Thursday 22nd August, 2013, 3.30 p.m., I uttered the "ijab" with tears in my eyes, a lump in my throat. My new son-in-law, Mohammad Haniff, answered the "qabul" that solemnised Dekna's marriage in the humble house in Seremban, witnessed by family and close relatives and friends. My wife can now rest easy - she's the one most anxious of all to see the daughter finally married-off.
The "aqad" ceremony went as planned, and the night followed with "tahlil" and supplications to God for the safety and prosperity of the matrimony. Ali the Fifth "tompang semangkuk" and had his ritual haircut and collected some money of which the parents refuse to divulge the amount.
The wedding reception was held at the town hall Friday night. I expected some 750 people, but some called saying, at 8 p.m. they were still stuck in traffic on the KL-Seremban highway and had decided to abort. Finally probably there were 20 couples or 40 people less. But the party was no less merry. I asked Ai the MC to target the commencement of the "menyembah" ceremony at 10.30. It was achieved.
Some close friends and family members didn't / couldn't make it. A few prominent personalities whom I had personally met and invited didn't turn up, but it's ok. But Bang Enon, for the first time after 3 tries over 16 years made it, and it was indeed a very pleasant surprise, and I told him so, repeatedly.
So this was the last wedding in the family. There is a sadness to it, seeing one's little girl now directing the rest of her life to someone else. Sure, I'm also gaining a son-in-law, but the loss is not less palpable for it.
She left home after Standard 6 for boarding school, and in a sense has never come back. It's sad. Now that she belongs to someone new, it's much more sad. There were already precious moments that were lost because we were apart when she was growing up. There are going to be precious moments that will be lost because we'll be apart as we move on. The love, however, is not lost.
There - all four off-springs have been wedded-off ! I pray they find lasting happiness with their new families. Their lives are in front of them, and each has his/her job cut out. My job is done.
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