Remembering Junaid Jamshed
By SairaZafir
Gold River, CA
On December 7, 2016 Junaid Jamshed died in a tragic plane crash. He had come to Sacramento thrice for his philanthropic and dawah work. Our family had the privilege to spend a great deal of time in his company during his visit.
After Junaid Jamshed’s death, I visited his younger sister MunizaJamshed in Islamabad, Pakistan.
We talked about his life and his achievements and shared many memories. She mentioned one incident which really touched me. Muniza recalled, “After quitting music in 2004, Junaid bhai decided to come back to show business again, so our family was really worried about him. We talked about this to one of our elders and he told us that he is envisioning Junaid among the Walis (those special people who are close to Allah) due to his many unique qualities. Then we thought, how could that be possible?”
Wrapped in Pakistan’s national flag, Junaid Jamshed was bidden farewell by a vast number of his mourning fans and his funeral procession was declared by many as the largest ever in the history of Pakistan. His funeral was a testament that he was regarded by the people as a true Wali of Allah.
The first time I saw Junaid Jamshed was at a concert at my college, the Islamabad College for Girls in Pakistan. He was the perfect picture of a pop star. Like everyone else at the time, I became captivated by his resonating voice. Even though I moved to America after my marriage, my children and I continued to follow his latest songs and albums in the US. Around fourteen years ago, Junaid Jamshed came to perform live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we were living at that time.
My husband Zia was always quite religious, so I knew well that it would be impossible for me to attend his live concert under any circumstances. I made a wish, which seemed very funny at that time, that one day my husband would become a fan of Junaid Jamshed himself so that we could enjoy his melodious voice together. Little did I know that my wish would eventually come true, but in a totally unexpected way.
We moved to Sacramento and I forgot about the whole thing. About four years ago, one Friday morning, Zia told us that he had a surprise guest coming, and I had absolutely no clue about who it could be. Our family headed towards the airport, and I was wondering the whole time who could be our guest. When we arrived at the airport, I couldn’t believe who was waiting for us. The one and only Junaid Jamshed! He looked completely different from the last time I had seen him at my college. The pop singer’s appearance was transformed: he was a picture of enlightening grace. I was almost speechless in disbelief. He joined our family in the car. I had a flashback to the funny wish which I made many years ago.
After turning away from the world of music, Junaid had dedicated his life to different religious causes. He spent time with the TabligheeJamaat and in dawah programs and visited many counties to raise funds for different charities and nonprofits.
Junaid Jamshed was a true Wali of Allah on earth, so Allah chose both his life and death for the guidance of Muslims. The void after his death will never be filled; however, two of his siblings HumayunJamshed and MunizaJamshed have continued his legacy of dawah among the ummah. Junaid Jamshed's efforts and sacrifices for the Dawa of Islam will always be missed by the Ummah. May Allah grant him Jannat-ul-Firdos. Ameen!
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