AS many of us were reeling from the sadness of losing the nation’s beloved teacher Professor Syafii Ma’arif, we were hit with another blow from the news that Professor Azyumardi Azra had died.

When I first got news that he had breathing difficulties while on board a flight to Kuala Lumpur on September 16, I tried to cast out any forebodings. I knew for quite some time that Azra had been suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, h