Allah Yaa Raxma! May Allah SWT Have Mercy on his soul and Raise him in ranks. Truly, he was a rare individual. I had the honour and privilege of growing up in the same city as Sheikh Muhammad Rashaad, and the greater honour and privilege of him being a family friend (as a kid, I didn't even know how big of a Sheikh he was and just considered him "adeer Muhammad"). SubxaanAllah, I can't think of a better example I've seen in my own life than this great man. He was Imaam and owner of the largest Masjid in Ottawa, which he literally devoted almost all of his time to. His Khutbah's on Fridays were always moving and the knowledge he taught over the years is immeasurable. I was discussing his life with some friends the other day and one of them mentioned how they couldn't recall ever seeing him dressed in anything other than a khamiis, cimaamad and kuufi....none of us actually could. Whether he was at the Masjid, walking down the street, going grocery shopping....he was always in his khamiis, cimaamad and kuufi. That's the hallmark of living Islam wherever you are.
Tragically, two gut-wrenchingly painful family deaths befell him in the last two months when his daughter and his neice both died sudden deaths. I went to their Janaaza's, which were very emotional for the entire Somali community here since they're from a prominent family in Ottawa, and he gave the Khutbah and led the Janaaza prayer himself for his daughter (he was out of the country for his neice's funeral)...I remember being taken aback by how calm and cool he was during that Khutbah (which was only 2 days after his daughter's death) and how he gave the entire Khutbah with a smile on his face. He actually started the Khutbah with "Do you guys think I'm sad? Wallahi I'm not sad. It's not haqq for us to be happy when she was born and now be sad when she dies. That is ungrateful...we should be happy with her birth and happy with her death". He went on to speak about Allah's Right to Give us life and also to Take it away. He was devastated, but the fact that he could have that much patience and thank Allah for her life and not just mourn her death spoke volumes about his level of Imaan. Another testament to his firmly-rooted Imaan was that the Sheikh was actually in the front row of Tarawiix prayer in his Masjid the night after his daughter died (as it was Ramadan at the time). SubxanAllah, how many of us could lose a loved one and still find the strength to attend a prayer that's not even fardh, just 24 hours later? I gave him my condolences after Tarawiix prayer that night and the Sheikh couldn't even speak out of grief and his eyes clearly showed how devastated he was, but he was there. SubxaanAllah. My heart goes out to his family, even moreso after his death. In a way though, they're lucky to have lost him the way they did. It's never easy losing a family member, no less a man like Sheikh Muhammad Rashaad, but I think the circumstances of his death gave them comfort and closure....I went to his house the day after his death and the family didn't look as distraught as they had looked during the passing of their other two relatives. Which they shouldn't, since he died a death that is amongst the best ways one can ask to die.
It seems Allah SWT Rewarded him by Honouring him with an immensely honourable death. I'd be hard-pressed to find a more ideal way to die: having your life taken in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, while performing Hajj and in the middle of one of it's rites, while being on the Mountain of Arafat (where Muslims gather to seek forgiveness) ON the actual Day of Arafat, while in his Ixraam (which is symbollic of the pieces of cloths we will be covered in when we are buried)....SubxaanAllah! It gets better for him though, because he is now buried IN Makkah (next to some of the biggest Caalim's of our time, such as Bin Baaz) and had his Janaaza the following morning AT the holiest Mosque in the world, Masjid Al-Haram, DURING the Hajj season (where the Culemaa of the world were present for Hajj), ON a Friday, which happens to be Eid ul-Adha! Could anyone even plan a more perfect death if they tried? SubxaanAllah. For him to be a well-traveled Sheikh, who made Ottawa his permanent home, yet still die during a short pilgrimage to Makkah under the circumstances that he did and now be buried in the land of Rasuulullah SAW is nothing short of miraculous. May Allah Give us a death as honourable as his
May Allah SWT Grant Patience and Sabr to his family. I can't imagine losing 3 members of my close family, all in 2 months. Truly Allah SWT Tests those He Loves the most. Please make Duca for him, his family and the Ummah, who suffered a terrible loss.
