Zarah was named after her maternal grandmother, who died just 10 days to her birth; she was a panacea for the sorrow at that time and helped in coming to terms with our deep loss. Like her name sake she was a very peaceful, very obedient and highly intelligent child.
She discovered her potentials in academics in primary four and from that day till she left Essence Int. School in 2009 she maintained her first position. She also excelled in her Islamiyya and had proudly memorized Suratul Baqarah Suratul Ali Imran by heart, she was particularly pleased about memorizing ‘Baqarah and insisted on a celebration. One of her Islamiyya Teacher’s when condoling us said “zarah’s brain was like a sponge it absorbed whatever you fed it perfectly”
I could talk about her intelligence for hours without exhausting the topic but that’s not why I am writing about her. Today I want to talk about her other beautiful attributes. She was a kind-hearted, honest and humble child. She had such foresight that made her stand out among her peers. She disliked bickering and gossip.
She never assumed any thing in life; she faced all her challenges squarely with real determination. CANNOT did not exist in her dictionary, an example of this in 2009 when they were graduating she said to me ‘one of my greatest fears in life is public speaking but I will conquer it before I leave school, and she did. The audience was captivated by her paper ‘Poverty in Nigeria’. She had mastered the computer and all the electronic gadgets she came across without ever being to computer school. Her father and I totally relied on her for such things. I am still trying to understand how to effectively use my phone.
One of her teachers, crying profusely, kept on saying: “It’s not Zarah’s intelligence that draws you to her but her humility.” She has always been very wise for her age and has advised me and others over issues usually giving me a different view from the stand I took. Just recently, she was advising me and I admonished her saying that I was the parent, she smiled and said to me: “Mama I am more than your daughter. I am your mother, sister, your friend and confidante.”
She was much more than that to a lot of people. Her profound understanding of Allah at a very young age (established regular prayer by herself at age ten) led her to live a simple, well-organized life making beautiful choices instead of irrational ones; another example was her decision to study medicine.
As an ‘A’ student I felt she could read whatever she wanted, knowing she would excel in whatever she chose. And when she reached her decision, she said to me: “Mama, wouldn’t you rather have me make a difference to humanity and thus finding favor with Allah?”
Alas, she died a level 200 medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, never destined to become a medical doctor; Allah knows best why He took her when he did. To us that are still here, let us remember that “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”.
Like the star she was, her beautiful soul left us when she was shining so bright, using the little time she had to positively impact the lives of those who were fortunate to have met her. We are indeed truly blessed to have received such favor from God
Adieu mama na, may Almighty Allah grant your beautiful soul Aljahnna Firdaus. Sai Mun zo, Allah ya sa mu dace.
Bamalli wrote in from Unguwar Rimi GRA, Kaduna ([email protected])
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