إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
لِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَ
Even though death is supposed to serve as a reminder to us, the living, of an inevitable end; it has often caused us to forget about those that we lose even as we wait for our end.
I found myself on a familiar street one Friday after saying the Jumah (Friday congregational prayer) at the Rashad Islamic School at Accra New Town. There I was using Hill Street – the stretch that connects New Town Road down to the Nima Gutter area and onwards to the Nima Roundabout.
I was using Hill Street on my way to the SS Shardow Community Centre at Stone City to join a volunteer team at the place – story for another day.
Hill Street evoked memories dating 16 years back, in 2009, when myself and 1000s caused the street to be blocked from the Bolgatanga House section all the way towards the New Town – Farisco – Circle Road.
We lined up on the street, many others joined on the fringes and others in the houses as we prayed the janaaiza (funeral prayer) for Mallam Suleiman Garba, Mallam Sulley, as he was affectionately referred to.
I remember how the National Chief Imam’s vehicle pulled up and the moment Mallam Sulley (gaawa [Hausa for corpse]) was brought out of the house for the final time on the shoulders of his brothers and uncles, the very ones he so respected, all of them betrayed by the brave faces they tried to put up as tears rolled down their cheeks or as they wiped off their tears.
That funeral prayer ends almost immediately as it starts and the processes thereafter are well laid out, the women retreat and the men proceed to the cemetery to bury the deceased. The trip from Hill Street to the Awudome cemetery was understandably a long one.
It could have been longer but for the unofficial dispatch riding young men who blocked intersections to allow the hearse and cars carrying mourners to orderly transit despite the disorder and discomfort they create for other road users – Allah forgive them!
If my memory serves me right, the Chief Imam’s job was done after the prayers, the burial at the famous Awudome Cemetery was to be overseen by Ustaz Yusuf Musah of Hamdaniyya Islamic School and other senior Imams in New Town.
And the Imams spoke to the hearts and minds
I remember one of the Imams cautioning all those standing on tombs to desist and instead find other places to stand, his caution was against the background that we were a heavy (very heavy) crowd around the grave (call it final resting place) of Mallam Sulley.
Advice after advice, young men and old alike were admonished to take lessons from Mallam Sulley’s departure to mend our ways and do what pleases our Lord and what will serve as our guarantee or is it warranty when our end comes.
Work, Mallam Sulley worked!
One Imam, a friend of Ustaz Yusuf who had actually taught us Arabic Language in madrasa after his admonition concluded with the Quranic verse “limithli haazaa, fal ya’malil aamiloona.” That verse in Suuratus Saaffaat has since stuck with me.
“For the like of this, let the workers (on earth), work.”
Work in the cause of Allah, that is exactly what Mallam Sulley did as a student and a beloved teacher. He loved learning, more than anything, he loved the Quran, he read it, he lived it, he taught it. May Allah have mercy on Mallam.
Work, Mallam worked ruwa a jallo (tirelessly till the end) in teaching the Quran to the smallest and cutest ones along with the legendary Mallam Mohammed Sani. Mallam Sulley catered for every kid placed under his care.
Back to Hill Street – testimonies pre-janaaiza
I would return to Hill Street, I was there for more than the janaaiza, I had gone to retrieve a book, if my memory serves me right, about Twibbin Nabawiyy, Mallam Abdul Nasir had given it to Mallam Sulley through me.
Mallam Sulley loved books, he loved to read. Luckily for me, his roommate was able to find it and hand it back to me.
As we awaited the janaaiza, I was privy to an informal discussion with some of Mallam Sulley’s classmates, Mallama Muinatu and Fawziyya, I believe contemplated how Mallam catered for kids but had died without marriage, let alone having kids of his own.
The consensus, however, was that Mallam had played his part and our prayer was for Allah to bless him with sadaqatul jaariyah (the infinite good) that he planted by way of his teaching exploits. Allah ya saa haka!
Since Mallam left – life has gone on, hasn’t it?
To think that it has been 16 years since Mallam was buried on that fateful day in June 2009, politically; he had experienced a year of the Atta Mills presidency, here we are, we have seen Mills to his end, Mahama I, Akufo-Addo I and II, and now the return of Mahama.
Mallam loved Real Madrid and even more, he idolized Zinedine Zidane. As at 2009, Real had nine Champions League trophies, today they have 15, six since Mallam left. His idol Zidane will return to manage Real Madrid, Mallam Sulley never lived to see that era.
Mallam did not live to use WhatsApp, the very platform that we all today use so briskly because it is tied to our SIM cards and smart phones. Even if Mallam used a smart phone, then 16 years on, we are with smarter phones.
I am without doubt that some of the people who stood for the final prayer of Mallam Sulley have had their final prayers also said. Many have died and would continue to exit, including myself and you, this esteemed reader.
Sheikh Sa’id Mukhtar Abubakar (Mallam Sa’id) once told us that as important as it is to pray for the departed, it is worth noting that the day you do not hear of another person’s death, you are the dead person.
“Randa kaji shuru, toh kai kenan ka tafi,” he said, at least to paraphrase our respected Sheikh.
I write this grateful to Allah that he allowed me to come into contact with Mallam Sulley and to learn from the many bright traits that he exuded. Allah ya jikan Mallam, ya masa kewtan Al Jannah! Allah ya hada mu da Mallam a Al Jannah.
In naa lil Laah, wa innaa ilaihi raajioona!
