He just died in Madinah

Brother Mohamed Hoblos gives tribute to the life of Khodre Kanj after he passed away in Madinah last Wednesday. Kanj had just completed his Umrah pilgrimage the day before, having his sins forgiven, and then departed to Madinah the following day. He prayed the Thuhr prayer in the front row of the Rawdah and spent a further two hours in the worship of Allah. However, as Maghrib approached, his health took a turn and he began to feel strong pains in his chest and back. He called for an ambulance as his family sat beside him supplicating for his safety. He began to recite the Shahadah, (the testimony of faith, i.e. There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger) until Allah ordained for his soul to be lifted. He passed away as the Athaan of Maghrib was being called. No doubt, this was an amazing death, that many of us will pray to Allah for on a regular basis. In fact to be buried in Madinah, (the Baqee) is one of the greatest honours, whereby the Prophet ﷺ guaranteed his intercession for those buried there.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever is able to die in Al-Madinah, then let him die there, for I will intercede for those who die there.” (Tirmidhi)

However when we look into the life of Khodre, we realise that earning such an honourable death did not come easy – and he worked tirelessly to achieve such an honour. Khodre Kanj was a regular at the Masjid in Sydney, Australia and would often be seen reading the Quran from Fajr to 9 am almost every morning, striving to memorise the Quran. This was despite the fact, memorising the Quran was never easy for him and at times he would spend an entire week struggling to complete a page. Those that knew him also commented on how he was always striving in his free time to memorise the Quran. It wasn’t until last year however that he gave it his all, by packing up with his family and leaving to South Africa to complete his memorisation in a full-time Hifz school. If it wasn’t his dedication for the Quran that helped raise his ranks, it was his dutifulness to his parents. Last year when his mother was sick in the hospital, he returned to Sydney from South Africa to stay at the side of his mother until she passed away. The story of Khodre Kanj is a clear indication of the famous saying “You will die the way you lived”. It’s an inspirational example for all of us to take heed from and start preparing for the day we die, so we too will have an honorable death by the permission of Allah. We ask Allah to raise Khodre Kanj with the people of the Quran on the Day of Ressurection and grant him the Highest station of Paradise. Please remember his family and loved ones in your Duaa.