When Is Yusuf Coming?

Shaykh Zakariyyā  passed away on Monday 1st Shaʿbān between the time
of Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr. A few months prior to that (his passing away), I phoned
and spoke to Dr. Ismail to enquire about Shaykh’s  health. He informed
me that only today Shaykh  asked, “When is Yusuf coming?” So I enquired
as to why he was asking about me, because I mentioned to Dr. Ismail that
whenever I used to prepare to travel to Shaykh  and informed him about
my planned journey, he would always be displeased and unhappy. In fact
he would advise me against undertaking the journey. So (I told Dr. Ismail
that) if on this occasion Shaykh  himself has asked about me, he should
inform him that as soon as my flight is booked and visa issued, I shall travel
to him.
This incident happened in the month of Jumād al-Ūlā and I reached
there (Madīna) before Jumād al-Thāniya. So the months of Jumād al-
Thāniya and Rajab passed by and on Monday 1st Shaʿbān at 3.40pm in
Madrasa ʿUlūm al-Sharʿiyya, Shaykh  passed away. Shaykh Ṭalḥa was to
my left near Shaykh’s bed . Just moments earlier, Shaykh  had raised his
blessed head slightly, looked properly at each of us present at his bedside,
and smiled. This exemplifies his adherence to the sunna even during his
last moments. Just as the Prophet , during his last days, drew
satisfaction from the fact that when he lifted the curtain from his house he
saw his Companions standing for ṣalāh, likewise, moments earlier Shaykh
 lifted his head slightly, saw us and smiled. Then, lowering his head, he
recited: ياكريم ياكريم (O the Generous! O the Generous!), then with full vigour
. ياكريم ياكريم :exclaimed
It was an astonishing moment when Shaykh  left this world for the
next, in front of our eyes. When an attendant of Shaykh  arrived after
Shaykh’s  passing away, he related that as soon as he read the headlines
about Shaykh’s  demise in the newspaper, the atmosphere around him completely changed and he began to feel faint. This was similar to the
experience of Muʿādh , when the Companion stated,
.The Prophet  has left this worldly abode – فارق رسول الله الدنیا
.He fell unconscious – فخر مغشیا علیه
After regaining consciousness, the Companion presented Muʿādh 
with a letter and said that he was actually travelling to him in Yemen to
deliver this letter on behalf of Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq . Crying profusely, he
took the letter in his hands and repeatedly kissed that part of the letter in
which Abū Bakr  had put the seal of the Prophet . When he
reached Madīna Munawwara, he presented himself, while experiencing a
strange state, at the blessed grave of the Prophet . He thereafter
visited the blessed homes (of the Wives of the Noble Prophet ).