As I was about to enjoy my afternoon siesta yeterday, I was rudely awakened by a very hard knock on the entrance door of my house.When I asked who was that, my youngest son Munir, who just came from from school, appeared with a sad face.Immediately, he told me that his cat just died outside the gate of our house!
Every time my son comes home from school, this cat will follow him inside the house. He is so fond of the cat and the cat is just like a playmate to him for he does not have any younger brothers or sisters.When my son does his home work ,the cat will be lying around besides him. When my son sleeps in the afternoon , the cat sleeps with him and at times the cat imitated his behaviour!
A few months ago when the cat got sick, he asked me to drive him and his cat to the vet.On returning home, he fed the cat with medicine everyday for a week and placed the cat in a basket with some blankets.I prayed to Allah that my son will be rewarded with al-Jannah for his sincere kindness to a strayed cat that came to seek a shelter from our home two years ago.
I told my son to leave the dead cat there and have lunch first. He said no and he got the cat buried within half an hour with the help of his older brother who is on semester break.Munir just kept quiet for the whole day...
Good bye Che Awe(the name of the cat).
What really touched me is that the cat came to die at my house even though it moved around the neighbourhood during day time....
Let me qoute Imam al-Ghazali:
"Cintailah apa jua yang kamu sukai,sesungguhnya kamu akan berpisah dengannya."
Adib,
I know how your son feels. My kids are the same, they pick up stray cats too and now I have 9 fat cats at home!
BTW, I have just finished reading all of Dan Brown's books (Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, Da Vinci Code and Deception Point). Now you know why I have been very quiet.
Gabra
Posted by: Gabra | Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 10:40 AM
Abedib,
I know how it feels as it happened to me before. Surely he will miss the cat for quite sometime. I still miss my cat, Engkok.
To Munir, don't be worry brother. Insyaallah there will be another to keep you company.
mhi
Posted by: mhi | Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 01:32 PM
Felt sorry for your son. A kind hearted son you have there Pak Adib!
Posted by: hazila | Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 02:37 PM
poor Munir. I know how he must have felt. Been there.
Posted by: Paksu | Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 07:20 PM
Thanks for your comments and kind words for my son. This loss is a good lesson for Munir to experience early in his life.As we get older ,all of us will face loss,sadness and disappointment at one time or the other.
Posted by: Adib | Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 09:40 PM
My colleague's children lost rabbits recently. They promptly buried it and built a little kubur for the rabbits, complete with a miniature umbrella. Then it was a week of explaining to them why rabbits can never go to Heaven.
It amazes me how such simple events (like the death of a pet) become opportunities for parents to teach their children about the fundamentals of life.
By the way, the quote you mentioned has a verrrrry powerful message. Thank you for sharing it with us...
Posted by: Najah | Thursday, April 01, 2004 at 12:43 AM
I know how it feels, moga Munir tabah. My daughter are the same. Last week her hamster got sick and dead yesterday...ya Abedib as we get older kita akan mulai merasa kehilangan.
thanks for visiting my blog.
Jangan Ada Dusta going to 2nd print now ;-)
Posted by: Sri Diah | Thursday, April 01, 2004 at 09:14 AM
I'm a cat devotee myself. If my cat weren't extremely jealous, I would pick up a stray cat whenever I saw one! I'm so sorry your son's cat died; it's tough.
Posted by: Blair | Tuesday, April 06, 2004 at 10:39 AM