For many of us, our mothers are the biggest support systems in our lives, and we cannot imagine what life would be like without them. That’s what makes losing them such a painful but inevitable part of living.
Earlier in January this year, 27-year-old Mohammad Azizul Abdul Aziz, the youngest of three siblings, experienced a huge loss in his life when his mother, Hafsah Jaafar, lost her battle with breast cancer after she was diagnosed in 2012. This year’s Ramadan is certainly different for Azizul since it is his first fasting month without his mother.
Feeling his mother’s absence, Azizul decided to express his grief by sending WhatsApp messages to her old phone number and uploaded screenshots of the messages he sent her to his Twitter account.
First time is the worst.. I miss her bad..
*lapairmata pic.twitter.com/N1sSLon5dW— anak bongsu yg rindukan kedua arwah orang tuanya (@Jijol_Aziz) May 6, 2019
His messages translated say,
“Today is the first day of fasting after you left. Everyone else is breaking fast with their own families. Today I had my pre-dawn meal and broke my fast by myself. I miss fasting with you. I miss eating and praying with you. I miss bringing you to the Ramadan bazaar. I miss your home-cooked meals.”
“How can I celebrate Hari Raya this year? Who will choose my baju raya this year? Who will cook all the delicious Raya food and wish me on the morning of Raya?”
The heartbreaking post soon began to go viral among Malaysian Twitter users, garnering over 9,000 retweets. In an interview with mStar, Azizul explained,
“I felt like sending those texts to her old number because I was missing my beloved mother so much. Only God knows what I feel.”
“This fasting month is so quiet without my mother here. Back when I was four years old, I was too young to understand what happened when my father passed away. Only my mother was around as I was growing up.”
“Ever since my mother passed away earlier this year, everything changed. I have my sahur and I break fast alone because my older brother and sister are both married and have their own families now.”
Speaking about his mother’s passing, Azizul said that he and his siblings were all by her side as she took her last breath. He continued,
“I am grateful to my late mother because she was so strong and raised all of us.”
“Appreciate your mother while she’s still around. Don’t forget to ask her how she is doing and never hurt her feelings because heaven lies beneath every mother’s feet.”
Our heart goes out to Azizul and his siblings and hope that he can endure this difficult time in his life. Meanwhile, let’s all remember to appreciate our mothers while they are still with us.
Also read: Woman Dies After Preparing Home-Cooked Food For Son Who Never Came Back For Mother’s Day