KUBANG PASU: The four children of Abnil Hajar Ismail, 72, a haj pilgrim who died in Makkah on Friday, are planning to perform the umrah and visit their father's grave in the holy city soon.
Abnil's second daughter, Norshakila Abnil Hajar, 49, said all four sisters had agreed with the plan since their father was buried at Makam Al-Sharaya in Makkah on Saturday.
"Insyaallah, we are planning to perform umrah and visit our father's grave. If we wait for our turn to perform the haj, it will take time. So we plan to perform the umrah," she said at their home in Kampung Tanjung, Jeram, here today.
Norshakila said she received news of her father's death through a phone call from her mother, Sa'diah Bakar, 72, around 5am on Friday, who was also performing the haj in Makkah.
"We only found out that our father was sick and was taken to a clinic on the same day he died. Apparently, our father had asked the
Tabung Haji (TH) staff to keep it a secret as he did not want us to worry," she added.
She said her family had accepted her father's passing even though it was quite sudden.
"During our video calls, he appeared healthy. My mother also mentioned that he was strong and spirited, so we were surprised to learn of his death.
"But we accept it, especially since he passed away on a Friday in Makkah and was prayed over in Masjidil Haram. Not many people get such an opportunity in the holy land," she said.
Norshakila, a teacher, said that her father had registered for haj since 2009 and was called to perform it this year.
"Since he got the news that he was selected for the haj, he was very happy. From the moment he received the news until we sent him off on May 9, he was elated.
"At that time, he didn't show any signs of change, he just asked us to look after his house," she said.
Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar announced that a Malaysian pilgrim had died in a hospital in Makkah due to a ruptured blood vessel on Friday.
He said Abnil was pronounced dead at 10.30pm and that TH would provide free "badal haji" (haj by proxy) services for Abnil, which had been communicated to his family.