees, be it sooner or later

That day when in the morning he prepared himself so well

By the afternoon others gathered as if to bid him farewell

As we continued to recite with him the ultimate declaration

That we worship none besides Allah, the Lord of all creation

By the night as silence fell, it was decreed that he breathed his last

But even in this moment his impact over us was like a shadow cast

The tears then and even now a few years later for a man not forgotten      

A man of few words yet he taught us to love the God that was not begotten

We washed his body and then in three white sheets he was shrouded

For the prayer  it was humbling to see the mosque so crowded

Beyond words it was when came the time to lower his body into the ground

Then the body was covered with sand forming on the grave a little mound

So praise to the Almighty who has granted me a good father

As even now I am best known for being the son of my father

Forgive me if every now and then I shed a tear

For even in death my father is always to me dear