Wednesday 2 December 2009

Congratulations! Tuan Haji Karim Sulaiman

Pix above is Aki Momogun babies sitting Sdr Karim' sons at Hyde Park, London. One of them must be Khair.

Congratulations to Tuan Haji Karim Sulaiman and wife Hajah Siti Hawa and their son Khir. The story from HERE tells their story.
Sdr Karim was Berita Harian correspondent in London at the same time I was with Times of Malaysia London Limited (1997-98). I was staying a floor below them at 31 & 32 Chapel Side, Moscow Road, Bayswater, London W2 4LL.

From Ahmad Kamil Tahir

MECCA, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Karim Sulaiman's prayers were answered when he successfully completed the haj.

For the former Berita Harian editor, this was no ordinary feat.

He is suffering from scleromyxedema, a rare disease which causes skin to become thick and hard.

The chronic connective tissue disorder which makes moving affected areas difficult, did not break the man's spirit.

He managed to perform the rites of the haj, such as the wukuf in Arafah, tawaf, saei and tahalul, as well as stoning the Jamrah in Mina.

These were made possible with continuous help from his wife, Siti Hawa Mohd Arif, and their fifth child, Khair Naqib, 13, who came along on the pilgrimage.

When met by the Tabung Haji media team, Siti Hawa said the relaxed Islamic regulations for disabled persons performing the haj was of great assistance t the group, including her husband.

"For the tawaf ritual, we pushed Karim on a wheelchair on the second floor of the Masjidil Haram which has tracks for wheelchair-bound pilgrims and this was also done for the saei, whereby wheelchair tracks are provided between Safa and Marwah," she said.

Siti Hawa said she had been worried about her husband's health, especially during the wukuf in Arafah, with its sweltering temperatures, but she was grateful that everything went smoothly.

She added that Khair Naqib was of great help in attending to his father as regulations required male and female pilgrims to live separately, during the duration of their stay in the Holy Land.

Asked about his prayer in front of the Kaabah, Karim said he had asked that his skin disease be healed.

He also advised Muslims to complete the fifth fundamental Muslim practice (performing the haj) while they were healthy and able.

Karim and his family will return to Malaysia on Dec 27.

-- BERNAMA

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