Seerat 3: Target Killing Attempt Survivor - Hafiz Muhammad Waqas - by Ali Kapadia

Our company closed at 6:30pm, that day
As we left crossing maybe 8 or 9 companies, there was a lane on the left that connected to the road, the stop.
Our car was at the cross, I was checking my car and talking to my friend,
When, first I heard a sound
by the time I hit the ground, four to five shots had already been fired.
I was shot about three times
And my friend got shot twice, his hands were damaged.
I was shot in my left hand, abdomen and upper right arm.
I work as tailor, specializing in darning at Rajwani company.
As a child I was always interested in working with my hands.
My father did this work as well. You could say that this is our family profession.
My grandfather had been doing this work when he came from India.
People say that prayers from your parents are absolutely necessary
For children, prayers from your parents or some other form of support is necessary,
My aim has always been, that whatever I do I should stand on my own two feet,
so that people hold me up as an example saying that this person has worked hard to make something of himself.
From the very beginning, I wanted to be like this.
People ask me whether I had enmity with anyone or something like that.
Thank god, I have no enmity with anyone; I try to treat everyone nicely.
Everyone at the company knows me well. I have been working there for about four years.
I can’t say if anyone has a grudge against me,
who knows if someone decided to use target killing as revenge against me, I can’t say.
or maybe I was specifically chosen for the target killing itself,
or maybe this was destined to happen
People say illness and suffering comes to those who Allah wants to test in this world.
Who knows, maybe Allah decided that I was worthy of his test.
When I fell, my friend ran away trying to save his own life.
Allah gave me the strength to get up.
I was somewhat conscious. Two people came up to me to ask “what happened?”
I told them that this had happened to me, that I was shot.
I asked them if they could drop me off to my company, which was up ahead.
One of them tried to help me, but his partner got scared.
He thought that my situation was suspicious, so he ran away.
At that time, I was bleeding a lot. I got scared and tried to move and I fell.
As soon as that happened, I started reciting the Kalma (Muslim statement of faith)
For a moment, it felt as if no one was going to help me.
There was silence everywhere. I was lying alone under my car.
I had called a friend. It took my friend 5-10 minutes to come get me.
Until then, I was lying on the road,
not knowing if I would stay alive.
I kept thing about my family, my parents, my wife,
but most of all I kept wondering about my son.
Just my son. The Kalma was on my lips. I thought, these might be my final moments
That maybe this was all I was destined to live.
I had thought a lot about my son, how I would make him somebody important.
In my mind, he would be a religious scholar, someone that had memorized the Quran.
This is my intention, may Allah grant him success. Who knows, maybe I was granted life because of him.
Right now, my younger brother is taking care of my work.
He has his own workload as well as his studies. I want to get well as soon as possible so that I can take care of my responsibilities.
Since I am the oldest in my household, I have the greatest number of responsibilities
I want to get well as soon as possible so that I can get back to work.
So that everything which has been upset by this incident, with the grace of Allah, can go back to how it was before.
We don’t give our lives any meaning, even though life is very precious,
for you and especially for your family
For those that are bound to you emotionally, your life means a lot to them.
If not for yourself, you should definitely think about these people
If you are alone,
because these people are the only ones that worry about you.
Right now I am in this condition, but my family is more worried about me than I am.
So not for myself, but for them,
This is all I can say about it.
People shouldn’t get involved in stupid and silly things.
They should think about this.
Fighting because you're a Muhajir or a Pashtun. Who are you, really?
In the end we are all Muslim.
What is the point in fighting among ourselves?
Everyone should live happily with each other.
In the end, only the innocent suffer. The real criminals always get away.
What was my crime?
I was only working in the company to earn a living for my family.
I haven’t harmed anyone.
If you hold something against me, then come forward and talk to me. I’ll apologize.
Don’t target innocent people.
because, I have seen my death up close
I only thank Allah, because he is the only one that grants life.
Otherwise, I had given up. At one point, I had given up
Many innocent people have died like this.
Ask their families, what they must be going through.
For them it must be hell.
I implore everyone to live happily with each other
Forget about your quarrels.
Live and let live.
This is the only message I can give. What more can I say?