Five members of Newport family killed in Saudi car crash (From South Wales Argus)
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Five members of Newport family killed in Saudi car crash
9:07am Monday 11th February 2013 in News
By Melissa Jones
VICTIMS: Clockwise from top left Shaukat Hayat, his wife Abida, daughter Saira Zenub Hayat and eldest son Mohammed Isshaq and his wife Bilques Haya, centre
FIVE members of the same Newport family have been killed in an horrific car crash while on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Shaukat Ali Hayat, 56, his wife Abida, 54, eldest son Mohammed Isshaq, 33, daughter Saira Zenub and Mohammed’s wife, Bilques, who had eight weeks left before she was due to give birth, were killed when the taxi they were travelling in left a motorway in Saudi Arabia.
Rescuers found Shaukat Ali Hayat, 56, cradling the family’s only survivor, one-year-old Mohammed Eisa Danial Hayat, in the wreckage of Friday morning’s crash – an action which the family say saved the baby’s life.
The family, who were from Alexandra Road, Pill, had booked the vehicle for a four hour journey to Jeddha to meet relatives.
Sma Hayat, 58, Shaukat’s brother, said they had performed the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims at any time of the year, because Saira Zenub was due to get married this weekend.
At around 5am on Friday, the family set off by taxi when Saira Zenub texted her sister to say it was going “too fast,” Mr Hayat said.
He reported the car went straight into a concrete bridge, somersaulted off the road and ended up in a ditch. The driver was said to have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Rescuers rushed to their aid and thought that the whole family had perished, until they found the little one-year-old underneath his grandfather, miraculously still alive.
Speaking about his brother, Mr Hayat said: “He saw what happened as the car went out of control.
He grabbed the baby, clutched it in his arms and cushioned him.”
Little Mohammed Eisa Daniel, who suffered injuries including a dislocated shoulder, broken arm and ribs, has been called the “Saudi miracle baby,” Mr Hayat said.
Twenty members of the family are now in Saudi Arabia to bring him back to Newport, once the family are buried later today in a prestigious graveyard called the Jannat-ul-Baqi, Medina, alongside famous names of Islamic faith.
This was following intervention from the Saudi royal family and the government, as news of the tragedy spread fast.
Mr Hayat said his brother Shaukat, who is also a sibling of Pill councillor and doctor Ibrahim Hayat, was a “well loved and liked” teacher and writer of Islam.
Saira Zenub was described as a “very talented” locum pharmacist, while Mohammed Isshaq was hoping to do a PHD in neuroscience at university, having excelled in his studies.
The family say they want to thank everyone at home and in Saudi Arabia for their support at this incredibly tough time.
“This is one of the most shocking tragedies in Welsh history involving a Muslim family. The boy has lost everyone but luckily he’s pulled through,” said Mr Hayat.
“We would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for their support,” he added.
Comments(19)
sperduti
says...
12:03pm Mon 11 Feb 13
welshmen
says...
12:40pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Our prayers to the Family....
Rest in peace....
siameselady
says...
12:55pm Mon 11 Feb 13
I knew Saira and she was an incredibly talented pharmacist and a lovely person. She will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
yusuf muhammad maskeen
says...
1:02pm Mon 11 Feb 13
But ALLAH {God} has his Wisdom and we make Du'a {Prayer's} along with the millions who will be doing the same throught each year until the end of time.
"And through the mercy and will of Allah, Paradise will be their abode".
Ammen.
ZaZa75
says...
1:40pm Mon 11 Feb 13
yusuf muhammad maskeen wrote:Ammen
This is such a big trajedy for the whole family and i qoute this being their cousins. But ALLAH {God} has his Wisdom and we make Du'a {Prayer's} along with the millions who will be doing the same throught each year until the end of time. "And through the mercy and will of Allah, Paradise will be their abode". Ammen.
Alikha
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2:29pm Mon 11 Feb 13
fatblokeroundhead
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2:35pm Mon 11 Feb 13
berg84
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3:34pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Miss Informed
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3:41pm Mon 11 Feb 13
KHALID786
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4:29pm Mon 11 Feb 13
May Allah swt grant the family paradise and a death of shaheeds - Ameen
pr1ej2006
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6:44pm Mon 11 Feb 13
shaz1
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7:00pm Mon 11 Feb 13
NewportTeacher
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8:39pm Mon 11 Feb 13
NewportTeacher
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8:40pm Mon 11 Feb 13
jacko99
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9:55pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Allah’s Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wassalam said: "Peace be upon you, O abode of believers. What you were promised will come to pass tomorrow at a fixed time. We shall, Allah willing, soon join you. O Allah! Grant forgiveness to the people who are buried in al-Baqi’ al-Gharqad." (Muslim)
And: "I am the first for whom the Earth will burst open, then Abu Bakr and then Umar. I shall then come to those who are buried in al-Baqi’ and they will be gathered along with me. After that I shall wait for the people of Mecca so as to be gathered among the inhabitants of the two sacred cities." (Tirmidhi)
In the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, this grave yard was thought to be outside of Madina but now it is adjacent to Masjid an Nabwi. Al-Baqi‘ is a powerful place. Other cities consider it their pride to host a single saint; but here there are hundreds. All around lie at rest the men and women who heard the Prophet’s summons, and broke the idols of their forefathers, and gave their lives to his cause.
Imam Malik rahmatullah alayhi (a resident of this blessed graveyard) puts the number of sahabah buried here as 10,000.
May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with them all.
russ angel
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6:38am Tue 12 Feb 13
T.A
says...
8:29am Tue 12 Feb 13
Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.
We all come into this Duniyah with a ticket which is a return ticket to your Lord. It's a ticket with a date and hour of our return, unknown to us when this will be. Death surrounds us every second of the day and night, no one knows when they will pass. Always seek forgiveness from Allah swt and repent to him and make dua. We will soon all come to know reality pretty soon.
Imam Ali (ra) said, "A man truly wakes up when he has died" - This is when reality becomes apparent to the deceased.
My heart goes out to the family especially the little baby. It's tragic and very sad they have a died in a blessed place and are to be buried in Jannatul-Baqi the blessed graveyard. They are truly blessed and InshAllah would've died a shaheed death. Beautiful Honour to rise up on the day of judgement amongst the blessed Suhabi. Something i can only dream of.
May Allah swt grant them Janna Firdous
Ameen
displayed
says...
10:01pm Thu 14 Feb 13
Says it all really!
IeuanTheLion says...
12:00pm Mon 11 Feb 13