What a great tribute to my loving parents so well-articulated in writing with a breadth of details mashallah! I was not aware about all of Papa\u2019s housemates in Oxford particularly Aziz Ahmed Uncle. One fun fact is that Mummy told me that Aziz Ahmed Uncle played a pivotal role in matchmaking my parents AH! May Allah bless both Aziz Uncle and Zahra Khala in Jannat Firdous. Ameen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I do recall Papa had reviewed many books, manuscripts and also served as the Judge in Mushairas (Urdu Poetry) held across US. I used to often accompany him to these mushairas. This is how I first got introduced to Urdu Postry. I also recall watching the entire Mirza Ghalib series with him as well. Though I was close to both my parents, my loving Papa and I had a very special relationship. When he passed away 24 years ago in Jan 2000, I felt devastated, and it took me a long time to recover from this irreparable loss. I then gravitated more and became closer with Mummy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Papa\u2019s passing away, I saw her transition her life completely devoted towards Allah. As Luku Bhai writes, she not only prayed regularly 5x but would often stay up all night for Tahajud and pray for everyone in the family as well as others in distress or requesting for du\u2019a. And she would advise everyone that praying Fajr and \u201cstaying up till Ishraq ka ek Hajj ka sawab hai\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So many people approached me after her passing telling me stories about all her Islamic teachings and her immense dedication towards Ibadat Alhumdullilah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And she indeed was very talented in so many handicrafts (oil painting on sarees, dunak work, glass painting, knitting, crochet to name a few). She often knitted sweaters for every newborn in our extended family mA! I still have treasured her knitted sweaters and in fact she even inspired me to knit one myself. I also learned cross-stitching, sewing and a few other handicrafts from her. She was also a great cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was fortunate to have spent a big part of my life with her and had the opportunity to learn some of her best authentic Hyderabadi dishes such as Haleem (several varieties), Qubuli(similar to Khichdi but made from Chana daal), Tahari (Kheema biryani), Tomato Chutney and so many authentic Hyderabadi desserts such as Badamki Jaali, Ashrafiyan, Badamki Kheer, Muske ke Lauas, Boat Ka Halwa, Mango Meetha and so on Mashallah! Of all these dishes, her Tomato Chutney, Mango Meetha and Zafron Ashrafiyan have been highly popular as everyone cherishes them as she often made them during her visits to Chicago, Michigan and NJ too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May Allah bless both my Mummy and Papa and elevate their ranks in Jannat Firdous.Ameen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What a great tribute to my loving parents so well-articulated in writing with a breadth of details mashallah! I was not aware about all of Papa\u2019s housemates in Oxford particularly Aziz Ahmed Uncle. One fun fact is that Mummy told me that Aziz Ahmed Uncle played a pivotal role in matchmaking my parents AH! May […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-memoirs","category-zaibunissa-begum-abida"],"yoast_head":"\n