“‘My joy and light’: Father mourns heartbreaking death of his 6-year-old son after tragic drowning incident in Al Ain, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of his beloved child.”
He was my sunshine, my happiness: Father grieves loss of 6-year-old son who drowned in Al Ain.
Six-year-old Issa, who was in first grade, was discovered submerged in an underground water tank close to his family’s residence in Al Ain. The heartbreaking incident occurred while he was playing alongside his younger sister.
His devastated father is struggling to cope with the death of his only child.
He was the top of his class, always scoring perfectly, 20 out of 20,” said Al Basheer Al Zahir, his voice shaking with emotion. “He was loved by everyone—so kind, cheerful, and intelligent. Our entire family cherished him.”
Al Basheer, an imam and Quran instructor at a nearby mosque, shared the painful memories of that day with profound grief.
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“I had just finished the Asr prayer and went to check on him. He was playing outside the mosque with his sister,” he recalled. “Before leaving for the Quran centre where I teach, I ensured they were safely in the courtyard and closed the gate. About thirty minutes later, my wife called me in tears—Issa was missing.”
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Al Basheer hurried home, stunned, to discover that his only son had fallen into one of the two large, uncovered underground water tanks on the property. “The openings were large enough for anyone, even a small child, to accidentally fall in,” he explained. “Although there were fences, the gates were left open. My son must have slipped while playing.”
It was Issa’s four-year-old sister, Maryam, who first spotted her brother in the water tank. She ran crying to the neighbors, who immediately pulled him out and called for assistance. Paramedics arrived swiftly, but tragically, Issa could not be saved.
“When I arrived at the hospital, they told me he had passed away,” his father said. “In that moment, it felt as if my entire world had fallen apart.”
As he grieves, the heartbroken father wishes that no other parent has to experience such a loss. “May Allah bless my son and grant him a place in paradise,” he said. “He was the source of my happiness and my light.”
Just last month, another Emirati family suffered the death of their 2-year-old when he drowned in a pool during a weekend gathering at a family farm in Dibba.
