SEREMBAN: ‘Don’t neglect your daily prayers’.
Those were the last words spoken by famous Islamic religious scholar Datuk Seri Abu Hassan Din Al-Hafiz during his final religious talk held here, 10 hours before he died early this morning.
He was 73.
Abu Hassan had given his talk to a packed house of more than 200 people, at Surau An-Nur Taman Seremban Jaya here last night (April 30), which marked his only appearance there.
According to the surau’s imam, Sudin Pongot, 47, Abu Hassan was his usual self throughout the event which started at 7.30pm.
“We felt very honoured that a prolific Islamic figure like him would take his time off to come to our surau to deliver a religious talk. All this while, we could only see him on television and it felt so surreal to be able to finally see and listen to his talk in person,” he said when met at the surau here, today.
He added that news of Abu Hassan’s passing came as a shock, especially to those who had attended his talk last night.
“I was the last person to shake his hands before he left at around 10pm. We talked for a while and he had expressed his gratitude for inviting him to the surau.
“But one thing that all of us will remember most was his advice for all of us not to neglect our prayers,” he added.
It was reported that Abu Hassan had fallen unconscious while preparing to perform the subuh prayer.
He was then rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7.30am.
Meanwhile, the surau’s treasurer, Zolkepli Mahadi, 49, said he had personally contacted Abu Hassan to invite him for the event.
“He had asked me to write a formal letter from the surau. He then agreed to join and everything had been smooth sailing,” he added.
Zolkepli said the theme for the talk was supposed to focus on the arrival of the holy fasting month, but Abu Hassan had also mentioned that for some, it could well be their last Ramadan.
“It was strange, but we didn’t think much about it since it was still within the scope of the talk. Abu Hassan had also opened the floor for questions and had to extend his talk due to an overwhelming response from the audience,” he said.
Condolences have been pouring in for the bereaved family of Abu Hassan since the news of his passing was announced.
Among those who had expressed their condolences were Mufti of the Federal Territories Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, and Terengganu Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
Abu Hassan was the former Grand Imam of the National Mosque and had been the Religious Advisor to several Yang di-Pertuan Agong, including the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.
He was the younger brother of former Pas spiritual leader, Datuk Dr Haron Din, who died in the United States in September 2016, and Ustaz Ishak Din, who died while receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute in November the same year.