Father accepts loss as God’s will
KUALA TERENGGANU: “Alhamdulillah!”
That was the first word uttered by Mohd Mustafa, father of drowning victim Abdul Bari Asyraf Mohd, when he was greeted by members of the media at the Forensic Unit, Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.
Looking sad but composed, he arrived at the hospital at 8.45am.
Bari’s body was found floating in Kuala Tanjung, near Pulau Warisan, Kuala Terengganu, at 7.24am by firemen and members of the public.
Bari had gone missing about 9.40pm on Friday while rescuing the passengers of a four-wheeldrive vehicle that had plunged into Sungai Terengganu.
Bari had managed to grab hold of a 3-year-old girl and handed her over to a man before disappearing into the river.
Mustafa said he wanted to lead the funeral prayers for his son, but had elected instead to hand the task over to his teacher, the imam of the Kampung Merbau Patah mosque in Jalan Kuala Berang, here, as a mark of respect.
“It would have been good if I led the funeral prayers for my son, but I will let my teacher do it. I had performed funeral prayers for others but never would I have thought that one day, I would perform the prayers for one of my own children,” said Mustafa, who had been performing funeral prayers for five years in the district with the village mosque congregation.
The 66-year-old Tenaga Nasional Bhd pensioner said he was grateful that Allah granted his and his family’s prayers that Bari’s body be found and given a proper burial.
“Alhamdulillah, have been fulfilled. Allah heard my call. Today, He brought us to meet Bari after he had been missing for more than two days,” he said.
Mustafa said he was not surprised when told that Bari’s body was found on Sunday morning, floating in Kuala Tanjung, near the estuary of Sungai Terengganu.
Looking calm, he accepted it as God’s will, and never stopped uttering “Alhamdulillah”, for the discovery.
“Who would not be sad losing a child? But as Muslims, we must accept it as qada’ and qadar (God’s will).
“Last night, my instincts told me that Bari would be found, but not at the scene where he was attempting to rescue five people who were nearly drowned. Alhamdulillah, my instincts were right, his body was found 2.5km from the scene,” he said.