my aunt died, may 28 '06

It's May 28^th, my aunt died on Tuesday afternoon on May 24^th last week. She was 44 years old and she was another victim of cancer.

It all began with breast cancer 4 years ago when doctors detected a tumor in her left breast. By then it was too late, the cancer cells had already began their work in her system with a 60% blood ratio. By the time the doctors removed her left breast, the cancer had metastasized into the other parts of her body. She fought the disease with high hopes for four years, but finally succumbed to the fate of almost all cancer patients and submitted her soul to the Benevolent.

I write this in her memory, for she was a loving mother who valued her children above all else, even her own life, and sacrificed herself for her family.

Her name was Zahra, and her attitude was synonymous with her name which she shares with the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (p), Lady Fatima Az-Zahra. She always had a smile on her face, and I can never remember a time when she would get angry at someone. Even with the way she was treated by her relatives, the insults she handled, the difficulties she endured because of a few jealous individuals gave her the wings she took to soar into the heavens. My aunt Zahra could've had a better life than this, but she chose to sacrifice it all for her children, and tolerate the pains of bitter insults and lies so that she could raise her children to be effective contributors to the society, and I'm proud of her.

The day I stood at her bed in the hospital in Esfahan and witnessed her heart coming to a complete halt, I thanked God with all my heart, because she was finally free of the misery and the pain. I was with her all the way to the morgue, through the graveyard, and I never shed a single tear, because I knew she was happy.

The world has a strange way of showing us how small and insignificant we are in some ways and how we dont know what we are doing. During times of difficulty, we blame everything on the weather, on other people, everything but ourselves and we never get to see the other side of the coin because we are so busy blaming others. During times of blessing, we become proud and arrogant and lose all sense of reality of the fact that no matter how hard we tried to gain this power, we can lose it all in a heartbeat (or the lack of one).

Humans are strange creatures, often forgetful and much ungrateful. We strive our whole lives, working for short-lived dreams and long-lost identities. Our bodies are sensitive and often durable systems. They can endure the harshest conditions but can lose it all with a stroke or a breath not taken. They work at a stable 37 degrees, but completely deteriorate when this temperature goes one degree above or below the prescribed value. The funny thing is, we spend a lifetime trying to keep this body happy and comfortable, even at the expense of others if necessary, and never do we spend the time to reflect on our own true identity and what we have contributed for the betterment of mankind. And once this body goes, we go with it. All our dreams, all our goals, all our beliefs, and we are left with one thing and one thing only, our deeds. For others, it's the memories and for us, its our actions. Even if we owned the world, the only material thing we are left with when we die is a simple coffin six feet under. And not even that is left when we are decomposed and turn into food and nutrients for plants. And the circle of life continues. If this is the final destination of all humans, then shouldn't we strive to give a little more while we have the strength to? Instead of just taking and backbiting, lying, cheating and hating?

There's an Italian proverb that says: At the end of a chess game, the king and the soldier are all thrown in one box. Alexander of Macedonia (I refrain from calling him "the great" because of his viscious attitude and also the fact that he nearly destroyed all of our knowledge and culture by burning down our libraries and universities) left a will before he died, in which he asked his friends to keep his hand outside his coffin for all to see the great Alexander who conquered half the world left empty handed.

We were meant for more than this how can the result of 70 years of living on this earth be a piece of dirt under the ground? Life has more than material value to it, and those who try to confine humanity within the prison bars of material constants have gravely forsaken the worth of man and have thrown it down into the carnal abyss of animalistic anomalies.