Slain South Side store owner laid to rest

November 22, 2014 at 12:01a.m.

By JOE GORMAN | jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahdi funeral

The prayers spoken over Abdullah Nagi Mahdi on Friday at the Masjid Al-Khair mosque just before he was laid to rest were in Arabic and, for some, difficult to understand.

But there was no mistaking what the tears and solemn faces meant as the store owner who was killed in a robbery attempt Wednesday was mourned at the mosque on the lower South Side.

Imam Waleed Abuasi, who performed the service, said Mahdi was one of the kindest people he had ever met.

“He was always humble, cheerful, friendly,” Imam Abuasi told the mourners who were packed into the mosque. “He was always trying to fulfill his obligations to Allah.”

Mahdi, 29, was killed inside his 2608 South Ave. store, Reema's Fashion, after he and a suspected robber, identified by police as 19-year-old Larry McDonald, exchanged gunfire. Mahdi died after being shot in the head.

McDonald was wounded and tackled by others in the store, who held him until police arrived. He is being treated at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

McDonald is expected to be charged in Mahdi’s death when he is discharged from the hospital.

Mahdi, a graduate of Youngstown State University with an engineering degree, leaves seven daughters — the oldest is 14.

Friends have described him as a man with a good heart who never hesitated to help anyone in need.

The service was during the regular prayer time at the mosque, which is akin to a sabbath Saturday or Sunday for Jews and Christians, respectively.

There was no coffin. Mahdi’s body was wrapped in a simple white shroud and placed in a gurney that was low to the floor and placed in a corner of the mosque.

Some of the mourners sat on the floor around the body, as if keeping vigil. The sound of sobbing could be heard at intervals throughout the service.

Mourners sat on the floor barefoot, which is Islamic tradition.

At times, Imam Abuasi spoke in Arabic and also led prayers in Arabic.

Imam Abuasi told those in attendance how respected and trusted Mahdi was. Mahdi had led prayer at the mosque, sometimes Friday prayer, and he often would check on the mosque for Imam Abuasi.

“We’re going to remember him in our minds, in our hearts, in our prayers and in our thoughts,” Imam Abuasi said.

Imam Abuasi also spoke of time: Time is the most important resource given to us by God and it is one resource that, if squandered, can never be restored.

“Time is more precious and valued than diamonds because it is life itself,” Imam Abuasi said.

Those who perform misdeeds waste their time and hurt themselves, while those who perform righteous deeds make good use of their time and will live a full life, Imam Abuasi said.

“Any time you spend in righteousness, that will endure for you. Any time you spend in disobedience is lost time,” Imam Abuasi said.

Imam Abuasi said God keeps a record of how we spend our time, and there will be an accounting when we die.

“Nothing is equal to it,” Imam Abuasi said. “It has no substitute.”

When Imam Abuasi was done with his remarks, Mahdi’s body was carried toward the part of the mosque that faces Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.

Prayers were then said in Arabic for the imam, the prophets, Mahdi’s family and the community before his body was carried out of the mosque to be transported to a cemetery in Austintown, where he was to be buried.