MAKKAH: "He was a good person. He was funny and always cracking jokes," that's what Pauziah Othman, 58, said when asked about her husband, Mohd Zahir Ismail, who passed away after performing tawaf for his first umrah.
Zahir died on Wednesday after he collapsed due to a heart attack in the Mataf area (the open area surrounding Kaabah).
Earlier, he was performing tawaf for his first umrah with his wife.
They had just arrived in Makkah on May 29 and were part of the KT66 group.
Recalling the moments before Zahir collapsed, Pauziah, who hails from Pendang, Kedah, said they had just finished performing the tawaf ritual and were moving towards the place to perform prayers.
"He walked behind me while holding onto me. He complained about being tired several times and I told him to be patient... we'll take it slow.
"I heard him calling out to God before he collapsed. He fell backwards and pulled me down, too.
"Even though there were many people around, no one stepped on him because I was shielding him," she told TH media at her hotel accommodation here yesterday.
Pauziah was married to Zahir since 1996 and the couple had no children.
She was later told that her husband passed away at the clinic where he was taken to.
Zahir was the second of three siblings and had been taking care of his elderly mother who couldn't get up on her own.
The funeral prayer was held after Zohor at Masjidil Haram yesterday and Zahir was laid to rest at the Syaraiee cemetery that same afternoon.
Zahir was the second Malaysian pilgrim who died in Makkah this year.
On May 24, a 72-year-old male pilgrim from Kubang Pasu, Kedah, died at a hospital in Makkah due to a ruptured blood vessel.