A Cape Town family will now face the reality of never seeing their father again, after he died while on hajj. Sixty year old Nur Mohamed Ebrahim Harneker sadly passed away in Makkah on Sunday, after fulfilling the rite of hajj. South African hajj doctor Salim Parker confirmed that he died as a result of a heart attack and heat stroke.

His janaza took place in the Haram of Makkah after Fajr. Salatul Ghaib was performed at Masjid al-Rashied, in Military Road, Steenberg on Monday evening.  Hajji Harneker was the uncle of Islamia College teacher, Mrs Harneker.

Speaking to VOC, his daughter Rafeeqa Harneker Parker, who sounded remarkably strong and content, described her father as “a pious person” of very few words.

“If I sit down and reflect about what did he did to deserve a death while on hajj, it’s not too hard. My mom always said the food on our table and the roof over our heads was through my dad’s hard work,” she related.

“He got up every single morning for Tahajjud salah without an alarm clock and recited the Quran until Fajr. He believed in the Quran and living a simple life.”

Rafeeqa said her father had instilled good values in his children and firmly believed that dependence was on Allah alone.

“We lived in Steenberg and I had to go past Lavender Hill to get to Military road. And when I was studying, there were times I was on the road late at night and people would tell me to take other routes to avoid danger. But my dad insisted I go down Prince George Drive. He said ‘you don’t fear anyone other than Allah’. He told to recite Darood Shareef… saying that’s ‘the only thing that will protect you’.”

While the family have found solace knowing he passed away while in a state of ihram, they are still trying to piece together what happened before his demise.

“We don’t what happened when he got separated from my mother after Arafat.  They were on their way to pelt the Jamarat and then missed their turn to go back into the camp. They carried on walking in the heat and they were short of water. They shared an apple and an orange and stopped to ask for directions. When she turned around, he was gone,” Rafeeqa related.

“But Alhamdullilah, Allah is the greatest of planners. My sister and her husband live in Riyadh and intended to meet up with my parents in Madina after Eid. They went into Makkah and were with my mother when the news came that my father passed on.”

Rafeeqa vaguely remembers their last conversation on the phone, but says her father’s send off in Cape Town was a reminder of his firm belief in Tawakkul, or trusting in Allah’s plan.

“We said ‘I love you’ and our salaams when they left. People greet and at the back of your mind, you are not sure if they will come back. My husband told my dad to look after himself while on hajj, and my dad simply said ‘look after your family, I am okay’”.

On remembering her beloved father’s wise words, Rafeeqa said:

“He would say make your salah on time and live your life according to the Quran.” VOC