In the name of Allah the most merciful the most kind.

Baraka on Sunday I ran the London marathon in your honour.
I have been fortunate enough in my lifetime to have met some incredible people but you stood out from the masses and I am truly blessed to have known you.
I remember that every time we met you would be a complete ray of sunshine regardless of where we were or what the situation was. I especially remember our Dubai dinner in the Palace hotel nearly a decade ago now, where despite the varied topics of conversation there was not one moment where your intelligence, wit and charm did not resonate through.
I remember when you were first diagnosed with the news and I remember the manner in which you told me. I was trying to hold back the tears, but you said it with such a smile on your face as if it was just a simple fact of life. I was truly blown away with the unbelievable courage and dignity that you showed and continue to show throughout.
I remember when I was with your father near Regents Park and you had only just come out of hospital. You walked all the way over to the resturant, oxygen cylinder in hand, to join us for a lovely meal as nothing in the world was going to stop you from joining your father and I.
I remember getting together the team to help you set up your Legacy and I promise you Inshallah it will be created as you rightly wished it to be, and we will introduce this Legacy to the world to ensure that all of the wonderful things you stood for live on. I’ve kept every one of your messages and they will be honoured as you so rightfully requested.
Using my brand language, I can see the thread that runs throughout these messages, how your remembered and all these tributes to you. What defined you was your intelligence, your humility, your integrity and, of course, that radiant smile. Your smile and the smile of my late father ( Allah yar hum kum ) were your visible trademarks !
I know you told me you would be at the finishing line but as you said, you were running your own marathon in life. I must say that training for this marathon wasn’t hard with the support of your prayers and memory – you said may Allah make your training easy and thanks to you I have now completed it in your manner, I smiled all the way Alhamdulillah ! I did shed a few tears when I finished and you weren’t there and then I remembered you would have smiled and I smiled as much as I can.
Baraka I finish with one pledge to you. I pledge to run the next three London marathons in your honour, as long as God gives me the strength, and raise more money for all of the amazing causes that you were involved in. I know this would have brought a smile to your face as it did the first time I told you.

Surely, Allah takes what is His, and what He gives is His, and to all things He has appointed a time so have patience and be rewarded (Bukhari, 2/80; Muslim, 2/636).