May Allah have mercy on you, Hajjah Che Yong binti Hajjah Tiamin.

14.9.2008.

She was "officially" born on the 17th. of November, 1926, but dad  had told us that she's actually three years older, the registration processes being what they were in those pre World War days. I've checked the Perpetual Calender and determined that it was a Wednesday. When born she was given the name "Azizah", in consonance with those of her sisters Rajmah, Hapipah and Rahmah. But because of childhood illnesses, following the sometime Malay custom at that time, she was renamed "Che' Yong".

She had complained to some of her siblings, and certainly to me as I remember it, that this new name may have been to avert more illnesses, but she didn't fancy it because its spelling in "Jawi" carried the two letters "cha" and "nga" not found in the Arabic alphabet, or as she said it, "not in the Quran".

Hajjah Che Yong binti Haji Hassan bin Hitam passed away at 9.50 pm on the day of her birth, Wednesday, 10th. September, 2008, or 10th. of Ramadan al Mubarak, 1429 Hijriah. Our mother would have been "officially" 84 years and 10 months, but actually 87 years and 10 months.  May Allah have mercy on you, dear mother.

When mom was doing her ablutions for the Magrib prayers at 7 p.m., my younger sister Yan was in the bathroom with her. This has been the practice all these later years as mom grew increasingly weak. Then she collapsed and Yan called out for my younger brother Padir, who happened to have been back home for the last 5 days.  They helped put her to bed, which is just several feet away from the bathroom. Mom had lost consciousness by then. I was doing my Magrib prayers at home in Seremban, after having broken fast about 30 minutes earlier, when Idah, my wife received a call from Padir. I noticed later that he'd called my mobile. The message given was mom was unconscious. We left immediately. I was by her bedside by about 9.15. 

My auntie Rahmah, Padir, Yan and several others were gathered around the old wooden bed that has been mom's for as long as I can remember, all either offering Quranic recitations, keeping vigil, or in the case of Acik Rahmah, massaging mom's hands and chest and wiping her face with a small towel. I recited Surah Yaasin once and repeated the Syahaadah several times to her left ear, as I was on her left side. She was breathing in  laboured breaths. As I have not performed the Isya' prayers, I led a few others in it at the front lounge. After that, alone, I performed twice two raka'at of the Tarawih, when Idah urgently stopped me and said mom was "nazak".

We  made the necessary religious arrangements, and also the tedious official reporting to the relevent authorities (of which I will write about later). The "mandi jenazah" began at 10.30 Thursday morning, followed with the wearing of the death shroud. The "solat jenazah" was performed at the surau nearby, the same surau she went to all her life. She was finally interred at the Tanah Wakaf Jalan Melang at about 12 noon. The 2nd. Imam Mesjid Yamtuan Radin read the "Talqin". 

 She raised 9 of us singlehanded, because dad was always busy with his work at school and off it. The studies at the English school we attended in the earlier part of our schooling were pretty much left to us to devise, but she took interest in our religious obligations. To this day I remember to utter the word "wajjahtu wajhia lil lazi..." in the "doa Aftitah" clearly in the way she admonised me about it when I was very small. She had never fail to perform the solat and the fast, paid more than her Fitrah and Zakat dues, and read the Quran unfailingly every day of her life. She had performed the Hajj and later the Umrah more than once. A simple, quiet and unassuming woman, pious in her own quiet way, dressing, eating and speaking sparingly, and never asking much from us, even thanking me every time I came to see her, I pray to Allah aza wajala to have pity on her soul, and to put her together with those who have had guidance in this temporal life in the Hereafter, Amin !

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