IPB: Remembering Arwah Ramli Bajhkata

بسم االله الرحمن الرحيم

Whenever I.P.B. is mentioned I always thought of my dear friend Arwah Haji Ramli bin Lebai Ahmad (may Allah enlightens his grave with nur).

Friendship is built up in many ways. Some friendship began since childhood. Some friendship began at school, college or university. Some friendship started at workplace. Some friendship began at the house of Allah or at place for the remembrance of Allah, solely for the love of Allah.

It has been more than 6 years since Arwah Haji Ramli bin Lebai Ahmad passed away. He was an engineer at ESSO when I first met him in 2000. We first met at Masjid Jame' Seri Petaling, the Kuala Lumpur markaz for dakwah and tabligh effort. Three other persons - al-Hafiz Hisham Mansur, al-Hafiz Najib Haji Muda and my sister's son, Muhammad Faizal; made up for a five-men jamaat including me and Haji Ramli. Faizal had been tasykeel cash when I went back to my hometown to meet my mother and all relatives before going for the 4 months IPB journey. The elders of tabligh said that I should make syi'ar or proclaim loudly of my noble intention to go out in the path of Allah and in doing so, Allah opened the heart of my nephew Faizal to accompany me on the journey. He had gone for 40 days with his father before when he was a mere teenager.

Haji Ramli had been appointed as amir for our jamaat. He was about five years my senior at age. We stayed at the KL markaz for a few days whilst submitting our application for visa for all the three Indo-pak countries - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Meanwhile we had to sit in various important circles of knowledge at the KL markaz before making our journey. One such circle of knowledge is the muzakarah of masa'il where an aalim taught us all the relevant matters with regards to certain rulings of fiqh according to madzhab shafi'e, madzhad hanafi and the relevant differences of rulings between the two madzhab for clear guidance. These was important since we were going on our journey to the countries where hanafi madzhab is predominantly being practised by the people. I remember the advice well, "You are on your journey to learn dakwah, not to learn fiqh." Uh, I think I'm straying away from the topic. It needs a special muzakarah to understand.

Sayyidina Umar radiyalaahu anhu used to say that, "You don't really know a person until you live with him, travel with him or do business with him." 

The first chillah or the first 40 days in Bangladesh was very stressful for me and for Haji Ramli. Haji Ramli and I just did not see eye to eye. In fact, we did not see eye to eye for the whole duration of the first chillah in Bangladesh. I seemed to have a complete disagreement with my amir on almost all matters all the time. It was really worse on my part since in the end I still have to obey my amir. At the earlier part of our IPB journey, Allah had tested us against each other. 

I did not know the real reason of our disagreement. I thought it might be because I did not have a 40 days experienced prior to the IPB journey but then the lack of experience should made me more humble and obedient. Perhaps I was just a plain hard-headed man. However, one thing was clear to me. Haji Ramli was completely a changed man once our jamaat arrived at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, India. He became buoyant and jovial. I no longer see the gloomy and depressed man. At this point of time, I realised that for 40 days he had carried the heavy burden of being the amir of our jamaat in Bangladesh. It was too much of anxiety and strain to him. Once he realised that in India and Pakistan, the responsibility of amir would be given to the local experienced brother, the gloom turned to jubilant and joy for Haji Ramli. And from that moment, he became my close friend. 

I remember in 2009, we both were together again in a paidal jamaat or a walking jamaat destined for Sandakan in East Malaysia Sabah. During the formation of the jamaat, when he learned that he was given the responsibility of amir of the jamaat, he turned hysterical and distraught. I sensed that perhaps the bad memories of being my amir nine years ago had overcome him. Thus I felt the need to calm him down and gave in some words of encouragement. I promised him that I would devote myself in helping him ease his burden. In other words, I promised him not to be an idiot that would made his life difficult.

Haji Ramli was exclusively known to us, the IPB jamaat members as Ramli Bajhkata. Bajhkata is a village in Bunir within the tribal areas of Khyber Pukhtunkwa, Pakistan. During the tasykeel in Bajkata that all of us felt the real companionship of each other. I guess we called him Ramli Bajhkata out of the feel good factor. 

After completing the 4 months IPB journey, as far as I know every year he spent 4 months in the path of Allah alternately travelling on domestic routes and to foreign countries including Albania, Italy, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia etc.

During my companionship with Almarhum Ramli Bajhkata, I witnessed he spent his nights prostrating in sajdah and standing before Allah in solaah. During the IPB journey, when the mornings arrived between adzhan and iqamaat he would engaged in dzikr, his body would gently move. He wept like a bitterly grieved person and I can still hear his cries echoing in my ears as an imam read surah as-Saff during fajar solaah. He was very careful not to get involve in dirty, false or evil vain talk. He was always in the state of concern for the Ummah, especially for his family and his sons, that they would become the da'ie of Allah. I believe he carried this concern in his grave when I was told by one of his sons that he and his brother decided to make the 4 months IPB journey when they dreamt of their father urging them to go out in the path of Allah for 4 months. May Allah make them persevere in the effort of dakwah as their father would dearly wish. 

May Allah accept all of our good deeds, sacrifices  and obedience to Allah in this world as our means of mercy by Allah in the aakhirah.