Prominent Islamic scholar and Chairman of the As-Sunnah Foundation, Shaykh Ahmadullah, has expressed deep sorrow and outrage over the tragic death of an elderly woman whose body lay decomposing for days in a Dhaka residence. He strongly urged parents across the country to raise their children as proper human beings before focusing solely on academic or worldly achievements. The scholar shared his emotional reflections in a lengthy social media commentary on Tuesday evening, drawing widespread national attention to growing moral and social degradation.The heartbreaking domestic incident has sparked intense public debate regarding modern familial structures.
On May 31, police officials recovered the highly decomposed body of 72-year-old Nurjahan Begum from a residential flat in Mirpur Section-6, Dhaka. Law enforcement personnel rushed to the scene and broke into the apartment after receiving an emergency call via the national helpline 999. Preliminary administrative findings suggested that the elderly woman had passed away at least seven to eight days prior to the discovery, with her body left completely unattended inside her room. Ironically, the deceased mother had three highly educated and well-established sons: one serves as a government Joint Secretary, another works as a faculty member at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and the third resides as an expatriate in Canada. Furthermore, a daughter who co-habited the same apartment claimed she remained entirely unaware of her mother`s passing despite living under the same roof.
Addressing this extreme case of domestic isolation, Shaykh Ahmadullah noted that while the sons achieved the exact pinnacle of material success that most contemporary parents desire, they fundamentally failed in their moral duties. He pointed out that despite a major religious festival passing recently, these career-driven siblings failed to check whether their mother was alive or dead. The scholar expressed immense grief over how the elderly woman died alone, with her body severely decomposing without anyone noticing for over a week. He stated firmly that society does not need the kind of material success that alienates children from parental love and deprives them of the opportunity to stand by their mother`s side during her final moments.
He emphasized that as long as society continues to chase blind materialism while discarding religious values, ethics, and basic humanity, such shocking incidents will continue to occur. In a follow-up commentary, Shaykh Ahmadullah criticized the modern social trend of sending children abroad merely for social status and bragging rights, noting that this often leaves aging parents to endure complete isolation in their final years. He concluded that if families learned to be content with less and prioritized keeping loved ones close rather than treating children as tools for social prestige, old age could be a period of joy rather than despair. Local police administrations are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
