 |
| Yacoob ‘Gora’ Ahmed |
By Fakir Hassen
The community of Benoni and the broader East Rand reacted with an unprecedented outpouring of grief after community leader Yacoob Ahmed, popularly known as Uncle Gora, passed away on Friday 17 July 2020 at his Actonville residence, aged 65.
He had just returned from hospital and was due to go back to get the results of medical tests for suspected gallstones.
Gora was affiliated to the Benoni Muslim Charitable Organisation (BMCO), where executives and workers lauded him for the diverse community support that he led, from funerals to food hampers and even medical assistance arranged for the needy at times.
For nearly three decades, Gora had made it his mission to assist the destitute, not only from the Muslim community, but from all communities in the area and even in other countries through charity projects, as was evidenced when tributes from across the board poured in on a two-hour tribute on Channel Islam International on the night after his funeral.
“His efforts were across the globe – be it Malawi; be it Syria; be it in the remote areas of Africa; he was chosen by Allah to do great things,” said the host of the programme, Moulana Ahmed Ali Moosa, who conducted interviews with many leaders from the community and read out scores of WhatsApp messages that the station was flooded with.
Moulana Ridwan Laher, who described Gora as ‘a spiritual father’ candidly confessed how he had initially been sceptical of the projects that he had accompanied Gora on.
“Before I joined Gora and the BMCO, I was one of his most fond critics. I used to criticise the work that he was doing. But Uncle Gora had a lot of patience. From being a critic I became completely the opposite when you work with a man like that,” Ml Laher said as he recalled how Gora had taught him not to look at just what people had in their houses, but at what their real need was.
“He said: ‘Yes, with Zakaat we have to look at the laws of Shariah, but the heart is something else’, he told me. That is something we can’t put value to.”
A couple from Cape Town were crying hysterically after they learnt of Gora’s passing, because he had made it possible for them to perform Hajj.
Hafez Salim Mohamed, Imam at the Benoni Muslim Jamaat, broke down while paying tribute to Gora.
“Gora’s excellence in the Masjid was noted. It could be the middle of the night, and Gora would say just give me the address and he would take over.”
“We give thanks also to his family that in every walk of life, Gora was there.”
Vanessa Moodley, Principal of Actonville Primary School, said the community had lost a great soul and an icon, adding that Gora had been like a Messiah to her school.
“We interacted with Gora since our inception in 2002 and he was always so motivational and inspiring in his humbleness. He assisted us with the children’s and granny’s picnic every year. Uncle Gora knew every one of the 150 children. He always gave with his heart and soul,” said Amina Baba from the Benoni Ladies Forum.
On a personal note, Gora was my first cousin, the son of my late father’s late sister Ayesha.
We were of about the same age and had interacted for decades, especially when in Gora’s youth he was the tabla player for my late uncle Ebrahim Qawal from Laudium. On a memory with a lighter note, Gora would often share his love for fishing, and when I undertook my first trip to India in the 1980’s, I clearly remember him advising me to ensure that I sampled the street foods and got a shave from one of the barbers on the pavements. I passed on the food advice, but on every one of my many trips afterwards, always remembered his shaving advice.
When we started the Benoni Times a few years ago, I sked Gora if I could do a feature on the wonderful work that he was doing, but he was adamant that there should be no publicity around it. Even when I explained to him that it was not about praising him, but about letting others know about it, such as donors for his projects, he said it was not necessary as no one that he had approached had ever turned him away.
Gora leaves his wife Shireen and sons Mohamed and Naeem.
May Allah grant Gora his well-deserved eternal abode in Jannah.
Featured Advertiser: High Resolution Ad at this link
