Hi my name is Salma ,

I am raising money on behalf of my beloved grandfather, Yusuf Osman, who recently returned to his Lord. All donations will go toward Sadaqah Jariyah—ongoing charity that continues to benefit a person even after they’ve passed. We plan to honour his legacy through projects like building water wells, distributing Qur’ans, feeding those in need, and supporting orphans in his name. These are the kinds of lasting deeds that will, InshaAllah, bring continuous reward to him in the hereafter.

This cause is incredibly close to my heart, not just because of who my grandfather was, but because of how everything unfolded around his passing.

On the day I was meant to return home from Umrah, amidst the chaos of Jeddah airport, I got a call that would change everything. Just five minutes earlier, my dad had asked me, “Have you heard from your mum? She’s not picking up any of my calls today.” I told him, “I spoke to her this morning, but I’ve been busy all day with the journey—why, what’s wrong?” He said he’d try calling her again.

Not long after, just as I was about to step onto the escalator, he rang back.

“Your Awowo has passed away.”

I froze. My whole body shivered. I covered my mouth, but the shriek still escaped. My brother looked at me and instantly knew. I kept repeating Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.

The entire flight back to London, I cried. My eyes were swollen, my heart heavy—but somehow at peace, knowing I had performed Umrah and made du’a for him every step of the way.

I never had the chance to grow up with either of my grandads. Now, both are gone. But their memory lives through the stories my parents tell. In 2021 and 2022, I was blessed to visit my mum’s side of the family and finally get to know them again. I got to spend evenings with my grandad, to buy him the creams and ointments no one else was allowed to touch. I sat with him, even when dementia made it hard for him to speak clearly—because for me, just being with him was special.

All my life, I watched my mum make the same du’a in every prayer: to see her parents again. Sixteen years went by without her seeing them. Then finally, in 2022, Allah answered her prayer. I saw them before she could, but when her time came, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. She was finally reunited with them.

At the start of 2025, we found out my grandfather’s health was deteriorating fast. He had withered away in just a few months. I told my mum she had to go see him—I reminded her it was okay to be selfish this once. We’d be here to hold things down. She was planning to travel after we returned from Umrah, but by Qadr of Allah, she flew out on April 1st instead.

Alhamdulillah, she got to spend three days with her father. She cared for him, fed him, sat by his side. The day before he passed, she told me he seemed to be improving—maybe that was Allah’s way of easing her heart. He passed shortly after, but she was there. Strong, present, courageous—for him and for everyone else.

My grandfather, Yusuf Osman, was the gentlest of souls. Affectionate. Family-oriented. A provider for 11 children and a beloved husband. For my mother, he was the person. The kind of parent your heart naturally clings to. And now she’s grieving the loss of her favourite person in the whole world.

This GoFundMe is for him—for his Sadaqah Jariyah. A legacy of continuous charity that will benefit him in the afterlife. We plan to build water wells, distribute Qur’ans, feed those in need, and support orphans—all in his name.

Please help us honour his memory, and help my mum find healing in the knowledge that her father’s name lives on through every good deed done in his honour.

Allah yerhamo, Awowo Yusuf Osman.

I promise I will take care of your daughter for you❤️‍