He was a typical Memon, having obtained a useless degree, as he never expected to work for someone else. He had everything anyone would want. Having inherited a lucrative business (a medium-sized factory), he was always self-employed. He hadn't read a book after graduation, so there wasn't much you could talk to him about. If he had been well-read, he'd have known that he was at great risk of falling a victim to diabetes. But being a typical Memon, he simply ignored any warnings he may have had from relatives.
Around the age of 60, he started attending the nearby mosque regularly, where he was told that he had to prepare for the afterlife by first growing a long beard and praying eight times a day (instead of the mandatory five). He also heard many times that he was entitled to four wives who would care for him and attend to his every need in this life and also in heaven (provided he wasn't martyred, in which he case he would be given 72 doe-eyed virgins). Having collected too much money, he put it in a bank where he fell for the young woman who managed his account. He started loading her with gifts, but didn't get what he wanted. She must definitely have guessed what he wanted, and even if he asked her to marry him, she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with a man old enough to be her father (and who looked like her grandfather). But he went on giving her expensive gifts, to the intense annoyance of his wife and children.
About five years back, he suddenly gave up taking medication for his diabetes, and started consuming Zam Zam water (from Saudi Arabia). His doctor told him not to be foolish, but he said something about miracles happening if you have faith. He resumed taking medications when Zam Zam didn't help, but many times after that he would again revert to it. What happened should have been expected. After a couple of small strokes, he fell victim to a big one, and was bed ridden for a year (during which he couldn't talk or move). Finally, after a whole year of torture, he expired, just five days after he turned 80. I hope he's finally found the peace that eluded him in his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment