{"id":50451,"date":"2022-08-10T11:01:48","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T10:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailynews24.ng\/?p=50451"},"modified":"2022-08-10T11:01:48","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T10:01:48","slug":"my-unique-father-a-tribute-to-malam-haruna-abdulkarim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailynews24.ng\/my-unique-father-a-tribute-to-malam-haruna-abdulkarim\/","title":{"rendered":"My Unique Father: A Tribute to Malam Haruna Abdulkarim"},"content":{"rendered":"
At the very<\/span><\/span> young age <\/span><\/span>of my life,<\/span><\/span> one<\/span><\/span> of my main aims is to see how Allah will spar<\/span><\/span>e me of death. Thus, striving <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>do<\/span><\/span> the right things as ordained by the Creator. Alas! The frequent message by my Mother<\/span><\/span> concerning the Prophet<\/span><\/span> (SAW)<\/span><\/span> of Allah <\/span><\/span>only dawned on me at the age of puberty<\/span><\/span>; <\/span><\/span>\u201cthe Prophet has tasted death\u201d<\/span><\/span>; as such submitting to the inevitability of<\/span><\/span> death.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Moreover, the Qur\u2019anic verse<\/span><\/span> that says<\/span><\/span> \u201cevery soul shall taste the fruit of de<\/span><\/span>ath\u201d has been a turning point in my life for the preparation for<\/span><\/span> the inevitable. <\/span><\/span>The death of my Father (Malam)<\/span><\/span>, remains a distinct one among many that elucidated<\/span><\/span> the reality and sadness of death to me.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n READ ALSO:\u00a0Nigerian govs pay tribute to late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi<\/a><\/p>\n On<\/span><\/span> the night of the 10<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span> day of Muharram<\/span><\/span> 1434 AH (24<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>November<\/span><\/span> 2012)<\/span><\/span>, just a while after the <\/span><\/span>isha<\/span><\/span> pr<\/span><\/span>ayer, death took away the \u201csage<\/span><\/span> Malam<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>. He was <\/span><\/span>diagnosed <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span> malaria and was receiving treatment <\/span><\/span>before the inevitable <\/span><\/span>struck. H<\/span><\/span>e stood and <\/span><\/span>stretched<\/span><\/span> his body in the presence of his wives and then told them, that today \u201cI am perfectly ok\u201d<\/span><\/span>; but<\/span><\/span> like any human, he <\/span><\/span>never knew <\/span><\/span>that<\/span><\/span> he was about to keep <\/span><\/span>an appointment with his C<\/span><\/span>reator and within<\/span><\/span> 3hrs after that<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> he breathed<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>Thus,<\/span><\/span> affirming the relevance of the Qur\u2019anic verse which says<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u2026a<\/span><\/span>nd no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted<\/span><\/span>\u2026.<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My last meeting with Malam, was exactly 10<\/span><\/span> days to his death. The meeting with him that night was in the presence of my younger brother <\/span><\/span>Yazid<\/span><\/span>, whom Malam sends on an errand in the last hour of the meeting. <\/span><\/span>The discussions during the <\/span><\/span>meeting were<\/span><\/span> just a summary of life; till today, I remain in awe <\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>how Malam was able <\/span><\/span>to package such an asset of wisdom<\/span><\/span> within the few hours of our meeting.<\/span><\/span> He posited that:<\/span><\/span> Holding unto Allah, seeking knowledge, service to<\/span><\/span> humanity and patience are the tenet his children and the followers of Allah should uphold<\/span><\/span>. The richness of his sermon\/<\/span><\/span>counseling<\/span><\/span> never <\/span><\/span>resonated <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span> me<\/span><\/span> until after his death. <\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Malam <\/span><\/span>Haruna<\/span><\/span> was throughout his life, in reverence to Allah. He loved Allah and worship<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span> Him sincerely and passionately. He does that with<\/span><\/span>out recourse to anyone\u2019s position<\/span><\/span>, to the extent that he said \u201cif you like, you can call me conservative\u201d. <\/span><\/span>Malam, was disciplined, confident and outspoken; <\/span><\/span>yes, he used to be called conservative, but he would never <\/span><\/span>for once deviate<\/span><\/span> from <\/span><\/span>the teachings of <\/span><\/span>Islam nor abandoned the principles he upheld<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>He was found of saying that<\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span>W<\/span><\/span>e will all be in our individual graves and shall answer for ourselves only<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n He was<\/span><\/span> a lawyer by profession<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span> attended <\/span><\/span>Ahmadu<\/span><\/span> Bello University <\/span><\/span>Zaria, his<\/span><\/span> classmates were the late <\/span><\/span>Abubakar<\/span><\/span> Rimi<\/span><\/span>and late Solomon Lar, Malam,<\/span><\/span> left the judiciary in the <\/span><\/span>mid-70s<\/span><\/span>. His friends in the judiciary were Justice <\/span><\/span>Kalgo<\/span><\/span>