Wrote this a while back on Facebook. I thought I should share it here as well.
I came back from the market today and my Dadima (paternal grandmother) was sitting alone in the room. I only get enough time in weekdays to say Salam to her and then run to work. When I come back she’s sleeping. When she wakes up, I’m sleeping. It’s only the weekends when I get to sit with her for some time. My father spends the most time with her and is really trying hard to earn Jannah by serving her in whatever way he can. May Allah accept his efforts and allow me to serve my mother the same way or even better.
So today when I said Salam to her she said: “Come sit with me; you never sit with me.”
I went inside the room and sat with her. She started talking about weather, religion, and health. I was listening to her and I started noticing the wrinkles on her face. She mentioned how she once had a surgery and spent 2 and a half months in the hospital. The doctors said it was a miracle that she survived.
“Your grandfather was alive at that time,” she said. “Allah wanted to keep me alive so I could marry my children.”
Often when I pass by her, I ask Allah to forgive me for neglecting her and not giving her the attention and time she deserves. I always think what would my children or grand children do with me? How fast would life be 3 to 4 decades from today? Would they even pass by and say Salam to me or just keep me sitting in a room all day and night?
She said she has pain in her legs because of the cold, although she is keeping them warm. Her condition is just like a child now. Weak and fragile, not able to properly walk.
How true are the words of Allah!
وَمَن نُّعَمِّرْهُ نُنَكِّسْهُ فِي الْخَلْقِ ۖ أَفَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ
“And he to whom We grant long life We reverse in creation; so will they not understand?”
[Yaseen, verse 68]
There is a lot that she has taught me. I will share more in shaa Allah. May Allah keep our elders safe and healthy, grant them Jannat ul Firdous and forgive all their sins. May Allah allow us to learn from their experience and wisdom, whatever good there is. Ameen.
Omer Shahid 