[OBITUARY] ISLAM AULEEAR

Thursday 17 March was just another normal day for the Auleear family, especially for Islam, its eldest member. He ate his meals, walked about the house, exchanged words, jokes and remarks with passers-by and members of the family. Just before sunset, he complained of stomach burns, took some dahi and went to offer the Maghrib prayer. When his wife came to look for him for dinner, he did not respond. She touched him and felt that the body was cold. The inevitable had happened. He had been invited to his ultimate destination by Almighty Allah.

Losing someone is one of the most difficult things one can experience and it can be absolutely devastating. It was. It was least expected as Islam had been in perfect health. The room was filled with the lament and sorrow of the family who could hardly accept the fate of someone who had all the promises of a longer life. But Allah knows best. He took him without letting him suffer in the least and above all without making him dependent on anybody else’s support.

Islam was among the first thirty-one students who went to the Islamic Cultural College in Curepipe, which was then a boarding school, and among the last three that have survived the ravages of nature. He would speak fondly of his days at Islamic College and of the stalwarts like Me Nahaboo, Dr Assenjee Joomye and Rashid Nawab and of course of his class mates with whom he kept contact by phone and personal visits. He remembered the names and addresses of all of them.

He made education a priority and always encouraged all of his children to try and pursue higher studies. All his seven children are professionals – Shahnaz, Moonawar, Jawhar and Mim live and work in England while Salim, Shahin and Yassir work in Mauritius. He had been lucky to see Jawhar, Jawhar’s son Bilaal and Moonawar who have visited him just before his departure.

After he left school, Islam chose to look after the family’s sugar plantation. As a result he got involved in the planters’ association and was chosen to negotiate with the mill owners for a fairer treatment for small planters. He was among the first to introduce latest cane varieties and was so attracted by the benefits of the co-operative movement that the members, seeing his great passion, appointed him as the secretary of their movement.

He was so committed socially that he was encouraged to get involved in local politics and was elected to the Vale Village Council. He became its President but he never gave up his interest in education. He followed Radio and Communication courses at the University and he also obtained a certificate in Co-operative studies.

He had a hobby whose fans called it the hobby of Kings……. photography. He spent a fortune buying the most expensive cameras like Leica and Voeghtlander. His dentist has kept a black and white picture he took of him with his Leica. He says his colleagues refuse to believe a picture of such precision could be made in Mauritius.

Despite the restrictions of Covid, a small crowd attended the funeral services and accompanied him to Plaine des Papayes cemetery where he was laid to rest on Friday 18 March.

I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences on this occasion to his wife Afroze, his son-in laws Mamed and Mutallib, his daughter-in-laws Zeenat, Saadia and Nazeema, his grandchildren Amirah, Zubeir, Zain, Ijaz, Bilaal, Muhsin, Khatija, his great grandson Michail and his brother Dawood and his sisters Soolma and Zahaida. May ALLAH SWT grant him Jannat ul Firdaus.

KHATEEJA SOBRANY
UK
24 MARCH 2022

NOTE : Les points de vue exprimés dans cette rubrique ne reflètent pas nécessairement ceux de la rédaction et n’engagent que les auteurs eux-mêmes.