It has been a month since blogger Tuan Haji Hassan @ Al-Manar or as he referred himself as Pakcik left us forever on 8 Syaaban 1437 / 15 May 2016. I knew of his demise through his blog AL-MANAR on 19 May 2016 when his children were kind enough to let us know this sad news, it shocked and saddened me in a such a way I believed his other blogger friends might have felt.
I may have not known him personally in reality but he was real enough to me when he kindly left comments on some of my meager postings. I was already reading his blog as a silent reader when he left his first comment on my post Al-Hikmah. It was a surprise and an honour to me to have a blogger like him who really superseded me in this blogging arena commenting on my posting. It was a year ago when he ceased to update his blog and a note from his children was posted on the 1st day of Ramadhan last year that Pakcik was unwell....ironically his last posting was lamenting on a number of fellow bloggers disappearing from the scene and whether he should call it a day too, I missed these bloggers too and I think these bloggers know who they are...
copy paste from Pakcik's last posting...
My last posting was dated 25th January which is one whole month ago. It is not for short of subjects to write. The increasing number of fellow bloggers disappearing from the scene prompts me to think whether I should call it a day as well. Some have stopped writing altogether and some have moved to the more fashionable fb, wtup etc, No, this one month, however, prompts Pakcik to stay on. There are still a few readers who care to call over and leave comments, for whom I am grateful. Above all I had my reasons for starting this blog almost ten years ago. And those reasons are still equally valid today.
Pakcik Al-Manar was indeed an honourable man (berhati mulia) retiring after 30 years of working life in Kuala Lumpur decided to go back to his homeland Kuala Terengganu and started Almanar tuition centre for the less privileged children within his community teaching English and Mathematics if I am not mistaken...and his motto "Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan" was aptly named..
I will always remember the date 15 May every year as it also coincide with my elder sister's birthday who is a cancer survivor. She is 62 years old this year and had survived Multiple Myeloma a serious type of blood cancer since 2009. She was on the brink of death and had to go through harsh treatments of chemotherapy which left her a shadow of her robust self...and 15 May too was Nakba day for the Palestinians...
May Allah reward Pakcik Haji Hassan with Jannah for all his deeds on this earth and more..Al-Fatihah..
