Assalamu'alaikum to all....

As I am writing this, a lot of the Malaysians and the Muslim people of Ann Arbor are right now at the Muehlig Funeral Home (403 S. Fourth Avenue Ann Arbor, MI). Maybe I should backtrack a little before, but before moving on, I would like to thank those of you who had message, emailed and even called during this difficult time. Thank you for the emails from Lock, Soon Sim, Kun Yun, Ekin, Yanie and Ammar USC, I'm writing this here because I'm not sure whether I've replied to your mails or not, so sorry if you guys were worried or anything of the such. Thank you, too, to those who left messages in my Friendster mailbox, messages at my MSN messenger (I was almost never in my room, so I couldn't reply to them). A few people mentioned to me that since I changed my email address, some people couldn't contact me. Anyway, my new (not exactly new, but newer) email add is farahfaisal82@hotmail.com, and my Umich address is faisalf@umich.edu . Sorry for the confusion.

Here I will try as best as I can to give a recount of what happened that night and after, since some people are still asking me about it. So here goes:

On Sunday, 9th November 2003, arwah Teh and I decided to have iftar at the masjid, and arwah Nanim came with us, as always the case. We went there by bus, had our iftar and did our Maghrib prayers there. After iftar, they decided to go back home to study and do their homeworks. I didn't go along because Deera and I had a review session to go to at 7 pm. So after saying our goodbyes, they headed out of the mosque. Not 10 minutes after that, Alisa and Dayang came running in and told us that both arwah Teh and arwah Nanim were hit by a car. Deera and I gathered our things and ran out. I was shocked to see a red pick-up truck in the middle of the road, and by then a crowd had already gathered around them. None of the Malaysian girls went near enough to see exactly what was happening, and no one saw the accident happen. All that any of us really know about the accident was that there was a loud bang, similar to the sound made when a tire explodes. I think all of us were standing there for a good 10 minutes before the paramedic came to take them away to the hospital.

I and few other girls who were there went with brother Abdullah to the hospital, while a few other male students followed suit in Hakam's car. At the hospital, we were greeted by a social worker, who had us ushered into a waiting room and told us that both girls were "in a critical, critical, critical condition". By then I think all of us were hoping and praying with all our strength that they would still come out fine. Not long after the social worker have gone two doctors came into the room and informed us that unfortunately, both girls have died.

By the, the atmosphere in the room was very heavy with emotions. I myself was crying uncontrollably into Dayang's arms. Alisa and Deera were hugging each other, with the boys looked stricken. Everything was a big blur from that point on, but from what I can remember about what the doctor said was that they never got a heartbeat even at the scene of the accident. It was mainly the impact and trauma that were the cause of death of both of them. The doctors also mentioned what kind of physical injuries they sustained, but I wasn't totally listening, so I can give out accurate details about that.

After that, the social worker asked for someone who knew them really well to come in and identify the bodies. I volunteered, and Dayang came with me at my request (I think everyone was pretty apprehensive about letting me go by myself, too). I can say honestly say that it was the longest and most difficult walk in my life. They took us through a corridor, where both bodies were placed in separate rooms at the end of the hall. Before going in, the social worker told me that arwah Teh might not look exactly as how I remembered her, that there may be tubings and such still attached to her face and body. My biggest fear was that if the injuries were so great, I wouldn't be able to recognize her anymore. I prayed to Allah and held Dayang's hand as the social worker opened the door to her room.

Alhamdulillah, my fear was unfounded. There were tubings on her arms and scratches on her face and body. But other than that, I thought she looked exactly the same as the sleeping Teh I remembered. Except I reminded myself that she's not just sleeping, she has really gone and left me and the rest of us. Brother Abdullah, who was also with us, recited the Al-Fatihah, and told me (since I requested to touch the body) to hold arwah's Teh's forehead and recite the Al-Fatihah. After doing that, I kissed Teh's forehead (in case I wouldn't be able to do it after this) and left the room. By then, I think both Dayang and I were pretty shaken.

The social worker then told us that I don't have to go in to the next room to look at arwah Nanim, since I've already identified arwah Teh's body, but all of us went in anyway to recite the Al-Fatihah and doe'. It was really, really hard to kiss my friends goodbye and know that I'll never be able to hear their laughter again, or see their faces or do the things you do with your best friends.

After I identified the bodies, the social worker informed us that there might be an autopsy since this is, technically, a criminal investigation. Both I and Ijat requested to have the autopsy waived because of religious reasons, which, according to the social worker, have never been waived before. By then, the corridor was filled with UMIMSA students, all with somber expressions on their faces upon hearing the news. I think everyone was deeply affected as we have a very close-knit community, and everyone knew the girls well.

We had to stay there at the hospital for about another two hours to finish the paperwork needed. All I want to say here is, people, please please PLEASE leave your case of emergency number with at least 2 or 3 people. The hospitals needed tons of information that night, not all which we had. But Alhamdulillah, everything that we could do, we managed to settle. Kak Deng commended the UMIMSA students for being so efficient and being able to handle the situation well, especially since all of us are so young and this is probably the first time a lot of us were faced with a situation like this. After the paperwork was done, all of us headed home, I'm sure all us were dealing with our own thoughts and feelings at that time.

That night, UMIMSA held two tahlil's, one for the girls and one for the guys. Later, I think no one really got much sleep. Almost all the girls here camped out at Ayun's room, me included. It was just a time that all of us needed each other's support. Eeryone was still trying to come to terms that it really happened, that we just lost two of our friends.

The next day was kind of a blur for me, too. The University held meetings with counselors not just for the people who had close connections with both arwahs, but for people who wanted to know more about what took place that night and how the tragedy occured. Everyone was showing their support, trying to help as much as they can. Early that day, three representatives from CMU arrived in Michigan (Usamah, Lynn and Lan) along with Kak Ros, the representative from MARA. I was deeply touched that they came all the way from where they originally were, especially since the students had to go back that very night, but they came anyway. Later that night, the University held an iftar for us at Pierpont Commons. Aside from the Malaysian students, the university people, and our officials (Kak Ros, Auntie Maharom and Uncle Azizan), there were also students from the Muslim Students Association. Again, the girls held a tahlil for the arwahs.

Today, I woke up to Ayun telling me that the funeral home (where the bodies were transferred to from the hospital) were letting people come and see the jenazahs from 11.00 am to 11.15 am. I got up, got ready, and along with Dayang, went to my room to settle some stuff. Two cars went to the funeral home, and it turn out they weren't finished with the preparation of the jenazahs yet. We only managed to see them around 12.50 pm. It was nerve wrecking, unnerving, ...... I’m still at lost for words to say to describe the experience. The jenazahs were placed in the basement, and we had to go down a long flight of stairs to get to them. The sweet smell was really overwhelming, I was holding on to Dayang's hand for dear life as we descended down the stairs. In a way, I think that already seeing them at the hospital made it easier for Dayang and me to actually do this. The sisters who bathed them then arranged the kafan cloths and revealed their faces, which were so peaceful and obviously filled with Nur that while I was still feeling a myriad of emotions, I immediately felt calm enough to realize that they are in a better place now, and that they are happy. The sisters conveyed that it was very easy to bathe them, that they were flexible, they had beautiful, delicate bodies and faces and it was definitely an indication that both arwahs were very good, God-fearing sisters. We recited the Al-Fatihah and 3 Quls, and I gave them each a kiss one last time and said my final goodbye.

The jenazahs were then brought to the Islamic Center for the jenazah prayer at 1.40 pm. I think the bulk, if not all, of the Muslim community turned out for it, and it was so gratifying to see it, arwah Teh and Nanim be very, very happy for that. Alhamdulillah, everything went well. After that, the funeral home gave the opportunity for members of the community to say their goodbyes. I and the few girls who went earlier didn't go because we wanted to give a chance to other people to say goodbye, but those who went said that both jenazahs really, really looked peaceful.

As I'm writing right now, we are setting up to have another tahlil for them and later, the girls are going to go and start cleaning up their room and take care of their personal affects.

I really have to stop now, but I'll be back later with more details, if any. Thank you for reading.

Wassalam.