1
The funeral took place on a Sunday morning.
Professor Ismat passed away during the night in her sleep surrounded by her family and loved ones. According to those who were present, she had a smile on her face when she breathed her last. Those who truly knew her wouldn’t have been surprised; Professor Ismat had the satisfaction of living a full life. As she would have put it, she gave everything she had to give - she lived full and died empty. She did justice to her potential and inspired us to do the same.
“Ali, you okay?” I heard Sarah’s voice from behind me as she reached forward to hold my hand. We had gotten married last year and it was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I had ever made.
“Yes, thank you love,” I said, trying to avoid making eye contact so she wouldn’t see the tear rolling down my cheek.
As the cleric started reciting the funeral prayers, I looked around the room to see the many people whose lives Professor Ismat had touched. What a journey it had been, I thought to myself.
It had been slightly over two years since we had first met Professor Ismat in college when she had decided to leave everything behind and return to her home country. It was our great fortune that in the only semester she was able to teach, we had been her students. Little did we know that those were going to be the most important lessons of our lives.
Upon hearing of her death, many of her students had flown from all over the world. Many had even arrived early to help with the funeral processions, including Sarah and I. Once the procession was done, I asked Sarah to give me a few minutes and wait in the car. She reached forward to kiss me on my cheek and turned around to leave.
Deep in my heart, I knew that Professor Ismat’s passing was just the beginning of a long journey. This was going to be one of many visits that I was going to make in the years to come.
After college, I had stayed in touch with Professor Ismat. I had gotten incredibly close to her and spent countless evenings at her place huddled next to the fireplace. Sarah would often join us. We would pour our hearts out while Professor Ismat would patiently listen. Then, in her characteristic style, she would challenge us to come up with our own solutions. She believed all that we sought was already inside us.
“Hey, you want to come with me?” asked Hassan as he brushed the dirt off his clothes.
“No you carry on mate, I’ll see you later,” I replied with a warm smile. In Hassan, I saw another individual who had been completely transformed because of Professor Ismat. He put a hand on my shoulder, nodded, and then headed towards the exit.
I spent a few minutes in prayer and when everyone had left, I approached the gravestone to say goodbye. As I bent down to place my hand on it, I read the epitaph that we had insisted on getting:
‘To Professor Ismat, we will always love you & miss you.’
I wiped off my tears and after offering a silent prayer, I turned around to leave. I recalled Professor Ismat’s last words to me, words that would shape my outlook on life forever:
‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’