Malappuram: Some losses are too deep for words, and some acts of grace are too profound to comprehend. In a moment when anger would have been natural and bitterness understandable, a young mother chose forgiveness.

Sharafudheen and Safna, a young couple from Kerala, had waited years for the child they longed for through prayers and treatment. When fate cruelly snatched their little boy away in a tragic accident in Sharjah, it was 26-year-old Safna — shattered but steadfast — who made a decision that stunned many, to pardon the driver involved in her son’s death.

The tragedy unfolded on February 11 in Muwailiya, Sharjah. Two-year-old Alan Rumi was playing near the parking area of their apartment when a car struck him.

“It was around 6.40 pm. Rumi was playing on the tiled ground with a neighbouring family’s child. It is an unofficial parking ground located between two apartment buildings, and several vehicles were parked there. Safna was with him,” said Sharafudheen, who works as a sales executive with the Talal Group in UAE. “They noticed a small cat, and both children were excited. Alan suddenly ran towards it. Safna called out to him, but he only laughed and ran faster. It all happened in a split second, and she couldn’t hold him back. A Land Cruiser came along at that moment and hit him on the head.”

He said Safna rushed the child to a nearby clinic, but doctors declared him dead. “When hospital authorities and the police recorded her first statement, she told them to document that she was ready to pardon the Malayali driver. That was her stern decision in that moment,” recalled Sharafudheen, saying that the tragedy continues to replay in their minds, especially because that day had begun like any other. The family usually made it a point to have lunch together. “We always eat together,” he said. “But that day I had a meeting at the office and got delayed, so I decided not to come home.” Had it been any other day, he would have been there with Safna and Rumi. Pausing briefly, he added that he believes it was all fate — a turn of events beyond their control.

It was on January 18 that Safna and little Rumi arrived in Sharjah to join Sharafudheen. The couple, who married in 2018, had undergone years of treatment before they were blessed with a child. When Rumi was born, they had prayed that they would one day take him for Umrah in gratitude. Safna had also planned to stay permanently with her husband by extending their visa.

“I was running my own chocolate shop in Dubai for many years. As Safna was under treatment in Malappuram, doctors advised me to reduce stress and stay settled. Then I stopped the business in Dubai and started working at an automobile showroom in Malappuram. After Rumi was born, I returned to the UAE and joined the Talal Group as a sales executive,” Sharafudheen said. “We were very happy. My company had agreed to provide a family visa, and we were planning to celebrate his birthday here. We were also looking to shift to Ras Al Khaimah after renting a new flat.”

Following the accident and the burial in Dubai the next day, the couple returned to their hometown in Malappuram. “Safna has yet to recover from the shock, but she remains firm in her decision to pardon the driver,” Sharafudheen said. “When I reached the hospital and realised that Rumi was no more, she told me she did not want to trouble the driver.”

He said the accused driver’s family was in panic over the possible legal consequences. “I understand that he is around 25 years old and is also struggling to come to terms with what happened,” he added.

The case is scheduled to come up for hearing in a UAE court on February 25, where the court will consider the parents’ statement before deciding on further legal proceedings. “In both our primary and detailed statements, we made it clear that we do not wish to pursue legal action and that we are ready to pardon the accused, who is a native of Kannur and lives in Sharjah with his family,” Sharafudheen said. “We have lost our child and are in deep grief. It is our fate. Punishing another person will not bring our son back. We hope the court will consider our plea.”