“I beg you, Mother, don’t leave me…” – a phrase a young man kept repeating as he embraced his mother’s body inside a funeral car. This was one of the most impactful moments in a series of human stories recounted by volunteer mortician Youssef Al-Ruqi on his X (formerly Twitter) account, under the title “Emotional Moments.”

“Mother, Don’t Leave Me” – A Son Embraces His Mother’s Body

Al-Ruqi narrated that when the funeral car arrived at the drop-off point, the car door opened to reveal a young man around forty years old lying beside his mother’s body, hugging it and shouting loudly: “I beg you, Mother… don’t leave me.” After the body was unloaded, the son sat on his knees at the entrance of the women’s washing room, repeating the same phrase.

Al-Ruqi commented: “O you whose eyes are delighted by seeing your parents, do not be preoccupied from being dutiful to them. And if dutifulness does not cease with their death, indeed their need for it after death may be greater because their deeds have ceased.” He quoted the Prophet’s saying: “When a son of Adam dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for him.”

He Passed Away Minutes After His Breakfast

In another incident, Al-Ruqi said he washed a young man whose older brother told him that he had eaten his breakfast in the morning and stood up to go to work, then suddenly fell down with a heart attack without any warning. He added that the successful person is the one who prepares for the day of sudden departure through his words and actions, praying: “O Allah, mend the corruption of our hearts, and return us to You in a beautiful manner.”

A Three-Year-Old Child – Five Minutes Changed Everything

Al-Ruqi recounted that he washed a three-year-old child. The father told him that he was extremely careful with his son, but the mother got distracted for just five minutes while the child was playing inside the house. She found him with the curtain cord wrapped around his neck, lifeless. He noted that the child’s father was patient, seeking reward, and accepting of God’s decree, citing what was narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud: “For me to bite on a hot coal until it cools is dearer to me than to say of something that God has decreed: ‘If only it had not happened.’”

He Was Planning to Pray Fajr… Then Died in His Brother’s Arms

Al-Ruqi also washed a 29-year-old man. His brother said they were staying up late talking and joking at three in the morning, and the deceased was saying: “Let’s continue until we pray Fajr,” but then he died suddenly in his arms. His brother explained that he was fasting in Ramadan, his mother was pleased with him, and his family was keen on prayer. Al-Ruqi quoted the Prophet’s saying: “Actions are but by intentions, and every person will have what he intended.”

He Went to Sleep Preparing for His Shift… And Never Woke Up

In a similar story, Al-Ruqi washed a 28-year-old man. His mother tried to wake him for work but he did not wake up, despite being in good health and free from any illness. He commented: “Your breaths are numbered,” citing the verse: “And when their term comes, they cannot postpone it an hour, nor can they advance it,” and the saying of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz: “I have never seen a certainty more like doubt than people’s certainty about death, yet they do not prepare for it.”

“The Washing Room Is Not a Place for Boasting”

Al-Ruqi narrated another incident where the children of a deceased man began introducing themselves—one was a doctor, another a consultant—pointing out that their father was a businessman. He asked them: “Did he take any of his titles or wealth with him, other than righteous deeds, good remembrance, and ongoing charity?” He stressed: “The washer is a volunteer for washing, the shroud is charity, and the deceased, no matter what he owned, all of it goes to the heirs. My presence here is to wash hearts before bodies,” citing the Prophet’s hadith: “No one will enter Paradise who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart.”

A Simple Worker with a Heart Full of Quran

Al-Ruqi recounted that he washed a foreign young man, 27 years old, who died a natural death on his bed. His roommate said that after returning from work, he would start reading the Quran immediately, then pray at night after midnight. Al-Ruqi noted that the true measure of people is piety and sincerity with God, not appearances, positions, or wealth.

A Mother Lost Five of Her Children… and Said: “This Was a Trust That Returned to Its Owner”

One of the most moving stories was when Al-Ruqi received the body of a young man who died in a fire in his home. His maternal uncle told him that his mother was a righteous woman known for praying at night and fasting the white days (13th, 14th, 15th of each Islamic month). She refused to remarry after her husband’s death to raise her six children, then lost four of them one after another in different accidents, and this son was the fifth. When Al-Ruqi went to offer condolences, saying, “Rejoice in good news, be patient and seek reward,” her response was: “This was a trust that returned to its Owner.” Al-Ruqi said: “She was the one giving me a lesson in patience in tribulation, submitting to God, and having good expectations of Him.”

92 Years Old… and Only Got Angry Once

Al-Ruqi washed a man who was 92 years old. His son said that he had been the mosque’s muezzin for more than fifty years and had never gotten angry inside his home throughout his life except once, due to being late for the call to prayer. Al-Ruqi cited the Prophet’s hadith: “The muezzins will have the longest necks on the Day of Resurrection,” and his saying: “The best of people are those who live long and do good deeds.”

A 15-Year-Old Boy… Went to Pray at His Aunt’s Funeral and Returned Carried

Al-Ruqi concluded his stories with the tale of a 15-year-old boy who was traveling with his father and family to Riyadh to pray at his aunt’s funeral. A traffic accident occurred on the way, killing only him while the rest of the family survived. The boy was a student of Quran memorization circles, had memorized parts of the Quran, and was keen on praying at the mosque. Al-Ruqi urged young people to invest their youth in obedience to God and righteousness, asking God to make that boy among those raised in His worship.