Heartbreaking story of a grandmother abandoned by everyone: How painfully she cried, it broke my heart into pieces

On his Facebook profile, the esteemed Sarajevo imam Muhamed ef. Velić wrote a heartbreaking story about an elderly woman left alone on the street. This life story, unlike many others, had a happy ending. The Patria News Agency publishes Velić's story in its entirety.

-A few days ago, Hajji Zajko told me that a woman was looking for me; she didn't enter the mosque, just asked on the street when I would be at the mosque, as she needed to see me.

Hajji said I am always there, except on Mondays which are my day off, and it was Monday, so she said she would come on Tuesday for the afternoon prayer. And so it happened.

During the afternoon prayer, just before the call to prayer, I was preparing to recite the call, and Hajji told me that the woman had arrived and had gone to the women's gallery to pray. I went up to the gallery, since that day after the afternoon prayer I had to immediately go to a funeral, so I tried to see in those few minutes before the call what it was about.

When I climbed up to the gallery, I found an elderly woman, who at first impression seemed dignified and pious. She introduced herself nicely, said her name was A. and that she was 74 years old, and that she needed to talk to me and if I could help her.

I said I didn't have time at that moment, because I had a funeral after the prayer, and the call to prayer was imminent, but she asked if we could meet over the weekend at the mosque. I agreed and told her to come for the noon prayer. And so we parted, and I went to recite the call to prayer.

Yesterday, on Saturday, I was teaching children in the Quran school. I was just finishing a group of young students, and there were about fifteen minutes left until the noon prayer, when I saw through the Quran school window that the elderly woman A. had appeared. I told the last boy from the group I was examining to tell her to come into the Quran school. She entered the Quran school shyly, greeted me, and sat down on a bench. After a brief greeting and asking about her health, she began to tell her sad story.
 

In her old age, at 74 years old, she had separated from her husband; she didn't mention the reasons. They have two daughters, who are married, have their own families, and live separately. She and her husband had an apartment where she lived; her share in the apartment was 30%. They sold the apartment, gave a significant portion to each daughter, the husband took the larger part, and she got a very small portion. And everyone went their separate ways.

The daughters are tenants, but they have their own families; the husband returned to his old neighborhood, and she was left alone, on the street.
At that moment, the elderly woman burst into tears.

Dear God, how painfully she cried, it broke my heart into pieces. When she calmed down a bit, she continued her story.

She had counted on her older daughter to take her in; she had even promised her that day, but the next day her granddaughter called and said they already had problems without her, and would have even more problems with her. So, they couldn't take her in. Her younger daughter found her a place as a tenant on Bjelave, with some woman, but that apartment is completely unsuitable because the landlady keeps animals in the house, and as a believer, this bothers her a lot.

She started crying again, so painfully and so sincerely. I was moved and speechless. She said she was left all alone. And she begged me to find her something, anything; she has a small pension, she can pay rent, a smaller one, but to find her something decent, anywhere, near a mosque, and that it be clean. She asked if she could sleep in the mosque or any mosque!

I told her she couldn't sleep and live in the mosque, but I asked her to come again the next day for the noon prayer, i.e., today, and I would try to do something. She thanked me, stopped crying, and after the noon prayer, she left.

Yesterday, after that meeting, I thought for a long time about how to help her; I even talked to some congregation members about it. They suggested she should be directed to social services and social workers, but that wasn't what she needed.
Also, one of my cousins got married yesterday; after the afternoon prayer, I was at her wedding; it was very nice, but the whole time, at the back of my mind, I had the elderly woman A. in my head.

From the wedding, I went to the evening prayer at my mosque, and at the evening prayer, I saw a friend, who doesn't live near the mosque but comes to the mosque often. However, I thought: tonight, the Almighty Allah sent him to this very mosque for the evening prayer to help me with this.

I kept him after the evening prayer and told him this story. I saw tears in his eyes and a willingness to help. Especially because about a month and a half ago, his mother passed away to the Hereafter, so it touched him even more, and he was even more ready to help. He was attached to his mother. We agreed to meet, all three of us, today at the noon prayer. The two of them came. The elderly woman A. was trembling like an aspen leaf, and my friend was also a bit excited. I introduced them and told her story once more.

She was silent, with tears in her eyes. And he said that there is a house in this congregation where his parents used to live. After his mother's death, he moved his father to his own house, and in that house, there is a student, whom his mother had taken in; he is studying and memorizing the Quran, and he has an entire large floor at his disposal. He talked with his sister about placing her there with him; they would give her one room and a bathroom, and the student would still have more than enough space in the rest of the floor.

I told her that it is a new and nicely furnished house and that she would be fine there, because the owner of the house, that friend of mine, is a fine person, a believer, accommodating, and now after his mother's death, especially sensitive to mothers and their problems.
The elderly woman A. expressed a desire to pay some rent, which my friend wouldn't even mention; he is doing this in the name of Allah, the Almighty, he wants to provide a home and host an abandoned mother with a prayer that the Lord Allah also provides a home and makes a house for his mother in beautiful Paradise.

In the end, they agreed to finalize everything in a few days. I greeted them and watched them through the window as they left. In the old woman's eyes, I saw joy and calm; she was no longer crying, thank God, and in his eyes, I saw tears of gratitude for being able to host a mother, with a prayer that the Creator so hosts his mother in Paradise. Allahumma amin.

I returned to the Quran school. The classroom was full of children; these are slightly older children who are studying the Quran. I told them this sad story with, God willing, a happy ending. I told them that their parents are the greatest sanctity in life, right after Allah, the Almighty, and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is a religious obligation to take care of them, protect them, and hold them as precious as water in the palm of your hand until the end of their lives. Parents are the ticket to Paradise. We returned to studying the Quran and the rules of Tajweed.

And, here, now that the Quran school children have also left, I sit alone in the mosque, waiting for the afternoon prayer, thinking about how the Almighty Allah will not leave His servants uncared for.

He will always send someone to take care of us, if we are sincere and devoted to Him. People can leave us, even those closest to us, and that is not our greatest tragedy; our greatest tragedy and misfortune is if the Almighty Allah leaves us and forgets us. We should guard Allah, and He will always give to us and send to us.

(Recorded on March 8 – International Women's Day.)