JOHOR BARU: More than 30 years ago, Mohd Puad Basri stepped up to the responsibility of taking care of four children from his in-law's family who had become orphaned.
He took up this responsibility despite having four children of his own because he always believed blessings will come out of such a noble act.
It certainly has.
The bond shared by Puad, 60, and his big extended family-- who include the four children who have now grown up with children of their own-- is as strong as ever.
The story of this big extended family was shared by one of the four children whom Puad adopted all those years ago.
Through a video on TikTok, Syazana Ta'at, 41, said her father Ta'at Rahmat died on Sept 3, 1993 and her mother Aisah Mosaba died on Nov 28, 1994.
"At that time, many came to the house to take my sibling to be adopted, but our late mother had advised her family that we (her children) should not be separated.
"Although my brother-in-law (Mohd Puad) could not afford to care all four of us because he had four children of his own, he had been advised by his brother take care of us, believing that blessings will come later on."
She said Puad and his wife Khirina Ta'at, who is Syazana's sister, took it upon themselves to adopt the siblings.
Syazana said Khirina died on July 21, 2005, due to breast cancer, causing her brother-in-law to raise the her siblings on his own.
She recalled how Puad was a great father figure, despite him not having any direct bloodline with her siblings. She said Puad foot the bills for her siblings' school expenses.
"We are very close up to the extent that we regard him (Puad) as our father as well as a brother (in law).
"My brother-in-law never complained. He sacrificed a lot. He sent us to schoo and we all received our education until my younger siblings gained entry into university right until their master's and doctorate levels.
"For those 10 years, my siblings and I cared for by our brother-in-law from when I was 12 until I married at age 22," she said.
Syazana and her siblings now have families of their own, but they never forgot their brother-in-law. They will usually gather at his house during weekends, public holidays and for many celebrations.
They do this is because it was the least they could because the siblings believe that they will never be able to repay Puad for his kindness and sacrifices when raising them.
"We will buy clothes, household items and just about anything for him.
"When we have the means, we take our brother-in-law out to eat. If we go on holiday, we will invite him, his nieces and nephews to come along," she said.
Syazana said her TikTok post was not to boast, but simply to express her love for Puad and what he did for her and her siblings.
"I also want to show that although we may not have received the love of our biological parents, we receive attention and love from our brother-in-law, who was our go-to person when we had problems.
"Only Allah can repay his kindness for successfully raising four orphaned in-laws, but also raising four of his own children," she said.
