Father Who Forgave His Son's Murderer In The US Receives Malaysia's First Compassion Award
The father moved the judge to tears when the court heard him say that he forgave the man who killed his son.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 20 Dec 2019, 01:50 PM
A father who forgave his son's murderer in the United States was awarded the inaugural 'Compassionate Icon' award in Malaysia yesterday, 19 December
According to New Straits Times, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud is the first recipient of this Malaysian compassionate award, which is also known as Rahmatan Lil Alamin Icon.
Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof handed the inaugural award to Abdul-Munim at the Putrajaya Islamic Complex yesterday.
Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof awarding Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Icon.
Image via Bernama via Sinar HarianAbdul-Munim's son was murdered by 24-year-old Trey Alexander Relford in Lexington, Kentucky on 19 April 2015
During the night of the murder, Abdul-Munim's 22-year-old son, Salahuddin Jitmoud, was making a pizza delivery, before being stabbed and robbed by Relford.
Relford pleaded guilty to the murder and the court sentenced him to 31 years in prison, reported CNN.
However, Abdul-Munim stunned everyone in the court, including judge Kimberly Bunnell, when he told Relford that he forgave him and proceeded to embrace Relford
Abdul-Munim's act moved the judge to tears. Free Malaysia Today reported that Abdul-Munim saved Relford's life by agreeing to change the initial death sentence to 31 years' jail.
The touching moment caught the world's attention after being reported by international media, reported Bernama.
Speaking at the event yesterday, Abdul-Munim explained that he got the strength to forgive Relford from Allah
"(Actor) Morgan Freeman has asked me the same thing. Allah says in the Quran whoever forgives His servant who is a Muslim or not yet a Muslim, He will forgive us," New Straits Times quoted Abdul-Munim as saying.
"So I told my five sons, this is a golden opportunity for us to forgive the man (Relford) so that he can have a second chance to know Allah better since he has been misguided by Shaitan (the devil)."
He also prayed that Malaysia will be the centre of goodness, and he contended it will only become a reality only if everyone starts from themselves
"I look at myself and at what I have done to change myself. We have to work with ourselves first and from there we work with our family," Abdul-Munim said.
"We have to be more merciful to anyone that is alive and not be wasteful. We have to be mindful of the environment," he said.
Abdul-Munim added that more efforts are needed to be in place to create a ripple effect to touch the lives of many.
When honouring the award, Mujahid said Abdul-Munim displayed the true meaning of compassion
"Similar spirit of compassion has become the government policy nowadays," said the minister, before presenting a similar award to a retired Islamic school principal who worked in the US for over three decades.
