Skip to content

Safiya Upshaw's Death (2030)

Safiya Upshaw’s death occurred at her daughter Amina Upshaw’s home in Baltimore, Maryland, in late 2030 after a long illness that Safiya had largely concealed from her family. Her son Rafiq Upshaw was incarcerated at Patuxent Institution and did not attend her funeral or burial.

Overview

Safiya lived with Amina during her final years, and Amina cared for her as the illness progressed. The family held a Sunni Muslim funeral after Safiya’s death. Abdul Rahman Upshaw, Nadira Upshaw, Khadijah Upshaw, Karim Upshaw, Amina, and members of the family’s masjid community attended.

Rafiq remained at Patuxent. He declined the institution’s offer of shackled, escorted funeral leave and therefore missed the janazah and burial.

Circumstances of the Death

Safiya had moved into Amina’s Baltimore home after divorcing Abdul Rahman. Her illness was long-running, but she concealed much of its severity from the family. Amina provided her day-to-day care during the final years of her life, and Safiya died in Amina’s home in late 2030.

Safiya’s concealment left most of the family little time to prepare once her decline could no longer be hidden.

Notification

Nadira called Rafiq at Patuxent to tell him that Safiya had died. Rafiq said only that he needed time alone. Raymond Holloman then told Megan and Louis that Rafiq’s mother had died.

Funeral or Memorial Arrangements

Service and Participation

Safiya’s funeral followed Sunni Muslim practice and included the congregational janazah prayer. Abdul Rahman, Nadira, Khadijah, Karim, Amina, and members of the family’s masjid community attended.

Remains and Disposition

Women in Safiya’s family prepared and washed her body before the funeral. She was buried after the janazah. Rafiq missed the preparation, prayer, and burial.

Bereavement and Community Response

Raymond Holloman, Rafiq’s cellmate and father figure, stayed with him through the immediate grief after Safiya’s death. That aftermath overlapped with the 2030 flu outbreak, when Raymond’s chronic obstructive pulmonary disease placed him at particular risk and Rafiq remained with him while also managing his own fever and grief.

Rafiq understood attending in restraints as turning Safiya’s funeral into a public display of his restraint. He chose absence instead and carried that choice as an additional wound alongside her death.

Material and Institutional Consequences

Patuxent offered Rafiq funeral leave under escort and in restraints. Rafiq declined because he would not attend his mother’s janazah shackled. The terms of the offered leave, rather than a lack of religious commitment or family involvement, kept him from the service and burial.

Safiya had continued supporting Rafiq after his incarceration, while Abdul Rahman had ended contact with him. Her death removed the parent who had remained aligned with Rafiq and deepened the existing estrangement between father and son; Rafiq’s sisters continued supporting him.

Events Deaths 2030 Safiya Upshaw Upshaw Family