Eulogy for Baba Thank you all for coming today to remember our father Mohammad Al-Kashi: also known as Abu Adam. He died last week from complications of Motor Neurone Disease which is a muscle wasting disease that he suffered with for 3 years. Giving eulogies is not usually part of the traditional service in Islam, what is considered important is providing our loved ones is to pray for them, and remember them often. But as a family, my mother, Adam and I wished to take this opportunity to remember our father the person, and share this with you. It is very difficult to put into words someone so important in your life such as your father. He was there at my birth, and at every important moment of my life. He took me to school, taught me drive and change a tyre; he taught me how to wire a plug. Baba was so proud of both of his children, me and Adam, and our achievements in life. I am only just starting to realise how he has helped shape me as a person. Baba was born in 1948 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was the eldest of 7 children. He had by all accounts an idyllic childhood with a loving family. His stories of this bygone era in the 1950s of Iraq is very vivid to me: about his mother baking flat bread on the tanoor in the garden, the ceremony of the weekly bath for all the children which required special food made by his grandmother, and how in the summer the whole family slept on the roof, under a blanket of millions of stars and over hanging branches heavy with ripe oranges from the garden below. He came to England via Greece, and actually worked there as a TV engineer for 6 months, learning Greek along the way. In England he continued work as an electronics engineer eventually forming his own business. Family was so important to Baba. He loved having children, playing games with us, having jokes with us, and enjoyed telling us stories his own grandmother had told him. He encouraged Adam and I constantly, always certain that we could achieve great accomplishments. He had great love and concern for us, often placing our comfort above his own. He worked hard all his life to provide for us. He had great love and respect for my mother – and often marvelled at how a man from Iraq and a woman from Ireland should happen to meet and marry. He used to liken it to two stars meeting each other across the sky. Baba was so happy when his first grandchild Jacob was born- and was delighted that one of his first words he spoke was “Jidu” meaning grandfather. Baba was frequently entertained by Jacob’s knowledge of animal sounds and vocabulary, and his cheerful nature – a tribute to his mother Sally. Baba’s sense of honour and generosity would extend beyond his immediate family. Baba looked for opportunities to help his family overseas, even sending money to a cousin whom he had last seen in childhood, and was now in difficulty. He always looked out for his mother, and brother and sisters. In many ways he helped out his neighbours and friends, only they know the full extent of what he did for them. Baba was always looking for an opportunity to help others. I recall on one occasion he came home with a large crate of over ripe oranges. He revealed he had bought these from a struggling greengrocer, whose shop was run down and empty of customers. Baba immediately felt sorry for the man and wanted to help him in a small way. Baba’s principles were taught to him by his own father, who himself was known to be honourable and generous. These principles were central to Islamic morals. Religion was important to Baba- it was his belief in God that gave him courage and hope while facing a terrible disease. In particular he loved to listen to the Quran, which we believe are the direct words of God revealed to us. His favourite recitor was a late Egyptian Sheikh- the now famous Sheikh El-Husary. Baba related hearing him for the first time in Iraq, when El-Husary’s style of reading the Quran was considered to be revolutionary for its accuracy in portraying the beauty of the Arabic verses. In the last months of Baba’s life he would listen constantly to the Quran. Only Baba knew how much he suffered from his illness, but in listening to the Quran he gained real relief. He said he could completely submerge himself in the words and be carried inside the verses. There are many things that he will be remembered for. We will all remember Baba for his charismatic personality, the great storyteller and for his sense of humour. He really was the life and soul of the party. His sharp memory and observations brought stories from the past back to life, and even the mundane day to day events could be made humorous. We all remember his love for the outdoors – for his beloved vegetable plot in the garden, and his chickens. I often used to joke that the chickens were his second family as he spent so much time with them, working out their personalities and their hierarchy. Baba worked out who was last of the pecking order, a small hen called Fuffy and typical of Baba he took especial care of her, ensuring she had the choicest worms and grain. Baba always had a love for animals, and we had many pets over the years. I remember him once rescuing a pigeon that had been knocked down by a car in the street and nursing it back to health in our flat. He loved gardening and had a collection of many fruit trees and vegetables. I recall he once gave me a lift to my hospital residence in Reading. He saw that the very large fig tree in the back garden had been pruned and large branches were left on the rubbish pile. Quickly, he took these branches and tied them to the roof rack of his van. He nurtured them and brought them on as tree saplings. These rescued branches are now strong young fig trees in our garden which bear fruit. Baba had a great love of knowledge and learning, and many people would be fascinated by how much varied knowledge he had. He was very intelligent; in particular he had a great understanding of physics and electronics. He built his own transistor radio from scratch when he was 10 years old. As an adult he always had new ideas of inventions that he would build himself, often recycling old objects. I recall him building an egg incubator from an old microwave – which worked and hatched 4 chicks! He designed his own micro solder iron to repair the newer tiny circuit boards, which would have cost at least £1000 to buy. Even in the last months of his life, Baba’s mind was active. He was determined to beat MND and to design his own exercise apparatus with the help of Adam, to allow him to exercise his fading arms and legs. He was generous even with this idea, and persuaded us to video him and post his invention on You Tube, to help other people with severe disability exercise. If you search MND and exercise on You Tube you will find him. He was still inventing exercises in the last weeks of his life. Baba loved all kinds of scientific knowledge, from natural history to medical discoveries. But perhaps his favourite was learning about the universe: our solar system and the galaxies. He was particularly fascinated by Jupiter, and used to dream about landing on the red spot on Jupiter and meeting up with an old friend, who has also passed away now. Baba was known for his strength: both physically and in personality. He was a natural at all physical tasks, in the garden, building his shed and lifting heavy televisions. In Islam when we describe someone’s positive attributes, we always follow this up with “Masha Allah” meaning “God has willed it”. This is to remind ourselves that all goodness comes from God. Baba then developed MND: a disease that took away his physical strength completely. But despite this, I was unable to see him as weak or vulnerable. His force of character and mental strength meant he was still my strong father, whose primary concern was the welfare of his wife and family and was still the person I would go to for advice. Baba was not afraid of death. He had complete faith in God. His disease was very difficult more than I can imagine. However, Baba accepted that this was the will of God whilst determined never to be beaten by it. He continued to make plans and live his life. My final words are this: that with each person we meet with in life, we have an opportunity to be impacted by them. In the words of the Holy Quran there is a verse from chapter Yasin that explains this. “Lo! We it is who bring the dead to life. We record which they send before them and their footprints. And all things we have kept in a clear register” This is both a warning and a message of encouragement. God reminds us that all actions in this life are recorded and accountable. But more than this: the word footprints imply that the impression we make upon this World stays there when we leave it. So if we strive to be good to one another, we leave positive footprints upon the world that could impact positively upon others. Many of you here today have been touched in some way by Baba’s generosity, his spirit of helping others, his love for his family, or his love of knowledge. I hope that these qualities will be the footprints that my father leaves behind. Thank you.