Father of two perishes in heat on spiritual trip

Father of two and Bangladeshi born, Ashad Nomani, 49, lost his life in the unforgiving conditions with his brother Mohammad confirming the family has not been able to say goodbye, with the burial taking place in Saudi Arabia over timing, cost and travel constraints.
Sadly, Ashad had regarded it as the trip of a lifetime and had been keen to make the pilgrimage for years.
“Millions want to go every year and finally, this year his name was picked out and he felt like he’d won the lottery,” Mohammad said.
“He was in good health but collapsed because of the intense heat, as did hundreds of others; it’s just very hard to accept that this happened to him when he was on such a spiritual journey.”
Being his brother’s only relative in Australia, Mohammad said his priority now was looking after Ashad’s family – wife Dr Farhana Nomani and daughters Unaysa, 11, and Inara, 6.
“The family is inconsolable but we have to accept that he has gone now, there is nothing we can do,” he added.
“I ask that the community extends their love and support to his family at such a challenging time.”